L'Oreal • Couleur Experte -hair dye / highlight • Hair Color
(460 reviews)
| Average Rating. | 2.8 |
| Would buy this product again. | 45% |
| Package Quality | 3.7 |
| Price | 3.4 |
| Ingredients | |
mjabf on 3/23/2013 3:30:00 PM more reviews by mjabf
Age: 19-24 Skin: Combination, Fair Hair: Black 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!
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
prettyshine on 7/27/2012 12:14:00 AM more reviews by prettyshine
Age: 30-35 Skin: Other Hair: 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.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Mlee60 on 7/6/2012 9:05:00 PM more reviews by Mlee60
Age: 44-55 Skin: Normal Hair: Brunette 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!
4 out of 4 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
linerfreakxx7 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?
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
hnm1987 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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kmb584 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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FootballVP on 1/10/2012 9:45:00 PM more reviews by FootballVP
Age: 36-43 Skin: Acne-prone, Fair-Medium Hair: Red 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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moskie on 12/26/2011 6:45:00 PM more reviews by moskie
Age: 44-55 Skin: Normal, Fair Hair: Blond 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.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
sheraton6 on 7/28/2011 3:18:00 PM more reviews by sheraton6
Age: 44-55 Skin: Normal, Fair-Medium Hair: Brunette 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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*TOP REVIEWER* felgoj 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.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
*TOP REVIEWER* snow7kids on 6/3/2011 2:53:00 PM more reviews by snow7kids
Age: 44-55 Skin: Oily, Fair, Cool Hair: Blond Eyes: Green
Okay, I had used this years ago with fab results and don't know why I didn't keep using it. I have always colored my hair at home (for over 25 years). My hair is a chin length bob that lately has been a VERY light blonde...a color that has required me to do the roots every 2 weeks (because I am picky about even a hint of root showing)...but I started to notice that REALLY blonde hair wasn't doing my complexion any favors and wanted to tone it down a bit...I had tried in the past to use a medium blonde on my roots (I always do my roots only)...but I always ended up with orange/pink looking roots. My natural haircolor is a dark blonde. So, I bought the Toasted Coconut shade hoping to darken my hair a bit...though noticing on the side of the box that it doesn't darken hair a LOT if it is really light to begin with.I thought since my hair is porous it might suck up color. But, what I did to prevent weird roots or uneven color on ends is to go to Sally's and buy Colorful Neutral Protein Filler...put that on my hair before coloring and it worked like a dream. Loved my results. I would have liked to have it a bit darker...my hair is still a fairly light blonde BUT it is toned down and suits my complexion much better. I barely used the highlights...but they turned out fab too. I don't use the gloves or the tools for the highlights...preferring my fingers and a light touch. In the fall, I am going to do the biscotti color. From now on, I will never color (not even just my roots) without using a protein filler....it rocks. The color came out so even.
4 out of 4 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
qkellie on 4/4/2011 8:59:00 AM more reviews by qkellie
Age: 30-35 Skin: Combination, Fair Hair: Blond Eyes: Blue
Iced Meringue, baby! Like many others, I was finally able to quit going to the hairdresser for expensive double- and tripe-processing to get my medium brown/grey hair up to a nice dark blond with lighter blond highlights. I have to go with the lightest shade available to get enough lift, and even then I do end up a little strawberry blond, but that's okay. The money savings are well worth it to get a color blend close to what I'd get in a salon. One thing I've noticed is that the lighter shades are not available at retail locations anymore in my area, so I've been having to get blond shades through Ulta online (which is fine, but it does mean a little planning ahead). I really hope L'Oreal isn't planning to discontinue the lighter shades, though I suppose a combination of Feria and a highlighting kit would give similar results. Honestly, though, these kits are the only really foolproof method I've been able to find for giving yourself a nice solid base color with some easily-customizable highlights. The ONLY downside is how long the process takes, especially if you opt to dry between steps as the directions recommend. We're talking three hours or so, between all the applications and rinsing and drying (I have very long hair), which is about how long I used to spend at the salon, too. Still, much cheaper and no travel time! :)
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
alexdry on 12/4/2010 11:41:00 PM more reviews by alexdry
Age: 44-55 Skin: Sensitive, Fair Hair: Brown Eyes: Green
Been using this for a year now and am not planning to go back to the hairdresser ever. I've had salon-coloured hair all my adult life and resented the amount of time it takes. This is so much better. The results are excellent. Easily as good results as a salon. Getting the highlights in requires care but its not that hard. I wish I'd found this years ago.
