As we seek out dye inspiration for our next salon appointment, we're keeping very specific characteristics in mind. The style should be luminous, blend well with our natural hair hue, and flatter our complexion. Bonus points if the colour verges on subtle, making it appropriate to rock in the workplace. We've just found the autumn colour trend of our fantasies: chocolate mauve hair.
Instagram user @HannahThePainter aka Hannah Edelman, who owns the Bushwick-based studio Brush In Hand, took to Reddit to flaunt the above colour masterpiece.
Using colourful hues of Pravana Vivids, she re-created natural brown tones mixing purple, orange, pink, and other shades. "The darkest brown started with red, yellow, and green. Then I added orange and purple and other random sh*t until I liked what I saw," Edelman explained.
Her client (Marlena) is naturally a brunette and had the roots to match, so the colourist custom-blended five different tints: dark brown, a warm medium brown, mauve, and two different pink tones.
"I took irregular sections of her hair, always on some kind of diagonal, and painted them. Most of them are colour melted," Edelman told POPSUGAR via email. By melting the different brown hues into mauve, or mauve into pink, she created delicate variations of the original five shades. "That gave this look a subtle dimension, almost an iridescence," she said.
As for the placement of the colour, Edelman painted light brown around Marlena's face per her request, then painted mauve and light pink on her top layers of hair, concentrating darker colours on lower layers. "Even though the colour is unnatural, following the light/dark placement that occurs naturally is always a good idea," she shared. "I think that's what makes this toe the line of natural and unnatural."
That said, you may need some prior colour experience to achieve this look. (Edelman noted this colour would work well on "lucky people who are naturally light blonde.") Otherwise, you'll need to transition your strands to a paler shade. Edelman had lifted the majority of Marlena's hair to a level 10 blonde, the lightest possible hue. After the client had grown about three inches of dark roots, Edelman used the balayage technique to connect her natural colour to rainbow hues.
"The balayage transition makes this colour low maintenance," she told POPSUGAR. "She won't have to worry about roots for at least three months." Edelman remarked that this type of look will fade back to blonde in about this amount of time, making it ideal for someone who always wants to switch up their style.
According to Edelman, her client was looking for a "toned-down but not totally normal" hue as she'll soon be job hunting. We think she totally nailed it! If you're now on a quest for a salon that can dye your hair a similar colour, this colourist advises that you search for someone who specialises in using Pravana Vivids. "Vivid work isn't something many people care to specialise in because it's a niche," she noted. Alternatively, you can ask your colourist for a full head of balayage, then a mauve toner or a colour melt using semi-permanent light brown and mauve tints. Keep reading to see this gorgeous look from all angles!
