The Top 10 Most Googled Holiday Beauty Searches

The summer holiday season can throw up a myriad of beauty questions, as we endeavour to look our best as we pose by the pool or channel some festival-inspired allure at the cookout. With that in mind, the Beauty Daily by Clarins team put our investigative hats on and consulted Google search data to discover your most Googled holiday beauty searches. And the results are in! Read on to discover the top ten burning summer beauty questions, with some additional tips and advice.                                                                    

Holiday nails – 414,960

According to the findings, orange is the most popular nail colour for a holiday at 5,040 searches whilst coffin nails are the most searched for shape.

Luxury nail artist Julia Diogo (@paintedbyjools) picks her top orange shades for summer.  “At the moment I’m loving Biosculpture’s Gemini Nourishing Nail Polishes, £12 each, in Poco Pop (a neon orange) and Retro Rock (a neon coral).” 

She has some tips on how to master the ‘coffin’ nail shape too. “The easiest way to create a coffin shape is trimming the nails at an angle and not straight across,” she advises. “Doing this does most of the work for you as you then just need to go in with a file and tidy up the shape – keeping the sides tapered and the top of the nail flat and sharp.” All that sand and sea can leave our nail beds dry and parched – so Diogo has the following tips. “Nourish and hydrate your cuticles everyday on holiday with a lightweight oil! Plus, carry a nail file with you to soften any sharp edges that may snag in hair or on clothes.” Rodger that.

Skincare ingredients & sun exposure – 78,120

More and more of us are becoming more conscious of shielding our skin from those ageing (not to mention deadly) UV rays, which leads us to wonder whether popular skincare ingredients are suitable for sun exposure. Our favourite hydration hero, hyaluronic acid tops the chart at 32,280 searches per year, while anti-ageing powerhouse ingredient retinol follows closely behind at 30,000. 

Looking for a summer skin saviour? The Multi Active Day Cream, £44 contains everything your skin needs to stay hydrated, plump and radiant, together with SPF 20 to deliver that all-important sun protection in the bargain.

Hyaluronic acid is fine to use during the day, but as retinol is a potent ingredient, it’s best used at night, so the skin isn’t exposed to the sun straight afterwards. Before bed, apply a product such as Skinician Overnight Retinol Powerbalm, £61.50 and make sure to pop on that SPF the next morning.

Hairstyles – 28,200

Many of us want to get our tresses looking tip top when jetting off on holiday, considering there are 28,200 yearly searches related to it. Hairstyles specifically for Black hair were the most popular with a total of 5,400 searches a year. And us short-haired lot are in most need of holiday hairstyles with 1400 searches related to it.  

Nicole Petty, Haircare Expert at Milk + Blush offers some easy summer hairstyles to try when having fun in the sun. “Embrace the sunny weather and humidity with some easy beach waves,” she suggests. “A hairstyle that requires little effort is perfect for the summer months. After all, who wants to be sitting for hours in front of a mirror, only for the humidity to destroy it seconds after you step out the door? For this style, simply fix your hair into a loose braid overnight, unravel in the morning, add some sea salt spray and lightly scrunch from root to end for an effortless, carefree wave.”

And when all else fails – particularly if you have short hair – it’s time to reach for some accessories: “If you’re feeling bored then add some cute summer accessories such as a head band, clips, or a headscarf,” Petty says. “Headscarves are a great way to protect your hair and scalp from the sun while looking stylish, no matter your hair length. For summer it’s all about being super creative and fun, so embrace it and use your headwear to add that final touch to your outfit!” 

Those with Black or textured hair might want to combine the above hair accessories with a ‘pineapple’ style i.e. sweeping up the hair into a loose topknot or puff on top of the head and letting all those curls, waves or coils speak for themselves. Easy peasy! 

 

Read more: How to care for curly hair

Waxing – 22,920

Unsurprisingly waxing is among the most popular holiday beauty searches. While some of us are embracing body hair, others prefer a smoother look – it all comes down to personal preference. Cold wax strips are probably the easiest, safest and least messy way for DIY de-fuzzing at home. Sunny The Body Wax Strips, £7 are dermatologically tested, so are suitable for sensitive skin and are ‘pre-rubbed’ (so you don’t need to warm them up in your hands before use) – with a cheery raspberry scent. Before a waxing session, always remember to gently exfoliate the night before to remove any dead skin and release ingrown hairs. The Exfoliating Body Scrub Cream, £32 gently rubs away any rough, flaky skin, leaving it perfectly prepped for hair removal.

If you find traditional waxing a tad too irritating, sugaring might be a better choice. Sugaring expert Ejiro Owusu, founder of Ejiro Studio explains further: “Sugaring is less likely to result in ingrown hairs, as it lifts them out by the root, as opposed to traditional waxing where they often get ‘snapped’ off at the surface,” she explains. “Plus the temperature of the paste is much lower so you can reapply to the same area several times without causing irritation. It doesn’t require the high temperatures that wax does, so it’s less likely to burn the skin – making it a good choice for sensitive skin types too.”

