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We’ve been holding space for Ariana Grande’s blonde hair since long before Wicked even hit theaters. A natural brunette, the actor and singer dyed her hair blonde back in October 2022 when she began filming the movie. During its press tour, Grande and her hairstylist Glinda-fied her hair with numerous updos, but now that it’s awards season, Grande is stepping away from the character with a new hair color: a warm and dark shade of blonde, which she debuted at the 2025 Golden Globes.

Grande has been leaning into Old Hollywood glamour lately, so it’s no surprise that Audrey Hepburn was the reference point for her entire Golden Globes look. She wore a 1966 haute couture gown designed by Hubert de Givenchy, who designed te outfits for Hepburn’s most iconic films including Breakfast at Tiffany’s, Sabrina, and Funny Face.

Grande’s new hair color comes courtesy of colorist Rachel Bodt, who owns Homecoming Salon in New York City. Bodt didn’t get to see Grande’s gown beforehand, but she look at an old image of Audrey Hepburn for inspiration. “In the photo, Audrey had these random, beautiful, chunky highlights throughout her hair, so when it’s pinned back you get a lot of impact,” Bodt tells Allure.

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To achieve dimension Bodt first applied a light auburn, more golden than red. “It’s this lighter nutty chestnut color that we added a lot of warmth to, giving it this gorgeous reflection,” she explains. Then, she added honey-bronde highlights. “The placement of the highlights was the most important part of the look because we wanted to make it look piecey and super impactful,” Bodt explains.

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Using foils versus the balayage technique (aka freehand painting) also ensured the highlights had more of an impact. “The highlights stretch from roots to ends and are really solid—there’s no ombré involved,” Bodt says. And while the highlights weren’t evenly spaced throughout the hair, Bodt was very strategic about where she placed them. “It was really thinking about them like contouring—like how you would contour someone's face so they not only looked distinct but more organic to the overall look.”

In the end, Grande ended up with chunky gold highlights that felt more haute couture than early aughts. “The trick is to use colors that play really well together,” Bodt says. “When you think of chunky highlights from the 2000s, they were very ashy in tone, so it could look jarring. For this look, both the base color and the highlights are very warm and golden in tone, so they're not fighting each other.“

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We’ll have to wait and see, but we think Grande’s new look is going to be quite popular for anyone looking for a little color refresh this winter.

More from the red carpet:

Both Zendaya and Selena Gomez Brought Old Hollywood Bobs to the Golden Globes

Emma Stone Debuted a Pixie Cut at the Golden Globes

Elle Fanning Made a Bobby Pin Look Like a Million Bucks

Now, watch Ariana Grande break down her best music videos:

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