Ellie Goulding’s New Hair Color Is the Perfect Summer Makeover

For some mermaid-haired ladies, you can never have too many colors in your tresses. Case in point: that epic sand art inspired ‘do we showed you earlier this week. But for others, simplicity is key. Maybe that means you dipped your whole head in a sultry shade of seafoam green or maybe they’ve decided to only dye a small section of their otherwise normal-colored mane. Ellie Goulding just opted for the latter.

The British singer recently took to Instagram to share her pink hair makeover. Rather than dredging her platinum lob entirely in pink like Julianne Hough, Goulding decided only to color a small section on the left side of her head. Considering Ellie has previously dyed her full head of hair both lavender and pink, this actually appears to be the most subtle color plunge Ellie has taken.

If you’re looking to copy Ellie’s colored streak, there are a couple ways you get the look at home. For something super temporary there is always the trusty hair chalk ($10). Or if you want a product that will last a little longer but will still wash out eventually, check out our tutorial on how to use this temporary pastel-tinted conditioner we’re super obsessed with right now. Having a different colored hair streak for every musical festival you hit up over the next few months is most definitely a goal you can accomplish this summer.

Did you recently take the colored-hair plunge? Share a pic with us in the comments below.

(Photos via Gareth Cattermole/Getty and @elliegoulding)

Chances are, you’ve probably been sunburnt and you’ve probably experienced the scathing pain that a sun-singed scalp can leave you with. We certainly have. If you’re a frequent victim of the often-forgotten scalp-burn, you may be ignoring a critical step in your sun care routine.

As it turns out, you need to be regularly applying SPF to your scalp to protect your skin and hair from prolonged damage beyond your hairline. But why?

"Hair helps maintain body temperature during colder months and blocks UV rays," explains Joshua Zeichner, MD, Associate Professor of Dermatology and the Director of Cosmetic & Clinical Research in Dermatology at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York to Refinery29. "When the hair is parted, or in cases where the hair is thinning, the scalp may be directly exposed to the sun; the scalp is at particular risk since it points upwards directly to the sun and often goes unprotected."

There you have it. Big Sunscreen’s got us in their grip again, and now we need to add another product to our haircare (Or is it skincare?) routine. OK, OK – that might be a tad dramatic. Though the scalp-specific SPF category is actively growing, you can actually use any sunscreen lotion, as long as you don't mind a little extra grease. If this is more your speed, save your scalp by taking “a drop [of sunscreen lotion] on your finger and run it down your part line," says Dr. Zeichner.

This is especially important for our colored-haired queens. "Besides increasing the risk of skin cancer, rays from the sun can bleach dyed hair," Dr. Zeichner says. "That's why sitting in the shade, wearing a hat, or using an umbrella is important."

If you are aiming for a grease-free scalp, we’ve rounded up all of the best formulas to try this summer and beyond.

1. OARS + ALPS Face + Scalp Mist with SPF 35 ($16)

This lightweight mist lets you apply broad spectrum SPF 35 to your face and scalp without getting sunscreen on your hands. Aloe and Cucumber provide hydration to counteract drying sun exposure while antioxidant-rich Safflower Oil and Sunflower Oil defend skin from environmental damage, so you’ll be fully protected no matter what the activity.

2. Coola Scalp & Hair Sunscreen & Color Protection Mist with SPF 30 ($28)

Prevent UV color fade with Coola’s convenient mist. This spray is specifically formulated for application on hair, and will give your scalp a break from the sun for up to 80 minutes in the water.

3. Hawaiian Tropic Mineral Powder Sunscreen, SPF 30 ($22)

This dermatologist-tested SPF has a lightweight formula with naturally sourced sea minerals absorbs excess oils and leaves a matte finish for a blended-in look.

4. Jane Iredale Powder Me SPF 30 Dry Sunscreen ($55)

If you have sensitive skin, this may be the scalp SPF for you. Plus – it’s intuitive design allows for easy (And less expensive!) refills.

