9 best night creams to add to your bedtime routine right now

After a long day, the last thing you want to be doing is a complicated skincare routine – we get it. However, if there’s one skincare product you shouldn’t be skipping in the evenings, it’s night cream. Make boosting your beauty sleep with skincare that works overtime as regular as brushing your teeth before bed, and you’ll find you have the most hydrated, plumpest complexion yet.

One of the most popular skincare questions beauty editors get asked is whether a separate night cream really is necessary. Isn’t our morning moisturiser good enough? In short, the answer is no. “Our skin’s requirements during the day are very different to that at night,” says Georgie Cleeve, Oskia skincare founder. “Daytime products focus on protection - both anti-oxidant and UV – while nighttime products should concentrate on regeneration.”

When we sleep our skin goes into recovery mode, repairing itself from the day’s impurities. A great night cream with the right ingredients will aid this regeneration, essentially giving your skin a helping hand accelerating and enhancing the skin’s renewal process.

You’ll also find higher concentrations or more potent actives in night creams that are only suitable for a PM routine. Plus, most are richer in texture to compensate for the fact that our complexions lose more water at night. Look for key ingredients that work for your needs when making your night cream choice.

High-performance retinol formulations are best for those looking for all-round age-defying; think softening lines, fading pigmentation and reducing pore size. If skin-brightening is what you’re after, turn to chemical exfoliants like AHAs or vitamin C. Strengthening a damaged skin barrier may be more your top concern, so a ceramide formulation could work better for you. Finally, hyaluronic acid is always a winner when it comes to replenishing moisture levels on dry skin.

How we tested

With so many night creams to choose from, we tested the latest formulations as well as the newest on the beauty shelves to help you find your perfect nighttime aid. All were tried as a last step in an evening routine on cleansed skin. You’ll find an overnight sensation for every skin type in our line-up…

The best night creams for 2022 are:

• Best retinol for all – No7 pure retinol night cream: £34.95, Boots.com

• Best vitamin C formula – Kate Somerville retinol vitamin C moisturiser: £84, Lookfantastic.com

• Best for dull skin – Origins high-potency night-a-mins oil-free resurfacing cream: £32, Johnlewis.com

• Best retinol-free skin rejuvenation – Caudalie resveratrol-lift firming night cream: £44, Esceutral.com

• Best for damaged, irritated or very dry skin – Skingredients skin good fats: £44, Cultbeauty.co.uk

• Best for dry skin types – Estee Lauder supreme + night moisturiser intensive restorative creme: £84, Boots.com

• Best for mature skin types – Elemis pro-collagen oxygenating night cream: £99, Amazon.co.uk

• Best for sensitive skin – Cultured Biomecare biome calm cream: £60, Cultbeauty.co.uk

• Best for combination or oily skin – Susanne Kaufmann regeneration cream line F: £62, Spacenk.com

No7 pure retinol night cream

Our most reasonably priced night cream may be from the high street, but it works just as well (if not better) than high-end formulations. The formula is enriched with potent peptide matrixyl 3000 and pure retinol, a superstar skin active backed by science. The retinol is encapsulated for slow release while you sleep and is also paired with skin-strengthening ceramides as well as skin soothers, so that it minimises any chance of side effects.

Striking the right balance between performance and tolerance, we found zero irritation starting off using every other night (our tester has built up a tolerance to retinol) and then every night. After just two weeks use, we saw skin-smoothing results, and after a month there was a noticeable difference in fine lines. We’re super impressed with how quickly this makes a difference and at a purse-friendly price – this one’s a win-win.

Buy now £34.95, Boots.com

Kate Somerville retinol vitamin C moisturiser

With two of the most powerful and effective skincare ingredients – with the science to prove it – working together in this jar, we expected big things when we first got this into our hands. It didn’t disappoint. Rejuvenating retinol works on just about every sign of ageing, while pure vitamin C brightens and leaves skin with a more even skin tone. The hyaluronic acid in the blend leaves skin beautifully moisturised, soft and plump fast, but the most impressive results are seen after two months with a softening of lines, pores and a glow that wasn’t there before use.

Buy now £84.00, Lookfantastic.com

Origins high-potency night-a-mins oil-free resurfacing cream

This jar is a two-in-one hydrating moisturiser and radiance-boosting peel in one. It contains alpha hydroxy acids (AHAs) derived from plants and fruits that gently exfoliate dead skin cells while you sleep, paired with moisturising ingredients including brilliant emollient squalane, as well as jojoba butter. It’s an oil-free formulation that works well on all skin types, especially dull skin that needs a radiance boost – leaving skin feeling fresh and refined after just a few days of use. We also saw a more even-toned, brighter skin after circa 30 days of continuous use.

