The Best Night Cream for Every Skin Type

Brit brand Medik8 is the one we recommend to anyone looking to start using a retinol. Its incremental-strength serums might be best known, but for those who prefer a one-and-done routine, this heavy-hitting cream fits the bill. It contains a moderate dose of retinol alongside vitamin E to keep your skin calm. Use it every other night, and give it six weeks of consistent use for the results to appear.

Kiehl's wants you to know that this cream is precisely 98.6% natural, but that's not why you're here. You'll add this one to your cart over and over again because it does a stellar job of hydrating, softening and plumping out skin that needs serious rehabbing. Lighter than you may expect, it sinks into skin straight away (a little goes a long way) and won't leave a greasy film on your pillow.

This is the big one. It’s priced to make you wince, but Augustinus Bader’s The Cream will swiftly replace all those congealing jars of impulse-bought serum you’ve got stashed at the back of the bathroom cupboard.

Containing the brand’s signature complex of proteins, vitamins and minerals, it’s a one-and-done product that’ll work on everything from breakouts to loss of elasticity. Use it day and night.

Sitting firmly at the other end of the prestige spectrum, this utilitarian blue bottle boasts cult status for very different reasons. It won’t help you Benjamin Button your way back to the smooth-skinned joy of your teens, but it will hydrate and soften even the most easily irritated skin. A risk-free move.

Heavy, occlusive moisturisers can strike fear when you've got acne, but trust us when we say you will need to impart some hydration if you don't want the situation to worsen. The key is to opt for a cream specifically formulated for the breakout prone. From smart Singaporean brand PSA, this lightweight formula is forensically formulated with zinc to control sebum production, dioic acid to brighten post-acne marks, and willowherb to calm sensitivity and inflammation.

Experts agree that retinol is the gold standard in reversing the signs of ageing, from dark spots and rough texture to those creeping forehead wrinkles you received for your 30th birthday.

Dermatologist Dr. Gross knows exactly how to create a winning one: this, his cult night cream, sees retinol blended with ferulic acid, which enhances the efficacy tenfold and makes it especially beneficial on entrenched wrinkles and post-breakout texture.

Such is retinol’s ability to resurface the skin, you don’t need to use it every night (in fact doing so could lead to irritation.) Apply this once or twice a week to begin with.

Clarins has filled its cream with a menu of exotic-sounding plant extracts that promise to rejuvenate your skin while you sleep: but all you really need to know is that this cushiony, soothing formula moisturises dry, rough skin better than most. Expect to wake up with brighter, better-hydrated skin.

Whether you're dealing with lingering red scars from a bout of breakouts, or patches of sun damage from that week on exotic shores, antioxidant vitamin C is the ingredient you need.

However, not all vitamin C creams are created equal. Murad's derm-approved formula ticks all the boxes: it's sealed in an airtight jar, so won't go off before you get to the bottom, and contains enough of the good stuff to make a visible difference to skin tone.

If you’re taking an oral medication for acne, such as Roaccutane, your skin is going to feel painfully dry and irritated for a while. This fragrance-free, ceramide-packed cream is designed to bring things back into balance, with heavy-duty humectants that amp up the hydration without clogging pores.

This one contains more than one type of seaweed – and if that appeals, the world of natural skincare will be pleased to meet you. Not just a sustainable option (the brand uses natural waste products, which are hand-picked in Margate), it’s also a brilliant rejuvenator for all skin types, with algae for hydration and plant oils for softening.