5. Josie Maran Get Even Sun Milk SPF 33 ($46)

Trade in your greasy Waterbaby lotion for this silky alternative. If you prefer a cream over liquid, this is the sunscreen for you.

6. HABIT N°38 Facial Sunscreen Mist with SPF 38 ($30)

This facial SPF mist is perfect for your hair, too. Its touchless application guarantees effortless, full coverage with the added benefit of soothing ingredients.

We’ll definitely be keeping our scalps safe with these fantastic options. Let us know what your go-to SPF is in the comments!

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Header image via Jeremy Bishop / Unsplash

This edible crescent-roll cornucopia is our way of making a normal cheese boardmore festive — and definitely more fun — during the holiday season. Our go-to this time of year is a massive cheese plate that can stand alone and be the main attraction, or the starter for a larger meal. Press on for the surprisingly easy steps to braid a breaded cornucopia.

Chris Andre

Materials + Tools:

  • 1 roll of tin foil
  • 2 packages of crescent rolls
  • 1 egg (for egg wash before cornucopia goes into the oven), optional

Chris Andre

Instructions:

Start by sculpting tin foil into the shape of a cornucopia (it looks like a cone with an upturned tail). Pro tip: Lightly pack tin foil so it's easier to remove later from your baked cornucopia. Crescent rolls should be buttery enough that this shouldn't be difficult.

Chris Andre

Your tin foil mold should look a little something like this.

Chris Andre

Pop open the crescent rolls and cut the triangles into strips. Pinch together the ends of strips to make strips longer.

Chris Andre

Braid crescent roll strips. You can make these as fancy as you want. Not a braiding pro? Skip this step and leave those strips alone.

Chris Andre

Wrap tin foil cornucopia with braids/strips. Make sure you cover all the tin foil. Leave a little wiggle room at the opening of the cornucopia, so that when you’re done baking you can pull some of that tin foil out.

Chris Andre

Use any extra dough to cover the bottom of your cornucopia. Pinch the sides and anchor those braids/strips in.

Chris Andre

Brush on egg wash before placing your cornucopia in the oven. Bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 20 minutes. Take out of oven and cover spots of cornucopia that are already golden brown with extra tin foil. Bake for another 20 minutes at 250 degrees Fahrenheit.

Chris Andre

Let it cool down until it’s easy to handle. Remove tin foil.

Chris Andre

Place cornucopia in corner of your cheese plate. Arrange cheese on your serving tray.

Chris Andre

Add crackers — we like to have two or three options.

Chris Andre

Don’t forget to fill up your cornucopia. It's called "the horn of plenty" for a reason. Fill with fresh fruit like grapes, apples, and pears.

Chris Andre

Add nuts like walnuts and pistachios to fill in any empty spaces. Garnish with fresh herbs like rosemary and sage to finish it off.

Chris Andre

Voilà! Invite over your friends, open a bottle of wine, and dig in!

Chris Andre

A cornucopia cheese board will become your new favorite holiday tradition.

Show us your crescent-roll cornucopias on Instagram and check out our baking classes (and our Easy Thanksgiving Desserts piece) for more holiday food inspo!

DIY Production and Styling: Paris Fried

Paris Fried: Paris loves any excuse to celebrate and throw a themed party. She loves experimenting in the kitchen and has a terrible sweet tooth. When she's not crafting in her studio, she's at the farmers' market buying seasonal produce or at her favorite local theater watching double features.

This post has been updated.

Welcome to winter 2019, where beanies, glossy makeup, and statement lips look that much better when paired with a pretty new hair color. Instead of keeping it classic with a monochromatic blonde, brunette, or red shade, why not shake things up with one of the most requested shades of the season? Whether you want to flaunt a deep brunette hue, a rich reddish brown, or a sweets-inspired blonde, ahead the industry’s top stylists walk you through the picks for the season.

