You know you want a change, but scrolling through endless hair colour photos leaves you more confused than inspired. The right shade can completely transform how you look and feel, but with so many options, it’s hard to know where to start. That’s where celebrity hair colour comes in. When you see a specific look on someone, styled and polished, it suddenly clicks. You can picture yourself with that exact shade, that same confidence.
This article breaks down 9 of the most sought after celebrity hair colours trending right now in 2026. Each look comes with the celebrity inspiration behind it, why it’s having a moment, who it flatters most, and exactly how to recreate it at home with Smart Beauty’s vegan, plex enriched formulas. Whether you’re drawn to Hailey Bieber’s honey brown bronde, expensive brunette tones, soft copper reds, creamy balayage blondes, or even pastel pinks and silver metallics, you’ll find your match here. No salon prices. No mystery ingredients. Just professional quality colour you can trust.
1. Smart Beauty salon style colour at home
You want the best celebrity hair colour ideas without the salon prices or harsh ingredients that damage your hair. That’s exactly what Smart Beauty delivers. The brand transforms professional colouring into something you can achieve confidently from your bathroom, using plex enriched formulas that protect your hair while delivering vivid, long lasting results. Every shade is vegan, cruelty free, and free from PPD, ammonia, and resorcinol, making it safer for your scalp and better for the planet.
The celebrity inspo
Celebrities from Florence Pugh to Lucy Hale switch their hair colour regularly, and they all rely on professional formulations that maintain hair health. Smart Beauty brings you that same salon quality technology in easy to use home kits. You’re getting the enriched formulas that protect bonds during colouring, just like the treatments your favourite stars use behind the scenes.
Why this look is trending in 2026
The trend has shifted away from risky DIY experiments towards professional quality home colouring. You want creative freedom but refuse to compromise on hair health or ethics. Smart Beauty’s approach combines trend led inspiration with safe, tested formulas that deliver exactly what you see in celebrity photos.
"Professional results at home aren’t just possible anymore, they’re expected, and the formulas have finally caught up."
Who it suits best
This approach works for anyone wanting salon level results without the salon price tag. Whether you’re trying your first colour or you’re a seasoned home colourist, Smart Beauty’s range covers every need.
How to get it with Smart Beauty
Browse Smart Beauty’s collections by colour family, trend, or your starting shade. Each product includes clear instructions and plex technology to protect your hair throughout the process.
2. Honey brown bronde like Hailey Bieber
Hailey Bieber‘s honey brown bronde has become one of the best celebrity hair colour ideas for anyone wanting a warm, natural looking shift from either blonde or brunette. This colour sits perfectly between the two, giving you the richness of brown with the brightness of blonde woven through. You get dimension without harsh contrasts, and the warm honey tones add instant radiance to your complexion.
The celebrity inspo
Hailey Bieber debuted this shade as an autumn refresh, proving you don’t need to go fully dark when temperatures drop. The colour features medium brown roots that gradually lighten into golden honey blonde through the mid lengths and ends. Other celebrities like Emma Roberts and Kate Middleton have also embraced this versatile shade, making it one of the most requested looks in salons and at home.
Why this look is trending in 2026
This shade works because it flatters nearly every skin tone and requires minimal maintenance. The blended transition from brown to blonde means your roots grow out naturally without obvious lines. You can stretch appointments or home touch ups to three or four months without looking unkempt.
"Honey bronde gives you warmth and dimension without the commitment of full bleach or the flatness of single tone colour."
Who it suits best
This look suits you best if you have light to medium brown hair and want to brighten without going fully blonde. Warm and neutral skin tones wear this shade beautifully, and it adds softness to angular features.
How to get it with Smart Beauty
Start with Smart Beauty’s Brown & Copper collection for your base, then add lighter pieces using shades from the Bleach & Blonde range. The plex enriched formula protects your hair while you create that seamless honey transition.
