Clairol • Shimmer Lights • Shampoo

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EscalatorKid on 1/21/2012 5:07:00 PM more reviews by EscalatorKid

Age: 25-29   Skin: Combination, Fair-Medium   Hair: Blond   Eyes: Green    

My Mom asked me to review this for her.

THIS IS A TERRIBLE PRODUCT! The shampoo itself dries out the hair, and it might work well for the general look/feel of the hair, but that doesn't matter. It could make your hair look amazing every single day but that wouldn't be enough to make up for the fact that it stinks terribly. She washed her hair with it this morning and the awful STENCH of this stuff permeated EVERYTHING.

It seriously smells like a combination of funeral parlor, chemicals, and horrible old lady perfume. It is the nastiest, stomach churning stench that I've ever smelled. It reminds me of a perfume that they'd use to cover up the smell of dead bodies in a funeral home. Seriously.

She ended up coming home after a couple of hours to shower away the terrible stink of that shampoo. Even after two washes and a leave-in conditioner spray that smells lovely, you could STILL smell this Clairol crap in her clothes.

She will NEVER buy this product, and recommends this to ABSOLUTELY no one.

I went with her to take it back to the store and the sales lady looked at it and wrinkled her nose. She even said it is absolutely terrible and recommended something else instead. It was a similar product but it smells like green apples, not flowery death.

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lipglossandletdown678 on 1/21/2012 12:05:00 AM more reviews by lipglossandletdown678

Age: 30-35   Skin: Oily, Fair-Medium, Cool   Hair: Brown   Eyes: Hazel    

I always used John Frieda to help tone down brassiness in my hair but decided to try this after seeing some YT videos talk about it.

When I first used it, I was surprised at how PURPLE it is... I was afraid it was going to stain my skin. It also has a bad smell to it, and I think it lingers in my hair, even after rinsing well & conditioning.

It does help tone down the brassiness in my hair, but not any better than John Frieda, it's also similarly priced as John Frieda. But at least JF doesn't smell bad.

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kawibarbie88 on 1/20/2012 11:32:00 PM more reviews by kawibarbie88

Age: 19-24   Skin: Combination, Fair-Medium   Hair: Blond   Eyes: Blue    

this is a GREAT GREAT product !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! but alot of people tend to complain that if you use it too much or leave it on too long it will turn your hair a purple tint!!!! this is true!! but recently i found a way to totally avoid this!!! I USE THIS SHAMPOO EVERY TIME I WASH MY HAIR WHICH IS 3 - 4 TIMES A WEEK I USE IT TWICE FOR EXTRA BRIGHTENING! BUT AFTER EACH TIME I RINSE I USE HEAD & SHOULDERS SO ITS LIKE WASHING YOUR HAIR 4 TIMES!!! BUT MAKE SURE YOU LEAVE ON THE H&S LONGER AFTER THE SECOND APPLICATION OF SHIMMER LIGHTS RINSE VERY WELL AND LATHER UP GOOD!! I KNOW IT MAY SOUND LIKE A PROCESS BUT IT BEATS PURPLE TINTED HAIR !!! IT REALLY WORKS SOMETHING ABOUT THE ZINC THAT FADE OUT GREY OR PURPLE TONES!! TAKE MY ADVICE WHEN YOU BUY SHIMMER LIGHTS MAKE SURE YOU GRAB A BOTTLE OF HEAD &SHOULDERS (CLASSIC CLEAN) SHAMPOO!!! OH AND A GREAT COND OF COURSE HOPE THIS HELPS LIKE IT DID ME !!! MY HAIR IS PLATINUM BLONDE!!!

2 out of 3 people found this review helpful.     Was this review helpful to you? Yes   No

sarahscantron on 12/25/2011 5:41:00 PM more reviews by sarahscantron

Age: 19-24   Skin: Other   Hair: Other   Eyes: Other    

This stuff has been a real life saver. I bleach my hair from dark blonde to light blonde, and have issues with orange brassy streaks. I also hate using toners because I don't like having beautiful platinum hair one week and have my hair go back to brassy the next. The Shimmer lights just really makes my color consistently nice. I mix the shimmer lights into head and shoulders shampoo, and leave it in my hair for about a minute. I then put my normal suave conditioner on my ends, and style using hask hair placenta. My previous crappy looking color comes out a nice consistent blonde.

6 out of 6 people found this review helpful.     Was this review helpful to you? Yes   No

gpgroupie1 on 12/16/2011 4:01:00 PM more reviews by gpgroupie1

Age: 30-35   Skin: Dry, Medium   Hair: Black   Eyes: Brown    

I have very dark hair, and when I decided to bleach it out and put blue sections in it, my very amazing hairstylist told me to do it gradually. She started the process, but the second time I went in, she wasn't there, so I allowed another person to do it, and she fried my hair! I was about ready to have a heart attack!

