What Are the Best Colors for Brunettes?

Brunettes, whether natural or not, may want to play up the lovely shades and tones of their hair by accenting with appropriate colors. Since there are so many variations of color within the brunette range, picking the best colors for brunettes may depend on other factors, such as eye color and skin tone. Hair, makeup, and fashion decisions can all be enhanced by considering the best colors for brunettes.

One of the easiest ways to narrow the color range is to first determine whether a brunette tends toward warm or cool tones. Warm brunettes tend to have gold or copper highlights, and often feature yellow-toned skin as well. Cool brunettes may have ash-blond or black tones in their hair, and often have pink-tinged skin. As a general rule, warm brunettes tend to look best in colors that feature the same yellow or warm undertones as their hair, while cool brunettes may look better in cooler, more blue-hued tones.

Adding additional layers of color to already brunette hair can help it appear multi-toned and exotic, rather than mousey or dull. When choosing highlight or lowlight colors for brunettes, it is important to look for colors that will enhance natural skin tone and existing hair color. To warm up a natural brown, consider adding caramel, copper, or golden highlights. For those with pale, cool skin, natural facial features may be enhanced by adding cocoa, ash, or even maroon highlights.

Makeup colors for brunettes will also depend on skin tone and eye color. Warm brunettes with brown, green, or hazel eyes may look best with champagne, moss green, or bronze eyeshadows and liners. Cooler-toned brunettes with light eyes may look fantastic with slate, silver, lavender, or pale green eye shadows. Many brunettes look fantastic with clear-toned red lipstick or gloss, which can contrast nicely with dark brown hair.

Clothing colors for brunettes depend as much on personal taste as any specific formula. As a rule, brunettes may want to avoid black clothing, as the strong color can make hair look dull and washed out. Both cool and warm brunettes often look fantastic in jewel-toned clothing colors, such as amethyst, emerald, sapphire, and ruby. As with makeup and hair color choices, it can help to determine the color undertones of a piece of clothing to decide if it will enhance or detract from hair. Warm brunettes may want to choose clothing that has orange, yellow, or tan undertones, while cool brunettes may want to look for blue and grey shades.