Kylie Minogue’s new fiery hair is her best look yet – here’s why it works in midlife

Kylie Minogue is one of those rare midlife popstars who appeals as much to Gen X as she does to Gen Z. At 56, she is looking better than ever, partly down to her new hair colour – a simple switch from blonde to auburn has taken her from pretty woman-next-door to fiery pint-sized Glamazon.

While her music is what she’s best-known for (her single Padam Padam topped the charts in 2023 and went viral on TikTok the same year) she is also a savvy businesswoman. Her wine range is a runaway success: since launching in 2020 it has sold 17 million bottles worldwide and her Prosecco rose is the top-selling branded Prosecco in the UK. Her perfume, “Darling”, a fruity blend of passionfruit and lychee which costs a reasonable £19 a bottle, returned to UK retailers last year due to high demand from its fans. With the success of her fizz, perfume and pop, one thing is clear: Kylie is looking better than ever. Here’s how.

The hair transformation

Earlier this month, Kylie ditched her signature blonde for a surprising auburn update with brushed strokes of a lighter “bronde”, which is hairdresser-speak for a mix of blonde and brunette. “Kylie’s new golden caramel brunette tone is very flattering with her skin tone, creating a warm glow and making her green eyes stand out,” says Taylor Clifton, a senior colourist at the Jo Hansford Mayfair salon.

It’s the sort of colour that has instantly injected some youthfulness into her look. She’s not alone in wanting a deeper hair colour in midlife: according to Clifton, this shade of auburn is often requested by women in their 50s in the salon.

As for the 70s style cut, Syd Hayes – who styled Renee Zellweger’s hair on this month’s Vogue cover – thinks it’s a combination of the colour and cut that makes Kylie’s new look her best yet. “Kylie’s colour works extremely well with the 70s fringe of the moment, mixed with the perfect softly styled waves. She always seems to effortlessly change her look in a modern, yet iconic way.”

Minogue’s on-trend face framing fringe helps create a striking addition to her tousled waves. To create a more tousled texture in your hair, Hayes suggests beginning by blasting the hair with a hairdryer – like the BaByliss Air Power Pro, £150 – with Sam McKnight’s Volumizing Spray used in the roots. Once your hair is dry, go in with the BaByliss Deep Waves, £55, a crimping tool that gives a soft tousled wave to the hair. It’s a crimper, yes, but not as you know it.

“If you’ve been on the fence for a while as to whether or not to have a fringe cut, now is the time,” suggests Hayes. “Keep it long and pop into your salon for regular trims so your perfect length lasts.” To keep the corners of your fringe rounded and soft, Hayes suggests applying a cream styler such as Hershesons’ Almost Everything Cream through the mid lengths and ends.

The youthful make-up

“Kylie always nails it when it comes to make-up,” offers Dominic Skinner, the Director Of Makeup Artistry at Mac Cosmetics and judge on BBC’s Glow Up. “The skin, the brows, the eyes and the lip colours are always spot on.” Minogue is a fan of glowy skin, which Skinner calls “the secret of wearing make-up in your 50s”.

He advises that when it comes to using foundation, “applying lots of light layers will always look better than one or two thicker layers”. The Studio Radiance Foundation by Mac is excellent for midlife skin, or choose any other water or serum-based foundation. “Follow this with light, soft-focus powders, so look for powders that use the words blurring, velvet or defusing,” he suggests. We like the powders by Hourglass Cosmetics.

When it comes to eyes, Kylie ignores the dated rule that you should avoid shimmer or glitter “over a certain age”, and almost always adds a touch of sparkle to her eyes. “She is not afraid of a sparkle,” agrees Skinner, “however she only uses frosted and shimmer shades sparingly on the lid or in the inner corner of the eye”. This technique can “help to brighten the eye area and prevent it from looking too dark and heavy,” adds Skinner. Try the Lid Lustres by Victoria Beckham Beauty.

“For lip colours, Kylie has been known to wear all shades, but my advice is to wear your lip colour with a lip liner,” says Skinner. “Whatever colour you wear, a lip liner will help fill and sharpen your natural lip edge over 50.” Indeed, for Kylie’s Met Gala appearance last year, the make-up artist Daniel Sallstrom applied a bold cherry red lipstick, but used a lip liner in a matching shade to anchor the look and prevent any lipstick bleeding into lines.

The artful skincare

Although we can’t speculate on any tweakments Kylie has had done, the consultant dermatologist Dr Alexis Granite agrees that Kylie is looking better than ever. “I would say she’s definitely taken a 360 approach to her skin, which is what I advocate for all of my patients,” says Granite. Minogue is said to be committed to sun protection, which definitely helps to futureproof the skin.

“The best thing is to work with what you have, not trying to fight every line and wrinkle and setting up good skin care habits. As you get older, you could explore injectable options,” says Granite. “When you take that kind of approach in combination with a healthy diet, healthy lifestyle, exercise, and mitigating stress, you can really end up looking fab well into your later decades.”

The most popular treatment in Granite’s clinic for women in their 40s and 50s is Botox. “It’s highly effective and very safe,” she adds. “Overall my clients want to maintain a natural appearance and look and feel like the best version of themselves.”

The fashion update

“Kylie is such a pro when it comes to dressing for her proportions,” says Tamara Abraham, the Telegraph’s Acting Deputy Fashion Director. “As any petite woman will appreciate, finding clothes that fit well and flatter the body is about so much more than hemlines: it’s the width of the shoulders, the length of the sleeves, the position of the waist.

“Kylie has always understood this. Like anyone in the public eye, she appreciates the need to look good from every angle, so a lot of what she wears is tailored to fit her perfectly or custom made.” For anyone frustrated by the limited offering for petite proportions on the high street, Tamara suggests following Kylie’s lead and try a service like Sojo, which connects users with local tailors and seamstresses.