Every September 1st, my sister, cousin and nearly every one of my Facebook friends race to the nearest Starbucks for a much coveted PSL.
To those not familiar with the abbreviation, PSL stands for Pumpkin Spice Latte. By the craze surrounding it you’d think that Starbucks invented a youth potion or discovered the coffee bean.
I do not understand this phenomenon, or the hype. A pumpkin spice latte is a fall beverage and autumn does not officially begin until September 22nd.
Are pumpkins even in season on September 1st?
To me it is like saying November 1st we put up our Christmas trees or February 14th we begin making peanut butter eggs and eating marshmallow peeps.
I know the transition from summer to autumn is inevitable – in fact, it has already passed as I am writing this blog. It also does not feel like fall at the moment with the sultry 90 degree temps we have been experiencing.
I do realize that my above rant makes me sound like a very cranky octogenarian. I am not begrudging people anything that makes them happy. I suppose at my core I feel summer is so fleeting and that bitterly cold weather will be upon us in the blink of an eye. My mom has told me that these are the exact same sentiments my grandmother had about autumn as well.
Spring sees the world turn green out of the grey remnants of winter. The days begin to warm and that leads us to summer with its brilliant hues of brightly colored flowers and gorgeous sunsets.
Autumn has its own unique beauty as well as the trees begin to set the skyline ablaze. To a colorist watching these changes overtake the landscape is exhilarating. All these changes are the perfect inspiration for new hair color hues.
As the calendar winds down our clients walk through Salon Enso’s doors requesting change.
Why not?
The scenery is about to give us its last great concerto for the year, we are shifting our wardrobe, so why not transition our hair color as well?
Within the last two weeks I have had two of my blonde guests requesting “something different.”
Neither of these guests wanted to part with their flaxen strands, however both were craving something to transition them into the cooler months.
My solution was soft, tonal glosses that took their cues from autumnal hues. For Lindsey, who was a beachy blonde we added a kiss of buttery beige, like a scone fresh out of the oven.
Julie was a golden blond who requested some sort of red in her hair. I gave her a slightly more chestnut toned base and then mixed up a soft, blushed copper to layer over her blonde. We dubbed this color spiked cider as it reminded us of a warm mug of the fall fruity beverage.
Of course blondes are not the only guests who get to have all the fun.
Brunettes sing in fall with caramel ribbons or cinnamon dashed hues.
Red heads sparkle with hints of ginger, rose gold or nutmeg.
And all tones could work in a hint of the quintessentially fall pumpkin spice, whether it is pumpkin season or not.
Fall-ing for fall hues? That’s a phenomenon I can be on board with. Perhaps even as early as September 1st.
