Product Placement

You know how it is. Glee has finished. You’ve just remembered there’s washing in the machine that needs to be hung up. But Cops With Cameras has just come on and there’s still a good mouthful or two of Banrock Station in your glass. Yep, it’s the kind of night where you don’t hit the pillow until it’s actually the next day. Beauty suicide if, like me, you’ll be serenaded by the theme tune to Noddy come 5.36am. (No, not my husband. Although there was that one time…)

So it came as not a huge surprise that when I did this Wellbeing Quiz online last week, I didn’t do too badly in most of the categories (seeing as generally I don’t have much time to get plastered and am constantly running around after a lunatic – again, not my husband). The one I fell short on was ‘Sleep’. In fact I got a stern talking to from Mr Bupa, who was concerned enough to think I maybe had ‘a long-term disabling tiredness’. Or a child, perchance.

When you’re a stranger to shut-eye but still want to look ravishing of a morning, you’ll need a few overnight tricks to help you along. So, for the sleep-deprived, and also those who just want to look even better come daybreak, I’ve been road-testing some ways to not only help you get your beauty sleep but also look fabulous when you wake from it.

The first is Quench, a collection of hair and body oils that are made from Monoi from Tahiti – a combination of rare flowers indigenous to Polynesia and pure coconut oil. Sounds very Bounty advert, doesn’t it? I tried Fahrenheit (£29), which, like the other oils, comes in a solid form in a jar and melts into your hands, making it much easier to use than a liquid oil. It was as warming and comforting as promised, and although I put too much on my hair and made it greasy, my stepdaughter declared that I ‘smelt like Christmas’ and my husband said my skin was ‘peachy’. As for relaxing, I did feel chilled enough to doze off during What Katie Did Next. Job done. You can order from Karin Herzog, who have kindly given Product Placement readers 20% off until the end of April by quoting YVQAV1052. Isn’t that nice?

But a good night’s sleep and a smooth backside isn’t going to have you holding your head high on public transport at 8am, is it? What might, though, is a mask especially designed to be left on overnight. Does such a thing exist? It certainly does, and the bad boy that I put to the test is by the lovely Aromatherapy Associates. Actually, I tell a lie, I didn’t try it myself; Overnight Repair Mask (£43 from the new Anti-Age skincare range) was kindly given the once-over by a Product Placement tester who has slightly more mature skin than me. She declared it ‘beautiful’, and was particularly taken with the ‘herbally’ smell and the fact that it left her dry skin feeling moist and supple for the whole of the next day.

Elemis Pro-Collagen Quartz Lift Mask (£45) was the one that I was lucky enough to sample. It’s not actually sold as an overnight mask but the beauty buffs at Elemis Towers recommend it for this if you need to look like you’ve had 10 hours sleep (a concept I am unfamiliar with) when you’ve really had four (a concept I am all too familiar with). It contains Argan Tree Oil, too, which is THE ingredient at the moment. Well it is in my world. I found it gorgeous, softening, not too oily, and it really plumped up my tired old jowls.

So, you’re in bed, basted like the Christmas turkey, but all you can think about is whether you turned the broadband off, if you took the toddler’s lentils out of the freezer, or whether the human mind can really deal with the concept of infinity. That’s just me? Oh. At times like this I slather on Tisserand Goodnight Roll-on Remedy (£4.50) an ‘essential oil blend for restless nights when much needed sleep eludes you’. You rub it on your pulse points and I love it because it smells quite lavendery. Now off you go, I’ve got washing to hang up.