Espresso Brown

Winter is a popular time to go a shade or two darker with your hair color, but Brooklyn-based colorist Chelsey Pickthorn urges you to not stop there. According to her, when it comes to being a brunette this winter, there’s no such thing as going too dark. That’s where espresso brown hair like Mandy Moore’s comes into play. (Photo via Valerie Macon/Getty)

To get the look, Pickthorn recommends asking your colorist for a black-coffee base mixed with a touch of warmth to add mahogany-like movement and depth. “This color [pairs well] with deeper complexions but can absolutely be pulled off with lighter skin tones,” Pickthorn says. The trick is to either go the tiniest bit lighter with your espresso mane or blend a tinted moisturizer into your skin to help balance the contrast so that it’s not too stark.

Rooted Balayage and foilayage

Just because it’s cold outside doesn’t mean you need to adopt a cool-toned hair color. “We‘re still in love with balayage and foilayage techniques to create warm movement and depth within a hair color,” says Linda De Zeeuw, a master stylist at Rob Peetoom in NYC. As with any soft hair color application, balayage and foilayage suit all skin tones since you’re keeping your natural base color. “You can also modify the highlights to work best for you,” says Stephanie Brown, a master colorist at the Eddie Arthur Salon in NYC. “If you have cooler skin tones, go with neutral-to-warm highlights. For brunettes like Jessica Biel above, we’ll see more golden and coppery highlights.” (Photo via John Shearer/ Getty)

To achieve the low-maintenance look, Brown recommends pairing foilayage or balayage brush strokes with a faux root to help extend the life of your winter color. “The hair is always brighter at the hairline, but when you shadow the roots to make it slightly darker than the ends, you get a longer wear out of your highlights,” Brown says. If you’re a brunette, she also recommends adding a few piecey highlights around the hairline, as too many all over can make for a brassy mane.

Inky Black

If dark brown simply won’t cut it for your hair goals, it’s time to consider an inky black mane à la Lana Condor. “Inky black is rich and deep with a hint of blue,” Brown says. “This shade goes very well with the glass hair trend because the black will give the shine you want for the style.” (Photo via Sarah Morris/ Getty)

The bluish-black hair color is easiest to achieve on those who have slightly lighter hair colors. If you have dark brown or black hair, you’ll need to lighten your strands before adding the dark, cool-tinted dye to score the exact inky allure. When it comes to skin tone, fair, cool undertones rock the look best, especially if light blue, green, or gray eyes are part of the equation.

Titian Tones

Choosing between hair colors can be a tough business, especially if it’s between going brunette or red. If you’re on the fence, consider a titian hair color, like Bryce Dallas Howard’s above. “It’s a light [brownish] copper that has golden undertones that radiate like the strong heat of the sun,” says celebrity hairstylist Paul Labrecque with Paul Labrecque Salon and Spa in NYC, Philadelphia, and Palm Beach, Florida. (Photo via Frazer Harrison/VMN18/ Getty)

To get the reddish-brown hair color, ask your colorist for a single process titian that suits your undertones. The warm hair color flatters fairer skin tones and can be tailored to both cool and warm undertones.

Sugar-Cookie Blonde

Immortalize your favorite holiday cookie with this caramelized beige-blonde hair color. As worn by Kirsten Dunst above, it’s the ultimate winter blonde since it maintains the light appeal while bringing a muted warmth to the coolest season of the year. (Photo via Steve Granitz/ Getty)

To recreate the look at the salon, KEVIN.MURPHY global design director Kate Reid says to ask your stylist for a warm caramel tone with soft shades of beige and gold. To maintain the baked hue, be sure to stock up on anti-brass haircare products, as well as an at-home glossing treatment. Using these once or twice a week will keep unwanted tones out of your hair while amping up the shine and deeply conditioning ends.

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Though Black Friday is traditionally the official start of the holiday shopping season, we argue that it’s been kicking since mid-October. We know, we know: it still feels extremely early to start thinking about the holidays, but they’ll be here before you know it! Plus, many brands and retailers are already promoting their holiday goodies with plenty of sales and discounts available right now.

