Sydney Sweeney is pretty much the epitome of the modern bombshell. And for much of her career, that has come with an expected shade of bombshell blonde. However, her shift toward deeper, more natural hues in recent months has us rethinking the stereotype. For the premiere of her new film, Reality, Sweeney opted for a soft, taffy blonde blowout finished with parted bohemian bangs that proved the power of natural tones, even (or especially) in a red carpet setting.
“We colored her hair late last year for the GQ Awards in London, but since then, the color had faded, and we just wanted to add some gold to richen everything up without taking her too much darker,” says hairstylist Glen Coco Oropeza, who used a combination of Wella hair color in 9/3 ‘Very Light Blonde’ and 10/3 ‘Lightest Blonde/Gold’ to brighten up Sweeney’s brunette. The result was a subtle, organic balance to her embellished (and entirely Jessica Rabbit-esque) crimson Miu Miu dress.
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For his part, Oropeza believes that healthy hair is beautiful hair. “I really love when people are close to their natural hair color but with a little bit of dimension,” he says. “I think we are born with the color we are meant to have and the color that suits our skin tone, so adding a little enhancement with some dimension that is 1-2 shades lighter or darker than your natural is the perfect addition to still feel like yourself.”
Sydney Sweeney has noted that her switch to blonde—a shift that came with Euphoria—helped uplevel her career, ramping up her recognizability and securing her roles. Now, though, Sweeney’s star power is such that she can pare back and find her bombshell in whatever aesthetic makes her (and her hair) feel the best.
“There was this complex where no one really knew me as brunette Syd, and I didn’t really book as much as I did when I was blonde—but I’m back to brunette because the blonde was killing my hair, and I needed to grow it out a little bit,” she told Yahoo Life. “I kind of feel like I’m myself again.”