5 out of 5 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
mdollah on 11/15/2010 3:32:00 PM more reviews by mdollah
Age: 25-29 Skin: Acne-prone, Fair, Neutral Hair: Brown, Straight, Fine Eyes: Green
I have never been happy with at home haircolor... usually it's something unflattering that I live with until I break down and drag myself back to a salon with my head hung in shame. This product really did give me exactly the look I wanted from a salon. Sure my highlights weren't as perfect as when my hair dresser does them but they were absolutely good enough. I used the 6.1 light ash brown shade called french eclair. The base color was neither too ashy nor too dark and the highlights came out just the right tone for the shade. This is my first time giving myself highlights and it was very tricky but I think now that I have one time under my belt that I have the confidence to try again and get better with practice. Some things that I found helpful when using this product: If you want natural looking highlights, take only very very small sections of hair... a little blonde goes a long way and if you take sections that are too large and can easily start looking very amateur. Start the highlights about a 1/4 inch down from your roots ( I know it says this in the instructions but it's good to remember). Finally, work from the bottom layers of your hair up. Pile your hair on the top of your head and work methodically up. This helps you get natural layered highlights. I saved myself about $120!!! Good luck and much success!
4 out of 4 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
eludington on 10/20/2010 11:27:00 PM more reviews by eludington
Age: 25-29 Skin: Combination, Fair, Cool Hair: Brunette, Straight, Medium Eyes: Blue
Ugh.
I sooooooooo wanted to like this! I used 7.1 (Dark Ash Blonde/Vanilla Icing) on my light ash brown hair. It's just one shade lighter, which is within the recommended range for lightening.
After the all over color, my hair looked somewhere between strawberry blonde and auburn (NOT ash). And the highlights didn't help at all. When I was done I looked like my red-headed sister. It wasn't completely objectionable, it just wasn't dark ash blonde!
I figured that it was mostly operator error: I was probably caught in the twilight zone between brown-ish hair and blonde. I didn't leave the lighteners on long enough to get all the way to blonde: they were stuck on red.
So, I bought another box in the exact same color. I figured I was already halfway to dark blonde! I did the two step process again, leaving everything on for the entire recommended time.
Aaaaannnnnddddd....
It was exactly the same: auburn with strawberry blonde highlights! The dye isn't even bluish/purplish like most ash dyes are. It looked auburn in the bottle and on my head.
I've been using John Freida Blonde Color Restoring purple shampoo and conditioner to tone down the red, and will probably end up dying it again to cool it down. I'm disappointed that I have to subject my hair to *more* processing (after going through this two-step process twice!).
The color on the box is sooooo pretty. I'm really bummed that it didn't turn out that way for me.
Not recommended for 7.1 Vanilla Icing.
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Suesaroo on 10/12/2010 8:26:00 AM more reviews by Suesaroo
Age: 44-55 Skin: Normal, Fair-Medium, Warm Hair: Red Eyes: Green
6.4 ginger twist is my go to combo for whole head color. I am always satified with the results and the highlights always look great. I get my hair cut at an Aveda Salon and my stylist always comments on how good the color looks. Using the highlight kit does take practice.
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PurpleDragonFly on 10/5/2010 10:20:00 PM more reviews by PurpleDragonFly
Age: 36-43 Skin: Combination, Fair, Neutral Hair: Blond, Straight, Fine Eyes: Green
I got this for free from my Aunt.
So I figured, why not try it. It's the 7.3 Dark Golden Blond.
