This might come as a real shock to most people, but your skin really doesn’t need a separate moisturiser for the day and night. In fact, our skin doesn’t have the ability to know what time of the day it is at all. General beauty-editor consensus is that you only need a separate moisturiser if your skin is asking for one. “Some nights I can put on a balm, and the next morning I have a huge breakout. Other nights my skin looks glowing for it. It’s all about judging what your skin needs,” says Zoe Cripps, deputy beauty editor at OK! magazine.
The caveat to this rule comes down to active ingredients. “Unless there are actives that are advised to use only at night, then your daily cream will work just fine, but people are obsessed with this ‘day’ and ‘night’ language,” muses George Driver, acting beauty director at Elle UK.
While you shouldn’t apply moisturisers or products that contain retinol or acids in the morning and SPF or vitamin C at night, providing your moisturiser is clear from such active ingredients, it will be sufficient for both. “I like a night product with actives because my skin is always trying to get spotty. I very much stick to protection and hydration during the day and clarifying at night,” reveals Madeleine Spencer, freelance beauty journalist, makeup artist and podcaster.
