How to pick the best shade of brunette for your skin tone

Brunette hair is such a universal hair color that anyone can rock. Brunette is anything but boring, and can make your eyes and skin really pop - sometimes more so than other hair colors. So, whether you want to deepen your current shade of brunette, ditch your blonde, red, or black color in favor of brown hair, the possibilities are endless. Keep on reading to figure out your skin’s undertones to see what the prettiest shade is for you.

Tip #1: Look at your wrist. If you see greenish veins, you have warm undertones. If you have blue veins, you have cool undertones. If your veins are somewhere in between the two, your undertones are neutral.

Tip #2: Look at your eye color. If you have blue or green eyes, you might have cool undertones. If you have brown eyes or golden specks on your iris’, there’s a chance you have warm undertones.

When finding your perfect shade of brunette, refer to colors that are opposite of your skin’s undertones. So, if you have a cool undertone, you might want to choose a shade of brunette that is warm.

Here’s a cheat sheet:

If you have warm undertones: Choose a cool brown shade such as chestnut, dark chocolate, or dark auburn. A cool shade of brunette will complement your warm skin tone which can help brighten your complexion. 

Celebrity inspo:

Lucy Hale rocks a very dark brown with a couple pops of chocolate.

Priyanka Chopra's rich brown base accentuated with auburn balayage.

Zendaya wears a true medium brown with pops of chestnut.

Emily Ratajkowski wears a rich medium brown that really makes her warm brown eyes pop.

If you have cool undertones: Choose a warm brown shade such as caramel, auburn, or golden brown. 

Celebrity inspo:

Zooy Deschanel’s hair color is a true chocolate brown with fleck of auburn overtones.

Lilly Collins has a dark chocolate brown base color with lighter auburn pops framing her face.

If you have neutral undertones: Lucky you! You can rock any shade of brunette. Try classic medium brown or the trendy nude shade! 

Celebrity inspo:

Soft, light brown highlights thread through Jessica Biel's hair and culminate a bright and bold brunette color.

Emily Blunt rocks a dark auburn hue - the contrast against her complexion and eyes is so stunning!

Cara Delevingne rocks an even amount of both warm and cool tones which cancel each other out to create a neutral color: nude.

Do you love the idea of going brunette but aren’t ready to go full-on brown? Here are a couple hair color ideas that will allow you to flirt with being brunette:

Try Balayage: 

Balayage is a French word meaning 'to sweep' or 'to paint'. It allows for a sun-kissed natural-looking hair color, similar to what nature gives us as children. It’s the perfect way to subtly place beautiful lighter hues throughout your darker hair.

Hair by Noelle.

Hair by Noelle.

Try going bronde:

If you’re currently a blonde and want to go darker but don’t want to totally ditch being lighter, try BRONDE! It is exactly what it sounds like: Bronde incorporates both blonde and brunette hues for a look that is the best of both worlds.

Extra credit: ask for ‘twilighting’. What is Twilighting, you ask? The process is essentially adding subtle highlights that are evenly distributed to darker hair. The word dimensional is also key here.

Hair by Noelle at ash salon.

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