Apr 10

Apr 10 Product Review: Maria Nila Colour Refresh in Vivid Violet

Product Review: Maria Nila Colour Refresh in Vivid Violet

I’ve always wanted to dye my hair ombre, but I didn’t want to go through the mortifying ordeal of being perceived getting my hair bleached. So, when I was gifted this hair-mask-slash-dye, I knew I had to try it. Did the dye successfully overcome my brownish hair, a color notoriously hard to dye? Read on to find out.

Quick facts

Name: Maria Nila Colour Refresh in Vivid Violet

Price: $19.00 + tax for 100 ml

Smell: It smells like hair dye, but in a nice, pleasant sort of way. Like a beauty salon. 4/5

Texture: A thick cream-like texture that spreads easily over hair. 5/5

Ease of use: It’s relatively easy if you’ve dyed your hair before. There is a learning curve to get a more intense color. Make sure you use gloves. 3.5/5

Appearance: First attempt barely showed up, second attempt showed up more but was still subtle. The color looks much better in the light. Works best on lighter hair. ⅗

Total: 3.5/5

The instructions were pretty simple: Wash and towel-dry hair. Apply dye, and wait for 3-10 minutes. Wash off with cold water, and then finish with some conditioner. What could go wrong?

Well, as it turns out, everything. (To be fair, this was my first time ever dyeing my own hair). The application itself was very easy: I separated my hair into four parts, and slowly applied the dye to the ends. I used a comb (note to self: use a more finer-picked comb next time) to disperse the dye, and waited for 15 minutes. I knew that, with my darker hair, I would need to go for maximum wait time to get a maximum effect. What I didn’t account for was that, in my attempt to dye my hair, I completely miscalculated my limb placement, so I also ended up dyeing the bathroom sink a bright purple and bleaching my jeans in a frantic attempt to bleach the dye out.

After (finally) getting out the dye in the sink, I washed out my hair with cold water in the sink for about 3 minutes. Here was my error: I ended up washing out too much of the dye, an error that I only found out about after my hair dried. I actually wasn’t very satisfied with the result at first—my hair was barely purple tinged, even when seen in the light.

Next morning, I decided to dye my hair again. Now that I knew what I was doing, the process was a lot easier! I successfully managed to not dye my sink purple a second time! The cream really is easy to use, as it comes in a gel-cream that’s very pigmented. Just a little is enough, although for more intensity I would recommend going back and re-applying the dye a couple of times. I also made sure to wash out my hair a lot less the second time again for only a minute. This time, my hair looked a lot more purple. It’s still a very subtle change, but one that’s more visibly purple.

Overall, I liked the product for its ease of use and accessibility. I would recommend the darker colors to people with darker hair, but be warned that it will be a subtle dye. There are lighter colors, but with the performance of this product, I’m not sure if it will show up on hair darker than blonde.