THE MOST SEARCHED BEAUTY BRANDS SUMMER 2026
Every summer brings its own crop of beauty obsessions, and this year is no exception. Using internal Cult Beauty search data, we've tracked what you've been searching for on site over the past four months, comparing it against the same period last year. The results tell a story of Hollywood glamour, glazed skin and a lot of vanilla. Topping the charts is Huda Beauty, but there's plenty more to discover further down the list, from skincare staples to fragrance you'll want to layer all season. Here's who's leading the pack, and a few more names worth keeping on your radar.
Our top 10 most searched beauty brands this summer:
HUDA BEAUTY
Topping the list this summer is Huda Beauty, and honestly, it's hard to think of a brand that's earned its spot more. This is the label that turned "does my make up look airbrushed" into a genuine skill you can learn, and it shows no signs of slowing down. The brand built its reputation on false lashes before expanding into a full complexion, lip and eye range that remains a mainstay of any make up bag, the kind of brand you reach for without even thinking about it. Its Easy Bake and #FauxFilter ranges in particular have become go-tos for make up that can survive a heatwave without sliding off by lunchtime, whether that's a festival, a beer garden or just the daily commute in thirty-degree heat, which likely explains a fair chunk of this summer's search surge. There's a reason it's the brand everyone from make up artists to first-time foundation buyers keeps coming back to, and this summer, the numbers prove it.
Our Huda Beauty recommendations:
£34.00
Recommended Retail Price: £44.00Current price: £39.60
£26.00
CHARLOTTE TILBURY
Charlotte Tilbury really needs no introduction, it's the name half your make up bag probably already carries. The brand built its reputation on fusing Hollywood-inspired finishes with easy-to-use formulas, and that magic touch (sorry, had to) still resonates nowhere more than in the sun-kissed, holiday-ready glow that's defined so many of this summer's biggest looks, the kind of finish that says beach club at golden hour even if you're just nipping to the shops. Skin care has become just as central to the brand's appeal as its make up these days, with hero serums sitting alongside the bronzers and lipsticks that made its name in the first place.
Our Charlotte Tilbury recommendations:
£29.50
£79.00
£40.00
£40.00
SAIE
Saie has built its whole personality around "no-makeup makeup", the art of looking like you've done nothing while somehow looking incredible, which is basically the entire summer mood in one philosophy. Built around skin-loving ingredients and buildable, natural-looking formulas, it's exactly the kind of low-effort, high-glow approach that suits hot weather and holiday packing alike, the sort of brand that lets you throw your whole routine in one small pouch and still walk out looking dewy. The brand's fuss-free approach to complexion products continues to define its appeal, and its lightweight formulas mean it barely shifts, even on the sweatiest of summer days, which, let's be honest, is the real test.
Our Saie recommendations:
£23.00
£27.00
£23.00
£38.00
HOURGLASS
Hourglass has held steady for years, but this summer we're loving it more than ever, and the Ambient Lighting range is doing most of the seducing. There's something about that soft-focus, lit-from-within finish that just feels right for warmer months, less full-coverage base, more "did I just come back from somewhere sunny" glow. It's not all shimmer and no substance either, the brand has built its reputation on science-led formulas and PETA-certified, cruelty-free credentials, including a vegan alternative to carmine in its signature red lipsticks.
Our Hourglass recommendations:
£54.00
£30.00
£58.00
£37.00
PATRICK TA
Patrick Ta built his brand around a glow-first philosophy inspired by the women in his life, and honestly, that glow obsession has only gotten louder as the temperature climbs, as if the whole range was just waiting for summer to arrive. The Major Glow range remains the ultimate shortcut to that glass-skin, just-been-on-holiday radiance everyone's chasing this season, the kind of glow that makes people ask where you've been on your travels, even if the answer is nowhere further than the back garden.
Our Patrick Ta recommendations:
£46.00
£37.00
£52.00
£37.00
KAYALI
Kayali, founded by Huda and Mona Kattan, has become the scent of the summer, the kind you catch a whiff of on the tube and spend the rest of the day trying to place. Inspired by Middle Eastern fragrance layering traditions, the brand encourages wearing its scents alone or stacked together for something entirely your own, a little like building your own signature cocktail, but for your neck and wrists. Vanilla 28 in particular has become a genuine phenomenon, the kind of scent you'll clock on a stranger and immediately want to ask about, and by the third time it happens, you'll have already added it to your basket.
