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Reinventing Color

Celebrity hairstylist Nelson Chan wakes up the sleepy last days of summer with three bold color moves: Amped Acid points to vivid colors that are far removed from earth-tones-and are highly wearable while Bronde fuses deep brunette sophistication with the glam of blonde. Finally, Sundowner is Chan's latest, softest take on blonde-to-dark ombre effects.

Amped Acid

This color takes hair into the world of vivid, frankly synthetic colors.

"I wanted to show that there is a whole other world of color, which is normally invisible to us," says Chan, Founder of Nelson j Salon in Beverly Hills. "For example, a rock may look like a rock to the human eye, but in sunlight it's gray and tan and may have elements of black and white. Under an ultraviolet bulb, it may glow cherry-red, purple, fuchsia-pink, or the turquoise-teal of a peacock feather."

This saturated palette has been perfected for a refined, wearable version of color-shock.

Bronde

Bronde

This is a deliciously dark take on blonde, which was first made popular by supermodel Giselle Bundchen.

With a medium to dark base, boomerang-shaped blonde slices are scattered strategically around the eyes, cheekbones, and neckline to add a bit of drama.

Placement is key, and the effect is more abstract than one which merely mimics nature.

For instance, Chan does not place blonde highlights on the top of the head or parting, where in real life sunlight would fall and lighten locks.

Bronde is an elegant, witty reimagining of how a worldly brunette might experience a last flicker of lingering summer as the seasons shift to darker days ahead.

Sundowner

Sundowner

Chan's fresher take on last season's sombre variation of the ombre standard, erases the harsh delineations and high contrast typically associated with ombre.

This new, subtler effect is intended to suggest the lengthening of shadows as the summer days get shorter and evening falls earlier and earlier.

Lowlights are tumbled in underlayers and roots, while the top notes of the hair still glow with warm solar chords.