Golden Hour Brunette: The Glowing Hair Colour For Summer

There’s something about that golden hour glow that just makes everything look better, so naturally, we want to bring that same effect to the salon. Get to know Golden Hour Brunette, the latest brunette trending hair shade that’s bringing a soft, sunset-inspired dimension to clients with darker hair. With a rich chocolate base, warm caramel tones, and subtle honey ribbons that catch the light perfectly, it creates the most stunning golden-hour look without needing to turn your clients’ hair into a full head of highlights.

Inspired by the warm glow of the sun during golden hour, this shade of brunette creates a soft, illuminated dimension throughout brunette hair. Rather than adding a full head of highlights, the colour is made up of subtle ribbons of honey, malted caramel and chocolate that appear to glow from within the hair. This results in a rich and glossy finish, looking seriously expensive, and can guarantee your clients will be obsessed with.

This makes the perfect option for naturally dark-haired clients who want to brighten their colour without making a dramatic change. And the best part? You don’t even need to heavily bleach the hair to achieve it.

We’re officially moving away from the idea that brunette has to be this one, flat, all-over shade. Instead, clients are looking for colour that feels natural and low-maintenance, while still giving their hair that little something extra. Luckily, Golden Hour Brunette ticks all these boxes. The key is keeping the colour soft and subtle, with natural-looking ribbons of light rather than obvious, chunky highlights of lightness.

In collaboration with Quif Educator, Sara Simpson, we’ve explored how to create that dreamy Golden Hour glow with your clients. Sara tells us, "When creating that soft, sun-kissed dimension, Quif Magi:lights are your go-to.”

Sara suggests reaching for the Soft Ash, Soft Gold or Soft Beige shades to create those delicate, illuminated ribbons throughout the hair. The aim isn’t to create a dramatic lift, but to lighten selectively enough to introduce warmth and dimension. This is all while keeping the overall brunette base rich.

For your even deeper brunette clients, Sara recommends reaching for Quif’s Magi:colour in the Champagne, Rose Gold, Mocha, or Extra Brunette ranges to build the perfect depth and tonal richness. You can also explore Quint:essential with the Mocha, Mocha Gold, Mocha Ash, Muted Mocha, or Warm Gold ranges to create that gorgeous blended brunette finish with lots of depth.

One of the biggest rules to remember when creating Golden Hour Brunette is to not over-lighten the base. Heavy lightening and intense highlighting can compromise the glossy finish by damaging the hair’s cuticle. And when you want to achieve that expensive brunette look, the shine is everything! Sara recommends focusing on strategic lightening to create dimension while keeping as much of the hair’s natural condition as possible. Once you’ve created your ribbons of lightness, finish with a gloss toner, such as Magi:gloss, to enhance the colour, but most importantly, enhance that shine.

Golden Hour Brunette is proof that brunette hair doesn't need a dramatic transformation to make an impact. With strategically placed lightness and warm dimensional tones, you can create a brunette look that catches the light from every angle.