Our Kayali recommendations:
£80.00
£80.00
£55.00
£39.00
KOSAS
Kosas blurs the line between make up and skin care, with botanical-rich formulas designed to treat the skin underneath, a brightening, lit-from-within approach that comes into its own once your base tan starts to show. The brand's brightening-first philosophy runs right through the range, from complexion products that let your natural glow through to skin care designed to work with it rather than mask it.
Our Kosas recommendations:
£28.00
£28.00
£34.00
Recommended Retail Price: £37.00Current price: £29.60
SUMMER FRIDAYS
Summer Fridays built its name on skin care designed for busy lives, and there's arguably no brand better suited to the season it's named after. Its Jet Lag Mask remains the brand's most recognisable product, a genuine holiday-bag essential for reviving sun-tired, travel-worn skin, but the range has since grown to include makeup-skin care hybrids and lip care built for long, hot days spent mostly outdoors.
Our Summer Fridays recommendations:
£26.00
£30.00
£30.00
£21.00
BYOMA
Byoma has built its following on barrier-first skin care, the TLC your skin barrier deserves after a summer of sun, chlorine and back-to-back air conditioning. Formulated around a tri-ceramide complex designed to boost the skin barrier rather than strip it, it's less about chasing the next big active and more about quietly having your skin's back, no matter how much you throw at it this season. The result is a cult favourite for anyone wanting their skin to look calm and comfortable, even after the most chaotic of summer days.
Our Biome recommendations:
£12.99
£14.99
£12.99
£11.99
SOL DE JANEIRO
Named after the Brazilian sun ("Sol de Janeiro"), we simply can't get enough of this brand, and honestly, neither can the rest of the internet. Built on a global following of Amazon-sourced ingredients and sun-soaked, gourmand scents, it's no wonder it's found its way onto so many shopping lists this summer. The Brazilian Bum Bum Cream remains its most iconic product, the kind you can smell coming before you even see the bottle, and its guaraná-infused formula has become as recognisable by scent as it is by name, practically a personality trait at this point.
Our Sol de Janeiro recommendations:
£48.00
£25.00
£30.00
£10.00
A FEW MORE TO WATCH
Just outside the top ten, a handful of other names are climbing fast.
NARS search volume: 57.5k
NARS has proven the staying power of a good blush for over three decades, ever since François Nars launched the brand in 1994, and it's still the one people reach for when they want that fresh-off-the-beach flush. 'Orgasm' remains as beloved now as it was on release, proof that some icons never go out of style, whatever the season.
Medik8 search volume: 49.9k
Medik8 has built its following around science-led formulas centred on three key ingredients: vitamin C, vitamin A and SPF, basically the holy trinity for skin that's been out enjoying the sun a little too much. Its Crystal Retinal range in particular has become the gentler route into retinal for those newer to the ingredient, so you can keep your routine going even through the height of summer.
Gisou search volume: 48.2k
Gisou was founded by Negin Mirsalehi in 2013, inspired by her family's six generations of beekeeping and her mother's honey-infused hair oil recipe, and it shows, this is hair care that feels like a genuine heirloom. Its honey-based formulas remain the reason it keeps building cult status, doing double duty as sun-battered strand rescue and your new signature scent trail.
Fenty Beauty search volume: 47.9k
Fenty Beauty was founded by Rihanna in 2017 on a "Beauty For All" philosophy, championing shade ranges and formulas designed to work across every skin tone, and it changed the industry for good in the process. The Gloss Bomb range remains a lip gloss staple season after season, the kind of universal, no-effort shine that just makes sense for summer.
Methodology
Figures throughout are based on internal Cult Beauty on-site search data, comparing 1st April to 29th July this year against the same period last year. Brands are ranked by total search volume for the period, with search terms belonging to the same brand (such as "huda beauty" and "huda") combined and ranked accordingly. Conversion percentage refers to the proportion of searches for each term that resulted in a purchase. Brands not currently stocked on cultbeauty.pro have been excluded from the list, regardless of their search ranking.
Rina is Cult Beauty’s SEO Content Strategist and Beauty Expert and has always had a passion for beauty and skin care (rich moisturisers are her obsession). What started as a love for The Body Shop and their famed Born Lippy lip balms (in ‘Watermelon’ of course!), she is now more interested in finding products with proven effectiveness instead of broken promises. A loud and proud VIEVE fan, Rina owns nearly every item of the range and recommends the brand to anyone who will listen... When she’s not intently reading ingredient lists, you can find her either immersed in multiple true crime podcasts or a fantasy romance novel, with an *extra* hot cappuccino in hand.
