Kristen Stewart changes shade — even hair colour — depending on the role she's playing, but one thing's certain: auburn really suits her. It makes her green eyes pop and lights up her pale complexion, adding a good dose of character to a face that still reads quite youthful.

Jessica Biel, meanwhile, goes for an ultra-natural colour: a lovely sunlit light brown through the mid-lengths and ends, lifted with a few blonde highlights for light. Long, straight hair, a fringe skimming her brows: a proper star, basically.

Close-up portrait of a woman with chocolate-brown hair, bright eyes, natural light

A beautiful, incredibly glossy brown by Franck Provost, with multiple warm tones that make it feel luxurious and deep.

Close-up portrait of a woman with long chocolate-brown hair in natural light
Chocolate brown, rich and glossy, softens the eyes

If, in the Twilight saga, Nikki Reed wears a blonde that slightly washes her out, in real life Nikki is a brunette — a proper one — and all the better for it. A beautiful iced brown lifted with chocolate tones brings out her lightly tanned complexion and warm eyes.

Long glossy brown hair with warm tones, seen from behind
Multiple tones that give brown a luxe depth

Leighton Meester is a committed brunette, and it's with auburn tones that we know her best. She's naturally light brown, but let's be honest: warm brown suits the sharp character of her Gossip Girl alter ego far better...

Hair strands in mocha, hazelnut, auburn and chocolate shades on light linen
Cool brown hair with chocolate tones, seen from a three-quarter rear angle
Cool brown, lifted with chocolate, wakes up matte complexions

Here's a properly autumnal colour, spotted in Camille Albane's autumn/winter collections. A beautiful mocha brown lit up with a few hazelnut highlights for nuance and depth: we love it.

Profile of a woman with brown hair lifted by auburn tones
A few auburn tones are enough to warm up a sensible brown

Eva Green, the lovely French actress, wears a very dark black-brown that contrasts with her pale skin and gives her a mysterious air. Be warned: if there's one colour that's hard to wear, it's this one. Makeup is a must with a raven-black shade like this, so you don't look peaky.

Portrait of a woman with very dark black-brown hair against a dark background
Black-brown, to wear with bold makeup

She is clearly one of Hollywood's hottest brunettes: top model Miranda Kerr wears a gorgeous warm brown with glossy mocha tones. A uniform colour, but with beautiful warm tones.

For a long time, blonde was the Holy Grail, so to speak — probably the colour most requested from colourists and the one women chased most. Let's face it: a beautiful natural, glossy blonde has serious seduction potential. It's luminous and soft, evoking childhood, summer, gentleness. That doesn't stop brown, chestnut and every shade in between from coming back to the fore — deep, mysterious, elegant, they offer character and bite. Sometimes warm, lifted with auburn or hazelnut tones, sometimes cool and deep, brown dyes — mocha, chocolate, hazelnut and other delights — are the talk of this autumn.

Before a dark colour or switching brand — especially if you're starting from blonde — do a patch test on a small area or the inside of your elbow, ideally 48 hours before. Burning, itching, redness: stop and speak to a pharmacist or GP.

Colourist applying brown hair dye to a client's roots in a salon

What it costs

In the UK, a salon brown colour usually costs roughly £60–£120, and can climb to £150 or more for a full head with balayage or ombré at a city colourist. The price depends on hair length, technique — roots only versus a full colour — the brand used and the salon's standing. To keep the shade fresh between appointments, expect around £10–£25 for a tinted treatment or pigmented mask at home; a simple salon gloss won't cost much more. The good news: it's often the cheapest service for testing a shade. One thing to check: many salons quote a 'from' price that rises quickly with length — ask for a quote before you sit down.

Sources

  • EU Cosmetics Regulation (EC) No 1223/2009: lists permitted hair dyes and conditions of use in the EU.
  • UK: retained cosmetics rules and the Office for Product Safety and Standards (OPSS) oversee cosmetic product safety and reporting of safety issues, including hair dyes.
  • France: the ANSM's cosmétovigilance scheme collects reports of adverse effects from cosmetics, including hair dyes.