Left: Olivia Wilde; Right: Jessica Alba
Bronde — a fusion of light brown and dark blonde hair — is officially the new It hair color. Blake Lively kicked off the craze last July but always-on-trend Taylor Swift has the ultimate bronde hair color. Other celebs who have jumped on the bronde band wagon are Jessica Alba, Jennifer Lopez, Olivia Wilde and Beyoncé. We can’t overlook Jennifer Aniston who has been quietly bronde for years.
So why are formerly platinum celebs embracing dark blonde hair and raven-haired beauties going for a subtler light brown? After years of obvious — and high-maintenance — trends like bold streaks, colorful dip-dyes and obvious ombré; this more relaxed, natural look is a refreshing change. Because bronde hair color looks so natural, you won’t have obvious roots which makes it super easy to maintain.
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Like so many “natural” looks, there is an art to creating the perfect shade(s) for you so it’s worth investing in a trip to the salon. Most stylists use a technique called bayalage. It involves hand-painting your strands to contour highlights and lowlights that enhance your complexion. The result is gorgeous, dimensional and totally tailored to you. That means it looks amazing with every complexion and most hair cuts.
If you can’t swing a salon visit, it is possible to get the look at home. L’Oreal Paris celebrity hair colorist Kari Hill advises, “L’Oréal Paris has the perfect options for at-home use to achieve the look. Blondes like Blake can deepen their hair with a Superior Preference shade such as 6 1/2G for a rich brown addition while still maintaining natural highlights and lowlights for an overall “bronde” effect. Brunettes can use Superior Preference Glam Lights in GL50, a user friendly kit to add dimension to get the “bronde” effect.” And, hey, if it doesn’t work out, the worst that can happen is that you just wind up with either all-over light brown, all-over dark blonde or no noticeable color change.
