All about Ombre!

Unlike the other Disco Bead Fairies (and probably because I’ve never had hair long enough!), I actually had no idea what Ombré was, but was hooked as soon as I found out it’s the art of blending colour! And it is an art, believe me. Choosing what exact shade goes next to create a smooth transition isn’t easy, as our Fairies discovered when they were creating the beautiful new Ombré range…

Of course, it’s a stunning effect when applied to hair (and beads!), but what else is it used for? Turns out, all sorts. The word comes from the French word ‘ombrer’, meaning ‘to shade’. (Strange fact alert: As a noun, Ombre was the name given to a hugely popular trick-based card game widely played across Europe in the 17^th-18^th Centuries!)

In textile design, Ombré was a technique developed in the early days of mass fabric printing at the start of the 19^th Century using a ‘rainbowed’ block to create a graduated colour effect but, as fashions moved, on it disappeared for a while giving way to block colour and pattern.

An Ombré sunset