ith nothing else to look forward to
in the days, we are spending more
time than ever thinking about
what to cook for dinner. But I also
wonder: shall I put salts in the bath
tonight? Epsom or Dead Sea? (I’ve got through
an alarming number of the giant 1kg, £4.99
bags from Westlab from boots.com lately.)
Should I do a glycolic treatment? Should I buff
my feet or save that as a treat for tomorrow?
I don’t really drink – for some reason the
pandemic has given me one-unit hangovers
so it’s rarely worth it. Without a cocktail hour,
my evening ablution, hydration and exfoliation
rituals are getting longer and longer.
I have a bath with an audiobook blaring
every single night. Overnight face masks now
happen three times a week and they have
made a big difference to my winter-crispened
face. The one I want you to know about is from
Lumene, a Finnish brand that has some stand-
out well-priced products. I’ve not found an
affordable cleansing balm to match its
Nordic-C Valo Pure Glow Cleansing Balm
(£15.90; johnlewis.com), which removes the
most powerful of mascaras. Its new Arctic
Hydra Care Moisture & Relief Rich Night
Balm (£26.90; johnlewis.com) is ultra-soothing
for dry, sensitive skin. With some night
treatments I wake up feeling like my face
drank it all up and is still thirsty. Not with
this one. I was still velvety in the morning.
Many have found their skin has freaked out
during This Time, acquiring new sensitivitiesand acne, but the most common complaint
is dry skin. This is where an overnight mask
might help. Most are essentially a night cream
that give your face an intensive hydration fix.
The good ones contain higher than usual
quantities of antioxidants and vitamins. Apart
from being too rich for daytime use, they are
designed to maximise the benefits of the skin’s
repair mode – which happens at night.
Some have specific targets. Cult Singapore
brand Allies of Skin’s 1A Retinal + Peptides
Overnight Mask (£105; harrods.com) targets
acne as well as lines. You’ll definitely notice
a face upgrade after a week or so. Eye-
wateringly expensive, though.
Eve Lom’s Radiance Transforming Mask
(£65; spacenk.com) will give a hydration
boost to dry skin, but it also has brightening
properties thanks to plant-based AHAs.
Marks & Spencer – always some gems in
its skincare department – has a brilliant night
treatment in the Formula range called Absolute
Ultimate Sleep Cream (£23; marksandspencer.
com), which is so successful that, when it’s
sold out, people will pay double for it on eBay.
There’s now an oil version, Absolute Ultimate
Sleep Oil (£25), which works just as beautifully.
Clinique’s Moisture Surge collection is
full of lockdown dry-skin heroes. I love the
Sheertint Hydrator (£31; boots.com), and
the Overnight Mask (£33) truly has some
welly as a weekly mask for very dry skin. ninstagram.com/lesleyjthomasHow I’ve upgraded my skin routine
Without a cocktail hour, it’s all about new evening beauty rituals
I have a bath with an audiobook
blaring every single night.
Overnight face masks now
NICK HADDOW happen three times a week
The Times Magazine 59Beauty
Lesley Thomas
Intensely
hydratingReduces
fine linesUltra-rich
moisturising
maskTargets
acneSoothing balm
for sensitive skinExfoliating and
brighteningWhat Lesley loves Overnight fixes
Origins Drink Up Overnight
Hydrating Mask, £22
(marksandspencer.com)Eve Lom Radiance
Transforming Mask, £65
(spacenk.com)Formula Absolute
Ultimate Sleep Oil, £25
(marksandspencer.com)Clinique Moisture Surge
Overnight Mask, £33
(boots.com)Lumene Arctic Hydra Care
Rich Night Balm, £26.90
( johnlewis.com)Allies of Skin 1A Retinal
+ Peptides Mask, £105
(harrods.com)