“Desert Sand” Is the Most Wearable Shade of Blonde for Summer

When Lana Del Rey drove up to the Coachella stage on the back of a motorcycle, all we could see was her gorgeous, sandy blonde hair flying out behind her. It was a big transformation for the musician, who had most recently been sporting a dark, shiny chocolate brunette shade, and it was just the color we’d been yearning for to kick off the sunny season. 

According to Del Rey’s colorist Tracey Cunningham, the star herself deemed the new color “desert blonde,” and there’s never been a better descriptor for that specific shade of not-quite-honey, not-quite-wheat blonde. “Lana calls it ‘desert blonde’ because we did the change for Coachella,” Cunningham told Byrdie. “It reminded us of the desert sand and we were really inspired by the location of the shows.”

It really does conjure up visions of sitting on the sand on a summer evening, Diet Mountain Dew in hand and heart-shaped sunglasses perched atop your head. (IYKYK.) The best part? You don’t have to be headlining Coachella to pull it off. Ahead, everything you need to know about the trend, and how to get the look.

The Trend

No matter your base shade, there’s just something about summer that makes you want to go lighter and brighter. While platinum blonde had us in a chokehold for years and 2023 was the summer of bright and perky Barbie blonde, celebrities and their colorists were ready to warm things up for 2024, and Del Rey’s sandy blonde is the perfect example of the shift from icy cool to desert sun.

Desert blonde is the literal Goldilocks of blonde tones. It sits right in the center of the blonde spectrum, neither too cool nor too warm. It’s darker and more subdued than “It Girl blonde,” with its buttery blonde highlights, but not quite as golden as a true honey blonde. In Del Rey’s case, the shade incorporated her natural base color to make it look really natural, but your colorist can customize the highlights, lowlights, and tone depending on your desired result and your base color. 

How to Get the Look

Blonde encompasses a plethora of shades, and Cunninham says “anyone can be blonde—you just have to find your right tone.” This is best done with the help of a trusted colorist, who can help tweak the formula to suit your unique undertones and bring out your best blonde. 

If you, like Del Rey, are going from a dark color to desert blonde, have patience, as it may take a few sessions to lift the color. “It takes time to get to the perfect color safely without compromising your hair,” Cunningham advises. “You have to be prepared to live with an in-between color for a bit in order to have your dream hair.” In Del Rey’s case, the transformation happened over a period of three days, and Cunningham used “a lot of Olaplex” to preserve her hair health. First, she stripped the hair with a clear color three times, highlighted, then added more highlights and lowlights, and finished with a glossing, using Olaplex’s pro-only product No. 1 Bond Multiplier along the way. You don’t want an all-over color, but rather one with lots of depth and dimension. “Even though Lana is naturally blonde, you still need a base color for more depth to get the final right look,” Cunningham explains.

If you’re already blonde, you’ll need to adjust your color palette based on where you currently sit—platinum, lavender, butter, caramel—and where you want to be. “To go from icy to desert blonde, you’re going to need lowlights and glosses,” explains Cunningham. “You and your colorist will have to decide if you’re going to stay in the ashy range or warm it up with some gold glosses. There really is a perfect shade of blonde for everyone who wants it!”