Our resident insomniac tries different sleep masks on for size, from a luxury silk Net a Porter bestseller to a bargain ASOS buy. This way for forty winks…
As I’ve honked on about many times before, I’m not the world’s best sleeper . ‘Light’ as a description of my sleeping tendencies in an understatement- I wake up if a leaf blows past, and I can probably count tossing and turning in my weekly workout quota. The thing that disturbs my sleep the most, however, aside from stressing about typos and features meetings, is light pollution. My bedroom looks onto the Westfield shopping centre, which has been under development for at least three years- flashing cranes and neon strip lighting spring up practically on a daily basis, and blinds are thin and flimsy in our rented flat- opening the window mid-heatwave makes the bedroom blind pretty redundant.
For all of the above reasons, I rarely sleep without an eye mask, so I’d consider myself quite the connoisseur in this particular contest.
Budget
Asos Design Sleepy Eyes Eyes Mask & Bag, £8
Cool, comfy and seriously cushy- it’s made of super soft cotton and feels very padded, Asos Design’s eye mask collection are fun yet somehow not cheesy or childish. This particular model has just sold out in the sale, but I’ve included another style in the link below that brings all of the comfort and ‘blackout’ effect of this one You may need to stretch the headband a bit to get the best fit (I have a pin head but it was still a little tight pre-extension). Once you’ve done that, it’s sweet dreams, even if you do have a crane flashing in your face.
Blowout
Slip Sleep Mask, £45
One of Net a Porter’s global bestsellers, you’ll barely notice you’re wearing this silk sleeping mask, in a good way. It’s light, doesn’t tug at hair or skin and won’t leave creases or feel as though it’s soaking up your precious eye cream. Slip founder Fiona Stewart knows a thing or two about catching sleep where you can too- she lives in rural Australia and does some pretty punishing flight times when jetting about the globe doing business. This partly saves her from savage jetlag, which is good enough for me- Slip is now a nightly staple in my household and I can verify that it blocks out lurid shopping centre fronts and bright city lights.
Brilliant
Sleepstar Stellar Deluxe Sleep Mask, £12.95
This is definitely the least glamorous of the edit, but don’t let your eyes deceive you- it’s not a looker, but it’s technically a good bet. 100% cotton, with padding around the nose to block out light without making you feel suffocated, there are also ‘chambers’ in the middle of the mask to relieve pressure on your eyes. The headband is adjustable but won’t velcro itself to your hair, and it won’t move during the night either. Tailor the fit before you hit the pillow- I found it a bit wide at first, but that’s nothing some tinkering won’t fix.