I don’t know about you, but when fantastically white fluffy cumulus clouds fill otherwise gloomy British skies, I’m consistently sent into a swirling daydream about what it would be like to rest my weary head on one of those floating, transient marshmallows before entering a deep, uninterrupted and rejuvenating sleep.
Like Goldilocks, pillows never seem to fit quite right. Unless I’ve found myself lucky enough to be staying in a luxurious hotel with secret, magical and forever undisclosed pillow fillings, sleeping on relatively uncomfortable bolsters is something I’ve accepted to be a fact of life.
More often than not, my set of two pillows ends up on the floor, one muffled kerplunk followed by another, and my head instead rests on my beloved memory foam mattress instead – cementing the fact that my pillows are currently, ultimately purely decorative. But oh, how I yearn to rest my poor head and neck on a sumptuously soft yet perfectly firm cushion which promises to cradle me into sweet, sweet REM oblivion without perpetuating my chronic upper back pain.
Enter: The Premium Nectar Pillow. This Goldilocks put yet another promising pillow to the test. Keep scrolling for an in-depth review.
Key specifications
- Measurements: 60x40x12cm
- Construction materials: Rhomboid memory foam core, quilted polyester cover
- Two-year warranty
- Free named-day shipping
Functionality
After releasing the two Nectar pillows from their vacuum-sealed prison, they slowly inflated and began to release a strange chemical smell – which is something that also happened with my memory foam mattress from a different brand. While unpleasant, it wasn’t too shocking given the synthetic materials, and something I could be sure would dissipate after a few days.
At first glance and touch, I really liked the plush, quilted exterior and could immediately feel the breathable Tencel mesh border worked just by pushing down on the pillows and fluffing them up, as the air quickly escaped through the mesh.
I normally sleep with one hard pillow and one soft one, but they’re both so old that they’ve become one unsupportive clump. As a result, a brand-new extra firm pillow was quite a shock to the system. Like the imminent dissipation of the chemical smell, I assumed the hardened pillow would nevertheless quickly mould to the contours of my head and neck, given the supposed memory foam construction. Sadly, the latter assumption was wrongly made.
Almost a week in, and the pillows are just as firm as the day they were purchased – much to the delight of my partner, who would sleep on a brick if it was deemed socially acceptable.
Materials and design
When I unzipped the quilted casing to reveal the Primalux interior, I realised that much of that rock-solid stability is because of just how thick the casing is – apparent memory foam be damned.
I couldn’t find a great deal online or otherwise about the inner workings of the memory foam, other than its ‘Rhomboid’ construction (which I’m assuming describes the shapes of the many interior foam pieces) so I was forced to investigate the Primalux label on the interior pillow, visible only when the quilted exterior was removed.
In fact, the unzipped interior appeared nothing like traditional memory foam and was void of that airy, spongy feeling. Made by specialists in orthopaedic foam Primacel, Primalux is a range of enriched PE foams made in France which is used for manufacturing the base and covering sheets of orthopaedic insoles. Strange, then, that a semi-shredded version should be used for a pillow interior given the anatomy of my head and neck are vastly different to my feet.
Design-wise, while I’m a fan of the soft and plush quilted exterior – I can’t get my head (or neck) around the bizarre choice of orthopaedic foam. Perhaps that’s what makes the pair so affordable.
Overall comfort
It seems I’m resigned to living out my days as a veritable Goldilocks, because the Nectar pillows just aren’t right for me. While they certainly didn’t get overwhelmingly hot, they didn’t have an otherworldly cooling power either. Plus, whatever benefits that orthopaedic foam might have given me were also cancelled out by the extremely thick quilted exterior. I didn’t wake up with any chronic pain, but I didn’t rise with an overall feeling of a plush and comfortable night’s sleep either.
Perhaps the most satisfying process of the whole supposed sleep-improving endeavour was ultimately releasing the vacuum seal on the packaging and watching the pillows inflate like puffed-up marshmallows. If only they felt as good as they looked.
The Nectar Premium Foam Pillow
Crafted with a rhomboid memory foam core, quilted polyester cover and breathable Tencel mesh border, this pillow promises to not only support the head and neck during sleep, but provide an always-cool feeling that prevents the need for restless pillow flipping on hot summer nights.
While definitely firm, it’s not your traditional spongey memory foam pillow and rather has a shredded interior which is largely propped up by the plush quilted cover. Its cooling power is by no means a magical revelation, but the mesh border indeed allows cool air to escape with every toss and turn.
Buy now £65.00, Nectar Sleep
