Finding the hair color was easy, I went to the local CVS and there it was, in a cute black box. I chose 6.60 Light Intense Auburn, after doing a little "poll" and Facebook and getting a lot of suggestions for RED. I came home and opened the box immediately, unpacking the directions (which included a pair of BLACK gloves - CUTE!), a teardrop shaped applicator bottle, developer, colorant, and conditioner. I read over the directions carefully - pretty run of the mill (basically mix the solution, put it in your hair, let it sit, and rinse it out - nothing too crazy). I was shocked that in the era of 10-minute hair color, Garnier Olia takes a whopping 30 minutes to set!! First surprise.
My opinion of the presentation is that the developer comes in a tube that is ENTIRELY TOO BIG. It's just a waste of plastic AND space in the box - and it's hard to squeeze out all the contents, when the same amount of solution could fit in a much smaller, more environmentally-friendly tube. The applicator bottle, which seemingly brilliant at first, is rather disappointing. The round shape gives the feel of being in control of the application, but it easily slips from your slimy grip after applying the hair color for a few moments. I did like that the conditioner came in a tube, as opposed to a packet, because it makes it easy to save and reuse the leftovers.
The hair color is almost odorless, with a light, fruity, barely-there scent. My color solution was bright orange and contrasted well with the gloves, it was really neat to see. Though my hair is very long, one box of hair color covered everything. Once I got in the shower to rinse after 30 minutes, it took forever for my hair to rinse clear - and once it did, I conditioned, and it started rinsing orange again. Every day for almost 2 weeks my hair rinsed orange - it behaved much like semi-permanent color, staining my white hair towel orange. On the bright side, the conditioner smelled GREAT!
Not only was the rinsing an annoyance, but my hair is multi-colored. Previously, I had bleached my hair underneath and colored the top "Darkest Brown," which is my natural color. Now, underneath is a bright red with some caramel, while my roots are a bright red, and the "Darkest Brown" portion is still mostly "Darkest Brown" with a tint of red in the sunlight. The red is vivid and beautiful in the light, and despite the multi-colored state of my hair, I DO get many compliments. However, I would love it if my whole head (minus underneath - I understand that light hair will adopt lighter color, that's just the way it is) were the same shade of this beautiful, vivid red.
Also - as most of my friends know, my hair is my pride and joy. It's very healthy, no split ends, never dry, always shiny. After using Garnier Olia, I had the worst case of static I have ever had in my life. I never have static in my hair unless I'm wearing a sweater or I rub a balloon on my head. Never. My hair was SO dry from using this hair color, that I had static for almost a week - and it was unbearable. Even my bangs were sticking flush to my forehead and no matter what I did I got no relief. I put lotion in my hair, leave-in conditioner, used a dryer sheet, spritzed with water and hairspray throughout the day, to no avail. The only thing that finally brought relief was Aussie 3-Minute Miracle Conditioner (which I HIGHLY recommend)!
So, overall, I am not a fan of Garnier Olia - I can't say I'll ever purchase it in the future, unless the formula changes and the public is made aware of it. I will just stick to what is tried and true - L'Oreal Sublime Mousse.
P.S. If you want to get the low-down yourself, visit Garnier USA - Garnier Olia Hair Color to get more information.
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