I've always been a bit iffy about pastel hair.
It seemed odd: grown women wanting the same hair hue as My Little Pony's Fluttershy. For me, the first shock was Cate Blanchett almost unrecognisable with a bubble-gum bob. The next was Helen Mirren with a pink pixie. Britney Spears and Nicki Minaj I can understand. But style icons like Cate and Helen? And now Salma Hayek, Sienna Miller and even Diane Kruger. Ultra-elegant women who surely should know better?
Perhaps not. Rather than resisting the trend (frankly, it has been around for years and isn't going anywhere), it seemed time to embrace it, which I did with a very faint pink rinse, just through the roots. And I, like so many other women before me, worked out why unicorn hair is so popular: it's fun. It's also youthful, pretty and flattering. (I defy you not to think so once you've taken a look at photos of Dame Helen in the pink.) Shades of lilac and peach project on to your skin and light up your skin tone, not to mention add a little rebel-esque sparkle to the eyes.
But while taking the permanent plunge properly requires courage and a good deal of time in the salon with a talented stylist, it's possible to get a preview in the form of colour sprays and semi-permanent dyes.
New from L'Oreal Paris is Colorista, a range of DIY one-day sprays, semi-permanent wash-out shades, permanent at-home dyes and a specialised "fader" shampoo. The sprays ($16) come in five shades and are visible regardless of how dark or light you are. Like what you see? Step up to a wash-out semi ($18) - some of the more vivid shades (there are 10) in this collection can last for up to 15 washes. If you are really serious, you can play with permanent colour at home with Colorista Effects ($20). And then, if along the way you decide you're more baby blue than princess pink and want to start all over, you can use the special shampoo ($10) to speed the colour fade-out almost as quick as you can say "tickled pink".
