This €11 skincare buy is about to become your new holiday beauty hero

Gorgeous, golden glow.

I am about to head off for a week in the sun, and have spent days now packing down all my favourite swimsuits and carefully curated collection of summer dresses, shorts and sandals.

In summer, I always find that everything looks better on, simply because pair anything with golden, glowing skin, and voila – it looks great.

However, writing about beauty for a living, I am also hyper-vigilant about taking care of my skin and protecting it from the sun’s harmful rays. I don’t leave the house without a minimum of SPF 30, avoid being outdoors (or at least stay in the shade) between 12pm and 3pm, when the sun is at its hottest (and most harmful) and always wear a hat to shade my face.

Which means, that when it comes to that golden, lovely tan that I love so much, I have to resort to faking it.

And here is where my secret weapon comes in:

St. Moriz’ Advanced Pro Gradual Tan & Protect Cream – a sort of a self-tan sunscreen hero, that gives my skin a professional, natural looking tan, while also protecting it from the sun with SPF 30.

I love how I am not only killing two birds with one stone – and saving space in my holiday suitcase by having both sunless tanner and SPF combines into one hero product. But I am also equally impressed at how this cream really feels like it has salon quality. It glides on easily,  delivers powerful hydration and smooths my skin leaving a super soft feel. And all the while, I know that the SPF30 is protecting my skin from the harmful and aging effects caused by sun exposure.

My skin tends to get a little dry in the summer, but instead of drying it out more, like most self tans to, this cream is actually great for skin that requires an extra moisture boost, and leaves my skin, even on my shins and arms, feels silky soft.

Even better? It smells a lot nicer than normal tanning products, which the experts at St. Moritz assure me is due to the breakthrough patented fragrance technology.

Available in both regular and travel size (for when you are going with only carry-on luggage), I think I have found my forever perfect travel companion.