3. Expensive brunette and Bambi brown
Expensive brunette and Bambi brown have emerged as the best celebrity hair colour ideas for anyone seeking a sophisticated, rich brunette that looks naturally glossy and multi dimensional. This shade avoids flat, single tone brown by layering subtle highlights and lowlights that catch the light beautifully. The term "expensive" comes from the high shine finish and depth of colour that makes your hair look healthy and professionally maintained. Bambi brown adds a softer, warmer element with gentle caramel undertones that mimic the natural warmth you see in a young deer’s coat.
The celebrity inspo
Florence Pugh switched from her signature blonde to a rich brunette that immediately elevated her entire look. Charlize Theron has also experimented with deeper brown tones before moving to red, while Victoria Pedretti is known for her glossy, dimensional brunette that photographs beautifully on screen. These celebrities show how brown can be anything but boring when it has the right depth and shine.
Why this look is trending in 2026
This shade trends because it delivers sophistication without high maintenance. You get a polished, put together appearance that grows out gracefully and works in any professional or social setting. The multi dimensional quality means your hair never looks flat or dull.
"Expensive brunette proves that brown hair can be just as striking as blonde or red when you build in proper depth and shine."
Who it suits best
This look flatters medium to deep skin tones particularly well, and it works beautifully on anyone with naturally brown hair who wants to enhance rather than drastically change their colour. Warm and neutral undertones wear this shade with confidence.
How to get it with Smart Beauty
Explore Smart Beauty’s Brown & Copper collection to find your perfect rich brunette base. Layer in slightly lighter shades from the same family to create that expensive, dimensional finish that catches light from every angle.
4. Soft copper and cowboy copper reds
Soft copper and cowboy copper represent two sides of the red spectrum that have become essential best celebrity hair colour ideas for 2026. Soft copper leans into a gentler, more natural auburn with peachy undertones that warm your complexion without overwhelming it. Cowboy copper takes a bolder approach with vibrant, orange toned red that commands attention and works beautifully with denim, leather, and earthy tones. Both shades deliver richness and dimension that flat reds simply cannot match.
The celebrity inspo
Charlize Theron shocked everyone with her bright copper transformation for her role in School for Good and Evil, pairing the colour with vintage curls that enhanced the retro warmth. Sarah Hyland and Lucy Hale both embraced copper red tones, with Hale specifically choosing the shade after years of avoiding it. Gigi Hadid cited The Queen’s Gambit as her inspiration for going red, proving how period dramas have reignited interest in these fiery, sophisticated tones.
Why this look is trending in 2026
Copper reds trend because they bridge the gap between natural and statement colour. You get noticeable vibrancy without entering unnatural territory, and the warmth flatters a wider range of skin tones than cool reds.
"Copper brings warmth and personality without the maintenance anxiety that comes with fantasy colours."
Who it suits best
These shades work best on fair to medium skin tones with warm or neutral undertones. Redheads looking to enhance their natural colour love soft copper, while brunettes wanting drama choose cowboy copper.
How to get it with Smart Beauty
Smart Beauty’s Brown & Copper collection offers the perfect range for achieving these tones. Start with a lighter base if you’re going for cowboy copper, or apply directly to medium brown for soft copper warmth.
5. Suede blonde and creamy balayage
Suede blonde and creamy balayage represent the softer side of the best celebrity hair colour ideas, delivering a butter smooth blonde that avoids harsh platinum tones. This shade brings warmth and depth through graduated highlights that look naturally sun kissed rather than artificially bleached. Creamy balayage specifically refers to the blended technique that sweeps lighter tones through your mid lengths and ends, creating dimension without obvious lines or bands. You get a lived in, effortless finish that works for every season.
The celebrity inspo
The Duchess of Cambridge regularly appears with honey balayage that brightens her brunette base without going fully blonde. Emma Roberts has embraced this technique repeatedly, blending light warm browns with bright blonde highlights for a golden effect. Selena Gomez made headlines when she went platinum, but the more wearable version of her blonde transformation involved creamy balayage that softened the overall impact while maintaining brightness.
