Usually, I don’t have a hard time trying to fall asleep fast, but it hasn’t always been that way. Just a few years ago, there were nights where I would stay up until 2-3 a.m., unable to relax and fall asleep. As a result, I would wake up underslept, with dark circles under the eyes, cranky and generally not productive. At some point, I figured that it’s not the way to live my life and decided to develop the night routine that not only helps me fall asleep faster but also to look refreshed the next day.
Today I share my top five essentials that I always do or have at my night table in the evening to ensure that I have a good night of sleep.
Step 1: Hot Shower
I know many people are opposed to hot showers as it supposedly makes your skin dry. However, since I never skip moisturizer, I think that taking a warm shower twice a day is not a bad idea. While in the shower, I would use a lightly scented shower gel or my favorite neutral soap and allow water to rinse off my stress.
I never wash my hair at night as it doesn’t look as good in the morning as if I had freshly washed hair. I also rarely apply typical facial masks as I currently prefer overnight masks for p.m. and sheet or gel masks for a.m. After the shower, I use a body lotion, do my night routine, and put on my PJs.
Step 2: Hand Massage
Then, I go straight to bed, where I read a book while applying hand lotion. My all-time favorites are hand lotions by L’Occitane.
Usually, I have one of them in my handbag, another in the bathroom, and another one at my night table.
Recently, I had a chance to test out hand lotions from eos Limited Edition Hand Lotion Set. I decided for myself that the berry blossom scent works the best for nighttime hand massages. The delicate petals one is my everyday handbag essential, and the cucumber scent is the one that lives on my bathroom countertop.
Step 3: Overnight Mask
After about half an hour of reading (there are no electronic devices allowed in the room at that time), I finally get sleepy, so I’ll go back to the bathroom and apply my overnight mask.
I know that some girls who use sleeping masks prefer sheet versions. But after a few accidents when the mask slipped from my face and ended up in bed, I stopped trusting those.
Instead, I go for cream masks that I apply with a dedicated synthetic brush.
Some of my current favorite options are AmorePacific Time Response Skin Renewal Sleeping Masque and Origins Drink Up Intensive Overnight Mask.
Step 4: Lip Balm
When my overnight mask is on, I come back to bed and apply a lip balm or a lip mask. Doing so is one of the habits that I developed when I was a teenager. My lips used to be very dry. So I started using a lip balm at night, and now I’m doing so on autopilot.
I have so many favorite lip mask to recommend. But if you want to know just one, it’s definitely Laneige Lip Sleeping Mask.
It dramatically transforms my lips overnight. The original flavor is my favorite, but there are many flavors to pick from.
Step 5: Sleeping Mask
I’ve been a belly sleeper my entire life, but I just recently noticed that I do stretch my under eyes area immensely while doing so.
Let’s be real: sleep creases do not look cute. It usually takes a few hours before I start looking presentable because of them. So I decided to try finding a solution to my situation. My first attempt was to teach myself how to sleep on my back. But I had to end this experiment after a few sleepless nights.
These days I allow my body to take any position it feels like, and I just protect my eyes with a pure silk sleep mask by Slip. I also use a matching pillowcase that takes care of my hair while sleeping so I can preserve my blow-dry for a few days and make sure that my hair never tangles.
That’s pretty much it for my night routine essentials. I repeat this mini night routine every single day to de-stress and sleep better. I wonder what’s your favorite bedtime routine? Please share your thoughts in the comments area below.
