I had seen a picture of Rihanna where she wore a beautiful red dress with red lipstick and gorgeous hair in varying hues of brown and gold. That image somehow stuck to my mind so when I was offered to color my hair using shades from the new L’Oreal Professionnel Mocha Mania range, I knew that was the look I wanted to go for. My appointment was fixed at A N John Salon, Park Street and I was met by the in-house stylist and L’Oreal Professionnel senior stylist and trainer. I told them the look I wanted to try out and the stylists recommended a mix of two techniques – Balayage and Hair Contouring using L’Oreal Professionnel Mocha Mania hair color.
Before I share details on what color was used on me and the entire experience, here’s some information on the two techniques.
Balayage and Hair Contouring
Balayage is a French word meaning to sweep or to paint. It allows for a sun-kissed natural looking hair color with softer, less noticeable regrowth lines. Balayage is applied on the surface of the hair and can also be called a freehand technique because no foil is used to create the highlights. Basically, it looks more natural and the color grows out evenly so it is quite low maintenance.
We all know about contouring the face with makeup to give it more definition but do you know you can do the same with your hair? Hair contouring is a coloring technique that uses a combination of free hand application and highlighting paired with the careful positioning of different tones and depths around the face to highlight and shadow targeted areas. Darker tones create shadows and are used to shorten or narrow the face shape, whilst lighter tones elongate and lengthen the face shape by reflecting light. There are seven basic face shapes and a skilled L’Oreal Professionnel colorist will be able to determine where to position the dark and light shades to sculpt the face and achieve a more ‘oval’ shape. This bespoke service is available in top L’Oreal Professionnel salons across the country and in Kolkata, A N John is one of them.
L’Oreal Professionnel Mocha Mania
L’oreal Professionnel has launched four new shades of mocha (4.8, 5.18, 7.18 and 8.8) under the INOA portfolia which is their no-ammonia hair color. These coffee and chocolate shades not only suit Indian skin tones, but also enhance one’s facial features and highlight a haircut, depending on the colour technique used. The innovative formula, ODS2 harnesses the power of oil to treat hair during the hair color process and provides six weeks of intense hydration and nutrition. It leaves hair softer and shinier by up to 50 per cent.
My Hair Makeover
The new L’Oreal Professionnel Mocha Mania range has both cool and warm shades and I went for the warm colors because I felt they would suit my skin tone best. The stylist used the techniques of Balayage Ombre (transition of a lighter shade from a darker shade using the Balayage technique of sweeping/painting color on the hair) and Hair Contouring (using the dark shade on the sides of the face and the light shade around the temples and chin) to add definition and visually elongate my round face.
The first step was to cover the grey hairs so she used the darker shade of 4.8 till the mid-lengths and then, the ends were pre-lightened before the light shade of 7.18 was applied. After rinsing off, to lock in the color and to make the hair softer and shinier, the L’Oreal Professionnel Cristalceutic Masque was applied and kept for a few minutes before rinsing off. This masque is available only in salons and should be used after coloring the hair. Here’s the finished look.
I love my new hair and a big thanks to A N John and L’Oreal Professionnel for this hair makeover. What do you think of it? Do share your thoughts in the comments below 🙂
Complimentary service offered by L’Oreal Professionnel
Arpita says
Why the colour came out orange? I was expecting for something in brown.
Amrita says
Hi Dolon,
Is pre-lightening damage hair as that is a kind of bleach only? Because of grey hair I have coats of dark color hence for doing any other lighter color styling needs to be done with pre-lighting. Somehow from different suggestions I feel that damages hair. Is it true or a myth?
Dolon says
At the end of the day, you are applying chemicals to the hair and that is never good :). What you can do is get the color done from an experienced colorist, use a good quality color and most importantly, take good care of the hair post color
Juhi Roy says
I really love it.Suits you!
Mansi Agg says
Loved it.. you look gorgeous..
Mansi Agg recently posted…Avon Face and Eye Makeup Remover Review
Dolon says
Thank you Mansi 😀
Dona says
Gorgeous!!! Loved it so much☺ do you know about the price for this service ?
Dolon says
It would depend on the salon, the technique you want to go in for, whether you use a junior or senior stylist etc. At AN John, it would be from 4-5K
Soumita Dey says
Hi. …it’s lovely ……if you can say what’s the budget….of the total pRocester. …
Dolon says
Hi Soumita, it would depend on the salon, the technique you want to go in for, whether you use a junior or senior stylist etc. At AN John, it would be around 4-5K