Why this look is trending in 2026
This shade trends because it delivers brightness without the maintenance anxiety of full bleach. The blended nature of balayage means your roots transition naturally as they grow, giving you three to four months between colour sessions.
"Suede blonde gives you all the brightness of platinum but with a warmer, more forgiving finish that grows out beautifully."
Who it suits best
This look flatters medium to fair skin tones with neutral or warm undertones. You need a starting base of light brown to dark blonde for the most seamless results.
How to get it with Smart Beauty
Smart Beauty’s Bleach & Blonde collection provides everything you need for creamy balayage at home. Apply lighter shades through your mid lengths and ends, leaving roots natural for that effortless, dimensional finish.
6. Platinum blonde with lived in roots
Platinum blonde with lived in roots offers one of the best celebrity hair colour ideas for anyone drawn to bright blonde but deterred by constant upkeep. This look delivers the ice cool impact of platinum through your mid lengths and ends while leaving your roots intentionally darker, creating a shadow effect that grows out naturally over months. You avoid the weekly touch up cycle that traditional platinum demands, and the contrast between dark roots and bright ends actually adds depth and dimension rather than looking neglected.
The celebrity inspo
Ariel Winter made headlines with her platinum transformation after Modern Family wrapped, embracing the freedom to experiment with her hair colour. Selena Gomez spent eight hours in the salon achieving her platinum look, complete with natural roots for easier maintenance. Dua Lipa has oscillated between platinum and darker tones throughout her career, proving the versatility of this shade when styled with lived in roots.
Why this look is trending in 2026
This shade trends because it solves the maintenance problem that has historically kept people away from platinum. You get striking brightness without the anxiety of visible regrowth showing within days. The intentional shadow root creates an edgy, modern finish that looks deliberate rather than overdue.
"Lived in roots transformed platinum from high maintenance to low stress without sacrificing any of the visual impact."
Who it suits best
This look flatters cool and neutral skin tones particularly well. You need a starting base of at least medium blonde to achieve true platinum ends without excessive damage.
How to get it with Smart Beauty
Smart Beauty’s Bleach & Blonde collection provides the lifting power you need for platinum ends. Apply the lightener only from your mid lengths downward, leaving roots untouched for that intentional shadow effect.
7. Cherry and merlot red statement hair
Cherry red and merlot red sit at the bold end of the best celebrity hair colour ideas, delivering deep, wine inspired tones that make an undeniable statement. Cherry red leans brighter with a vibrant, fruit forward intensity that catches every light source, while merlot brings a richer, more sophisticated depth with burgundy and purple undertones. Both shades communicate confidence and creativity, transforming your entire presence the moment you walk into a room.
The celebrity inspo
Dua Lipa experimented with cherry red during lockdown, posting her DIY transformation and inspiring thousands to follow suit. Sarah Hyland switched from jet black to magenta, citing her "redhead feistiness" as the perfect match for the colour. Katy Perry has cycled through nearly every vivid shade imaginable, including a memorable neon orange that proved her commitment to statement colour.
Why this look is trending in 2026
This shade trends because it demands attention without requiring explanation. You signal boldness and artistic confidence simply by choosing it, and the depth of tone means it photographs beautifully across all lighting conditions and social platforms.
"Deep reds combine the drama of fantasy colour with the wearability of natural tones, giving you the best of both worlds."
Who it suits best
These shades flatter fair to medium skin tones with cool or neutral undertones. You need confidence to wear statement reds, as they immediately become your most defining feature.
How to get it with Smart Beauty
Smart Beauty’s Pink & Red collection offers cherry and merlot tones that deliver rich, saturated colour. Apply to pre-lightened hair for the brightest cherry finish, or apply directly to medium brown for deeper merlot results.
