Blonde hair and brown hair have always been subdivided, with blonde's 'having more fun' and brown's been viewed as being more seriously, sultry and sophisticated. Those with blonde hair have probably considered or had brown hair and vice-versa; it's easy to consider the opposite colour when you've spent a lot of your life with one shade.
The new IT colour for 2014 considers both of these favourites and has been called 'bronde' *sigh* when will the need to mishmash two words stop; anyhow the bronde look is as you guessed, blonde and brown but it's not as simple and defined as it seems. Bronde varies from a golden, warmer version of brown to brown with blonde highlights featuring around the front of the face to brighten up the look. Basically, anything that's in between dirty blonde, golden blonde, caramels, light browns and warm browns is now called 'bronde' and while it sounds crap I do think the bronde look is pretty fantastic.
First up it's low maintenance as most of the highlights are small and blend extremely well into the overall look, this means that any root growth isn't going to be hugely noticeable especially if you have more of a warmer tone in your normal hair colour.
It's great for those who have spent years damaging their hair with peroxide as you can now reduce the amount of damage with small areas of blonde allowing your hair to grow and repair while still having a blonde look.
It brightens up the face and lifts the skin tone, it's suitable for all ages and suits all hair styles too. It really is the must have shade - I spent my teens being a blonde and my young adult years as a blonde and black haired woman. I've always wanted to go back to a lighter shade but could never commit due to the upkeep and the chance of it burning my scalp (sensitive scalp). With the bronde however, I could absolutely start by just framing the areas around my face and see how it goes, if I hate it the growth won't be a huge problem.
I've searched high and low for the best products for the job, products that will get your hair to where you want it to be without being hugely destructive. Here they are...
L'Oreal Sunkiss Jelly // If I opt to go bronde I will be using this product first and it was this product that inspired me to write this post. It's basically a jelly version of sun in where you apply it and the heat/sun gently lightens your hair. I love that it's a jelly because you can really get specific with your application, whereas Sun In was pretty hit-or-miss with it's spray application.
Lee Stafford Lightening Spray // The Lee Stafford version of Sun In. Citrus liquid is sprayed onto the hair and again heat/sun lightens the hair.
Bleach DIY Dip Dye Kit // Less Sun In more peroxide, Bleach are pretty awesome and so many people are reaching for this brand to get their magical rainbow unicorn hairstyles. Dip dye is a great option but honestly, there's a lot of upkeep (unless your dip is near to your hair colour). You could use this dip dye kit to apply it to pieces of hair along the hairline to frame your face naturally.
Touch of Silver Weekly Treatment // OK so you've hit the peroxide and gone bronde, Touch of Silver is the best product for maintaining your natural 'onde' With time blondes can turn yellow due to our crappy air, fumes, pollution, beauty products etc... Touch of Silver is purple toned which is on the opposite end of the colour scale to yellow so it neutralises it, leaving you with blonde looking blonde tones.
John Frieda Lightening Shampoo // If you have highlights and just want to brighten them to even out your tone to a warmer caramel then this shampoo is perfect. Use as normal to get a gradual effect or apply, leave like you would do a hair mask and cover your hair with cling film (or a towel with a hair dryer) before washing out for quicker results.
Who's joining the bronde revolution? Keep your eyes peeled for my bronde makeover and Sunkiss review (heads to Boots to purchase it sharpish).
Brown with blonde highlights is by far my fave look. Imo the best way to achieve this color is to get balayage highlights; that's how all the celebs and VS models do it... Find a stylist that offers balayage; it's a french painting technique that makes the highlights look sunkissed and not "stripey" like with foils. It's generally pricey but worth it and the maintenance is easy as most can keep their base and once it grows out it looks like ombre and very natural.
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