I went crying to my stylist and showed her what happened, she patted me on the head and said she'd try to fix it, and that I shouldn't let anyone else touch my hair. She did a deep conditioning treatment on my damaged hair, and it stopped breaking as much.

She said she was going to have to wait a few weeks before she could bleach it again, but my hair was hideously brassy. She told me to use this, that it will gradually take the brassiness out.

It started looking better, then my stylist bleached it again, and put in the blue sections. The color of my hair was now beautiful! She told me to keep using the shampoo because it will take the remaining brassiness out and help the blue keep a little longer.

Well, I can't say enough good things about this shampoo. It works wonderfully and smells fabulous. Weather in hair crisis or not, if you have color treated hair or not, if you have blond or blue/purple tints to your hair, try this. It is cheap and just awesome!

3 out of 3 people found this review helpful.     Was this review helpful to you? Yes   No

julia89 on 12/16/2011 3:36:00 PM more reviews by julia89

Age: 19-24   Skin: Combination, Fair-Medium, Neutral   Hair: Brunette, Straight, Medium   Eyes: Brown    

I am from Britain and I can't find it ANYWHERE apart from online via either Amazon or EBay & seeing as its usually being shipped from the States this is quite expensive which sucks as its so good!

I recently went blonde from a dark chocolate brunette shade, after 3 bleaches and an ash blonde colour my hair was still brassy but I refused to used any more chemicals on my poor hair, which was amazingly still in good condition but I was aware that it wouldn't be much longer if I continued with the chemical warfare on my head!!
I was desperate to find a natural or non chemical solution to reduced the brass, I tried honey, I tried the Lush Marilyn hair mask and was researching chamomile rinses when my sister have me her old bottle of this from when she was blonde.
I wet my hair, massaged this through generously and left it on for 30 minutes with a shower cap (the brass was a pale orangey yellow not dark but obvious) I rinsed it off, applied a conditioner and OMG I was blonde :D FINALLY that horrid brass that haunted me was gone, my hair isn't white or platinum but it's definitely a non brassy light blonde :D
It does seem to make hair a little dry but a my conditioner is very good and counteracts that. The smell does linger but I don't mind it, it smells like clean old ladies haha so I can see why that bothers some but I'd rather that than have bright yellow hair.
Highly recommended as a quick fix to brass.

4 out of 5 people found this review helpful.     Was this review helpful to you? Yes   No

cotrinahouse on 12/9/2011 2:24:00 AM more reviews by cotrinahouse

Age: 19-24   Skin: Dry, Fair, Warm   Hair: Blond, Wavy, Medium   Eyes: Green    

I used to get salon highlights (which almost always eventually started to get brassy and yellowish) and would use Shimmer Lights on my hair twice a week to help get that more ashy pale look. I have light brown hair and it pulls out a lot of yellow tones when it is colored blonde.... at the salon. So this week I decided to start coloring it myself with a store brand highlighting kit I heard rave reviews about. And I honestly did like the results better than I did with the salon. Unfortunately, I had to put these at home highlights over my salon highlights which were already brassy so of course that yellow still peeked through. THIS SHAMPOO TO THE RESCUE ONCE AGAIN. Now I can use the at home kit and then this shampoo/conditioner one wash later and get those pale blonde highlights I always wanted. Would have given 5 lippy if it wasn't so drying... Although, I really find this or the smell too much of a problem because I usually combine it with a white colored sulfate free shampoo that smells and conditions better. I HIGHLY SUGGEST THIS TECHNIQUE OF COMBINING THIS SHAMPOO WITH ANOTHER. If you don't the result is more "drying" and "smelly." But I love this product overall.
**more in depth review @ alyssaneal.blogspot.com

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sauce62 on 11/18/2011 11:57:00 PM more reviews by sauce62

Age: 44-55   Skin: Dry, Fair-Medium   Hair: Blond   Eyes: Blue    

I use this once a week for my dark blonde with highlights hair. Definitely cuts the yellow and adds the body which my oilier hair needs. I actually don't mind the smell. I also use the conditioner but don't leave it on longer than a minute. Once a week baby. It's the bomb.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.     Was this review helpful to you? Yes   No

dmtoups on 11/14/2011 11:52:00 AM more reviews by dmtoups

Age: 36-43   Skin: Dry, Fair   Hair: Blond   Eyes: Hazel    

HELP!!!! I had my hair colored on Saturday. Light brown roots, then blonde highlights. I used this shampoo on Sunday night and my blonde is now a ashy grey mixed with a light purple. Was I not to use it so fast? And how do I get it out!?!?!?!

