Okay, so I saw this picture of Blake Lively with, like, the prettiest strawberry blonde hair, and I just had to try it. I mean, who doesn’t want to look a little bit like Blake Lively, right?
My Starting Point
My hair was a kinda boring, light-ish brown. Nothing special. Definitely not Blake-level fabulous. I’d had some highlights a while back, but they were pretty grown out. So, basically, I was working with a blank-ish canvas, which is good, I guess.
The Experiment Begins!
First, I scoured the internet for pictures. Like, a LOT of pictures. I wanted to get a really good feel for the color, because “strawberry blonde” can mean different things, you know? Some are more red, some are more blonde…it’s a whole spectrum.
Then, came the scary part: picking the dye. I’m not gonna lie, I stood in the hair dye aisle for, like, an hour. I finally decided on a light golden blonde with a hint of copper. I figured it was better to go lighter and then add more red if I needed to. You can always go darker, but going lighter is a whole thing.
I followed the instructions on the box religiously. Seriously, I set a timer and everything. I applied the dye, starting at the roots, then worked it through to the ends. My arms were killing me by the end, but beauty is pain, right?
The waiting, is always the hardest part, it felt like forever.
The Big Reveal (and a Little Panic)
After rinsing and drying, I…well, I wasn’t exactly Blake. It was definitely blonder, and there was a hint of strawberry, but it wasn’t quite as vibrant as I wanted. It was a little too…yellow.
So, I did what any reasonable person would do: I panicked. Just a little. Then, I calmed down and remembered I had a reddish color depositing conditioner. I’d used it before to add some warmth to my hair, so I figured it was worth a shot.
I applied the conditioner, left it on for about 10 minutes, and rinsed again. And…much better! It was still blonde, but with a definite strawberry-ish glow. More like a “sunset blonde,” maybe?
The Final Verdict
Okay, so it’s not perfectly Blake Lively. But, I actually really like it! It’s a fun change, and it’s definitely brighter and more interesting than my old color. I’ve gotten a bunch of compliments, too, which is always nice. Would I do it again? Maybe! It was a bit of a process, but it was worth it for the summery, golden-strawberry vibes.