I must confess that I ran the full gamut of emotions when it came to reviewing this product. The L’oreal Paris Feria Wild Ombre Hair Kit revolutionizes the hair care product aisle, allowing consumers to purchase their own kit to ombre their hair and give themselves the look without going to a hairdresser. I used to be incredibly conservative about my hair, never wanting to try do-it-yourself ideas out, afraid my hair would turn strange and unusual colors. As the years have gone on, I am now 100% a DIY kind of gal when it comes to my hair. I feel that almost any mistake I may make in my ventures can always be fixed (even if I have to Google it!), so I was mostly excited about trying this kit out. I love the ombre look on dark hair, especially when it cascades into a golden, reddish-brown. Part of being a beauty blogger is getting to test out new, and sometimes intimidating products, so I gave this one a whirl and just went for it. Did my hair turn out the way I wanted it to?

The kit I specifically used is 060 – For Medium to Dark Brown Hair. The main image on the box is a little intimidating at first glance. I didn’t want my hair to be as dramatic as the cover picture, and I was looking for more of a subtle, blended in type of ombre.

Luckily, they give you two options in the directions: subtle or bold. The subtle look on the left side was perfect for me, and I knew I was going to follow the directions for that look. Instead of having the entire bottom section of your hair ombre, it allows you to pick pieces of that bottom half and ombre them instead.

The kit comes with bleaching powder, bleaching creme, and a bottle of developer that you use to mix everything together with. It also comes with detailed instructions, two gloves, and an amazing, sturdy brush you use to distribute the color through your hair. I was actually incredibly pleased with the brush this kit came with, and I rinsed it off to save it for future uses.

Once you mix your developer, powder lightener, and lightening creme, you’re going to have a creamy consistency as you see above. The cap goes back on the product, which is a squirt bottle. The consistency was just right. It wasn’t too runny that it got everywhere, and it was thick enough that I was able to comb it through my hair evenly.

Following the directions, I clipped my hair up, separating it into two sections: the bottom half and the upper half. I was going to work with the bottom half of my hair first and then un-clip sections of my hair as I went along.

At this point, you squirt a bit of the lightening creme onto your brush, and pick a section of hair you want to lighten. The directions for the “subtle ombre” said to alternate one inch sections of hair, starting at ear or chin level. I chose half inch and one inch pieces of hair, leaving some of the pieces alone to stay dark. I started the dye around ear level.

Above is my first strand of hair that I lightened with the product. Be sure to use the gloves that came with the kit! I did my first strand without any gloves on for photography purposes, but then I put them on immediately after.

After I alternated strands of hair from the ear/chin down, I kept letting more and more layers of my hair down until they were all done. The above photo shows what my hair looked like after I had just about completed the bottom layer of my hair. I also put the product on a few strands of hair near my face from the root to tip to add a subtle highlighting effect for dimension.The product itself is a “highlighting” product with bleach, so it will lighten any strand you put it on, even if you go from root to tip with it.

Before:

My hair BEFORE was pretty much just a dark brown with some sun-kissed pieces mixed in that are completely natural.

AFTER:

Ta-da! Dimension without being over-the-top dramatic. It turned out exactly how I had pictured in my head. I rinsed the dye out after 45 minutes. Directions say to leave it in for 25-45 minutes, but I decided to go for the maximum time since my hair is really dark and I wanted to make sure it lightened. The result is beautifully sun-kissed bronze brown ends that are woven in with my dark brown hair. I think the coolest part about ombre hair is that you can be as messy and un-calculating as you want. In fact, the less “planned out” the ombre looks, the better. In theory, there really is no way for you to screw up your ombre since anything goes!

BEFORE & AFTER L'oreal Paris Feria Wild Ombre

BEFORE & AFTER L'oreal Paris Feria Wild Ombre

The result is hair with a lot more dimension to it. It brings light to my face and my skin, and looks perfect for the upcoming warmer months. My hair didn’t feel or look damaged at all from this product, either. The conditioning shampoo that came with the kit really made my hair feel soft as butter, and I added extra conditioner to my hair before I used my blow-dryer. The result? Shiny, healthy looking hair that now has a lot more dimension. It’s even husband approved! He admitted that he was nervous about me pulling it off, and when I showed him the end result, he said he “loved it” and thought it was “extremely sexy.” The best part about ombre? You don’t have to touch up any roots! A+!

Overall: While at-home hair coloring kits like these can be very intimidating for some people, I urge you to give this one a chance! The lightening powder in the kit I used, which is meant for the darkest hair, worked quickly and efficiently lightened my hair without turning it orange or bright red. The product itself was very easy to use with the provided applicator brush, and the directions were detailed and easy to follow. The product didn’t damage or fry my hair, and actually came out looking shiny and healthy afterward. The kit allows you to DIY so that you control where you want your ombre to begin and end, and you get to choose how dramatic or subtle you want it to be. The kit comes in three different choices for different hair colors, as well, making it perfect for everyone. I highly recommend this product, and I will be purchasing it myself again in the future if I want to touch-up my ombre or add more to my hair.

What do you think? Would you ombre at home?

[ALL PHOTOGRAPHY ON THIS SITE IS TAKEN BY REBECCA KAZIMIR. NO PHOTOGRAPHS ARE TO BE REPRODUCED WITHOUT WRITTEN PERMISSION.]

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