The 9 Best Night Creams For Your 30s (2024)

Most of us are focused on the morning aspect of a daily skincare routine. We know what to use in the morning, how to layer skincare, and what kind of products to use. But the evening skincare routine is a whole other story with much more potential. Why? Because it’s all about skincare in your evening routine. No makeup! That means your skin has more time and a better chance to absorb those active ingredients. That’s where night creams come in! You can make use of night creams in your 30s to minimize your skin concerns such as wrinkles, fine lines, or dryness.

But before we dig in, here are a couple of reminders about the use of anti-aging night creams made with potent actives. Retinol is a powerful anti-aging ingredient that can cause sensitivity. Learn how to use retinol, which means starting slow and building up to daily use.

You’ll see other active ingredients like alpha and beta hydroxy acids. These are formulated into night creams to nudge the skin into gentle exfoliation. They get rid of dead skin cells and give you a youthful complexion. They’re as anti-aging as they come but can also irritate. Make sure you don’t skip your daily moisturizer and sun protection.

Now, find below the best night creams to use in your 30s to tackle wrinkles, hyperpigmentation, and other signs of aging.

Best Night Creams For Your 30s

1. Estee Lauder Revitalizing Supreme+ Night Intensive Restorative Creme

Best with Antioxidants

Antioxidants are some of the most effective anti-aging ingredients. And compared to heavier ingredients such as retinol, they are much gentler on the skin. This night cream packs vitamins C, E, and B3 to guard the skin against free radicals. And it has a very rich, moisturizing base to wrap the skin up with plant oils like avocado, and coconut.

Plus, it has Argireline, the peptide with a Botox-like effect, to reduce the visibility of wrinkles. The cream works for all skin types and leaves the skin looking healthier, and feeling softer. It’s an effective antioxidant-rich night cream for your 30s to get smooth, radiant, and fresh skin in the morning.

2. Origins High Potency Night-A-Mins Resurfacing Cream

Best For Combination Skin

This was one of the first night creams I tried and I absolutely loved it! It’s a potent anti-aging night cream formulated with naturally derived alpha-hydroxy acids to tackle wrinkles, hyperpigmentation, and dullness. They exfoliate and remove dead skin cells to increase skin turnover. It also has squalane and jojoba oil to lock in moisture and replenish the skin at night.

Plus, the cream has the super antioxidant vitamin C to brighten the skin as well as vitamin E to treat free radical damage. When you’re sound asleep, it helps smooth out the skin texture so that you wake up to more supple and plump skin, making it one of the best night creams for your 30s for a youthful complexion.

3. Eve Lom Time Retreat Intensive Night Cream

Best with Gentle Retinol

This super-targeted anti-aging night cream packs retinol in its gentlest form. The cream contains encapsulated retinol. This way, retinol absorbs into the skin slowly and gradually, eliminating irritation, and making the cream beginner-friendly. So it means that you get to target wrinkles and lines most effectively and gently.

As retinol increases the rate of skin turnover, the top layer of your skin rapidly sheds and reveals the good part. To double the duty, the cream also has signal peptides to stimulate collagen growth. As they retexturize the skin, hyaluronic acid, squalane, and shea butter keep the skin moisturized, soft, and radiant.

4. Murad Retinol Youth Renewal Night Cream

Best with Retinol

If you’re ready to try pure retinol, this is one of the most effective options out there. Packed with retinol as well as a retinol ester, the retinol cream leaves nothing to chance when it comes to anti-aging. The anti-wrinkle cream works to boost collagen production and repair skin damage.

Plus, it has niacinamide (vitamin B3) to protect the skin barrier as well as amino acids to increase skin elasticity and firmness and reduce the visibility of wrinkles. This is a great option for actively fighting all signs of aging in your late 30s.

Quick Tip: If you want to use retinol in your routine but don’t like layering products, reach for this in your evening routine and leave it at that. It’s got you covered and you don’t need to put on anything else!

5. Caudalie Resveratrol Lift Firming Night Moisturizer

Best Firming

If you’re following an anti-aging skincare routine, then you know about the magic ingredient resveratrol. It’s an incredible grape-derived antioxidant that has major anti-wrinkle benefits. And this one is formulated around resveratrol to treat and prevent free radical damage on the skin. Resveratrol helps fade dark spots, minimizes wrinkles, and improves the appearance of the existing ones.

