I just mixed up a color-extending conditioner from the remainder of the conditioner out of the box dye and some Jerome Russel Punky Colour dye in Poppy Red.
The best kind of mad science involves hair products and a bathroom that looks like a murder scene when you're done.
FYI, for hair dye fans: Punky Colour has a MUCH nicer consistency than Manic Panic... more like pudding than runny slop. It smells nicer, too, but YMMV on that count. I haven't used it yet, so I don't know how the color/bleedout/longevity matches up against MP. I still have some adjustments to make on the color it is now (I totally forgot how easy it is to miss spots when dyeing virgin hair, seeing as I hadn't done it since I was 16yo), and my current plan w/ the Punky Colour is to use it as a conditioner/color boost between boxes of red dye.
Finally, L'Oreal Preference RR04 provides a satisfyingly punchy dark(ish) red over undyed mouse-brown hair. Over the first week it has faded noticeably (something I fully expect with all red dyes, and hence the search for a color-depositing conditioner), but I like the color in most light conditions and it's dark enough to bring some definition to my face/features. It doesn't really trend orange/yellow, so with a little care I hope to avoid it looking brassy. To me it looks semi-gothy without being too young-looking (again, YMMV on this one), too unprofessional, or too high-maintenance (like the semi-perms if used on their own). ALSO, it comes with a generous tube of conditioner - almost 2oz. I don't use conditioner on a daily, and when I used it after rinsing out the dye I only used a pea-sized amount. This meant I had a whole tube leftover to mix up the color-extender, which I plan on using approx once a week.
I have missed red hair, red hair dye, and the search for the perfect red-dye system. This time around I'm going for a bolder, more primary red... in the past I've gone with penny reds (in the 90s mostly) and darker auburn/brick reds, but I've shied away from reds that have too much blue in them as they usually require specific maintenance in order not to look washed out. With the auburns I used, they mostly just faded into a sort of brown, which meant extended time between dyes wasn't a huge deal.
And of course, for a good long while there I simply dyed my hair dark brown because of the upkeep required of reds.
But red has always been my hairdye home. I'm enjoying being back here again :)