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abrown99 on 11/13/2011 10:37:00 AM more reviews by abrown99

Age: 19-24   Skin: Normal, Tan   Hair: Blond   Eyes: Blue    

I have light blonde hair & this definitely helps keep the nice color. When I first started using it, I would leave it in too long & it would leave a light purple tint to a couple areas. Not good! It says leave it in, but I wash after a minute. It still does its job & there is no tint. Not crazy about the bigger bottles, with the pump. I've owned a few & they tend to leak on the top.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.     Was this review helpful to you? Yes   No

lashesxoxoblush on 11/11/2011 12:35:00 AM more reviews by lashesxoxoblush

Age: 30-35   Skin: Normal, Tan, Warm   Hair: Blond, Wavy, Medium   Eyes: Blue    

Keeps my hair a nice toned shade of dark blonde. I dye my hair from medium brown to dark blonde and use this once a week to keep it from turning brassy. If you hate the scent you can always mix it with another shampoo or just use a really yummy scented conditioner afterwards. It's just a floral scent it's not horrible but is not my favorite. The toning abilities of this shampoo are so good I don't mind the scent. It def is better then having brassy hair or having to use toner and developer every week which would be damaging. It makes my hair sparkle and feel so thick too.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.     Was this review helpful to you? Yes   No

MikaelaElizabeth on 11/11/2011 12:17:00 AM more reviews by MikaelaElizabeth

Age: 19-24   Skin: Acne-prone, Tan   Hair: Blond   Eyes: Green    

I have been bleaching my hair myself for about 6 months. My natural hair color is a med brown and right now I'm at a very light blonde. My hair pulls yellow brassy tones so combating these tones has been a lot of work. I have tried various toners from Sally's and nothing has really worked. This stuff really did perform miracles though! I would have given it a 5 but it did make my hair a little more gray than it did white but it soooo much better than the yellow. In my opinion yellow blonde is a true give away that its an at home job so it just looks cheap. This stuff really is great. Since I had read reviews about it drying up hair I doubled up on conditioner and gave a few extras spray of my Its a 10 leave in! Very Please

2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.     Was this review helpful to you? Yes   No

kanka999 on 11/10/2011 10:45:00 PM more reviews by kanka999

Age: 36-43   Skin: Acne-prone, Fair-Medium, Warm   Hair: Brunette   Eyes: Blue    

I just couldn't get past the smell. It lingered all day too....I even had to wash with another shampoo later that day. The results weren't great enough for me to try and endure it. I used the one for brunette/red hair. Returned it to Sallys.

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hnrenfro on 11/3/2011 12:55:00 PM more reviews by hnrenfro

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

OMG I CANT STAND THIS SMELL MY FRIEND USES THIS TO KEEP HER HAIR BLONDE.......... EWWW we do not hang out when she uses this i really really hate the smell of this shampoo and it LINGERS FOR SOOOO LONG ughhh fmlll hate this

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calanthe on 10/31/2011 10:18:00 PM more reviews by calanthe

Age: 25-29   Skin: Acne-prone, Fair   Hair: Brown   Eyes: Blue    

I recently bleached my brown hair blonde and toned with an ash blonde; however, it tends to get very brassy the second and third days after washing. I thought I was just doomed to orangey hair after initially loving my blonde. The first time I used this shampoo I didn't use enough or leave it in long enough. I have a chin length bob and I would say my hair is lightened to a 6/7 level. I use a big old blob of this once a week, like two or three tablespoons, then I gently lather and leave it on two-three minutes. Then I follow with an equally generous amount of the Shimmer Lights conditioner and leave it on 3-5 minutes. It takes out the brass, and I have a nice, champagne-y ashy blonde.

(This review is actually for the Generic Shimmer Lights shampoo at Sally. The only difference is that the generic smells like violets instead of the original Clairol scent.)

3 out of 3 people found this review helpful.     Was this review helpful to you? Yes   No

Beachblonde2986 on 10/30/2011 1:58:00 AM more reviews by Beachblonde2986

Age: 25-29   Skin: Dry, Fair-Medium, Neutral   Hair: Blond   Eyes: Blue    

Great product! It really does brighten your hair. Sometimes my hair gets a little brassy in between colorings, but this shampoo fixes that right up. Makes my hair look bright, fresh and clean. Very happy with this :)

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.     Was this review helpful to you? Yes   No

BlondeKat on 10/25/2011 12:34:00 PM more reviews by BlondeKat

Age: 25-29   Skin: Normal, Fair-Medium   Hair: Blond   Eyes: Blue    

I love this product! Been using it for a few years. It definitely helps to keep your roots, as well as overall color light and fresh until your next highlight. I use it usually twice a week and let it sit on my head 3-4 minutes. Sometimes after I get a highlight the color could be great, or didn't process as well as I would have liked, so I use this after I get back from the salon and wash twice with it. It gets rid of any sort of orangey color left over. I would definitely reccomend the product to anyone with blonde highlights.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.     Was this review helpful to you? Yes   No

WednesdayMay on 10/25/2011 12:06:00 AM more reviews by WednesdayMay

Age: 19-24   Skin: Dry, Fair   Hair: Blond   Eyes: Blue    

I love this stuff. I'm naturally dirty blonde and dye my hair at home with Revlon Colorsilk 05 ultra light ash blonde. My hair is left goldy-yellow and so after I dye, I wait a couple days then apply Shimmer Lights to my dry roots. I let it sit for ten minutes, then rinse. It takes a couple lathers and rinses to really do the trick, but it does it!

