The Advanced Night Repair is a serum used under moisturiser. It claims to protect the skin during the day against environmental damage by neutralizing skin-damaging free radicals generated by UV light, pollutants and oxidants before they can damage skin. At night, it claims to repair damage to skin and provide advanced levels of hydration to the skin to boost the effectiveness of night creams/moisturisers. The serum comes in either a 30 ml or 50 ml dark brown bottle, and is dispensed via a glass dropper with a rubber top. The dropper is of really good quality and is shaped such that you can suck out the serum even if there is little left in the bottle.

To apply, you pick up a bit of the product using the dropper, and release about 4-5 drops onto your palm, then you massage the serum with your fingers onto your face and neck, including the eye area if you wish. The serum is clear, yellowish brown and moderately thick, about the same viscosity as cooking oil. It feels rich and smooth on your fingers. When applied onto the face, it gives a very hydrating feeling. It is very runny when it first makes contact with the skin, but after massaging the product for a few seconds into your skin, the serum sinks into the skin effortlessly so there is no excess product dripping down the face, even if you have applied more than the recommended 4-5 drops. After application, the skin feels sticky but extremely hydrated with a sheen of moisture resting on the surface.

The serum will not interfere with the functionality of your moisturiser. When you next apply your regular moisturiser over the serum, the moisturiser will perform pretty much as if used alone, with the same ease of absorbency, etc. You will also discover that you will need pretty much the same amount of moisturiser as before, so the serum won't help you reduce the usage of your moisturiser. After the entire routine of serum + moisturiser, there is no trace of the stickiness of the serum. The serum
should suit all skin types including oily skins, because the serum does not feel oily, just extremely hydrating. The serum has a very faint medicinal/chemical smell that is not overwhelming.

As for results, I have to say that the serum works as far as providing hydration is concerned. I have been using this product twice a day for 3 months. It has hydrated my skin tremendously. I used to have normal/dry skin, but after using the serum for 3 months, my skin has become the ideal "normal" type. All the dry patches have disappeared. There is also a healthy sheen of luminosity on my face. It smoothed out my under-eye lines slightly, but it didn't eliminate the wrinkles completely (no product will).

The serum is extremely expensive. It costs £43 for 50ml or £29 for 30ml. A 30 ml bottle lasts me about 2 months, using it twice a day. So the big question is, to buy or not to buy? I would have to say that the Night Repair is definitely a luxury item and not a necessity. Looking at the ingredient list, there is no miracle substance in the serum. It contains UVB sunscreen (octyl methoxycinnamate), vitamin B5 (pantethine), vitamin A (retinyl palmitate), vitamin E (tocopheryl acetate) and sodium hyaluronate. Basically, this serum is a concoction of antioxidants, sunscreen and hydrating hyaluronic acid, which supposedly can bring hydration to deeper layers of the skin.

If you want environmental protection, instead of using this product, you can try using a sunscreen which provides better protection. For damage repair, a moisturiser with antioxidants may be sufficient to do the trick. As for hydration, I have to say that hyaluronic acid may not be commonly found in most budget brand moisturisers and serums, but if you spend some time searching around, you may come across another cheaper product that contains hyaluronic acid as well (if you've found one, do let me know!). Other hydrating moisturisers may also work (e.g., Loreal's Hy
drafresh worked well for me). Finally, for wrinkle smoothing, if skin is well moisturised (using whatever product), it will plump up and wrinkles will be less noticeable.

The manufacturer may argue that the Night Repair has a higher dosage of the active ingredients and/or that Night Repair has a more effective delivery system. With regard to the concentration of sunscreen, I believe that Night Repair's sunscreen protection is minimal. If Night Repair provides high UV protection, then they should get the serum tested for SPF and specify the value on the bottle. Also, the sunscreen included in Night Repair does not provide any UVA protection, the primary cause of wrinkles. I also doubt the effectiveness of serum based sunscreens. Are they thick enough for adequate protection? As for antioxidants, as concentrations are not labelled on most skin care products, I can't really comment on the relative concentrations of antioxidants in Night Repair vs. other antioxidant moisturisers/serums. Also, I know nothing about delivery mechanisms, so I can't comment on the technology behind Night Repair. Maybe it's the Night Repair's unique delivery system that makes all the difference.

Apparently, I read from other web sites that this product has performed rather well in various trials. Other consumers argue for using the serum as sort of an "insurance policy", even though results can't be seen overnight. Personally, I think that this is exactly what the manufacturers want us to think, so that we will continue to buy the product, although we can't see any results, thinking it will pay off later on. I feel that a good sunscreen is the best insurance policy. If your skin cells are not damaged, they won't need repair. But having said all I've said, if you do have extra cash and want to feel really pampered, or if you do not mind buying an extra optional insurance policy on top of the best insurance policy (sunscreen) with
no guaranteed results except hydration, then go for it! You won't be alone, this Night Repair has attracted quite a large cult following! I know people with testimonies who swear by it. :)

(Ingredients: water (aqua purificata) purified, polysaccharides/glycoprotein, methyl gluceth-20, peg-75, butylene glycol, dimethicone copolyol, octyl methoxycinnamate, pantethine, sodium hyaluronate, kola (cola acuminata) extract, hydrogenated lecithin, glycereth-26, matricaria (anthemis nobilis), retinyl palmitate, tocopheryl acetate, bisabolol, oleth-3, oleth-5, squalane, oleth-3 phosphate, choleth-24, cetheth-25, xanthan gum, allatoin, tea-carbomer, trisodium edta, bht, benzyl alcohol, phenoxyethanol, methylparaben, butylparaben, yellow no. 5 (CI 19140), red no. 4 (CI 14700), green no. 5 (CI 61570)).