Smoky lilac is the most subtle cool hair color yet

We love pastel hair as much as the next person, but let’s be honest: Not everyone can (or wants to) pull it off. Sometimes you end up looking a little more cartoon-ish than you meant to, or you find that pastel shades just wash out your skin tone. On top of all that, pastel hair only looks good for like, a day.

Well, for those who love the look but want something a bit more grown up, say hello to smoky lilac hair. It’s a modern twist on pastel hair mixed with a fun update on the silvery trend that’s made going gray trendy. It’s basically shades of silver and violet mixed together in a color melt to deliver a cool, smoked out version of lavender.

According to PopSugar, Guy Tang, the man who just delivered us Tori Spelling’s new rose-tinted hair, actually developed a new line of professional hair dye that is perfect for this look. In collaboration with Kenra Professional Hair Color, Tang helped create a line called called the Metallics. The colors will specifically help your hair colorist achieve the smoky effect with any shade, but for something in purple, you’ll want your colorist to pick the color Violet Metallic.

One of the best things about this color is that it looks good on nearly every skin tone. This is due in part because it calls for a customized mix of both cool and warm shades of purple and gray.

It also works on both blondes and brunettes, and looks different on everyone depending on how the light hits it. You can also opt for more gray or more purple in your look, depending on what you want for your finished result.