'Covered my greys seamlessly' – £5 hair dye with 'multi-tonal' results cheats a salon colour

There are two camps of people: box dye users and salon lovers. But if you're a salon goer but happened to, say, find a home dye that gave salon-like shine, dimension and grey coverage, would that make you swap to the box side?

When Revlon launched its new Colorstay Longwear Permanent Cream Colour, £5.50 here, we got our eager OK! tester, and box dye pro, Emily to ditch her usual home dye to give it a go – and the results, she says, were so good that her friends and family wondered whether she'd been to the hair salon. So, if you're looking for ways to save money this summer, it could be your ticket to saving hundreds of pounds on professional hair colouring.

The colour

Revlon has launched its new Colorstay Longwear Permanent Cream Colour

The high-performance hair colour promises to be a game-changer for those suffering from dull base shades and pesky greys, offering 100% grey coverage and multi-dimensional – not flat – colour that lasts up to 8 weeks. The best part? It includes a colour booster mask that can be used at week 3 or 4 to restore your hair's vibrancy to day-one brilliance. In just five minutes, this clever mask, which acts a little like a salon gloss, revives the intensity of your shade.

Emily, as a naturally mid-toned brunette with warm undertones, used the shade 5 Medium Brown, but there are 15 other shades to shop to suit your colour needs, from reds to auburn tones and even ashy blondes.

Tester Emily says

Emily, left, before using Revlon's Colorstay, and right, immediately after using the booster mask three weeks later

I've been home dyeing my naturally brunette hair to cover greys for years, so I am a bit of a box dye connoisseur, and let me tell you this: they aren't all created equal. First of all, I'm delighted to say the packet and instructions for Revlon's colour were super straightforward to follow, This isn't always the case with box dyes, so it was the process very seamless. I also really liked the glossy packaging; it looked more professional than the 'cheap' dyes I have used in the past.

I simply mixed the creamy colourant into the nozzle developer bottle and applied it to my roots before dragging the colour down to my ends. I was also careful to use the plastic gloves since I've given myself stains for days in the past! I also really appreciated the advice on the instructions to leave the dye on for an extra 5 minutes if I have resistant grey hair. I haven't seen that before, so it felt like Revlon really tuned into my needs there!

I did notice it took longer than other home dyes to use (30 minutes compared to the usual I have experienced of 20 or 25 minutes), but I just assumed this might be because it is higher quality and takes longer to do a better job. I didn't mind the extra few minutes at all for the glossy, dimensional colour it gave me.

The finished colour looks better on me than previous home kits I have used (and as I say, I have used a lot!) The shade looks very warm and I was impressed with that. I immediately got compliments from my wife, who said it has lovely coppery / chestnut / auburn tones when seen in the daylight.

Emily, left, before using Revlon's Colorstay, and right, immediately after using the booster mask three weeks later

What I love most is it's not a flat colour like so many home dyes can give. It stands out from the rest and does not seem like a dull 'one shade fits all' tone like previous brands I have tried. Even better, it tackled the greys 100% so I was really happy (I do have a big problem with grey hairs at my temples and I have found other dyes have had a bit of a patchy effect).

I did the dye two weeks before and I noticed the pesky greys starting to sprout again at my temples, but I reckon my hair does grow much quicker in the summer and this is no different than other DIY dyes I have used - my greys are just a curse! I did apply the booster mask at this point and that definitely went a way to diffuse the greys a tad and give my colour a luminous kick.

I would definitely use this again, and for the price, it blows other boxes out of the water.

Shopping around for other home colour options? You can find plenty of top-rated kits from Amazon here, starting from £3.99.