L'Oreal Loreal shine blonde

As I believe I've mentioned on here before, I'm obsessed with my hair. It costs me a fortune. I get it done at great expense every other month at a great salon near me; I use GHDs, the top of the range straighteners to tame it; all of my other electric appliances are similarly overpriced; and I use the best products I can find to take care of it. Sometimes, though, it still looks rubbish.

I sport a rather fetching blonde dye job which always looks fantastic when I step out of the salon. As my hair is naturally a rather unattractive shade of brown, however, it tends not to stay this blonde for long. No, as with most dyed blonde hair, it can get brassy after a few weeks. For the non-blondes out there, brassy blonde is what you get when your hair begins to become more yellow or golden (or orange!).

I categorically do not suit golden hair, favouring a more ash blonde finish. Brassy blonde is a big disaster for me. As I take good care of my hair, brassiness is fairly minimal between salon appointments, but even minimal brassiness looks pretty bad on me, as I only really suit "cool" tones, and brassy hair is very "warm".

When I spoke to my hairdresser about my brassy hair one appointment, she suggested I try this shampoo. She explained that this shampoo contains some of the toner that they use in salons to combat brassiness but is safe to use at home to keep my blonde hair looking fresh. I was warned off of using it more than once or twice a week before parting with my £7 (this was a while ago - now available on lookfantastic.com for £7.87) and trotting off home.

When you get this out of the bottle, the first thing that hits you is the rich violet colour of the shampoo. The reason for the colour sounds a bit airy-fairy, but it does actually work. Purple and yellow are on opposite ends of the colour spectrum, and so the purple pigment in this shampoo will help to neutralise the yellow tones in the hair. The pigment in this shampoo isn't just there for show - some of it will penetrate the hair to get rid of the unattractive yellowing of the hair.

The smell of the shampoo is something I've become used to - it doesn't smell particularly nice, but it reminds me of hair salons, so I love it - being reminded of being pampered when I'm rushing around in the shower always boosts my mood.

Once the shampoo is applied to the hair and lathered up, the instructions advise you to leave it on the hair for up to three minutes. I always try to leave it on for this amount of time, mainly because I always want maximum results from a product. Being a shampoo and not a conditioner can make keeping it on your head a little problematic though, as it isn't thick at all when it's lathered and will try and run off of the hair.

Now, initially I was really sceptical about how much this stuff did for my hair. The difference in my hair colour when I use it religiously once a week is almost imperceptible - presumably because I'm using it religiously. Recently, however, I went for four months without using it, being very doubtful that it made a difference to my hair, and it must be said, I really noticed the return of the brassy tones in my hair over that time. My hairdresser was most upset with me and gave me an "are you using your special shampoo?" talk.

I'd say that once a week is pretty excessive use of this shampoo unless you are really noticing your hair beginning to yellow. It is worth using it at the first signs of brassiness to prevent it getting worse, but it probably only needs to be used once every two weeks or so. Having said that, if you work somewhere polluted or are regularly exposed to cigarette smoke your hair may start to yellow sooner than this and weekly use may be more appropriate.

Because it is not for daily use, I find that a bottle of this shampoo lasts me ages - I've only ever got replacements because I've lost bottles or moved house and forgotten to bring them with me.

I would recommend this shampoo to bottle blondes. It doesn't always make a huge difference to your hair immediately, but as I can testify, it does work subtly to stop the brassies from appearing between salon visits. Of course, there are certain levels of brassiness that only a salon can fix, but this great little shampoo is a good way of keeping your blonde hair looking fresh between hair appointments.