May 19, 2013 | 1439 users online

Hair Color - L'Oreal - Couleur Experte -hair dye / highlight

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rated 2.8(460 reviews)

  • Average Rating: 2.85
  • 45% would buy again
  • Package Quality: 3.7
  • Price: $$$

  • Ingredients

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rated 4 of 5 on 3/23/2013 3:30:00 PM More reviews by mjabf

Age: 19-24 Skin: Combination, Fair, Not Sure Hair: Black, Other, Other Eyes: Black

I bought the Cherry Chocolate Mousse dye hoping to lighten my naturally black hair and add a bit of color. The entire process took nearly 2 hours since I left the dye on longer than indicated (this was not my first time dying my hair at home so I knew that I needed extra time). And when it was done, my hair was dark burgundy and the highlights were a contrasting dark honey color. Sadly, the red tone began fading immediately. After two weeks, they blended in more naturally (which is fine, but not really the look I was going for). I used only 1 box for my shoulder-length hair. Definitely worth it for me!

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rated 5 of 5 on 7/27/2012 12:14:00 AM More reviews by prettyshine

Age: 30-35 Skin: Other, Other, Not Sure Hair: Other, Other, Other Eyes: Other

I've used this box for about 7 years now and it's still a favorite. I typically go for the iced meringue (ash,light/white blonde, no yellow) but sometimes I will use the creme brulee(more of a brighter/yellow blonde). I always receive compliments on my hair color. Every single time I go to a salon I am complimented on my amazing color. It's very natural. Most people don't even know I color my hair. I do the base color one day and then I wait until the next day before I do the highlights. The color looks beautiful for a couple of weeks but I typically have to do it again every 6 weeks. When doing the highlights, I suggest just putting on the gloves and using your fingers. Use small/skinny strands of hair to highlight, never large chunks. Pick random strands and go underneath and in the back as well, this will create a more natural look.

A lot of salons are now using this technique to color hair. I've pretty much perfected blonde after 10 years of doing it myself. From my early days of being a bleach platinum blonde to my now natural blonde, I'm really happy with the product. I can't speak for the brown shades b/c that's a whole different ballgame. But learning to color your hair, and finding the right shade for yourself, is an art.

Lately I've had trouble finding it in my area, and as someone said before, the blonde colors are typically the most difficult to find in stores. Ulta usually has the blonde shades though. I moved and may have to start ordering online b/c none of the drugstores around me carry it. Bummer.

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rated 5 of 5 on 7/6/2012 9:05:00 PM More reviews by Mlee60

Age: 44-55 Skin: Normal, Other, Not Sure Hair: Brunette, Other, Other Eyes: Blue

I have pretty dark hair, very fine with no body, with a few grays coming in--maybe 5-10%. I have used this hair color twice. The first time I used it, I used the medium golden brown. I thought the base was way too dark for my age (51), so if you are expecting a medium golden brown, you will actually have closer to a darker nut shade. I waited a day to apply the highlights. I used the brush in the kit to apply just a few highlights. I was afraid I would get the dreaded orange, but no, the highlights were golden. I only left the color for the highlights on for 15 minutes. The color held pretty well for about 2.5 months until I went swimming a few times and the grays started growing out.

Today I recolored my hair using 6.3, the light golden brown. The base color was more what I was aiming for, medium golden. I guess you may need to go a shade up. This evening, my husband helped me with the highlights. I took a tip from some of the younger ladies who posted that they used a highlighting cap. I bought one at Sally's, with a brush, pick, and cape for about $5. My husband pulled my hair through 75% of the holes. We then painted the highlighting color all over the hair with the paintbrush paddle I rec'd with the cap. I left the color on for 15 minutes, stepped in the shower to wash out the color, then took the cap off and conditioned. Don't take it off before you rinse or you will risk some splotchy hair color. To my delight, the highlights are very subtle and look golden. No orange, no big streaks, and very natural. I really think the secret for me is using the cap to highlight and going up a shade lighter. Good luck!

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rated 4 of 5 on 4/28/2012 1:30:00 AM More reviews by linerfreakxx7

Age: 18 & Under Skin: Dry, Fair, Cool Hair: Brown, Wavy, Medium Eyes: Brown

I took one of L'Oreal's hair color quizzes and they suggested this to me. After a while of deliberating, I finally bought this in Truffle 5.1.I though this was pretty good as it did not itch my scalp as much as Féria and I only had to keep it on for fifteen minutes. And for some reason, my hair is very soft after using it. However, I didn't like the highlights much....I was looking to go to gold of soft brown highlights but it turned streaks of my hair red again (my hair was previously red). Maybe I'll try a different color next time?

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rated 2 of 5 on 4/26/2012 12:01:00 AM More reviews by hnm1987

Age: 19-24 Skin: Normal, Fair, Neutral Hair: Brown, Curly, Medium Eyes: Blue

Since summer is coming up I decided to lighten my hair. A few weeks ago, I tried the light brown color first, which is supposed to be close to my natural hair color, it out wayyy too dark. The color was pretty but it looked more like a medium or almost dark brown. So, I bought another one today (7.1, Vanilla Icing dark ash blonde) and just finished the base color, it's just as dark as the previous one I used. Now I'm scared to try the highlights because all of the reviewers who used this color said their highlights turned out orange.

