REVLON Colorsilk Beautiful Color, Permanent Hair Color with 3D Gel Technology & Keratin, 100% Gray Coverage Hair Dye, 42 Medium Auburn

After trying ZILLIONS of red hair dyes from just about every brand imaginable (from the cheapest to the spendiest) this is my go-to for color that really POPS without looking incredibly "metallic" or otherwise far afield from anything nature could possibly produce. (At least not on medium-to-dark hair. If you applied it to lighter hair, it would look utterly artificial - which is great, if that's what you're going for.)I always let this product process a looooong time. (As much as an hour following complete application.) Because naturally darker hair requires significant lift (chemical lightening of your natural hair color) to create a more porous and "grabby" surface on which to deposit the chemical color (in this case, bright auburn), you want to ensure the mixture doesn't fully oxidize (develop/process) PRIOR to application. (The reason for this is that most of the chemical "lift" or "pull" comes early in the oxidation process.) In other words, if you mixed your color with the developer and then let it sit in the bottle for 20 minutes before application, you'd get much less lift, which also means you'll get a dramatically more subdued deposit - not nearly as vibrant a result.The tricky part is that the mixture oxidizes very quickly. So, unless you have fairly short hair (which I obviously do not), by the time you get past treating your roots, the product is mostly oxidized. (Again, this means less lift and therefore less availability to deposit.) To prevent this, I mix only half of the product at a time (using a separate application bottle). I use the first half of the bottle to treat my entire hairline (front to back) followed by the crown, temples (these are most visible areas for root-show), and then the remainder of my head. (At this point, I'm ONLY aiming for my roots - the healthiest and therefore most deposit-resistant portion of your hair.)Only after I've completely covered my roots do I mix the remaining half of the product for the rest of my hair. I use a small portion to re-treat the most deposit-resistant portions of my hair (the front of my hairline and temples where I have some graying areas) working downward from the roots to cover as much of my hair as possible. As I near the end of the product, I add a teaspoon or so of water to thin it out and get the last of it out of the bottle. (Since your ends are always more damaged than your roots, the mixture doesn't have to be as concentrated to do its job, so it's perfectly okay to dilute it with a little water.)Because this particular color is VERY vibrant (unnaturally so - they don't call it "bright auburn" for nothin') I use dish-washing soap (horror, I know, lol) to shampoo it out of my hair. (I shampoo it 3x in a row, followed by my regular conditioner, resulting in the color you see in the photo for this review.)Like all reds, this red will not remain rich or vibrant with repeated washings. (Red hair dyes have smaller color molecules than blonde or brunette shades, making it harder for the hair to hold on to the chemically deposited color, which means much faster fading.) Comparing the staying power of blondes and especially brunette shades to red ones is an apples-to-oranges affair, so given this is a very "true" red, it performs as expected for its category and class. (This is about the cheapest hair color you can buy.) This said, it has less lift than most other boxed brands (which also means it's less harsh and less damaging), but this can be overcome with the approach I've described above. (Double applications of non-fully-oxidized product to lift-and-deposit-resistant areas.)As you can see, with strategic application and extended processing times, this product delivers gorgeous shine and excellent gray coverage. (Keep in mind that you're looking at hair that is super, super healthy to begin with since I shampoo only 2-3x per month, RARELY blowdry or use hot-tools, or even apply any styling products.) If you begin with damaged or otherwise non-lustrous hair, you won't get the same level of shine - this isn't a miracle product, after all - but I bet you could still get really beautiful results!

This is a great color ! This color in a box will leave your hair looking shiny and very hydrated !!! Great price point as well .

My original review for ash blonde is below, but as I am using the new version of strawberry blonde now I wanted to share that as well. (as of June 2024)It's gorgeous! The older formula was a bit more of an orange red tone, where this is a more pink undertone, and that is what strawberry blonde should be. With my natural coloring being ash blonde, with very fair skin and blue eyes, this shade is perfect. I only wash my hair about once every week or two, as it's naturally wavy, thick and tends towards dryness. That also helps with avoiding fading. But I also use a little trick of mine to give the color a pop, so I only need to do the roots and not the whole head every time. When my hair is freshly washed and towel dry, into my hands I mix some good moisturizing conditioner and a squirt of Sebastian Cellophanes Red Gold. Yes, that's meant to be used differently, but it works well as a color depositing styling tool and gives my waves lovely separate curls and a subtle but definite color boost. I then dry my hair upside using an enormous old diffuser I've had since the 90s, lol. They'll bury me with that thing, I swear!But this is a rare instance of the image on the box being true to the color I obtained, when using it over my previously colored hair which was between a medium and light ash blonde. I love this, and will likely be using it for as long as it's available.Now, onto my previous review for the ash blonde color...I have been using Revlon Colorsilk for decades and always love the results. My natural color is ash blonde/dirty blonde and recently I ran out of patience while trying to grow my natural color out and used the box of honey blonde I had here at home. It's a lovely shade but on my Czech/Irish pale skin it is just too gold and brassy. It drove me nuts so I ordered the medium ash blonde so it would be as natural looking as possible and as close to my own color as possible. I did the whole head, left it on for 45 minutes from the time application was completed and absolutely love it. No yellow or bassy tones, not cigarette ash grey (which happened once ages ago when I used another brand) and really flattering. My hair is thick, fine in texture and naturally tends to be very wavy, even curly when encouraged properly, so it can be quite dry. It always feels a bit alarmingly wrecked while rinsing the color out, but once I condition it, whether with the packet included or my own, it is just fine and even seems to encourage body and texture in a good way.I have a couple of boxes of the light and ultra light ash blonde on hand if I feel like adding some highlights at some point but honestly I love this color so much I cannot stop checking it out in natural and artificial light. My husband complimented me on it as well, saying I reminded him of Little Margaret Dashwood in Ang Lee's "Sense and Sensibility", which is one of my favorite compliments of all time! Lol please do Google that to see her hair, it is pretty well spot on for how this looks over blonde natural or colored hair. I am drifnitely stocking up on this shade.