16 Of The Best Overnight Beauty Treatments
It’s no wonder that beauty brands are creating skincare that works specifically overnight, as this is when the skin is at its optimum for regeneration. It’s the most effective time to use potent and active formulas that get to work while you snooze. These products are far more than just glorified night creams and super serums, but instead skincare that will give you transformative results when you wake. Here, we’ve chosen our top 16 overnight beauty treatments that made us go “wow” on waking…
Best for even texture: Dr. Dennis Gross Overnight Texture Renewal Peel, £79
Simultaneously brighten, smooth and hydrate with this hardworking skin-loving peel that is fuss-free to apply. Simply massage soaked peel pad into skin and follow with your night cream. Packed with retinol, bakuchiol, and ferulic acid, it tackles fine lines, uneven texture, and other signs of photoaging while you catch your Z’s.
Best for crow’s feet: 111Skin Meso Infusion Overnight Micro Mask, £120 for 4 masks
If you’ve been spending the summer squinting in the sunshine, these adhesive patches will iron out the creases around your eyes in no time. Place the patch onto the area where your lines are most prominent and then push down onto the skin with firm pressure (like you would with Cellotape). The patches are studded with self-dissolving micro spikes of vitamin C and hyaluronic acid that flood lines with hydration and antioxidants, so you’ll wake bright-eyed and smoother lines around your eyes. They come with a hefty price but there’s nothing to rival them.
Best for dark spots: Ren Clean Skincare Overnight Glow Dark Spot Sleeping Cream, £45.05
If the last few months spent in the sunshine has encouraged your pigmentation to darken or reappear, this will help settle and lift patches of pigmentation without lightening your skin, and all while you’re fast asleep. It even creates a soft glow, so you wake with radiant and even skin. Use daily for a week to really see the magic work.
Best for avoiding split ends: Slip Pixie Mega Set, £55 and Pillowcase, £72.25
Not a beauty product per se, but a pack of seven scrunchies made of pure silk that ensure your hair is not pulled or tangled while you toss and turn at night. If you want to go that extra mile, follow the A-list and sleep on silk. Not only does it feel silky smooth on your skin as you drift off, but it also reduces the friction build-up between you and your pillow, so you won’t wake up with pillow creases on your skin or the bed head hair look in the morning. Some people claim it also helps make a blow-dry last longer.
Best for hands: Sarah Chapman Overnight Hand & Nail Treatment, £68
If your hands are looking a little withered from the summer heat, this celebrity favourite hand cream will not only hydrate, moisturise and soften rough, dry hands and nails, but also like its iconic skincare, has powerful anti-ageing ingredients which tackle age spots, crepiness and fine lines too. A bedside table essential.
Best for fuller lashes: Rapidlash Eyelash Enhancing Serum, £31.99
We’ve said it before, and we stand by our words, lash serums are not a beauty gimmick, but an easy DIY way to get fuller, longer lashes without an extension in sight! Packed with essential proteins and vitamins which are usually found in hair growth products. But be warned, don’t expect Minnie Mouse lashes overnight, you may not notice a difference for 3 months, but with time, you’ll be glad you took our advice. It’s definitely worth adding a quick lash sweep into your night-time routine.
Best for tackling dry lips: Laneige Lip Sleeping Mask, £19
This has quickly become a beauty hero that sells out time and time again on Cult Beauty. It’s not a posh lip balm, but instead a super-hydrating mask that delivers a hydration boost to chapped lips, helps shed dry flaky bits off peeling lips, soothes soreness and adds softness to your pout while you sleep. Using the brands patented Moisture Wrap technology alongside a berry mix complex, your lips will feel comfortable the following day, even without a swipe of lip balm. A bedside table beauty essential!
Best for calming stressed skin: Auerlia Overnight Recovery Mask, £58
Nurturing, rich and deeply calming both to skin and mind, this gorgeous-smelling thick mask is full of all the goodness you expect from a brand who’s renowned for their botanical and probiotic formulas. Calendula and camomile soothe irritated skin and calm redness. A great choice for sun-burnt skin in need of some fast TLC.