Buy now £32.00, Johnlewis.com

Caudalie resveratrol-lift firming night cream

Made with 40 plus women in mind who lose collagen and hyaluronic acid levels rapidly, this jar is formulated with the help of the experts at Harvard Medical School and contains a trio of key ingredients that work to hydrate, plump and firm the skin. It also features the antioxidant resveratrol, which comes from French grapevines and is used to stimulate collagen production. This works together with plant-based collagen from mahogany bark to restore a soft and bouncy skin texture. Add to the mix hyaluronic acid that draws moisture into the skin and keeps it there, and you’ve got a night cream that makes a brilliant alternative to retinol formulations.

Buy now £44.00, Escentual.com

Skingredients skin good fats

Numerous lifestyle and environmental aggressors can lead to damage to the outermost layer of skin, as well as overdoing it with potent skincare that your complexion isn’t accustomed to. If you’re suffering from redness, flakiness, itchiness or rough skin patches from a compromised skin barrier you can’t do better than this nighttime comforting treat.

This is a rich, creamy formula that both heals and hydrates with its cocktail of standout ingredients. Skin-strengthening ceramides are teamed with niacinamide to boost the barrier, glycerine and shea butter for nourishment, as well as oat kernel extract for its anti-irritant and antihistamine properties. Expect this to soothe your complexion, getting to work instantly and for really problematic skin it works well used as part of your morning routine too.

Buy now £44.00, Cultbeauty.co.uk

Estee Lauder supreme + night moisturiser intensive restorative creme

The stalwart beauty brand is always great to turn to for exceptional evening skincare, including this bestselling rich cream. Packed with hyaluronic acid for next-level hydration, expect this to get to work instantly on dry skin. Meanwhile, skin-strengthening, wrinkle-smoothing, brown-spot blitzing and all-around skincare superstar niacinamide, will be working its magic too. Another stand-out ingredient is moringa extract, loved for being filled with antioxidants and bursting with age-defying vitamins A, C and E. This is a firm favourite with our tester, who turns to this high-performing formula time and time again. With continuous use, you’ll see a more even skin tone that’s plumper and firmer.

Buy now £84.00, Boots.com

Elemis pro-collagen oxygenating night cream

The sister formula to Elemis’s signature marine cream, this formula feels luxurious and rich to use and impressively boosts skin moisture levels after just one use. A blend of marine extracts such as brown algae for aiding hydration and red algae rich in calcium, zinc and magnesium, work together with moisturising ingredients such as shea butter, jojoba seed and avocado oil.  With ongoing use, we watched our complexion transform from dull and lacklustre to firm and bright. It’s not new, but it is still hard to beat.

Buy now £99.00, Amazon.co.uk

Cultured Biomecare biome calm cream

New science has brought to light the importance of our skin’s microbiome – the biological shield that is our skins first line of defence. This new brand puts taking care of the biome first, as a compromised microbiome can lead to major skin problems, such as the rise in skin sensitivity and rosacea. Working with this in mind, you’ll find this cream calms redness and provides relief for uncomfortable skin swiftly with a combination of pre and post-biotics. On sore skin – in our case tight, ultra-dry and irritated – we found it soothes any uncomfortableness fast, and quickly leaves skin healthy-looking and feeling again.

Buy now £60.00, Cultbeauty.co.uk

Susanne Kaufmann regeneration cream line F

For mattifying an oily T-zone and providing an overnight hydration boost to where your complexion needs it, turn to this lightweight formula specifically made with an unbalanced skin type in mind. The brand uses traditional Austrian natural healing remedies from the Alps in its collection to assist the skin. The formula is enriched with witch hazel to reduce excess oil, as well as provide anti-inflammatory properties to calm redness, alongside antiseptic chamomile. Wake up to a well-balanced complexion with hyaluronic acid replenishing moisture levels too. We’re impressed.

Buy now £62.00, Spacenk.com

Night cream FAQs

What is the difference between night cream and a moisturiser you would use in the day?

Day creams and moisturisers are focused on protecting your skin against elements such as UV rays, dryness, pollution, and heat so typically exclude active ingredients such as acids and retinol that could cause photosensitivity.

Alternatively, night cream focuses on repairing and regenerating your skin by amplifying the reconstruction process of cells as you sleep after a long day of damage.

Should you use night cream every night?

Night creams work best to nourish and replenish the skin when used consistently over time. The skin is more absorbent at night when you are asleep. Therefore, using a night cream every evening from your late twenties is a good idea to keep skin looking healthy and smoothe out wrinkles by stimulating collagen production.

The verdict: Night creams

For a retinol formulation with no dryness or irritation, and at a purse-friendly mid-range price, our best buy award has to go to the No7 pure retinol night cream. If you’d prefer a non-retinol formulation, Estee lauder supreme + night moisturiser intensive restorative crème is always a solid choice.

Refresh your skincare routine with one of the best vitamin C products or moisturisers for dry skin