Put The 'High' Back Into Your Highlights

A few weeks ago Boots launched a new 'Colour Excellence' range, sadly I couldn't attend the launch event but luckily still got to try the products out. Colour Excellence's aim is to 'maximise colour definition for sharper, longer-lasting highlights' by removing the environmental build up and styling products absorbed in your hair (basically getting all the crap out!) Coloured hair, especially highlights absorb more conditioner than the rest of your hair, and so these products focus completely on removing them.

Any of you who read my blog regularly, will know that I tried out the Pro:Voke Touch of Silver range for 3 weeks to get my blonde sections brighter (you can read it about it here). But, I stopped using this range for the past 2 weeks so that I could get the most accurate result when using the Colour Excellence products, which meant that my hair did become duller and brassier.

In the range is either a 'Highlights Brightener' for blonde hair or one for brunettes and red heads. The brightener for blonde hair contains Chamomile, and the one for brunettes contains an extract of Cocoa Bean. I tried out the one for brunettes, but was a bit worried about the outcome as I have a balayage, and so only have of my head is brunette, so I wasn't sure what to expect!

The application is really easy, I was expecting it to be a lot more like dying hair and having to leave it on for a good half hour and dealing with the horrible smells - but nope, It was super easy. You just tip in the Vitamin C powder into the bottle and shake it until it's all completely mixed. Then, jump in the shower and wash your hair (but not with a 2-in-1 and don't condition) and towel dry it. You then apply the mixture all over your hair and brush it through with a tail comb to make sure that it's all evenly applied, and wash it off straight away and then condition your hair as normal. I can't put my finger on what it smelt like, it was very sweet, but I really liked it!

I wasn't sure what to expect when I took my towel off and looked in the mirror, but once I dried my hair, I was really impressed! It didn't really do a lot to my blonde ends, although I wasn't really expecting it to as I used the brunette version. BUT, it took really well to the middle and top part of my balayage, and my hair looks sooo much more natural and well blended! My hair really started looking like an bad Ombre, where you can see a distinct line between the brown hair and the blonde, but this has really blended the two colours in so well! I can now see where my highlights were, some of them go quite far up my hair which completely vanished in the past 3 months since I last had my hair highlighted. My hair definitely looks more 'sun kissed' and lighter over all, without the horrible orangey colour that I was sort of expecting?

Also, it feels soo soft! It looks healthy and shiny, and genuinely a lot like I have just had my highlights topped up at the hair dressers but without the hefty bill. AND what's great is that i've had people comment on how natural and healthy my hair looks.

I was really impressed with the 'Highlights Brightener' so decided to try out the 'Hair Detox' too. I wasn't too sure whether you could use these products with each other, so I waited a few days before using it. The process is exactly the same as the brightener, just apply after your hair is shampooed and towel dried and comb through. The 'Hair Detox' claims to use Vitamin C to deep cleanse, improve vibrancy and give longer lasting colour, helps promote a healthy scalp and removes product build-up and pollutants. It also contains natural anti-oxidants including Green Tea extract.

It smells very similar to the brightener, very sweet and again I can't put my finger on what the smell is! But anyway, as soon as I washed it out I noticed how soft my hair felt, it didn't even need conditioning. When drying my hair, I also found that it didn't dry as frizzy as it usually does, it felt smoother and silkier but without the greasy, tacky feeling that I find you get with a lot of deep conditioning products. After straightening my hair is felt amazing!! So shiny, and my highlights looked even more bright. As well, it seemed to help keep my hair straighter and less frizzy all day :)

Overall i'm really impressed with this range! They're really great products to use as a one off if your hair is in need of a little TLC or your highlights are looking a little dull.

I'm going to continue using the Pro:Voke Touch of Silver range to keep away any brassiness in my hair as well!

You can check out the range on Boots here, and try them out for only £7.99!

Let me know if you've tried any of this range and what you thought!