Beauty tips and inspiration
Your PM beauty routine, sorted for spring
How to calm busy minds and max your night-time skincare
Here’s the truth: ‘beauty sleep’ is real. Our skin absorbs the nutrients in products far better overnight than during the day. Throw in the fact that we’re not being bombarded with daily stressors (sun damage, stress, makeup, environmental pollution) and you’ve got yourself one perfect recipe for overnight (skin) success.
Which is why a solid routine is key – nothing feels as satisfying as knowing that you’ve got your skincare mastered and any dermatologist will tell you that consistency equals your best skin, morning and night.
There’s no one-size-fits-all solution because hormones and seasonal changes play their part. But there is a simple spring/summer night-time ritual that can help get you started…
The best evening skincare routine (and the order to apply)
Cleanse + activate (serum, lotion or toner) + moisturise, and zzz
STEP 1: CLEANSE
For a deliciously deep but decadent clean, this gel-to-oil-to-milk cleanser effortlessly melts away makeup, SPF, dirt and pollutants, while protecting the skin’s barrier.
Apply every evening – massage a grape-sized amount on to dry skin (face and neck), rinse and pat dry.
Rosa K
STEP 2: ACTIVATE
Packed with anti-acne citric acid (an AHA) and designed to help improve visible signs of ageing, this supercharged concentrate has 26.1% active technologies plus – fun fact – the blue tint is attributed to its copper peptides.
Apply AM and PM to the entire face, post-cleanse.
AlinaD
STEP 3: MASSAGE
Say bye-bye to eye bags and show dark circles the door – IRIS has landed. Designed to help refresh and relieve tired eyes, this genius gadget uses gentle massage and soothing T-sonic technology in two modes: pure (very gentle); and spa (more pulsating).
Apply your best eye cream, then pick your desired intensity. Making sure the IRIS buttons are facing you, gently move it from the inner corner of your eye to the outer corner for 30 seconds.
Misty62
STEP 4: MOISTURISE
If anyone asks, 2024 is the year of the skin barrier – keep it balanced for optimum skin health. Packed with hyaluronic acid and seven pre and probiotic-derived extracts, Lancôme’s cream is designed to maximise overnight repair, promising intensive barrier repair and sealed-in moisture for stronger, healthier-looking skin.
Apply every evening. Warm a hazelnut-sized amount in your palms, press all over the face and massage from the centre outwards, finishing with long, gliding strokes downward on the neck.
Olga2200
STEP 5: SUP
CBD in a can? Yup. This deliciously refreshing, lightly sparkling drink is infused with 15mg CBD, plus it’s vegan and gluten-free, with no added sugar. If supping supplements is your thing, you’ll love this. But DO keep it out of reach of children, and DON’T use it during pregnancy or breastfeeding – and we cannot sell this product to anyone under 18.
Drink AM or PM.
Fiabella
Boost your bedtime (and calm busy minds)
- Gift yourself time Go to bed 30 minutes earlier and get up earlier
- Try yoga stretches or 15 minutes’ meditation
- Avoid fried or spicy food, refined sugars and red meat two hours pre-bedtime
- Have melatonin-rich snacks such as milk, eggs and nuts
- Dimmed light (or candlelight) is a recipe for better sleep – light suppresses melatonin, the hormone that tells the body it’s time to go to sleep
- Bath or shower an hour before bedtime, using a relaxing oil
- Switch off your tech Set limits on screen time, or invest in blue-light-blocking glasses
- Keep a journal and write down any worries or nagging thoughts
- Listen to calming music
- Spray a lavender pillow spray on to your pyjamas or pillow (proven to increase slow-wave sleep, lower the heart rate and reduce anxiety)
- Add a silk eye mask to help preserve hydration around the eyes and put on some posh PJs
