There are quite a number to activities that we’d very much like to do right now. Being whisked away to a foreign country that doesn’t have Singapore’s trademark sweltering heat, enjoying a luxurious mani and pedi, indulging in rare city tranquility at a spa… but above them all, getting our tired souls back home and slathering on a generous layer of our favourite overnight mask before heading to bed for a good night’s worth of beauty sleep.
For those who’re unsure of what overnight masks are — they are basically creams or gels that you apply, like a moisturiser, all over your face — but without washing them off. Instead, you put them on and go to bed. These moisturisers are a made of heartier ingredients as compared to lightweight day creams to provide your skin a more intensive shot of hydration while you sleep. It all makes perfect sense if you think about it: there’s no better time to pamper your skin than when you lull away in dreamland, while your overnight masks work their magic with minimal disruption, internally and externally.
And we totally understand if you’ve already found your own HG overnight mask. It must be great waking up to supple and hydrated skin every morning yes? We aren’t going to convince you to switch up your current squeeze, but should you ever be looking for an alternative option, we’ve got your back. If not, it’s only polite share the love with someone who’s not (yet) drunk on these wondrous options. Don’t sleep on it anym — oh wait, y’know what, do sleep on it. Literally. *
$42, available at Laneige stores, Sephora and sephora.sg.
This tried-and-true concoction by everyone’s favourite Korean beauty brand Laneige has won itself a whole ton of glowing reviews, and rightfully so, considering how it does let you wake up to glowing skin. Pop open the cap and you’d be treated to a soothing scent that calms even the most bunched up of nerves, then scoop out an appropriate amount of product and gently massage it into your skin. The cooling gel goes on lightweight, and gets absorbed quickly. Pat the remnants of the product in and head straight to bed. Wake up to a radiant complexion that instantly perks up any work morning. We’d go as far to say that this is almost magic in a tub.
$185, available at Sisley counters.
Now, Sisley isn’t the most wallet-friendly option for beauty products, but if you’re looking for something really luxurious to treat your skin to, this is it. The cream mask contains a star anti-aging ingredient, the black rose (duh) that promises to give “instant youth”. Put it on, and it immediately gets to work to rid your skin of fatigue, dullness, dehydration… everything that you don’t see in radiant and healthy skin. The usage directions do mention to wipe off after 10-15 minutes, but why do that when you can let your skin really soak up the mask’s goodness overnight? Leave tissuing away the product out; you’re not going to regret it.
$144, available at Fresh stores, Sephora and sephora.sg.
Y’know of that funny thing called gravity? The force that is bent on sagging our skin? Yeah, we all hate it when that happens. But here’s a product that helps defy gravity — Fresh’s luxurious overnight mask is loaded with the benefits of black tea, the one ingredient that helps firm skin and keeps it looking taut and young. The masks works in sync with your skin’s natural nighttime recovery process, so you can wake up in the morning feeling like a billion bucks.
US$35, available at esteelauder.com. A parcel forwarding service might need to be employed.
Here, check out the number of berry extracts that went into the making of this one beautiful pale pink mask: there’s goji berry, blueberry and cranberry, plus the essence of pink peony as that cherry-on-top. The water-based overnight treatment provides a quenching shot of hydration to your complexion, leaving skin silky smooth and baby-butt-soft. It does not clog pores and is gentle enough for daily use, which is always a great nighttime treat.
$23, available at sephora.sg.
If it’s anything we love about this one skin treat by Pixi, it’s the niftiness of the product that makes it a godsend when travelling. But don’t get us wrong, we are head over heels for the gel-cream formula as well. Follow your usual skincare routine — and have this sleep mask applied over all the necessary serums of treatment products to seal them into the skin. What it does is provide a nutrient-rich veil of moisture to heal and protect your skin while you snooze. There’s arginine to strengthen your skin cells, and hyaluronic acid to plump. The perfect PM skin snack.
$23, available on iherb.com.
Before you go all yucks at the word ‘snail’, we’d like to inform you that all self-respecting Korean girls with great skin worship snail mucus. The additional glycolic acid helps to heal damaged skin texture — just like how the slime from snails are used to heal cuts that they get from rocks. It also helps improve skin elasticity, which contributes to certain anti-aging benefits too. And on top of that, Missha’s snail sleeping mask isn’t water-based, like the conventional ones that we’re used to. In place of H2O, there’s baobab tree extract that helps to both moisturise and soothe your skin while you sleep.
$38, available at Belif stores and counters.
This lightweight mask is made with a fine spread of the world’s most luxurious ingredients, like black truffle, pearl and gold powder capsules, just to name a few. And just like the Korean brand’s other hydrating heavy hitters, this lightweight mask brings out the transparency and radiance to your skin as you sleep, leaving you with a good skin day the next morning.
US$46, available on korresusa.com. A parcel forwarding service might need to be employed.
Banking on the centuries-old Greek remedy for skin smoothing, Korres makes use of yoghurt, a natural source of protein, minerals and vitamins in a delicious concoction that helps nourish stressed and dry skin. This little tub of product contains two and a half times more protein that natural yoghurt, due to the addition of Korres’ special Greek yoghurt concentrate. The mask moisturises your skin while you sleep, so you wake up to noticeably softer skin. Indeed a sleeping facial, if you asked us.
$139, available at alliesofskin.com.
Speed up skin cell recovery overnight with Allies Of Skin’s luxurious sleep mask, that contains active ingredients like Indian ginseng to help accelerate skin cell renewal while boosting its immunity to free radicals. Plus, the mask also has Ally-R, a stabilised form of retinol that combats blemishes, smoothens wrinkles and reverses sun damage.
$59, available at the Origins store and counters, Sephora, and sephora.sg.
If a brand actually has the guts to have a product name that’s… that long and wear it as a badge of honour, you can be sure that they certainly do take pride in it. Origins hasn’t been one to shy away from different types of natural skincare ingredients, and in this one overnight mask they incorporated avocado (!!!), apricot kernel oil, and Japanese seaweed. All these combine to replenish the necessary nutrients that your skin loses throughout the day, while restoring it youth to keep it looking youthful and glowing.
*Do check the ingredient list of products before committing your overnight masks to an everyday usage.
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