What Is Rose Gold Hair & What Is Blorange Hair?

Don't you just love it when they – whoever 'they' are – come up with a new name for something. There you are, happily thinking the English language has pretty much covered every base and then someone – whoever that someone is – says, "No, we don't have a word for this" and they pluck one out of thin air.

That's the beauty of our language. It's always evolving. And these wordsmiths – whoever they are – can be really quite clever. 'Mansplain', for example. Genius. 'Selfie'. Don't mind if I do. 'Hangry'. Of course you are, you're a teenager.

In the fashion and beauty world, we're particularly good at creating language to meet our needs. The 'dip-dye' is now common parlance, but who knew what a dip-dye was a few years ago? Who knew? 'They' knew, presumably, but we didn't.

The latest word to hit the glossy magazine headlines is 'blorange'. Well, we say the latest, but it has been hovering round since 2017, so it's positively ancient now at just over a year old. By the time you read this,

I think we might be on to 'blurble' or 'brink'. But let's hope not.

So, the vloggers – another great word someone invented, probably a vlogger with a few minutes to kill – are going mad for 'blorange' which, in case you hadn't worked it out yet, is a cross between blonde hair and orange hair. A new ‘inbetweeny’ hair colour. A mash-up. Now, it’s very similar to rose gold – another hot colour that we'll come on to later – but peachier. Think soft, nice pastel sunsets.

And we love it. It's fab. It makes you wonder why nobody thought of it before. But then that's true of so many incredible things. Fire, for instance, has proved quite useful. Or the flat white – things we can’t live without.

The brilliance of blorange is you don't have to be Fearne Cotton to give it a go. Almost anyone can climb the blorange ladder. Your mum could be blorange. Your dad could even be, too, but maybe don't tell him that. Blorange works because it's a) different and will get you many an envious glance, and b) it can be extremely flattering. We say, "can be" because, like all hair colours, there are rules. Well, guidelines. The only real rule is: It's your hair and your call.

But, for the benefit of those who like parameters and don't enjoy looking foolish, here is the most important guideline when using any home hair dye:

Hair Colour looks best when it complements skin tone

Sounds sensible, and it is. We all have a natural skin tone. It's what we're born with and it's a wonderful thing. You can change it temporarily with makeup or fake tan, perhaps, but essentially you will always have a certain tone of skin. Blorange won't work as well for all of us because colours, generally, need to complement each other rather than clash in order to please the eye.

Now, The Good News

Blorange complements skin tones that are both cool and warm. And that's rare. It's usually one or the other. It makes sense. When have you ever seen a bad sunset?

But it helps to make subtle adjustments. If you have a warm skin tone, blorange will enhance those golden hues in your complexion if you add some peachy definition. If you have a cool skin tone, you'd best boost the warmth with more red.

So, how do you go blorange?

You could go and see your colourist. That's the short answer. A professional colourist will know exactly what shade will suit you best and add highlights that will suit your skin and features. If you have light or blonde hair, the transformation will be relatively simple. If you have dark hair or you're a beautiful brunette then there might be some bleaching involved. You might need a few sessions, which, let's face it, won't be cheap.

Alternatively, if you're a confident home-dyer, you can experiment by blending shades of red and blonde. It could be fun. Get the girls round. Go blorange en masse.

Or, and this is our favoured route, start out with Rose Gold 9.2 from the new Olia Bold collection. It makes life so much easier when you have a colour that's ready to go and has been created by colour experts.

What is Rose Gold Hair?

It's a dreamy, bright copper shade that's just as trendy as blorange but perhaps a little easier to carry off

Olia's permanent Rose Gold 9.2 is highly recommended for those with blonde hair, whether it is naturally blonde or coloured, from bleached blonde shades to what is known in colour circles as light blonde.

Olia does not recommended Rose Gold for darker blondes, browns or those with grey hair, but there are plenty of vivid shades in the Bolds collection that will work for you. Intense Copper 7.4, for example, is ideal for dark blondes and grey coverage. Deep Violet 3.16 would be a great choice if your hair is dark brown or black. It's not blorange, but it looks amazing.

There's a colour chart on the Garnier website if you're not sure, and it's good to know that all the Bold shades are ammonia-free for a pleasant scent and oil-powered to be as kind as possible to your hair.

Finally, always remember to do a patch test 48 hours in advance when using any colour product. After 48 hours, check for any reaction or irritation. If you notice anything, stop using it.