11 Best Hair Makeup Products for a Quick Color Makeover

This is the product that started it all, and it’s still one of the best hair makeup options to try. Made by L’Oreal for brunettes, it’s a cream dye that allows you to rock an exciting color just for one day. The formula is creamy and easy to spread, but it dries down into the hair fairly quickly, almost like a mattifying foundation. Once it’s dry, it won’t accidentally rub off or transfer on your clothes, and it feels soft.

It looks like hair dye with a hint of sheen, which is extremely pretty! The only difference is that it’ll wash out in the shower. The color range is really fun, with shades of green, blue, purple, and more. Order it from Amazon!

This hair makeup comes in our favorite color range, and with the best pigmentation, so you won’t need to apply too much. It comes in 8 colors, including yellow, which is unusual. This cream formula is more like a paste (or maybe a cream concealer), so it’s very thick and quick-drying.

We recommend working quickly with it and applying it to already brushed hair. The final look is a little textured since it’s more of a hair wax. It has incredible longevity, though that does mean that washing it out is a little harder than with the other options on the list. Buy it at Sephora!

This is an upgraded version of those temporary hair dye sprays you bought at the Halloween store when you were a kid. However, while those sprays often looked pretty spotty and chunky in the hair, this turns out looking really nice. The formula is similar to a dry shampoo with a lovely sugary scent and with a high dose of pigment.

It works best on hair that has already been styled. It has a strong color payoff, and it’s fast to apply, although it doesn’t give as much control as a cream. The only drawback is that you get very little product in a tube, so you use it up quickly, especially if your hair is dark. It’s available in 4 shades right now. Pick it up from Amazon!

These are like concealer sticks for the hair, and they’re meant to help you along if you dye your hair regularly and need to cover root-growth. Instead of coming in ridiculous colors, they’re available in blonde, brown, and black. They cover small areas at a time, so they offer a lot of control when your hair needs a precise touch-up. This hair makeup range is available at Sephora.

Do blondes have more fun? The range of hair makeup options they have from L’Oreal suggests so! Grays, yellows, blues, purples, and more… this is a wide selection of stunning shades. This is nearly the same formula as our pick for brunettes, but the main difference is that it’s a little less pigmented. It’s still pigmented enough to show up on blonde hair, but it reduces the risk of staining. Purchase it from Amazon!

This gel is hair makeup made with curly hair in mind. It’s sort of a two-in-one curly hair styling gel and color, so it helps the curls hold while also covering them in mineral pigments that give a shiny tint of color. It’s meant to be applied all over to damp hair, ideally after a leave-in conditioner, and then the hair can be diffused-dried or air-dried. The final result is flawless curls with an unusual tint that won’t transfer. Get it in your favorite of 5 gorgeous shades at Ulta!

Whereas L’Oreal’s hair makeup takes quite a bit of time to apply, this is the quick and dirty option for temporary color. The spray deposits the color in seconds, and it instantly covers a lot of hair (while also making a bit of a mess, unfortunately). We’d recommend this if you want an all-over wash of color, while the 1-day hair makeup is better for creating streaks or a balayage.

We love the wide shade range and appreciate that it works on both dark and light hair. It can transfer a bit on clothes or skin, but you can use a layer of hairspray to seal it in a bit more. Find it online through Amazon!

This hair makeup is slightly similar to our top pick from L’Oreal, but it’s got a few details that make it its own unique product. The formula is a little creamier thanks to amodimethicone, and the pigments have a bit of a sheen. One great thing about this product is that it comes with an applicator, so you don’t need to get your hands dirty when applying it, although, be aware that it works best for larger streaks.

The only drawback is that this product doesn’t last a long time, especially if you’re trying to cover a lot of hair. It’s sold on Amazon.

While nearly all hair makeup products are awesome for children, this one is actually marketed for them, with a tie-in to the Trolls film. The formula is similar to a gentle hairspray, but it’s easy to work with, and it goes on quickly. It does have some drawbacks, as it can be sticky and can transfer on clothes. However, the color range is really fun, and the price is hard to beat! Pick it up at Ulta!

If you want a hint of color and glitter, but without any unknown synthetics, we think you’ll love this sea salt hair spray. It’s a beautifully scented spray of sea salt and aloe, which gives the hair a bit of beachy texture. It’s also enhanced with mica pigments, which add a sheen and soft wash of color, like a strobe highlighter for the hair. It’s available at Ulta in Gold, Rose Gold, or Silver.

This is another product we think makes the most sense for children, or for Halloween. It’s a traditional hair gel, so it goes on the hair moist and then dries down to feel hard but looks a little damp. It helps to hold slicked-back, spiky, or mohawk hairstyles, and because it’s pigmented, it also adds a vibrant but washable color. Order it online via Amazon!