Salon results from a drugstore brand...really??

Once upon a time, I had lots of time to sit at the hair salon to have my hair color and highlights maintained and fussed over.  Unfortunately, with my current schedule of kids' activities, work and everyday life, that's no longer the case.  So while I was in Walgreen's late last week, I decided to pick up some haircolor to freshen up my 'do.  I pored over the seemingly countless options.  Just because I'm doing my color at home doesn't mean I want to LOOK like it was done at home, know what I mean?  I finally decided on this 2-step kit by L'Oreal.  I selected "Praline", since that particular color and base is meant to cut brassiness and leave your hair a "light, iridescent brown". 

The first step is an all-over permanent color, which is applied and processed pretty much like any other at-home haircolor kit:  mix, apply, wait 25 minutes and rinse out.  Easy enough.  I guess the only remarkable thing about this step is that the product doesn't have the hideous chemical smell that some at-home haircolor products have.

The second step consists of mixing and applying a blue mixture to your hair to highlight select strands.  The mixture is colored blue for ease of application - it does NOT color your hair blue!  Using either the included wand or special Easy Glide applicator tool, the non-drip formula is applied wherever highlights are desired.  The highlights can be done in thick, bold chunks or smaller, more subtle strands, depending on the look you want.  Once you get the highlights applied (this took about 15 minutes for me to do about a dozen highlights), you wait approximately 15 minutes.  Then you wet your hair, being careful to rinse the highlight formula out completely, and apply the included conditioner.  Two minutes later, you rinse and style!  I was truly surprised at the ease with which I got through this second step!

I have to say that this product really impressed me!  My hair looks great, and I really did get excellent, expert-looking results.  My hair even FEELS fantastic....no dryness, no brittleness or feeling of being "too" processed!  And it was a cinch to do!  I am so happy with these results that I may not go back to salon coloring for a while!  Better to put that $85 difference in my pocket!