If you’re ready to embark on your holiday shopping journey, but still need answers to questions like ‘when’s the best time to shop?’ and ‘where should I shop for gifts?’ and even ‘how the heck do I save money this season?’, you’ve come to the right place. Consider this your go-to guide for holiday shopping in 2024.

Scroll on for our best guidance on navigating this busy time of year and finding the best gifts possible!

When's the best time to do holiday shopping?

Kaboompics / PEXELS

The best time to do holiday shopping really all depends on your personal shopping goals. Do you want to get a jump on items you know will sell out soon? Do you want to save the most money possible? Do you want to focus on handmade, personalized gifts? These factors will undoubtedly influence your holiday shopping schedule.

Cottonbro Studio / PEXELS

Shopping early can be advantageous for all of the aforementioned goals. A lot of retailers start promoting their holiday products early on, giving you ample time to snatch up that limited-time lip kit or fancy water bottle you’ve been eyeing way before the holidays.

Plus, some of the best deals for holiday shopping happen ahead of Black Friday and Cyber Monday – in 2023, Experian observed a surge in early spending in October, thanks to early discounts, a trend likely to continue in 2024.

Finally, shopping early can be especially helpful if your plan is to focus on handmade or personalized gifts, giving the artisan you buy from (or yourself, if you’re DIY-ing your gifts) plenty of time to craft the item with love and care.

Gallup reported in 2023 that one in four shoppers start shopping as early as September, a trend likely to continue in 2024 – so you might already be embarking on your shopping spree!

Mikhail Nilov / PEXELS

If right now is just still too darn early for you to start holiday shopping, Black Friday and Cyber Monday are some of the best times to shop since so many retailers offer their largest discounts of the entire year. Plus, the late November-early December timeline can feel a bit more appropriate for the gifting season opposed to late October-early November, when everyone’s still recovering from Halloween.

The only thing to consider during this time is the shipping timelines for the items you purchase – but most retailers will typically advise their specific shipping schedules, so you don’t risk your goodies arriving late.

Where should I shop for gifts?

Ron Lach / PEXELS

You have three main options when it comes to where to shop for holiday gifts: online, in-store, and via our amazing gift guides. Of course, each method has its advantages and disadvantages.

Shopping in-store offers a tangible experience: the opportunity to hold specific items in your hands and gauge exactly what they’ll be like when you give them as a gift. The pitfall with shopping in-person is that it typically requires a commute and journeys through potentially very busy malls and shopping strips, which can add to the already-stressful holiday experience.

In-store shopping can be more physically exhausting, but it’s all about preference! Sometimes strolling through the stores that get all dolled up for Christmas is the best part of the season.

Andrea Piacquadio / PEXELS

Per Google, 65% of those planning to shop for the holidays say they will shop online more. Shopping for gifts online can be super helpful since you can centralize your findings in your browser’s bookmark tab or via virtual cart(s). Plus, shopping online can pose more opportunities for saving some money: lots of retailers typically offer discount codes for online users, especially if you sign up for their digital marketing channels (like email and text) and make a purchase.

Shopping online isn’t just shopping, either. The internet can be a stellar research tool to help you vet whether certain products are worth it, where they can be bought, and when they’ll be available. In fact, Google reported that more than half of U.S. holiday shoppers who went into a store last year say they looked up product reviews online and/or located an item in-store by checking it online.

Kaboompics / PEXELS

Last but not least, scrolling gift guides has to be our favorite place to shop for gifts – and not just because we write and publish them.

At their very core, gift guides help streamline the holiday shopping process, alleviating the stress that bubbles up when you’re wondering what the heck to shop for in the first place. Our gift guides are backed by real people, real experiences, and real opinions from our editorial team. We only promote products that we really love and believe in, oftentimes ones we’ve tested and reviewed ourselves.

We have gift guides for just about everyone on your list, with more on the way! Check ‘em out:

What are the best kinds of gifts to give?

