I have finally moved Baby Ted into his own room, which means that I been able reclaim my old bedtime routine. When there’s a baby in the bedroom, it’s inadvisable to turn a light on after they’ve fallen asleep, so activities such as reading a book – or searching for your glasses so that you can even see to read a book – are nigh on impossible. There’s only so far the iPhone torch app will take you.

Along with the novelty of being able to once again use my bed as a place of leisure, retiring into it early to read or just stare vacantly at the ceiling in a semi-comotose state of exhaustion, comes the delightful realisation that I can return to my pre-bedtime beauty testing. I used to always have jars of night creams and masks stacked up on top of my book pile, waiting to be slathered on just before my head hit the pillow, and now the tower is once more building up. Teetering dangerously to one side, much to the alarm of Mr AMR, who can’t for the life of him understand why I can’t just keep things tidy.

Top of the testing pile, for the past few weeks: L’Oreal’s new Revitalift Filler Hyaluromask. This light, fresh-feeling gel is packed full of tiny beads containing hyaluronic acid – these beads burst as you massage the mask into the skin, helping to plump out fine lines and wrinkles and give an overall lifted appearance to the face.

The Revitalift Filler Hyaluromask is much lighter than the Revitalift Laser Renew Cream-Mask, which is one of my favourite overnight masks; it absorbs into the skin far more rapidly and so I think that it’s very handy as a quick-fix when time is of the essence. It can be used in two ways; as a fifteen minute “flash fix”, spreading the mask thinly on cleansed skin and massaging in, or as a more intensive overnight mask. I like to just dollop a load of it on before bed – I don’t find it sticky or messy, though – as mentioned before – I do spend rather a long time staring at the ceiling, in a sort of contemplative stupor, so by the time I roll onto my side to spoon the dog (ha!) there’s little to no residue.

For those looking for a non-invasive way to give instant plumpness and freshness to their skin, hyaluronic acid is a bit of a wonder ingredient. I’ve written about hyaluronic serums before and I must do a recap soon, as I’ve a load of new ones to add into the mix, but in short it’s a molecule that can hold up to a thousand times its own weight in water. It’s naturally occurring in the skin, but it’s always great to be able to give things a helping hand! I like to think that each one of the hyaluronic acid molecules are like nappies (not very glamorous, but bear with); they hold onto the water that comes along and then puff up and get huge and heavy. So the skin appears plumper and more lifted and – because lines are smoothed out – more relaxed.

Look, I know that face creams and potions and lotions are never going to be a replacement for cosmetic procedures, but as it stands (I may change my mind, let’s see) I’m not all that keen on needles and knives. So whatever I can pile on to make a visible difference, I’m game for. And hyaluronic acid is one of the ingredients that I see proper results with – especially layered up with other products.

But back to the Revitalift Filler Hyaluromask and two things to note. Firstly, you really do have to massage it in, otherwise you’re not bursting the beads. This isn’t one to lightly smooth over the skin and then leave – get busting those balls! (Insert joke here.)

Secondly, if you’re applying it before makeup then you need to remove the residue, otherwise you’ll get pilling. My preferred way is to leave the mask on for fifteen minutes and then use a damp cotton wool pad to take off any residue, before going in with moisturiser and SPF and so on. Those with oilier skin that’s also dehydrated will no doubt appreciate the feeling that skin has been quenched but not left greasy; those on the drier side might like to layer on up after the mask has done its plumping!

You can find the L’Oreal Revitalift Filler Hyaluromask at Superdrug here – it’s £13.29. If you’re after a more intensive dose of richer, all-round wrinkle-tackling then you can find the Laser Renew Cream-Mask here.

This is a paid advertorial for L’Oreal Paris.