So that's it, the end of British Summer Time as of early tomorrow morning. Long nights, shivery mornings and horrible dry skin until at least April. The evenings and mornings are beyond even my power, but the dry skin, well that I can do something about. I have suffered from dry skin for as long as I can remember. Left to their own devices, my knees, elbows and ankles would be an unalluring shade of grey, with the added attraction of flaky bits come winter.

The trouble with most thick body creams is that they take an age to soak in, so I've always been left standing there, freezing, and wondering why cosmetics companies can't come up with something a bit quicker, or perhaps a night cream for the body to give it an extra boost. (Facial night creams come in far too small and pricey a pot for that kind of thing.) Well, someone somewhere was obviously listening as the men and women with big heads at Nivea have come up with just the thing: Nivea Night Renewal Cream.

This super moisturiser not only sinks in quickly but pretty much banishes sahara skin overnight. Working on the basis that skin is more receptive to moisture at night (something to do with the skin temperature being higher while you sleep, thereby allowing "greater penetration of active ingredients"). If the thought of having yet another cream to apply makes you want to scream, well there ain't much I can do about that, other than to say it is worth the bother. There is something very cosy about applying the cream before you go to bed: it feels grand, in an old-fashioned-moviestar sort of way.

You don't have to use a cream specifically for night-time - a good body moisturiser will work just as well. Chantecaille's Retinol Body Treatment, Dr Hauschka's Quince Body Moisturiser and I Coloniali's Deep Massage Body Cream are all suitably decadent. And if it's still one cream too far, try Lancôme's Nutri- Source Milk Rich-as-Cream in the mornings. It has all the benefits of a rich cream, but without the hassle. Kind of like skimmed milk really.