04 April 2013

My Garnier Olia Experience



Recently I was lucky enough to be chosen for a sought-after BzzAgent campaign: Garnier Olia hair color. If you haven't read my other BzzAgent posts, this is a PR website that helps companies gets buzz for new products by having average Janes like me try the products and blog about them. I don't get paid but I do get a coupon that lets me get the product for free or at a discount.


I'm sure most of you have seen the recent Garnier Olia ad campaign. The big difference with this product versus other home hair-coloring kits is that 60% of the blend is oil, including natural flower oils. The first place that this is evident is the smell. The chemical scent of the beauty salon is still there, but it is much more faint than in other products I've used.


The design of the product is clearly meant to be chic. Even the gloves are the trendy black that I've seen in more modern salons on TV. However, the gloves also seem to be meant for skinny French women because the only person in the house who could fit them was my model-thin daughter C1. Luckily we keep latex gloves around the house for such instances.

The application process was simple. Squeeze the colorant and the activator into the lovely tear-shaped bottle, shake until your bingo wings smack you in the face, and then apply to your dry hair. The cream is advertised as no-drip and it really is. I didn't even need a towel around my shoulders. Also, don't be alarmed when you don't see any color in the colorant; it starts to reveal itself as it sits in the bottle. I got the violet shade. It started out cream-colored, then it looked like a strawberry smoothie, and then ended up looking like a blackberry smoothie.

After letting the cream sit in my hair for 30 minutes, I massaged it in a little more and then rinsed until the water ran clear. The last step is to use the included conditioner, let it sit in your hair for two minutes, and rinse it out. The conditioner has a similar floral scent without the chemical undertone.

So how do I like the results? Well, it isn't a very vibrant color, but I wasn't really expecting it to be since my hair was dark brown to start with. Garnier Olia did a good job of coloring my grey hair. I'm not the type who is embarrassed by my grey hair; in fact, I'd be happy if I could keep my grey and color the mousy brown hair around it. However, for women who want to cover their grey strands, Garnier Olia does a good job. 


This is my "before" photo. As you can see there are several strands of grey in the front.


This is my "after" photo. The grey strands are practically gone, except for one stubborn hair right in the middle. The violet color doesn't really stand out, although judging from my past experiences I imagine that the violet will catch the light when I am outside in the sun. What is noticeable indoors is the sheen that Garnier Olia has given my hair. I don't know if you can pick it up in my "before" photo, but my brown hair has a dusty look even when it is clean. It is as if someone has dusted my head with baby powder. After the Garnier Olia treatment, my hair is softer and shinier. In a way I'm not surprised because my hair has always responded well to Garnier products, even thought they aren't necessarily designed for natural black hair.

My wrap-up: I would say give Garnier Olia a try. It is easy to use and it seems to less harsh than other home hair dyes I've used in the past.

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