Best for breakout skin: Malin + Goetz Sulfur Paste, £19
If you’re prone to giving your pimples a little squeeze and then quickly regret giving them a hacking a few minutes later, then this paste will soon become your BFF. A powerful blend of salicylic acid and active sulphur quickly dries out blemishes. While zinc oxide heals and prevents scarring and camphor withdraws all the gunk from under the surface of your skin. In the morning, simply wash off the hardened white paste to reveal a clearer complexion. Voila!
Best for skin renewal: Medik8 r-Retinoate Youth Activating Cream Intense, £215
We all know that retinol is THE star ingredient when it comes to overnight skincare, but retinyl retinoate is the newer Vitamin A derivative that’s making noise on the beauty front. Shown to give the same skin care results that we only often see from prescription-only acids, but minus the drying effects or skin sensitivity you’d expect. So good, that it’s worth considering re-mortgaging your house just to get your hands on this treatment!
Best all-rounder: Dermalogica Overnight Repair Serum, £65
Look to this versatile serum if you have more than one skincare concern but want to minimise your regime and save time (and money) in the process. Wear alone or mix and match with any other night cream to enhance its effectiveness. Whether your skin bugbears are ageing, pigmentation, skin tone or dullness, this overnight treatment has you covered. And don’t be shocked by its dinky size, you need only 4 drops for each application. Trust us, the bottle lasts for yonks!
Best for dry and damaged hair: Philip Kingsley Elasticizer Hair Treatment, from £19.50 for 75ml
This product has been every beauty enthusiast’s favourite since it launched back in 1974. A hair miracle product like no other. Apply it before bed to soften, smooth and strengthen frazzled, over-processed hair, even when it seems beyond help. To give hair a real treat, apply this once a week but don’t forget to put a towel on your pillow to protect your bedlinen. On waking, shampoo out to reveal the silkiest, shiniest, and controlled hair imaginable.
Best for mature skin: Allies Of Skin Retinal & Peptides Repair Overnight Mask, £105
Shockingly expensive but this mask is packed with all the wonders your skin needs to rejuvenate and repair while you sleep. Although it’s called a mask, it takes the place of your night cream. But don’t be overzealous with it, as it contains retinol, so ease your skin in slowly by using it on alternate nights and then build up according to your skin’s tolerance. Your soon see fine lines are less obvious and your overall complexion will be plumper and more youthful.
Best for replenishing tired skin: Eve Lom Radiance Transforming Mask, £65
A well-loved product with good reason. This rich cream warms up on first contact with your skin and then magically transforms into a silky layer that sinks into your skin overnight. It’s packed with antioxidant-rich botanicals and a gentle exfoliant made from Australian caviar that revitalises dull, grey skin tones. Top tip: For a quick fix, leave on skin for 30 minutes while getting ready for a night out. Your skin will thank you!
Best for hungover skin: Guerlain Midnight Secret, from £26 for 15ml
An absolute cult product that remains at the top of every beauty editor’s skincare essential. Consider this your Hair of The Dog drink for your skin. The gentle and beautifully fragrant cream is lightweight and packed with teeny-tiny iridescent particles that encourage your skin to gleam rather than overly shine. If you’ve had a heavy night and want to avoid looking like death the following morning, this really is a must!
Best for dry, frizz hair: Umberto Giannini Urgent Repair Protein Treatment Mask, £10.25
If split ends and extremely dry hair is your beauty bugbear, this nourishing mask will provide a heavy hit of hydration while you sleep and immediate restoration to brittle and fragile ends. Packed with avocado oil (rich in Vitamin A, B5 and E) and kale extract (high in protein and antioxidants) smooth through from mid-length to ends (better on slightly damp hair) then wash out the following morning. Frazzled hair be gone!
The products on this page have been selected by our editorial team, however, The Handbook may make a small commission on some products purchased through affiliate links.
