After last week’s miniature rant, I tried to distance myself from those feelings and focus on something else.
I’d just finished waiting the allotted two weeks before moving forward with a more vibrant and exciting hair dye adventure.
And, well, a friend recommended a violet shade of box dye that promised coverage and color from a brand I’ve used hundreds of times before.
I mean, I even regularly use this brand to lighten my hair before I go for an outrageous shade, so I’ve got plenty of experience with it.
And that experience is what had me wholeheartedly trusting the recommendation and colorful picture on the box.
However, it’s worth noting that this is also the same parent company brand of my now discontinued favorite box shade – “Grape Expectations.”
I mean, I love Grape Expectations so much that I’ve got several saved on an eBay watch list and a handful of other niche sellers in my browser’s bookmarks tab.
Grape Expectations was a wonderful vivid, ultra bright and sometimes neon shade of blue-violet that I fell in love with the first time I tried it several years ago.
Sadly, it’s been discontinued and was a seemingly regional sort of shade with limited availability even before being stricken from the company’s portfolio.
So, I took the recommended “Spicy Plum” shade out of the cabinet and followed the directions – the initial mix was borderline hot pink and I found myself having to take a few deep breaths.
It couldn’t be THAT bad, could it?
Still, I was hopeful right up until I started actually applying the color product to my hair.
Any person that dyes their hair at home knows that creeping dread where the colored cream coming out of the applicator bottle is the wrong shade and a tiny part of you inside starts freaking out.
But, logic always dictates enough to calm a dye-hard veteran by reminding that almost all colors darken during their processing time.
And I have several professional hairstylist friends that harp often about how box dye is bad for my hair’s health and a slew of other issues.
I don’t argue or discount their expertise, but I know what this brand usually does to my hair and how my hair reacts to these products – the level of comfort and familiarity is key to my choice here.
Plus, I’m more apt to spend $10 on a box than almost $100 or more to get it professionally done.
When it came to Sunday’s experiment, I could tell that the box was a failure before I even put my glasses back on.
Unfortunately for me, the color is more akin to the same burgundy as mom’s Jeep and I’m never going to do it again.
Apparently, when it comes to Spicy Plum dye, I’ve gotten the formula that’s 98% spice and only 2% plum.
All that’s left to do is endure the hair color until it fades or grows out enough that I can chop most of it off.
And luckily for me, my hair grows pretty fast and that means I could remedy this issue before my birthday in October.
Or, well, that’s the hope at least!
Maybe the stars will align and my prayers for the return of Grape Expectations will be answered by then and I can rectify this unfortunate and desperate attempt for purple hair.
Until then, I’ll make do and keep scouring for other possibilities to bring back the shade I want.
