I recently had a chance to try out the new Garnier Olia hair color. When i saw their ads i was intrigued and extremely interested in trying it out. Luckily BzzAgent selected me for their Garnier Olia campaign and needless to say i jumped at the opportunity to try it.
I did a lot of research before trying it out and was surprised at the number of reviews available. It is a fairly new product and so i was unable to get a clear review. For the most part the reviews are pretty mixed.
I did a lot of research before trying it out and was surprised at the number of reviews available. It is a fairly new product and so i was unable to get a clear review. For the most part the reviews are pretty mixed.
First off i'll give you some history on my hair and it's natural and current condition. I've done my fair share of at home hair dying. I've been coloring my hair since i was 15 and I've never looked back. My hair is about mid back length and naturally thin and semi-frizzy. I do however have a lot of it and so i typically need about 2 boxes of hair dye.
Here are the available shades that Olia offers. I find that it's not many but it does cover the basic general shades. (sorry for the small picture i wasn't able to find a bigger one) It retails for about $10 ea. Like i mentioned previously i was selected for a BzzAgent campaign so i got one box for free, however i did have to pay full price for the second box.
I had heard that one box didn't contain very much product and so i opted for 2 boxes, which i typically do anyway. Since computer screens vary in brightness and color display, choosing a shade online is difficult. I did however find a handy link that helps you chose the most flattering shades based on your natural hair color. I've colored my hair red, black and a highlights shade that looked more orange than brown (it was a sad sad day when i decided to try out the L'oreal boxed highlights kit). I was leaning towards an Ash brown and was given some nice choices.
This is the what i started off with. Last time i colored my hair was months before these pictures were taken . I colored it a "natural" black but by the time i took these pictures it had faded and looked brownish black.
This is the what i started off with. Last time i colored my hair was months before these pictures were taken . I colored it a "natural" black but by the time i took these pictures it had faded and looked brownish black.
I opted for 6.0 Light Brown.
The Dying Process:
The dying process was simple. The instructions were pretty straight forward and easy to comprehend, If you've done it before you probably wont need them, other than for checking how long you're supposed to leave it on your hair. Olia tells you to leave it for 30 minutes which is about standard for most hair dyes. The application bottle has a bit of an odd shape to it. It looks nice, but it's not very practical. I don't have unusually small hands, yet i found myself having a hard time holding on to it while i mixed the developer & colorant, as a result i dropped it a couple of times spilling some of the mixture on my sink. I was afraid two bottles would barely be enough, and since i didn't want to waste any more product i was careful to apply it sparingly. Surprisingly one bottle did cover my entire hair, however it was barely damp and I was afraid I might have missed some spots so I decided I'd rather make sure it was fully saturated so I went ahead and used the second bottle.
THE RESULTS:
The results were average. It covered all my hair. I don't see any splotchy areas. This is not usually an issue for me though so it will vary from person to person. The only unevenness is in the roots area. As you may be aware, "virgin" hair grabs onto the dye a lot better than color treated hair. As a result my roots were a lot lighter than the rest of the hair. This is a common issue for me but i find that after a few washes the color seems to even out. The one thing i didn't like about the results (and perhaps the most important aspect of hair coloring in general) was the shade. I've yet to have a nice natural looking brown shade and so i was really looking forward to this color. Which is why i was a bit disappointed when I noticed the reddish hue. I've already had red hair before, and when i go red i fully commit. I don't prefer "hints" of red in my hair. If i wanted red i would have gone red. This was supposed to be brown but it looks more mahogany to me. I will have to wait and see if the color changes in the coming weeks.
PROS:
CONS:
The Dying Process:
The dying process was simple. The instructions were pretty straight forward and easy to comprehend, If you've done it before you probably wont need them, other than for checking how long you're supposed to leave it on your hair. Olia tells you to leave it for 30 minutes which is about standard for most hair dyes. The application bottle has a bit of an odd shape to it. It looks nice, but it's not very practical. I don't have unusually small hands, yet i found myself having a hard time holding on to it while i mixed the developer & colorant, as a result i dropped it a couple of times spilling some of the mixture on my sink. I was afraid two bottles would barely be enough, and since i didn't want to waste any more product i was careful to apply it sparingly. Surprisingly one bottle did cover my entire hair, however it was barely damp and I was afraid I might have missed some spots so I decided I'd rather make sure it was fully saturated so I went ahead and used the second bottle.
THE RESULTS:
The results were average. It covered all my hair. I don't see any splotchy areas. This is not usually an issue for me though so it will vary from person to person. The only unevenness is in the roots area. As you may be aware, "virgin" hair grabs onto the dye a lot better than color treated hair. As a result my roots were a lot lighter than the rest of the hair. This is a common issue for me but i find that after a few washes the color seems to even out. The one thing i didn't like about the results (and perhaps the most important aspect of hair coloring in general) was the shade. I've yet to have a nice natural looking brown shade and so i was really looking forward to this color. Which is why i was a bit disappointed when I noticed the reddish hue. I've already had red hair before, and when i go red i fully commit. I don't prefer "hints" of red in my hair. If i wanted red i would have gone red. This was supposed to be brown but it looks more mahogany to me. I will have to wait and see if the color changes in the coming weeks.
PROS:
- Even coverage
- Available at mass retailers
- Less expensive than salon coloring
CONS:
- "Higher end" drugstore price
- Limited shade range
- Not true to color
- Small amount of product
- Bottle design not practical
Thanks for stopping by my blog. I haven' t used it since but liked it when I used Concha de Nacar. I may revisit the moisturizer this summer since it's light yet moisturizing.
ReplyDelete