32 celebrities who were blonde and brunette, to give you the ultimate colour inspo
Definitive proof that it's possible to pull off both shades...
Should I go brunette or stay blonde? It's the oldest beauty debate in the book, but how does one decide whether or not they should jump ship and change their hair colour from blonde to brown, or vice versa?
It's a BIG decision - and one that definitely cannot be taken lightly. Much thought and potential photoshopping should be undertaken, so that you can gauge if you'll suit the shade.
If you've been stuck between a rock an a hard place aka swaying back and forth between being blonde or brown, know that there are a load of celebs who have braved it, lived to tell the tale, and looked pretty great, too.
Here are 31 of our favourite celebrities - as both blondes and brunettes, so you've got alllll the inspo you could ever need before making the jump AND proving (once and for all) that you can have whatever-the-hell hair colour you want.
Kendall Jenner
Despite all of her sisters lightening their locks at some point or another, Kendall has stayed true to her roots and left her hair to do its naturally dark thing. So, when she debuted blonde strands at the LFW Burberry show we nearly fell off our chair. Obviously, she pulled it off like a pro, but, seriously, she looked SO different. While we were busy hyperventilating over the new hue, she was busy getting it dyed back, because, just a few days later she emerged with dark hair all over again. We can't keep up, tbh.
Bella Hadid
Hands down the hair colour switch up of the year, Bella Hadid waved goodbye to her iconic brown locks, in favour of a creamy, honey coloured blonde that has us all drooling. Apparently, she originally dyed it dark to differentiate her from sister Gigi. Now they're basically twins and we are here. For. It !
Billie Eilish
Colour chameleon Billie has been every shade under the sun: blue, pink, purple, neon green roots - you name it, she's done it. Who could say what shade she is right this very moment, even we are not entirely sure, all we know is, whether she's white blonde
Shay Mitchell
She's stayed true to her roots for like, ever, but this pic is proof that she briefly took a walk on the blonde side for a minute. We have to admit, we were surprised to see her suit the bleached blonde shade as much as she does, then again, it is Shay Mitchell we're talking about here...
Zoella
Debuting her new colour on Instagram, Zoe wrote: "Felt like a hair change after looking at brunettes for a while and thinking 'I can't remember what being brunette felt like... I kinda wanna try it again' (the last time my hair was this dark I think I was 20/21! (You can go back through my YouTube and find that if you fancy it) don't get me wrong, I LOVED my blonde hair, but wanted to do something different for autumn winter & was feeling particularly brave." A brave choice, but a good one, being brunette suits you, Zoe.
Dua Lipa
When Dua Lipa chopped all her hair off earlier this year, she became our bob inspiration. Now, with her new platinum bleach job, she has also become our blonde inspiration. Is there nothing she can't do?
Kylie Jenner
Kylie literally couldn't change her hair colour anymore if she even tried. The youngest of the Jenner/Kardashian clan should probably win some sort of award, considering how experimental she has been with her strands. Despite trying every shade - from peach to turquoise and everything in the middle - her most favoured hues have remained blonde and dark brown.
Margot Robbie
Back in 2014, Margot dyed her signature blonde lengths a dark chocolatey-brown for her role in Z is for Zachariah. While there is no question that she looked amazing, she's become so synonymous with her golden toned locks that we were breathed a small sigh of relief when she welcomed them back.
Zendaya
It's official, Zendaya, can pull off just about any cut or colour (And luckily she has the wig collection to prove it)... We've seen her go from a pixie blonde crop to natural curls, to stunning dreadlocks to a beautiful boucy 'fro. Whatever the look Zendaya kills it.
Lucy Hale
Pretty Little Liars star, Lucy Hale, is famous for her dark brown hair, but since finishing up the TV series she's transitioned to a dreamy caramel-blonde. Love.
Selena Gomez
Selena shocked us all when she debuted a bright, platinum blonde bob, the singer stayed light for a couple of weeks before returning to her naturally dark-brown shade.
Rachel McCadams
Back in 2004, Rachel opted for a chocolatey brown hair colour. Nowadays she's working an ashy blonde crop.
Cara Delevinge
Cara D is no stranger when it comes to experimenting with her hair, the model-turned-actress wowed us all with this silver-blonde dye job.
Beyonce
Over the years we have watch Beyonce wield a mass of hairstyles and colours, she always seems to stay somewhere in-between super blonde and light-ish brown, though. Regardless of whether her hair is ashy-blonde or caramel, she pulls it off like a pro.
Sofia Richie
After her brief stint with chocolate brown hair a while back, but since then, she's kept it brilliantly bright and blonde. She's serving a vampier, sultry look with the brown, but the signature ashy shade is how we know and love her.
Carey Mulligan
Carey Mulligan offers definitive proof that you can be a total babe with either blonde or brown hair <3
Rosie Huntington-Whiteley
We're so used to seeing Rosie's gold-blonde tresses, that we barely recognised the actress with her naturally dark-brown locks.
Gigi Hadid
Gigi rose to fame as a bombshell blonde, but has recently opted to embrace her natural ashy brown hair.
Dakota Johnson
Fifty Shades of Grey actress, Dakota Johnson, shows just how easy it is to pull off either blonde or brown hair.
Jennifer Lawrence
J-Law went dark brown for her role as Katniss Everdeen in The Hunger Games, but she's back to blonde again now.
Victoria Jowett is an award-winning journalist and the former Beauty Director at Cosmopolitan UK. She was named one of PPA’s 30 Under 30 for her work in beauty journalism and oversees the skincare, hair, makeup and fragrance content across all of Cosmopolitan’s platforms. She's worked in the beauty industry for over 13 years (and tested 1000s of products), making her an expert when it comes to recommending beauty brands that truly work. Having started her career working weekends on a makeup counter, Victoria began interning at the likes of AnOther and IDOL magazine, before landing her first Beauty Writer job at weekly fashion magazine, LOOK. Joining Cosmopolitan in 2016, Victoria has always remained a beauty fanatic and has been lucky enough to interview everyone from Britney Spears to Kourtney Kardashian about their beauty routines. Follow her on LinkedIn.
Gaby is the Senior Beauty Writer here at Cosmopolitan.com/UK. Her favourite hobbies include sleeping, eating cake till she can't move and uncontrollably hoarding beauty products.
6 ‘undone bob’ hairstyle ideas for a low-maintenance look
Maura debuts summer bob on BAFTAs red carpet
RiRi's butt-skimming ombre orchid hair is divine
JoJo is unrecognisable with bob and wispy fringe