As for the length of my hair, one lather every week (or couple of weeks) eliminates ALL yellow and leaves my hair a soft, ash, ultra light white blonde. * If your hair is very damaged or porous, yes, it will suck in the purple and MAY leave your hair a light lavender or gray*

Also: I've read reviews on a couple of sites with reviewers complaining it doesn't take out orange. No, it will most likely have no effect on orange or super brassy hair. I dyed my hair black and tried bleaching it back to blonde and was of course left with lightish orange hair. I thought this would help atleast tone it down a bit but it didn't. It really is just for maintenance if you are already a lighter blonde.

The only con I have about this product is that it's drying. But, I knew the consequences of being a white-blonde when I dyed my hair. Lightened hair is going to have a little more damage. And I'd rather use this shampoo a couple times than dye it twice to get the ultra pale results I get. I also see some complaints about the scent. I love the scent, it's quite pleasant actually and it tells me "I am going to make your hair brighter and prettier" and that gets me excited. Anyways I will always have it in stock at my house, and 16oz for around $9 is awesome, I'll have it forever before I have to get more.

2 out of 3 people found this review helpful.     Was this review helpful to you? Yes   No

opiumfield on 10/18/2011 12:53:00 PM more reviews by opiumfield

Age: 19-24   Skin: Combination, Fair-Medium   Hair: Blond   Eyes: Blue    

Well.. I put 1 start because that is the result it gave me personally, though I understand it is mainly for really light blond hair. My hair are naturally dark ash blond, but i had hihlights, and then colored brown, and it all washed out to brassy dark blonde. So i decided to try this shampoo to take barasiness away and make it look more natural. But it actually made my hair light ORANGE with some patches of grey. Um... what a fail. I look like spoiled tangerine, and I just hope it will wach out to the way it was before I tried it.

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*TOP REVIEWER* melinda_ on 10/17/2011 11:39:00 PM more reviews by melinda_

Age: 36-43   Skin: Acne-prone, Fair-Medium, Warm   Hair: Other, Fine   Eyes: Blue    

YES! Love this product! This is seriously HG for my hair. I recently tried John Frieda Tone Restore and it ruined my highlights. It made them brassier, which it's supposed to prevent/reverse, but instead I got orangey, yellow, brassy highlights. I was seriously contemplating having my hair re-highlighted and I just had them done only two weeks ago. Yes, it was THAT bad. Stay away from John Frieda tone restore shampoo.

Anyway, I ended up reading reviews on here for this and decided to give it a try, because at this point, I had nothing to lose since the JF shampoo turned my hair into a hot mess of brassiness. I was a bit afraid it would turn my hair purple, but decided even that was better than what I had going on blonde-wise. I shampooed with a regular sulfate free shampoo and then put the SL's on as a treatment. I left it on about 3-5 minutes the first time. I saw a bit of improvement, but no where near what I was looking for....this may be because I had to correct the damage the Frieda junk did to my hair. So the 2nd time I did exactly what I did the first time, but I left it on for 10 minutes. Miracle! It's back to how it was before I used the Frieda. There's only a *tad* of orange brassiness left over. I'm seeing the pale blonde I originally had and wanted to preserve before my disaster with JF.

Next time I plan to leave it on for 15-20 minutes. I'll update what happens then, but this is seriously my HG. Almost all the brassiness is gone and in most of my highlights I can see the color it was when it was first done before I messed it up with the Frieda. I really think one more time will do the trick, then I just need to figure out how often I need to do it to maintain.

I use a really good conditioner afterwards and that takes away the dryness that the shampoo causes. I also use Fructis with the argan oil on my damp hair and my hair is fine moisture -wise and I've been washing it daily, which I don't usually do either, but I needed to get rid of the damage caused by the other blue shampoo.

Don't use John Frieda Tone Restore. I seriously have a vendetta against that man now. .

EDIT: 11.11.11 -- I still love this product. My highlights look so fresh. No brassiness at all. I will never stop using this. I use it 1-2x per week for 5-10 minutes.

4 out of 4 people found this review helpful.     Was this review helpful to you? Yes   No