There was one big colour trend that surfaced from the 2011 Oscars: caramel highlights laced through these dark-haired beauties (like Penelope Cruz, Anne Hathaway and Natalie Portman) sported gorgeous, soft highlights.
1. First up is Natalie Portman, who looked positively glowing (due in part to her pregnancy, no doubt) at the Oscars. Ms. Portman’s reddy-brown highlights not only bring warmth to her fair skin, but also give depth to her hair.
It can tricky for a natural brunette to highlight their hair; they either go lighter (blonder) or in proximity to their own colour (red). But the result is often highlights that are way too light, and thus appear totally unnatural, or very brassy. Yet, highlights often give brunettes a more multi-dimensional appearance to their hair and bring warmth to the face, which is especially needed during the winter months.
2. Anne Hathaway
Also a fair-skinned beauty is Anne Hathaway, whose hair was coloured with tiny strands of different hues, ranging from ashy blond to auburn, which were strategically applied so that Ms. Anne’s hair was radiant and dimensional. This new highlight trend leans more towards softer, more natural strands of coloured hair. Rather than stick-out like a sore thumb (anyone remember chunky highlights? Yeah, let’s not go there), current highlights are blended more seamlessly into the hair, yielding a more natural and sun kissed effect.
3. Penelope Cruz
The Olive-skinned actress (can we just comment on her amazing post-baby body?!), also sported some of-the-moment highlights. Cruz also opted for different coloured strands of caramel highlights that were not applied directly at the roots, resulting in a more natural appearance.
To achieve the look yourself, inform your colourist to apply a range of highlights within the same colour of your hair”keeping the highlights warmer should your hair be darker, for instance”and to apply the strands of colour away from your roots. This way, the colour not only looks more dimensional as a whole, but also appears more carefree and natural–and less upkeep, to boot!
