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 think it might be good if you have a Pixie haircut or just straight hair.
 
I emptied the bottle into a professional tinting bowl and used a professional tinting brush to get the best results.

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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L'Oreal Elvive Moisturising & Plumping Hyaluron Plump Moisture Mask, 300ml

I was lured by the discounted priced and the hyaluronic acid in it. I know this product is widely used in face creams and serums and the results are noticeable skin wise. I don't exactly how this is achieved on the hair as hair is follicle not skin, though.
 
I don't get what the packaging means by "plumping". Like volumising? Thickening? My hair was a volumised after using it as it was before. My hair is wavy and thick, so perhaps people with fine sparse hair might have a different experience and results.

I don't particularly like the scent, the jelly like texture, the colouring added to it, or the fact that I had to use a lot of product to untangle my long hair and it does not untangle as well as other masks from other brand that I use. It didn't feel it was as  nourishing either, not even compared to other varieties from the same brand and price range.
 
On the other hand, my hair looked very shiny and healthy looking after use, and the price tag is really good.
 
Not my fav hair mask, but a good one when I'm on a budget. 

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Toni & Guy Damage Repair Mask, 200ml

TThis is my fav mask by Tony & Guy and one of my top-3 fav hair masks in the market. It works wonderfully on my tinted hair and it  untangles my long thick wavy hair easily. It is very creamy, so it really penetrates my hair if  I leave it 5 minutes on, something I do when tinting myself with DIY haircolor. The results are great, as my hair looks hydrated, nourished, healthy and very shiny without any grease or heaviness. Many people ask me which hair products I use to have such a healthy-looking hair and this is the mask I usually use when the question pops up. The product lasts me quite a bit as a small amount of product does the job and goes a long way. The scent is kind of neutral to me, not strong or very gender-oriented, something I like. I don't mind paying a bit of extra more money for the jar because the results on my hair are amazing. On the other hand, I usually stock the product when it is heavily discounted, so it's not that much more expensive than than average or bad quality brands from major brands.

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