Is she or isn't she?
Lately, it's been debatable as to whether or not Blake Lively is back to her blonde roots. And since her locks look different in every light, Us Weekly got the scoop from her hair guru, Rona O'Connor, celebrity color expert and beauty tastemaker on ThisNext.com.
"Blake's color is currently transitioning back to blonde for Gossip Girl," O'Connor told Us exclusively Friday. "It was the plan from the beginning to create a red that I could layer in with multiple hues so that when it faded out, it would still look good along the way. We wanted to prevent it from looking flat."
Lively, 23, first debuted her strawberry-tinted tresses back in April at the Time 100 Most Influential People Gala.
But on Tuesday, O'Connor "flicked in blonde color" around the Green Lantern star's face and on the ends and did a gloss treatment right before her Wednesday appearances on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno and at the Green Lantern premiere in NYC later that evening.
"Her hair color has always been in the blonde family, even when it was red," said O'Connor. "It started as a rosy, sun-kissed copper and has been lightening up gradually — it's right on schedule. When she first came to me and asked, 'Can I be a redhead?' I said 'Of course!' We planned a lot and discussed it — I wouldn't have gone any darker since it would have compromised the health of her hair."
Although it's been two months since taking on the fiery shade (that's been dubbed as 'fire opal 'due to it's multi-faceted hues) Lively seems to be enjoying her new color.
"I think she's having a lot of fun!" said O'Connor, who's been doing Lively's hair since the star was 19-years-old. "She has gotten a chance to make a new statement and feel a little different. In this case it was for a character, which has helped her feel more in the role. I think she looks absolutely beautiful!"
So when will Lively finally be completely back to blonde?
"We're taking it slow because we don't want to ruin her hair," said O'Connor, who is also famous in the industry for color-correcting botched dye jobs. "We'll see how the color continues to layer out and decide from there, whether it'll be a richer, warmer blonde for fall, or what. Who knows what hue we'll stop at!"