My hair is a med. brown short shag. I thought that if it doesnt look good, I can always color it again with a dark color.
The first step is easy. Just apply the main color and let sit for 25-35 minutes depending on how much grey you have. I did 35 mins since my hair doesnt take color well. Then rinse it out and towel dry the hair.
I blow dried my hair to see how the color looked. it was ok, a bit orange.
Adding the streaks was not as easy as they said it would be. I left them in for 15 mins.
So now I have streaks all around the top of my head and a few here and there. THEY ARE ORANGE!
Yup, looks like I am heading to walmart to get some dark hair dye to cover this mess.
I'll never use this again.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
kmart12 on 9/29/2010 7:41:00 PM more reviews by kmart12
Age: 19-24 Skin: Acne-prone Hair: Brunette Eyes: Brown
I used this product three years ago while in college and I cringe thinking about the awful experience. The medium natural brown color on the box looked nothing like the purple red color I ended up with! Terrible terrible. I ended up having to strip the color and put a dark brown over it. The end.
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HeidiML on 9/26/2010 12:13:00 PM more reviews by HeidiML
Age: 44-55 Skin: Combination, Fair Hair: Blond Eyes: Green
I helped my friend with the highlighting step of this product (she applied the first step base color herself) and despite neither one of us ever having done at-home highlights, her color and highlights turned out GREAT! Her hair looks absolutely salon done, no lie. Her starting hair color was very light [colored] blonde with about 1 1/2" light brown/grey roots. She used Toasted Coconut. The base color alone was beautiful, a medium light blonde, and even colored her stubborn grey (she is prematurely about 60% grey). The highlights came out maybe two shades lighter blonde, and blended so well that they look salon-foil done!
NOTE: When applying the highlighting mixture, I found the two "tools" useless. I used the mixing spatula and gloved hand to apply the product. The end of the mixing spatula has a little hook on it, which I used to lift strands of her hair when picking sections to highlight. I also used clips to pull up sections of her hair, and applied the highlights in three "layers", not just on the top layer of hair. I worried, after applying the bleaching product, that she'd end up with "chunky" highlights as that's how it looked - however, the end result was all-over, dispersed highlights that look WONDERFUL. I also randomly dabbed some mixture on the ends of her hair as well. She has short hair (above the shoulder) and I used all the mixture. Buy two boxes for longer hair!
We left the highlighting mixture on the full 25 minutes. It's a gentle highlighting product - so for someone with darker hair trying to go 2+shades lighter this product might not give enough lift and orange-ish highlights might be the result.
Overall, a very good product and after seeing the results my friend had I would definitely try this myself. Just skip the "tools" and apply the highlights however is easier for you. Definitely get some help applying if you're not used to doing something like this on your own hair. Have some plastic clips on hand to pull sections of hair up and out of the way.
.....ADDITION: I've used this product twice now to color and highlight my own hair and both times the results were *great*! Looks salon done. Long lasting color, too. The highlights "settled" in about three days after they were applied, and stayed looking good. About a month after applying I use a "purple" shampoo to refresh the highlights. My hair is naturally medium blonde, I used Toasted Coconut 8.0 neutral; I avoided warm & cool coloring so I wouldn't have reddish/off color tones due to my hair type. Sorry salons with $$ highlighting, you've lost another customer to this product.
4 out of 5 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Rayen89 on 9/15/2010 3:14:00 AM more reviews by Rayen89
Age: 19-24 Skin: Combination, Fair Hair: Red Eyes: Brown
Absolutely horrible product. I have dyed my hair several times, and I followed the instructions to the letter for their Cinnamon Stick color and it looks nothing like the picture. My hair went from being a pretty natural red to this dull dirty mud color. I followed the instructions perfectly for the highlights as well and you can not even see them. My hair is just one dull ugly brown color. I have been washing my hair for 5 days and can still smell the ammonia in my hair as well as my bathroom. can't wait to get this horrid color stripped from my hair. Never use this product in any color.