Leighton Meester might be best known for portraying one of television's most memorable brunettes as Gossip Girl's Blair Waldorf, but the actress—who's set to star in the second season of Netflix's Nobody Wants This—is well and truly embracing her redhead era.
Meester previously leaned into warmer tones with a lustrous shade of muted auburn (a recent trend that's also been adopted by A-listers such as Michelle Yeoh and https://meltsflow.com/...Emma Stone), but over the weekend, Meester dialled up her color with a lighter, brighter, sunset copper hue that appears almost peachy in the Parisian sunlight.
She debuted the color update while attending the Elie Saab AW25 show during Paris fashion week. Styled by hair artist Halley Brisker (who was assisted by Allie Harknett), her sleek, straight blow-dry and full bangs enhance the vibrancy of the new tone while remaining understated and elegant. Going bright copper can be tricky, as anything that leans too orange can feel overdone, but Meester's hue has plenty of depth that allows it to feel subtle and grown-up.
Meester's color was perfected by the LA-based hair colorist Amy Huson. "We originally started taking Leighton’s hair red in baby steps," Huson tells Harper's Bazaar UK. "She was filming a show in Scotland and wanted to let it fade out and grow out nicely without much upkeep. As we continued coloring it, we got bolder with each visit."
"Reds tend to fade quickly, and it can take some time for the hair to really take hold, so when you’re making the transition to red, make sure to visit the salon every four weeks at first to keep the color building," suggests Huson, who's a big fan of color masks such as Christopher Robin Chic Copper, used in-between appointments to "help keep the tone bright and add lots of shine."
As the new season is upon us, a sunset copper tone can bring a much needed lift to the complexion (no matter the weather) and it feels significantly fresher than winter's richer, cherry reds. The copper sundowner look is another excellent option, as worn by Aimee Lou Wood on The White Lotus. Unlike Meester's even, all-over tone, this more subtle version uses balayage and combines warm golden and copper hues for a beachy, sunkissed effect.
Consider your spring hair-color moodboard sorted.
From: Harper's Bazaar UK
