Brought to you by Schwarzkopf Beautiful Confessions
Pantone has just named it’s colour of the year for 2014 and it’s much more hair-friendly than 2013 colour of the year, Emerald Green.
Get ready for a trend surge in purple across fashion, interiors and beauty.
Pantone describes Radiant Orchid as:
“An enchanting harmony of fuchsia, purple and pink undertones, Radiant Orchid inspires confidence and emanates great joy, love and health. It is a captivating purple, one that draws you in with its beguiling charm.”
I predict that this will be a popular trend for beauty next year as the pink undertones make this colour so wearable and it’s the same for hair.
Purple is an incredibly flattering hair colour. Depending on the shade, it suits both cool and warm tones. That’s why last week I was thrilled when my friend Rosalie said she wanted to dye her hair purple.
Hair trend – Purple ombre hair
I just love this transformation on Rosalie’s hair! Can you believe this purple ombre hair colour was done using only semi-permanent colour too? No bleach was used and her hair felt amazing after.
How to get the look – Purple ombre hair
Last week we headed in to Schwarzkopf HQ to test out the new Live Colour Ultra Brights. I know the Ultra Bright Shocking Pink is easy to do but how would the Magnetic Purple work on darker hair?
- First Rosalie’s hair was washed and gently towel dried.
- A darker semi permanent colour was used on the top sections of her hair. Schwarzkopf Live Colour in Dark Brown was painted on in small sections from the root to the midlengths of her hair.
- Next the purple was applied to the ends of her hair. We used Schwarzkopf Live Colour Magnetic Purple. Rosalie’s hair is dark, but it had been lightened before so the semi-permanent colour would take more easily. If you have very light hair you’ll get an even brighter result.
- The colour was left to process for approximately 30 minutes. It was then rinsed out and her hair was conditioned.
The Live colour is ammonia free so it’s gentle on her hair and it will wash out instead of growing out without any obvious regrowth.
How amazing is this colour?!
But you know I can’t leave it there and had to include this fabulous hair in my next hair trend prediction – plaits.
Hair trend – Plaits
Ok, plait is just another word for braid, but the alliteration with purple was so perfect I had to pair them!
Plaits are so simple and I really believe anyone can do them. The trends for braids / plaits continues with a focus on styles you can do in your own hair.
The three strand plait / braid
The building block of all braids, the three strand plait is formed by splitting your hair into three equal sections. Then cross the left over the middle, then the right over the left. Keep crossing the sections over and into the middle to form this classic hairstyle.
Next are three easy ways to modify the plait to create interesting new styles that look way more complicated than they are.
The three strand uneven plait / braid
Instead of splitting your hair into three equal sections, make the middle section just the smallest piece of hair. Plait your hair as normal, and then once you’re done you can stretch out the sides of the larger sections to emphasise the difference. A simple and quirky twist on the plait.
The three strand plait with mini plait
With this style, split your hair as for the uneven braid. Take the small middle section and plait it. Then plait all three sections together as normal.
Here’s a closer shot so you can see the detail of the mini plait. It adds such an interesting twist to this style.
The three strand plait with a plait
I love how this plait almost resembles a five strand braid but is so much easier to do. Start by splitting your hair into three equal sections then plait the middle section. Plait all three sections together and they seamlessly blend to create a much more complicated looking style.
The plait wreath bun
To form this circular bun I looped the three strand plait with a plait around and tucked the ends inside to form a round, open bun. Pin in place with bobby pins and a little spritz of hairspray will make this stay all day.
I love how the purple ombre hair contrasts against her dark brown hair.
I have to confess that purple wasn’t always my favourite colour but seeing it in Rosalie’s hair is making me change my mind!
Now it’s your turn, have you always wished for purple hair? Maybe you’ve tried it before? Share your beautiful confessions now and you could win a fantastic purple prize pack! I love reading all the other tips and secrets that have been shared, and have put a few of my own up there too!
Are you on board with the purple hair trend for 2014? Which plait is your fave look?
Have had purple, burgundy, pink, blue-black, etc…I like the purples and burgundy and bright reds the best.
The purples are surprisingly wearable, aren’t they? Love that you’ve tried so many colours in your hair Amy 🙂
This is so pretty! I like the braided bun, but I like all the looks. I’ve done ombre in blue before but I think I like this better.
Thank you! I love the ombre look with a fun colour, and it looks awesome in braids and updos 🙂
Loving the colour and all of the styles. Super cool! x
Thanks lovely! I’m so glad Rosalie said yes to going purple!
Frankly I’ve been wanting to dy my hair a fun colour for a while but haven’t been able to decide on the shade (also my hair is super curly and dry so I’m really careful about putting heat and chemicals onto it). However after seeing this I think I’m for sure going to do it but maybe in blue or green (I have brown eyes so then it’ll be complimentary) 😀
Cool! I’m all for fun hair colour! Or if you want a no-risk version you can use clip in extensions. I made my own DIY pink hair extensions here xx
I have really long curly hair and have wanted to get purple pieced highlights for years now but I’m just too nervous to bleach it. Its very dark (several shades darker than Rosalie ‘s) so I almost want to get it done without bleaching just to see how the color shows up but that’s a lot of wasted money if it doesn’t work out. I just don’t want it to fade into a grayish color. Any advice?
Hi Whitley, maybe do a test section to see how well it takes in your hair? It’s only $5 so give it a try and see how you go! x
Good idea!! Thanks bunches!
Never been a fan of purple ombre but this looks like a great idea when you braid it! Such a fun and festive look indeed!
Thanks Abby, this changed my mind too x
This looks amazing. I had purple hair a ways back, but now I want to try it again. Is it necessary to do the semi-permanent natural color on the top, or can you just dye the ends. My hair is naturally light brown and the ends are lighter from the sun so I think I can pull this off without any lightening or darkening.
Hi Jennifer, you can definitely just do the ends! The top colour just added some extra shine to Rosalie’s hair but if your ends are lightened, this will be easy to do on your hair x
I’ve had purple hair multiple times now. I always preferred it to pink or to blue – it always seemed to fade better out of my hair. Now that orchid is PCotY, I might just try putting a more unorthodox colour in my hair again!
It’s definitely the perfect time to go purple Kirsten x
I’m going to give these a go! One of the reasons why I stopped colouring my hair bright colours was the price of so many are crazy expensive for how long they last. I remember using the Live Colour when I was younger and just starting to experiment with hair colours.
Same Nat! Live was the first hair colour we experimented with in school because it would wash out by the ned of summer holidays 😉 They’re still great value x
This is so beautiful! Purple hair looks great on her! It makes me want to try it too.
Thanks Gio! It really suits her, doesn’t it? I was surprised how well the colour took even over darker hair x
WOW! It looks amazing in Rosalie’s hair. Just incredible – the contrast is amazing. I’m afraid I resist purple anything. It was my high school uniform colour and I’ve still not recovered!!
Isn’t it incredible Nikki? Rosalie looks amazing. Not sure where my aversion to purple started but I’ve resisted it for a long time. Maybe after a year of Radiant Orchid we’ll be converts 😉