Fake tan – 21,960

It’s now well-established that prolonged sun exposure and sunbeds are bad news for our skin to say the least. So it’s no surprise many of us are choosing to fake a glow before hitting the beach. To see out the last few weeks of summer, we’re stocking up on the Self Tanning Instant Gel, £22 which has a non-greasy texture and melts into the skin, featuring a combination of naturally-sourced DHA and erythulose to create a natural looking, golden glow.

How to make a tan last while on holiday was another commonly searched query. The key is to regularly moisturise – after all, dry skin equals a flaky tan – so we suggest slathering on a product such as the Moisture Rich Body Lotion, £35 over sun-parched limbs before bed. It’s also a good idea to exfoliate regularly and top up the fake tan every few days too.

Read next: The Expert Guide On How To Get Fake Tan Off and Your Complete Pregnancy Safe Self-Tan Guide.

Want to discover your latest hair hero for the summer months? The amount of times this topic is typed into Google would indicate yes! Head to our Haircare section to find your next bathroom cabinet staple, from the best hair oils for reducing flyaways, as well as the ideal products for curls – together with our favourite haircare buys for tackling greasy hair.

Spray tan – 14,280

Few things lift the mood quite like a spray tan – that’s just a fact. It’s a quick and easy way to get a natural-looking even glow. However they are not always the safest option, as there is a possibility of inhaling tanning agent DHA – the effects of which are unknown (official sources recommend avoiding spray tans during pregnancy because of this). 

One brand offering an alternative solution is Amanda Harrington, whose Bespoke Body Contouring Technique involves the tan being applied by a professional with a brush – almost like body paint – to create a less flat and more natural looking glow, especially on the face. “We are seeing more and more people foregoing make-up and using light level DHA products as their base, and then adding lighter layers of make-up over the top,” Harrington says.

Skincare tips – 13,320

Looking to swot up on your skincare knowledge? Seems you’re not the only one, with ‘skincare tips’ featuring on our top ten list of holiday beauty questions. Luckily the team at Beauty Daily are here with all the expert advice.  From How To Relieve Dry Skin on the Face, to The Most Common Sun-Damaged Skin Conditions, pop the kettle on and head over to our Skin section to discover more…

Hair treatment tips – 12,000

Many of us have started to scale back on heat styling and focus more on treating our hair and scalp – which is extra vital during the summer months, when UV rays are likely to do the most damage to our vulnerable strands.  So it’s no wonder “hair treatment tips” made our top ten list.

Caring for bleached or coloured hair is a top priority, given how fragile the bleaching process leaves the hair cuticle. Olaplex’s No.8 Bond Intense Moisture Mask, £28 features a molecule named Bis-Aminopropyl Diglycol Dimaleate designed to improve hair from the inside out, repairing broken strands while adding shine and smoothness. While The Inkey List’s PCA Bond Repair Hair Treatment, £12.99 uses patented technology to reach deep into the cuticle, targeting bonds to strengthen and protect the hair.  We also love their Shea Oil Nourishing Hair Treatment, £9.12 to add shine to brittle, frizz prone strands.

Scalp treatments are also on the rise, to target issues like hair loss, itching and inflammation. Treat your noggin to Omorovicza’s Revitalising Scalp Mask, £57 featuring Hungarian moor mud to detoxify and mop up unwanted oil, together with salicylic acid to unblock follicles and slough away dead skin cells.

 

Hair dyeing & colouring – 5,800

Summer is the perfect time for a fresh new ‘do – whether it’s going from brunette to blonde (or vice-versa) or jazzing it up with some hot pink or lilac hues. And all you colour chameleons have plenty of questions regarding the best products and advice for switching up your shade.

If sustainability is a concern, Shrine Drops, £12.99 are a quick and easy home colour solution with a “lo-plastic” ethos. The drops work like food colouring and are designed to be mixed with any conditioner in a reusable silicone bowl. You can even customise the amount you use to dial the colour up or down (one to two drops for a subtle tint, four to six for a more dramatic effect). The recyclable glass bottles are also a more eco-friendly alternative to the traditional plastic gubbins associated with many box dyes (disposable gloves, plastic bottles etc.). You can also use them to enhance and prolong your colour in-between salon visits.  

Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the past few years, you’ve probably heard of purple shampoo. Designed to be ‘anti-yellowing’ the purple pigments work to counteract any brassy tones in dyed blonde hair – over the last few years R+Co saw a huge uptake in their Sunset Blvd Daily Blonde Shampoo, £24.50. More coloured shampoos are emerging for different hair colours, such as John Frieda’s Blue Crush for Brunettes Blue Shampoo, £6.99 and Fudge’s Cool Brunette Blue-Toning Shampoo, £8.40 – both of which work to counterbalance red and orange tones in dyed brown hair.

Read next: Full Coverage Foundation For Complexion Perfection

Images: Unsplash & Envato Elements