The other day, I had a chat with the ultrafriendly celeb colorist Johnny Ramirez, of the Chris McMillan Salon in Beverly Hills, about techniques and products he used for his high-profile client, Victoria Beckham [1]. Ramirez, who trained under famed color guru Michael Canalé (of Jennifer Aniston caramel highlights fame), also talked about where he gets his inspiration, along with color trends for Fall. Here's what he had to say:

On his approach to hair color:

• "I look at my 4-year-old daughter's hair. She's got Gisele [Bundchen]'s hair color. It's an illusion. It looks really, really blonde, but when you crack it open, it's dark blond underneath. It's so natural — she's born with it. So I take that (inspiration from my daughter) and do it on someone that's older."
• "When someone comes back from vacation, and they have virgin hair (meaning they have no artificial hair color), I always look to see their hairline and how their hair around their face looks. I duplicate that. Sunkissed highlights around the face are so subtle. I'll do (bleached) tips at the bottom, too. . . and comb to blend. When you do this it creates the illusion of soft, beachy hair — like you've been hanging out at the beach all month."

Regarding trends for Fall:

• "Soft and natural hair colors just make your skin glow like you were born with it. Soft and natural — you just can't go wrong with that. Anytime you go really light or too dark it just doesn't look right, so just keep it very soft."

Photo courtesy of Johnny Ramirez.