8. Pastel pinks, peaches and lilacs
Pastel pinks, peaches and lilacs bring the softest side of the best celebrity hair colour ideas, delivering delicate, candy inspired tones that feel playful without overwhelming your natural features. These shades work as full colour transformations or as subtle highlights woven through blonde bases, creating dimension and personality that shifts beautifully in different lighting. You move away from traditional blonde or brunette territory into something more creative while maintaining an approachable, wearable finish.
The celebrity inspo
Taylor Swift embraced pastel highlights in pink and blue, proving these shades work beyond festival season. Dua Lipa cycled through pastel pink during lockdown before moving to peach tones, showing how these colours transition smoothly into one another. Ruby Rose took the concept further with her half pink, half blue buzz cut that demonstrated bold placement techniques.
Why this look is trending in 2026
These shades trend because they offer creative expression without permanent commitment. Most pastel formulas fade gradually over weeks, letting you experiment with colour before deciding whether to maintain or shift to something new. The soft tones photograph beautifully and complement rather than compete with your wardrobe choices.
"Pastels give you the fun of vivid colour with a gentler, more forgiving finish that works in everyday settings."
Who it suits best
These shades flatter fair to medium skin tones with cool or neutral undertones. You need a very light blonde base for the colours to show their true pastel quality without appearing muddy.
How to get it with Smart Beauty
Smart Beauty’s Pink & Red collection includes lighter pink tones, while the Plum & Purple range offers lilac options. Pre-lighten your hair to pale blonde, then apply pastel shades for soft, dimensional results.
9. Silver, grey and cool metallics
Silver, grey and cool metallics represent the edgiest of the best celebrity hair colour ideas, delivering a futuristic, high fashion finish that rejects traditional warm tones entirely. These shades range from soft dove grey to bright metallic silver, creating a striking contrast against your skin that photographs beautifully and communicates creative confidence. You embrace cool undertones that shimmer and shift in different lighting, moving beyond conventional blonde territory into something distinctly modern and artistic.
The celebrity inspo
Ariel Winter has experimented with platinum tones that border on silver, while Selena Gomez’s ultra bright blonde transformation showed cool metallic undertones throughout. Britney Spears returned to brunette after years of blonde, but her platinum phases always leaned cool rather than warm. These celebrities prove that silver tones work beyond the grey blending movement, creating statement looks that feel intentional and bold.
Why this look is trending in 2026
This shade trends because it breaks every traditional rule about what hair colour should be. You signal artistic confidence and fashion forward thinking simply by choosing it, and the cool metallics complement the minimalist aesthetic that dominates current style trends.
"Silver and grey tones reject warmth entirely, creating a striking, editorial finish that looks intentionally futuristic."
Who it suits best
These shades flatter fair to medium skin tones with cool or neutral undertones. You need a starting base of very pale blonde for true silver results, as any warmth will create muddy tones instead of clean metallics.
How to get it with Smart Beauty
Smart Beauty’s Silver & Grey collection delivers clean, cool tones that achieve metallic results. Pre-lighten your hair to the palest blonde possible, then apply silver shades to neutralize any remaining warmth and create that futuristic finish.
Final thoughts
You’ve just explored nine of the best celebrity hair colour ideas that define 2026, from Hailey Bieber’s honey bronde to statement silver metallics. Each look delivers something different, whether you want subtle warmth, bold drama, or sophisticated dimension. The common thread connecting them all? Professional quality results that protect your hair while delivering the exact shade you see in celebrity photos.
Smart Beauty brings these looks within reach without salon appointments or questionable ingredients. Every formula includes plex technology that strengthens hair during colouring, and the vegan, cruelty free formulas mean you never compromise ethics for aesthetics. Browse Smart Beauty’s full range to find your perfect match across colour families, from Pink & Red to Brown & Copper, Silver & Grey, and everything between. Your next transformation starts the moment you decide which celebrity look speaks to you.