Hair Filler Strong Restorative Serum, £15.16, Garnier Fructis

It’s a surprisingly cheap and cheerful hair update for Clooney—a woman with a wardrobe full of designer clothes and multiple homes—even if it was expertly applied by the world’s leading colorist.

It seems Amal’s caramel highlights are in fashion. “We’re seeing a lot of brunettes going lighter for fall and asking for this ‘salted caramel’ look,” says leading colorist Anita Rice of Buller and Rice salons in London. (I’ve been going to Rice for my own version of a slightly lighter brunette, though not quite caramel, for five years now.)

Are salted caramel, toffee highlights the latest way to update your brunette locks? Hairstylist and trend forecaster Tom Smith thinks so. “Amal has gone for a really bold statement, but it’s not a total reinvention of her look, which is what makes it really effective,” he says. “Her hair has gone as light as it can be, while still looking like a true brunette.”

Defining ‘bronde’

The way Amal’s colorist achieved this lighter effect was by adding lighter “bronde” pieces — hairdressing parlance for a warm, honey blonde — placed around the face. As the color moves further away from the face, it becomes a deeper, more “natural” brown. “This is a trick we use as colorists to make someone’s hair appear lighter without losing their overall identity as a brunette,” adds Smith, who cites Kamala Harris and Jennifer Lopez as other examples of women who have employed the strategy.