If winter is a time for rich, moody hues and long, languorous beauty routines, then summer is its antithesis. When the weather warms up, we want trends that feel easy and effortless, styles that look just as at home on a beach as they do for air-conned days in the office and, when it comes to our hair colour, shades that err on the soft and sun-kissed.
So, it's probably unsurprising to hear, that the latest hair trend taps into this summer mood perfectly. It offers all the ease we expect from a summer beauty trend with the luxe-looking finish we aim for year-round. Introducing golden hour blonde, the expensive-looking hair colour that all the chicest women can’t get enough of this summer.
What is golden hour blonde?
Golden hour blonde is a hair colour that brings together many of summer's trending shades and expertly blends them to create a warm, golden, almost honey-blonde tone. “It fuses the best of copper and blonde into one hyper flattering shade,” said hairstylist, Tom Smith, when I questioned him on the trending look, “It’s not as intense as a soft copper but [it’s] as rich as a golden blonde can be and a little deeper than the sunflower blonde we saw last summer.”
To create the perfect golden hour blonde hue, your hairstylist will need to expertly blend shades to create the signature sun-kissed tone, “It’s made up of a combination of gold pigments alongside hyper-dilute copper tones,” Tom told me, “It also contains an earthy depth of a darker blonde to avoid it reading as brassy or yellow.”
How to maintain golden-hour blonde hair
What's great about golden hour blonde is that, unlike other blonde shades, which tend to require lots of upkeep, golden hour blonde requires minimal effort.
“Hair tends to fade warmer, and so this tone can be relatively low maintenance as far as home care goes,” Tom told me, “Nourishing masks and leave-in serums are ideal to retain and enhance the shine and gloss that keeps the golden tones looking expensive,” Tom advises, “Reducing heat where possible will also help to retain shine.”
“Also, golden-toned conditioners. like evo fabuloso in caramel, will help to top up tones,” Tom told me, “which is ideal after summer holidays or when trying to put off a salon visit.”
The best golden hour blonde inspiration
1. Golden Hour Magic
Lindsey’s blonde locks sit perfectly between copper and caramel blonde.
2. Caramel Curls
Imagine how this golden hour blonde tone catches the light.
3. Sunkissed Strands
If you don’t want to go full blonde, opt for golden hour-toned ends paired with darker roots.
4. Braid Envy
Golden hour braids? Just perfection.
5. Straight and Sunkissed
Nicole’s golden hour blonde locks are incredibly flattering.
6. From beach to boardroom
Amelia’s tousled golden hour waves look just as good in the office as they would on a beach holiday.
7. Bombshell hair
Golden hour blonde and a bouncy blow dry? The perfect duo.