Kaboompics / PEXELS

The best kinds of gifts to give are thoughtful gifts that consider the giftee’s interests, wants, and needs. These gifts can be sentimental, practical, or both simultaneously. What matters most in a gift is that it’ll be meaningful to them past just the holiday season, whether it’s helping them get through daily tasks, reminding them of a memorable trip or event, or giving them small doses of joy.

“Shoppers are increasingly looking for personalized and unique gifts that reflect the recipient's personality and interests,” says Mia Anderson, Owner of ChicSew. “With the rise of online shopping, many consumers are opting for curated gift boxes or experiences that add a special touch.”

Cottonbro Studio / PEXELS

Gift boxes, personalized items, books of interest, self-care goodies, and even gift cards can all be thoughtful gifts depending on the recipient. If you have no clue what your giftee is into, it’s not a bad idea to ask them what they want the most!

“My idea of a great gift is something that is in tandem with the recipient's interest and offers something new to the person, be it learning a new skill, enjoying a calming activity, or simply spending quality time with the family,” says Alfred Christ, Sales Manager & Marketer at Robotime. “This season, we encourage shoppers to shift their focus on quality and the memories their gifts will create and not just merely material aspects.”

When is Black Friday?

Sora Shimazaki / PEXELS

Black Friday is always the Friday after Thanksgiving. This year, Black Friday lands on November 29.

When is Cyber Monday?

Kindel Media / PEXELS

Cyber Monday is typcally the Monday after Thanksgiving. This year, Cyber Monday will land on December 2. Oftentimes, retailers and brands extend their online offers through the week (coined Cyber Week) after the event. Salesforce reported that 67% of shoppers in 2024 plan on shopping during Cyber Week!

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The holidays at Starbucks are creeping up on us, people! Peppermint Mocha season will return on November 7. If you’re a die-hard Starbucks fan, you know Red Cup Day is a whole holiday in itself – the frenzy for a free reusable cup is truly no joke. There’s even an entire website dedicated to counting down the madness! Even though there’s no official word on when Red Cup Day 2024 will be, there are several clues that cue us into the annual event. Scroll on for details!

What is Red Cup Day?

Starbucks

Red Cup Day is Starbucks’ highly-awaited annual event that marks the start of holiday beverage season at the coffee chain. For one day only (and while supplies last), customers who order any of Starbucks’ holiday drinks will receive a reusable red cup that features a bespoke design for the respective year.

Starbucks

Here’s a list of all the drinks rumored to be available on the Starbucks holiday menu starting November 7:

  • Peppermint Mocha
  • Peppermint White Chocolate Mocha
  • Caramel Brûlée Latte
  • Sugar Cookie Almondmilk Latte
  • Chestnut Praline Latte
  • Salted Pecan Crunch Cold Brew
  • Iced Gingerbread Oatmilk Chai

What do the red cups look like for 2024?

Starbucks

Starbucks hasn’t officially announced when Red Cup Day will be for 2024, let alone what the famed red cups will look like this go-around. The one obvious point is that the cups will be red! They’ll also likely feature some festive motifs that echo the holiday season. Last year’s red cups boasted playful white and green stars and ornament-like shapes.

Why should I participate in Red Cup Day?

Starbucks

Red Cup Day = freebies, which can feel really rewarding if you’re really into receiving free goodies. Plus, it’s just a fun way to lean into the holiday spirit. The red reusable cup keeps giving beyond Red Cup Day, though! Every time you use the reusable cup for future Starbucks orders, you get a 10-cent discount as well as 25 bonus stars toward your Starbucks Rewards account to save up for more discounts on drinks, food, and merchandise.

When is Starbucks' Red Cup Day 2024?

Starbucks

Again, Starbucks hasn’t alerted us on when Red Cup Day will be for 2024, but based on previous Red Cup Days, we can infer it’ll land on the third Thursday of November. In 2022, Red Cup Day happened on November 17, and for 2023, it was November 16. The third Thursday of November in 2024 hits on November 21, so mark your calendars, everyone!

Additionally, check back here for official info as Red Cup Day approaches.

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This post has been updated.