L'Oréal Excellence (Brown 5.0)

I've never used L'Oréal  Excellence to tint my hair mostly because it's more expensive than my usual brands. Having used another brands of DIY hair colour, I can easily compare what this package has in it, the tinting experience, and the results.
 
THE PACKAGE
The package contains a cream colour tub, a bottle of developer, hyaluronic acid shampoo and conditioning mask,  a pair of average of plastic gloves (which I hate) and a very useful instructions leaflet (great presentation and organisation of the information and illustrations, font size, etc.). Unlike other DIY hair colour packages I've used, this also includes a tube of shampoo and a comb applicator, which can be attached to the developer bottle to apply the colour directly on the hair.
 
THE TINTING EXPERIENCE
I used the comb applicator and I didn't find it useful  for me, but I'll keep it as a mark-making tool for my art practice.
 
I emptied the bottle into a professional tinting bowl and used a professional tinting brush to get the best results. I think it might be good if you have a Pixie haircut or just straight hair.

Due to this colour shade being a bit lighter than my previous colour, I left the colour on the roots nearly an hour and about 20 minutes on the rest of the hair. I did NOT get any itchy or burning sensation during the long application.  
 
The colour combo is creamy so it does not drip and spreads beautifully. Despite my long thick hair, I had enough product to cover all of it and even have some leftovers. That’s great because there is nothing worse that being short of colour when tinting at home.
 
I removed the excess colour once the time was up and it washed easily. To be honest,  I initially thought that the shampoo tube was too small for my long thick hair. But, surprise!, the quantity was perfect; it's a fabulous creamy shampoo that leathers beautifully. The conditioner is also fab, with just a bit of product being necessary to detangle and soften my hair. I had more than half bottle left for another week at least.  The results were a shiny healthy-looking hair. 

 

THE RESULTS

Did the product cover my greys in full? Yes and it also lightened up a bit my hair. The colour looks beautiful and is true to the box photo.

 

Do I prefer this colour or the other ones I've used in the past? I'd say the results are very good with all the brands I've used before, but L'Oréal Excellence left my hair way less dry and more hydrated than the others. Also, I thought the colouring mix was also creamier, more nourishing, spread better and was not irritant at all.  

Would I buy this again? Totally. I'll be looking up for discounts and flash sales to get the best possible price. Yet, I understand why this is always more expensive than other brands I use.

 

MIND

This product has both ammonia and hydrogen peroxide.

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Eylure Dybrow permanent brow tint kit (dark brown)

This is the first time I use this brand and kit and I will definitely buy it again. I can't but compare it with another brand very similar product (1000Hour) that I have been using for years, and Eylure wins by far. It follows the same procedure for eyebrow tinting: mix 1 cm of colouring cream with 3 drops of developer, mix well, apply with the provided wand, wait 15 minutes and voila. While the 1000Hour kit requires me to have the product 30 minutes on to cover the greys on my eyebrows and it does not cover them well, this one does this perfectly in 15 minutes and greys are gone. Dark brown colour is true to the colour.
 
I had no reaction to the product at all, and it didn't itch or burn when applied. I have used this dye with some greys showing on my temples and small patches on my hair line, and works beautifully as well.
 
Instructions of use come in leaflet written in different languages.
 
The photos on the product page don't reflect the reality of the product I got. The external packaging is identical but not the internal. The developer is a small bottle with a liquid, not a cream tube and the plastic container is also different, as the one I got has not rest for the application wand. 

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Clairol Nice 'N Easy Permanent Hair Colour 4G Natural Dark Golden Brown

This hair colour is really great. Easy to apply, good quantity to fully cover my roots and part of my hair, and the results always get me compliments on how healthy and shiny my hair looks. 

 

The package includes a treatment that really rounds up the colouring process and gives me the shine that I love so much. The golden bit is great because, although it doesn't show when I first apply the colour (what you see is a nice dark brown), it shows when the colour fades away. This is good because it holds onto my greys and they look light brown not white. 

 

The colour lasts me on about 3 weeks due to the fact that I have very white grey hair and I don't wash it every day. 

 

Although my hair looks super healthy and shiny after application, the truth is that it dries it off considerably due to having Hydrogen Peroxide as one of the ingredients.

 

For the rest, this is my usual DIY preferred colouring between salon colouring.

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Clairol Root Touch Up, 4 Dark Brown

I use this brand and colour kit on a regular basis between visits to my hairdresser's. It fully covers my very white grey hair and I find it easy and safe to apply. I always let it on more than the time the package recommends, as I've seen that, if I don't let it stay longer, my greys aren't fully covered. I do this as I haven't noticed any allergic reaction when using it for longer. The colour lasts me great about 2.5 weeks, which is OK and what I expect it to do.

I wish the bottle had a bit of more product so that I could cover my back head roots. The quantity in this retouch kit allows me to cover the front and top layers not the back or my hair, which is OK as I have long wavy hair and it would not show much either way.

Unlike the same brand full-regrowth package, this kit comes without conditioner.

The application brush is excellent for the price. I don't put it in the rubbish, but I use it for my artwork, to clean grout or other home purposes.

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1000HOUR Eyelash & Brow Dye Kit (Dark Brown) 72 g

I have been using this product for several years now, and it does wonders for my eyebrows. The tinting lasts for several weeks, and it looks like the tint I used to have done at a salon before I started using this kit. This is so because the results look natural and polished and it doesn't tint my skin at all. The kit comes with everything you need, so you don't need any extra tool or container to develop and use the product. I sometimes use the product to tint the grey hairs around my temples.

I have sensitive skin but I have never had any problem with this product.

I have never used this for tinting my eyelashes, so I cannot comment on that.

SO-SO
1/ They seem to have changed the formula recently and the colouring doesn't last as much on my eyebrows and it is not as saturated as it used to be.
2/ The quantity of accelerator and tinting cream is not balanced, so I usually finish the tube with the colouring and the developing liquid bottle is still half full.

MIND
Allow extra time if you have some grey hairs.

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