At the end of a long day studying, the last thing I want to do is take off my makeup. I used to be one of those people that drifted off to sleep thinking tomorrow’s a new morning to cleanse my face, naively thinking every time I hit the pillow, “one night won’t make a difference.” Eventually I graduated to big girl make up wipes, but even then there was still something off about my skin. I was taking my makeup off, but yet I still woke up in the morning thinking my skin looked even worse than it did before. Hence the vicious cycle of taking my makeup off only to pile it on the next morning to camouflage my blemishes, discoloration and dark circles. For the lack of radiance, I turned to bronzer and blush.
After going a year unsatisfied with the flatness of my complexion, I finally realized the reason: my lack of nighttime regime. It seems silly to pile on creams and serums at night when you already do so in the morning, but if the cliché ‘two times a charm’ isn’t true enough, then let the science behind the it draw you in.
First things first: any topical will penetrate better once you’ve cleansed your skin. And no – those testy make up wipes I mentioned before do not cut it. The only way to guarantee that your pores are clear of any leftover debris is to turn on the faucet and splash. I’ll leave your choice of cleanser up to you.
Once you hit the sheets, your temperature increases overnight and you normally suffer from water loss. You know that dehydrated feeling you get every time you wake up, and the first thing you want to do is down a glass of water? Your skin feels the same way. Thus we have the added necessary of applying a nighttime moisturizer.
Less noticeably in a physical sense, your skin cells also overturn up to eight times faster overnight. If you don’t get enough sleep, stress hormones slow down collagen production and your skin looks dull and dry in the morning. So next time you plan to skimp on sleep (which, happens pretty frequently in college), then you’ll need to give your skin a little bit of assistance. Without the proper nutrients from your body it struggles to restore itself.
Now let’s get down to business. With all this science and what not, there’s a slew of products on the market that advertise for nighttime care. Looking around Sephora or the drugstore it’s easy to be intimidated by the options, but fear not: I have acted as your guinea pig. After testing a lot of these products myself (and still using them on a daily basis), I’ve narrowed it down to ten solid options depending on your skin type.
The Oils As someone with combination skin, I was bit skeptical about putting oil on my face. I mean, doesn’t my T-zone already produce enough of it on it’s own? Also a fear: acne! Isn’t acne caused by increased oil production? This, my friend, is where you need to listen closely: the more you dry up your skin using acne products (especially, ESPECIALLY, drug-store bought topicals containing salicylic acid), the more your face will try to compensate by producing oil. An oily face equates to a parched face. I’m not a fan of lathering oil on before I do my make up in the morning so I opted for an overnight detox oil instead. I can’t vouch for the Sunday Riley, but its formulation of Omega-3 fats (such as cold pressed avocado and seed oils) promises to reduce pore size and fine lines. If you’re less concerned with sun damage and signs of aging, turn to Caudalie’s overnight detox oil. This oil is basically the bread and butter of this French brand. The first time I used it I woke up with skin as smooth as a baby’s bottom. It’s light enough that you can pile it on top of an overnight moisturizing cream (which is what I do), and it’s easily absorbed into skin without any residue, so breakouts will not be a concern. Because the entirety of the oil is plant based (for additional toxin elimination) it has a bit of an earthy smell, but I find it quite soothing.
The Moisturizers Ah yes, the key to any winter woes. Full disclosure: I love (love!) GlamGlow. Back when I had those aforementioned acne problems I tried their SuperMud clearing treatment and found great results, so I decided to invest in a jar of ThirstyMud when the New York winds came back around. GlamGlow was originally started for Hollywood makeup use – we’re talking backstage before the Oscars some celeb was slathering this miracle cream on to get the glowing skin that we saw on the red carpet. Consider me drawn in. It is a pricy investment — I won’t argue that — but considering you only need to use it two to three times a week to reap all of its benefits, it lasts awhile. This baby can be used in the morning as a quick mask, in-flight when your skin gets parched from the stale cabin air, or as you would predict, overnight for maximum replenishing. Whenever I rinse this off in the morning I don’t even feel the need to cleanse, that’s how smooth and hydrated my face feels. Since I started using this my skin no longer flakes or flares up after walking through the occasional blizzard. And it smells like a pina colda, so there’s that.
In terms of the creams, this Olay Night Fortifying cream is a great bargain to hold you over in between mask uses. The Tata Harper is a bit pricier (it is a luxury brand after all), but it’s eco-friendly if you’re into that sort of thing. Personally, I’ve tried the Olay and I think it works just fine.
If you don’t have extremely dry skin, I recommend turning to a more restorative cream or serum (listed next) to use instead.
The RestorersI’ll be honest, a lot these do the same thing – and that’s because they do everything. If you’ve never suffered from terrible skin problems (i.e excessive dryness or breakouts), then you’re probably looking for something to give your skin a little boost. Depending on what type of texture you prefer, Drunk Elephant’s is a serum, Lancome’s and Origin’s are a cream, and Garnier’s is an acidic peel. All of these products aid in radiance and brightness by purging clogged pores and shedding dead skin cells. The Garnier peel, specifically, can be used on combination skin since it is a lighter version of the normally aggressive chemical peels you would see in a dermatology office. Considering most peels should only stay on your skin 10-15 minutes and this one’s designed to last all night, it’s definitely a safe bet for a drugstore option.
The InnovativeI’m just going to be frank about this one: I’ve never used it, but it looks really freaking cool. This bareMinerals Pure Transformation night powder comes in four different shades: translucent, fair, medium, and tan/deep. It’s a bit counterintuitive to put something that resembles a powder foundation on your face before you sleep, but it’s designed to work in a way that will make sure you don’t even need foundation when you wake up. The tinted minerals in the powder even your skin tone and kiss redness away so that your skin will appear virtually airbrushed in the morning (OK, maybe not that extreme, but it will be glowing nonetheless). The added benefit? You can totally pull this off as a nice cover-up during nights spent in *ahem* not your own bed. And no worries to all you clean freaks; there will never be any transfer to the pillowcase.