In one of my favorite movies, "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind," Kate Winslet's character, Clementine Kruczynski, changes her hair color at least four times. "I apply my personality in a paste," she says. While Clementine was one of the best characters I've ever seen on film, frankly, she was a train wreck who hid unsuccessfully behind her Manic Panic-esque color choices. This along with springtime talk of hair color change got me thinking about all the colors I've tried over the years --

-- and my state of mind when I tried them. Red streaks on black hair spoke to my "punk" phase but I kind of felt like a poser. Golden brown always fit but I needed an edgy cut or extensions to stave off boredom. Blonde gave me the guts to conquer the world (but boy did I get a lot of criticism for not sticking with that "stay within two shades of your natural color" rule). Now, with dark brown/black -- the closest I've ever been to natural, I was aiming for sexy-mysterious but ended up a bit earthy-hippy. (I'm even trying to be more eco-conscious.)

We tend to associate different hair color with different personalities, and I find the reasons why -- from the hotly debated psychology of color to social pressures and stereotypes -- fascinating. But in general I wonder: Is it really as powerful as we think? Have you ever felt your personality is transformed by your hair color? Do you feel like it reflects what's going on inside you -- or distracts from it?

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind images: Focus Features