Beauty: Products to help you sleep and wake well

A good night’s sleep is the best beauty treatment going - even more so if you find overnight formulas that really work. Alice Ryan finds products to help you both sleep and wake well

Bamford B Silent Night-time Pillow Mist, £20, Space NK, Trinity Street, Cambridge and bamford.com

This is one of my ride-or-die products. Blended with frankincense, lavender and marjoram - selected for their combined ability to still the mind and relax the body - spritz it on linen just before getting into bed and let its delicious scent invite deep, calming breaths. The soporific effect is impressive. Recognised in the 2019 Beauty Bible Awards, the mist is also, like all Bamford formulas, vegan, natural and cruelty-free.

Evolve Organic Beauty Peace Silent Night Bathing Salts, £22, evolvebeauty.co.uk

Salts are, as the name suggests, the big hitters here: dead sea to detoxify skin, epsom to soothe skin and Himalayan to relax muscles. But it’s the essential oils which make this a best-in-class blend for a pre-sleep soak for me - there are an impressive 12 in total, including lavender, neroli, bergamot and ylang ylang, all known to promote relaxation. Handmade in small batches at Evolve’s wind-powered Hertfordshire HQ, a handful in a warm nighttime bath can’t fail to calm.

Christophe Robin Night Recovery Cream with White Lotus Flower, £35, christopherobin.co.uk

Since turning 40, I’ve seen a real shift in my hair: it’s finer and more fragile than ever, shedding liberally every time I wash or brush. This overnight treatment is a wonder, though. Containing white lotus to smooth split ends, African hibiscus flower to enhance shine, and French lavender and cedarwood to nourish and hydrate, you apply it to dry hair, working roots to ends, wrap your locks while you sleep and wash out come morning. The result? Hair that looks and feels both happier and healthier.

Sisley Supremÿa Eyes at Night, £215, sisley-paris.com

It’s the skincare Holy Grail: an eye product that *actually* makes a discernible difference. As ever with Sisley, the formula is science-driven and packed with plant actives - notably the brand’s patented Phyto-complex LC12 to support overnight cell regeneration; acai extract and caffeine to combat dark circles and puffiness; and soy peptides to stave off sagging. Thanks to its gel-serum texture, it remains feather-light on skin - so many enriched eye products feel weighty - and leaves under-eyes, in particular, looking and feeling perkier come morning. Yes, it’s an investment product, but a little goes a very long way.

Lumene Nordic Ageless [Ajaton] Radiant Youth Night Elixir, £49, M&S stores and marksandspencer.com

If your skin has a tendency to feel tight and/or papery at this time of year, this Elixir is a game-changing addition to the nighttime routine. A silky oil-serum, which thirsty skin gratefully drinks in, like all Lumene formulas it contains extracts of Nordic superfoods, aiming variously to hydrate, soothe, plump, firm and boost radiance, plus a copper peptide, deployed to support skin cells’ natural rejuvenation process. I apply it post-cleanse and pre-cream/s whenever my skin feels in need of extra TLC and results never fail to impress.

Athletia Phyto Sleeping Cream, £86, athletia-beauty.co.uk

Meet the mother of moisturisers: when it comes to hydration, this Sleeping Cream can’t, for my money, be beaten. A pea-size blob, warmed between palms and pressed onto face and neck to promote penetration, is sufficient to replenish, smooth and soothe even the most parched skin, thanks to a combination of Geranium Robertianum extract and three different plant seed oils. I love the texture - luxe without feeling cloying - and, even in winter’s cruellest weather, it makes my skin feel immediately softer and more supple.

Jane Darcy Luxury Silk Eye Mask in Champagne, £45, janedarcy.ie

Proof that not all eye masks are made equal, Jane Darcy’s is the perfect combination of form and function. Handmade from pure 22 momme mulberry silk - which looks and feels luxurious, is blissful to wear and is kind to both skin and hair: there’s no rumpling or snagging - it’s also the ideal weight, size and shape, sitting comfortably and blocking light brilliantly. All of which, in my insomniac experience, aids a better night’s sleep; as the Irish brand’s tagline says, #treasurethemoment.