Bella Hadid's 'Ethereal Blond' Kicks Off Honey Blond Hair Trend
Jacob Schwartz created Bella Hadid's 'ethereal blond' — a soft honey blond with creamy golden tones — for Cannes, and colorists say it's the ideal summer-to-fall shade.
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The takeaway
- Celebrity colorist Jacob Schwartz created Bella Hadid's honey blond, which he calls 'ethereal blond', inspired by the South of France during Cannes.
- L.A. colorist Beau Dieda calls honey blond a top transition color: softer than icy blond, lower maintenance, and warm without brassiness.
- Both experts position honey blond as a timeless shade, contrasting it with fleeting trends like cherry red.
Golden honey blond is trending again, and celebrity colorist Jacob Schwartz traces it directly to one head: Bella Hadid's.
Schwartz, a Schwarzkopf Professional U.S. hair color trend ambassador whose client list includes Sydney Sweeney, Charli XCX and Grace Van Patten, created the shade for Hadid and calls it "ethereal blond." Since then, he says, it has been trending nonstop.
"It's a soft honey blond with creamy golden tones and subtle dimension," Schwartz says. "I wanted the color to feel luminous and cinematic, but still understated."
The color debuted in a specific context. "Bella's blond was all about creating something that felt effortless, luxurious, and reflective of the South of France during Cannes," Schwartz says. "She's so closely associated with her signature brunette, so if we were going to make her blond, it needed to feel timeless and fabulous and not like she was wearing a wig or a quick color job for a moment."
Why the shade works as summer turns to fall
L.A.-based celebrity colorist Beau Dieda frames honey blond as a bridge color between seasons. "Honey blond is one of my favorite transition colors because it gives you the brightness everyone loves in the summer but starts introducing those richer golden tones that feel more appropriate heading into fall," he says.
The maintenance argument matters too. "It's softer than an icy blond, lower maintenance, and it catches the light beautifully without looking overly processed," Dieda says. "It's the perfect 'best of both worlds' color."
Dieda also points to the shade's durability as a trend. "It's bright without being icy, dimensional without looking stripey, and warm without feeling brassy," he says. In his assessment, honey blond never goes out of style.
The takeaway for salons
The Hadid effect is doing what it usually does: driving search interest and salon requests for a specific, nameable shade. For colorists planning fall books, Schwartz's formula description — creamy golden tones, subtle dimension, luminous but understated — offers a precise brief. And unlike single-season hits such as cherry red, both colorists position honey blond as a permanent fixture rather than a passing pick, which suggests demand will carry well past September.
Source: PopSugar Beauty; Source: go.skimresources.com
Amara Osei
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Staff writer covering media and advertising at Eurasian Beauty Journal.
