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From glow-boosting self-tans to featherlight SPFs, these are summer's hottest holiday beauty buys.

On the GH beauty desk, it's fair to say that holiday preparations generally go (well) beyond passports and boarding passes. Time is spent trying and testing all the latest summer beauty buys to find precisely the right SPF formula for our needs; the perfect self-tan with which to top up; the right texture of skincare for warmer weather; and the very sunniest of the sunny holiday fragrances.

Helpfully, 2022 has been a particularly good year for summer beauty innovations. SPFs are cleverer than ever, and now come in sheer mists, weightless over-makeup powders, and broad-spectrum formulas that offer even more protection against UVA rays while leaving no white cast. High-tech tans, meanwhile, offer seamless coverage in natural-looking shades with skincare-grade ingredients. And skincare formulas themselves are more varied, with serums, lotions, gel- and water-creams offering light textures that belie their potent efficacy: Layering hyaluronic acid for lost moisture, vitamin C to combat sun damage, and SPF to protect has never been less weighty.

And summer scents needn't be limited to eau de parfum. For those whose skin reacts badly to (usually the alcohol in) perfume in hotter months, there are a slew of sunshine-filled fragrances available in different formats like body oils and hair mists.

Here editors on the GH beauty team have selected their most summer-savvy beauty buys that will work well on holiday, but also long after you're home.

"When I was younger, hot days at home and holidays abroad meant intensive sunbathing and competitive tanning with girlfriends," says Beauty Director Eve Cameron. "Now my tan’s more likely to be fake: Bondi Sands Everyday Gradual Tanning Milk is a failsafe."

With the same texture as a luxurious body cream, it comes as no surprise that this smart all-over SPF is one of Eve's favourite summer beauty buys. Not only does it leave the skin feeling soft and luminous, it also keeps it protected thanks to a water-resistant, factor 50 formula.

Another must-have is this luxe tanning gel from James Read. Simply add a few drops of this rich caramel colour to your favourite body moisturiser for a luminous sunkissed tint. Not only does it look beautiful and reduce the temptation to stay out in the sun but added vitamin C, hyaluronic acid and goji berry also hydrate the skin, making for a healthy, even glow.

In 2022, we said goodbye to sunscreens with streaky white casts and unpleasant lingering scents. With a 100% transparent, quick-drying formula, this is an SPF you can spritz and forget about. It is one of Eve's new finds that ticks all of her sun protection boxes.

Senior Beauty Editor Alexandra Friend loves a product that does a bit of everything. With a cocktail of hyaluronic acid, peptides, vitamin C and retinol alternative bakuchiol, it's no surprise that this lightweight cream made her list of top summer holiday skincare.

"It feels gloriously cooling and gives tired faces an instant boost," she says.

"I’ve often struggled to find a self-tan that doesn’t trigger irritation, but Tan Luxe The Crème gets five gold stars from me," says Beauty Editor Anna Lao-Kaim. "It blends skin-barrier strengthening squalane and moisturising lipids with a low amount for DHA for a radiant glow that builds gradually."

A Good Housekeeping beauty team favourite, this skin-quenching hyaluronic acid serum is a summer holiday must-have.

"My rosacea tends to get worse during the warmer months and this cooling, gel-textured booster is my go-to soother," says Anna. "It provides immediate relief, with fast-absorbing hyaluronic acid to smooth and soften my rough, inflamed skin."

Fragrance obsessive Fleur Fruzza is the Beauty Editor we go to with all of our perfume probes.

"Being surrounded by smells that invoke and complement the season is important to me, and Nuxe Huile Prodigieuse Riche Multipurpose Nourishing Oil is one of my summer must-haves," she says. "I liberally cover my arms and legs in it at every opportunity because I find its scent of white flowers, vanilla and almond can trick me in to thinking I'm still on holiday when I am, in fact, back home and on the London Underground!"

"My sensitive skin can get a bit temperamental with perfumes in the heat, so I tend to swap to a hair fragrance during summer months," says Fleur. "I love the new A Fragrance Hair Mists from Jo Loves – my current favourite Fig, which has all the gorgeous sun-filled juiciness of this late-summer fruit combined with the warmth of amber (and the bonus of pro-vitamin B5 to hydrate my hair)."