As hyaluronic acid hydrates the skin at night, ceramides repair the skin barrier to lock in moisture. Overall, this anti-aging night cream is perfect for your 30s to combat all signs of aging without having to use heavier actives that are potentially irritating to the skin. Use regularly for a smooth, firm, and even complexion.

Quick Tip: I love Caudalie’s Resveratrol Serum. It’s like the serum version of this night cream. It’s my ride-or-die and my rosacea skin drinks it up without any problems! If you don’t like active ingredients and are looking for a way around them to get rid of fine lines, pair the serum with this night cream. You will see visibly even, bright, and smooth skin in a matter of days!

6. First Aid Beauty Ultra Repair Hydra-Firm Night Cream

Best For Sensitive Skin

If you’re prone to sensitivity, dryness, and redness, this soothing night moisturizer is the answer to your anti-aging and anti-redness questions. Formulated with rich emollients like shea and jojoba, the cream creates a layer on the skin to prevent trans-epidermal water loss at night.

Additionally, peptides help with the look of fine lines, wrinkles, and rough complexion. The cream has hyaluronic acid to replenish the skin too. And it has oatmeal and licorice to soothe the skin and eliminate redness and sensitivity. Antioxidants like green tea and skin-restoring niacinamide care for your skin so that you wake up to fresh and plump skin in the morning.

Quick Tip: If you have dehydration lines, and overall tired-looking skin, take the time to massage the night cream into the skin. You’ll make the cream work better. But more importantly, you’ll see visible plumpness in your skin.

Related: The Best Skin Care Tools For Your 30s

7. Dermalogica Sound Sleep Cocoon Night Gel Cream

Best For Dry Skin

Another top pick for your 30s is by Dermalogica. The vegan gel cream pampers your skin at night with the amazing soother sandalwood and lavender extract. The cream is oddly therapeutic with its blend of essential oils that calms and nourishes the skin.

Plus, vitamin E and botanical extracts that are rich in vitamin C provide antioxidant benefits. And they brighten the skin, and even out the skin tone. So this one is great for women in their 30s who complain about dull and tired-looking skin in the morning.

Quick Tip: My sister, the co-founder of Ejollify, has trouble switching off in the evening. And this is what she reaches for to wind down in her evening routine. So if you live in a noisy location, have a hectic job, run around all day, and could use some relaxation, this is a scented gem!

8. Neutrogena Rapid Wrinkle Repair Night Moisturizer

Best Drugstore

This is a super affordable and equally effective night cream perfect for your 30s. The simple yet targeted formula contains retinol to stimulate skin renewal and hyaluronic acid to make sure your skin doesn’t dry out.

The drugstore cream has all you need in an anti-aging night cream, minus $$$. So if you’re new to nighttime skincare or retinol, this one can be a budget-friendly option to try to visibly smooth out the skin and reduce wrinkles.

9. iS Clinical Firming Complex

Best For Oily Skin

This one is lighter than a cream but heavier than a night serum. It’s made with fruit-derived alpha and beta hydroxy acids to gently exfoliate, resurface the skin, and improve its texture. Sugarcane extract in the formula, for example, is a natural source of glycolic acid.

The 2% salicylic acid unclogs pores and minimizes their appearance. Plus, it has antioxidants like green tea and Centella Asiatica to soothe the skin, prevent UV-induced damage, and humectants like hyaluronic acid to replenish aging skin. It’s a great addition to an anti-aging evening routine, especially if you have oily, acne-prone skin.

This completes our round-up of the best night creams for 30-somethings. I’d like to add here that, as someone in her late 30s, I used to not care for night creams in my early 30s. I would layer night serums but reach for a very basic moisturizer. Trust me when I say that it made all the difference in my complexion when I started to try more potent night creams. And it got to a point where I’m actually in no hurry to get an appointment to renew my Botox injections. Invest in a good night cream and you’ll see the difference too. If you need more than a night cream, remember to see the full list of essential skincare products to use in your 30s.

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