Following on from my Blonde Ambition post last month, I promised a better review on this product after I'd used it a bit more. I've now used it on 5 occassions (you should see results in 3-5 according) so here goes.
The formula contains citrus and chamomile to lighten hair and also includes thermo-protectant. The packaging explains how to use it and recommends that you'll see a difference in 3-5 uses...but then uses picture examples that show the changes in 10 uses. Good one, John Frieda. I bought mine from Boots on a 3 for 2.
My 5 applications were mainly focused on my parting as I had recently had highlights but because I'd left it so long between appointments, you could still see a bit of my original colour so I wanted to lighten it up. My natural colour is dark blonde according to hairdressers (I prefer the term "mousy brown") and I tend to get it lightened up quite a bit to a light blonde.
First application
No real change to the colour at my roots - maybe a slight difference but I couldn't decide if it had changed really.
Second application
This was where I started to worry a smidge. The parts of my natural colour at my roots were looking decidedly warm...as in orangey, which is not the desired result. Never mind, I thought it might still lighten up (pray, pray, pray, hope, hope, hope).
Third application
No change from the second application, even after the fourth and fifth application, my roots where my original colour was were ginger. Argh! And the blonde was no lighter whatsoever. And having my boyfriend say he never knew I was ginger, based on my roots was not the plan.
The Good
- Clear instructions for how to do highlights, roots or all over lightening
- Fairly cheap and easy to find in Boots
- Citrusy scent when applying
- Contains thermo-protectant which I feel is a must for the amount of heat this product wants you to add to your hair
The Bad
- I didn't like using all this heat on my hair - particularly at the roots. It actually recommends the more heat you use, the better.
- My hair felt kind of...crispy after using this which was a bit gross
- Apparently my hair smelled weird after using this
- Quite a small bottle...
So all in all, this isn't a miracle product. It isn't recommended for any hair that's medium brown or darker (in rememberance of my ill-fated dabbles with Sun-In as a teenager, I wouldn't recommend trying it) and it won't give you platinum locks overnight. But as an emergency touch up for people who already have light/blonde hair or for a very subtle lightening it's probably ok. I don't think I'll be buying this again though, I just didn't like the colour it made my hair at all. I am interested in trying the John Frieda precision foam though.
On a side note, does anyone remember a really similar John Frieda product that was out about10 years ago as part of their Beach Blonde range (they also did a gold shimmer creme and a salt spray)? It was a lightening gel that did the same thing as this product does and even smelled the same? It was a godsend for me in the final years of secondary school but no-one else seems to remember it! I actually would prefer the gel version to the spray I think as I preferred the application.
Paul & Joe packaging is so pretty - I love the way everything looks vintage (especially the foundation). I originally wanted all three colours in this collection but I found the red (Big Apple) and the blue (City Never Sleeps) kind of boring, and not half as nice on the nail as they looked in the bottle.
Downtown is a frosted pink with really subtle silver glitter through it - it's not a new colour, or particularly innovative - but I quite like it for everyday wear as it lasts pretty well on the nail and isn't too much for work.
My two favourites are by far Extravagance and Classic, I want them in full size versions now! The other two I can take or leave, I've seen them both done better in other brands. The swatches I've done are three coats of each.
L-R: Play the Peonies, I Lily Love You, Come to Poppy, Be a Dahlia Won't You
It's a white circular bath bomb with little flashes of colour, when you get it in the water it fizzes and froths away, then bursts in an explosion of orange colour, as it fizzes a bit more, it has a gold centre like a little rock made from pyrite that then fizzes away. It smells lovely as well, very citrusy but with a hint of sweetness, like sherbert. The only downside is that it turns the water bright yellow (which looks a bit suspect!) and makes a mess of your bath at the end.