So basically, the base dyes turn out way too dark, but would be pretty shades for the fall or winter.

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rated 5 of 5 on 3/13/2012 10:36:00 AM More reviews by kmb584

Age: 25-29 Skin: Combination, Fair, Cool Hair: Red, Wavy, Medium Eyes: Grey

Way back in 2003, as a 19-year-old college sophomore, I decided to ditch my natural blonde in favor of being a redhead. I had virgin hair and after scanning the shelves of hair dye, Couleur Experte in 6.3 seemed to be the best choice.


It's now 9 years later and I've stuck to the same brand. A lot can be said for that. I've switched it up, now favoring 6.4, but the excellent results are still present. CE takes a bit longer to apply than your average drugstore brand hair dye as the highlights aren't built-in but I don't mind. The color mixes well and applies evenly, one bottle is enough for my 4" past shoulder length hair, and the end result is a rich, beautiful, red.

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rated 5 of 5 on 1/10/2012 9:45:00 PM More reviews by FootballVP

Age: 36-43 Skin: Acne-prone, Fair-Medium, Not Sure Hair: Red, Other, Other Eyes: Green

I have used this product three times with outstanding results each time.
I get compliments and people are surprised to learn I did it myself.
I too find the highlighting tools useless so I use a cap and pull my hair through.
Before finding this (dare I say HG?) product, I was going to a salon every 6 weeks. This product has saved me time and money and I LOVE the results.

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rated 5 of 5 on 12/26/2011 6:45:00 PM More reviews by moskie

Age: 44-55 Skin: Normal, Fair, Not Sure Hair: Blond, Other, Other Eyes: Hazel

I am also surprised at the number of negative reviews. I am a natural golden strawberry blonde that now is ~ 35% gray and ashy in tone. I have been to numerous salons and even though I tell them I want a golden blonde-red, I always come out ashy. I had used this product years ago with success (toasted coconut) so decided to try it again but decided to go darker. I bought the 7.3 Butterscotch cream. The base color was a dark golden blonde after 35 mins just as described on the box. My friend and I worked on the highlights. I wanted an entire head on multi-tonal color so we actually used a cap and pulled hair from my whole head through and used 2 highlighting kits that we left on for 25 mins. The color was amazing- completely natural looking. I also wanted some more dramatic highlights so we then did some painting of individual strands with a L-Oreal frost and glow kit. I get soooo many compliments on my hair color. No one would ever guess it was done at home. My only complaint is that I use 2 kits when I do a whole head application-luckily I only do this 2x a year and it takes 3 hours to complete. I use a Kenra hair masque afterwards and my hair is as soft as can be and does not feel color treated at all. Love this product and especially the 7.3 color.

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rated 1 of 5 on 7/28/2011 3:18:00 PM More reviews by sheraton6

Age: 44-55 Skin: Normal, Fair-Medium, Not Sure Hair: Brunette, Other, Other Eyes: Green

bought Couleur experte 7.1 (dark ash blonde with vanilla icing highlights) My hair was a light brown, but it came out DARK brown with RED-ORANGE highlights. Was NOTHING like the picture on the box. Called the customer line and was told there was nothing I could do. It would have to wear off. Found some natural ways to lighten the mess by going on the internet. WILL NEVER BUY THIS AGAIN!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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rated 3 of 5 top reviewer on 6/9/2011 3:27:00 PM More reviews by felgoj

Age: 36-43 Skin: Dry, Medium, Warm Hair: Brunette, Wavy, Medium Eyes: Brown

I've used this in the past & had one good result getting a beautiful neutral light brown shade using Almond Rocca (Light Brown) after stripping my previous color at home (with ONO ColorFix). I didn't use the highlights afterward, just the base color. This would not have worked over my naturally brown hair, but on stripped hair the result was clean fabulous color.


Every other time I've used Couleur Experte, (when my hair was brown & less color-damaged) I always pulled too much red no matter which shade of brown I chose. Dinky. It's possible I kept picking the wrong shades since I would choose based on the color of the highlight strands which I wanted but the base color clearly looked reddish in the photo despite having the word 'brown' in the description.


The 2-step process became a time-consuming chore that soon wore out my patience. It would have been worth it if I got great results but unfortunately that wasn't the case. The highlights always came out super-brassy. I really hate having orange hair.


It also costs a lot more than other haircolors since you're getting 2 processes in one. After spending $22 several times & getting really unpleasant hair each time, I quit & haven't gone back since. Then L'Oreal introduced Natural Match & I fell in love with that line! Now they stupidly discontinued it. So I'm back to square one trying to figure out what to try next that won't ravage my newly-grown hair. Salon color is too costly for me longterm (plus they can botch things up too).


I like the concept of this product so I'll rate it 3. Just the brassiness is the fail here.


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