Schwarzkopf Live Ultra Brights and Urban Metallics hair dye review

Reviewed by J Wright

We received a range of Schwarzkopf Live Ultra Brights and a Live Urban Metallics hair dye for review and it was the ideal combination for my daughters and I to review.  We received one Blue Mercury Urban Metallics permanent dye along with a Pillar Box Red, Purple Punk and Shocking Pink semi-permanent dye.  My twins had both wanted colour, one blue and one red.  And I like a bit of pink once in a while.
So, we set up with brushed hair, colouring brushes and old clothes.
On examination we noticed the QR code on the box.  By opening the camera on a smart phone and clicking the link there’s a superb option to see the colour on yourself using technology.  We all had a bit of laugh testing all the colours on all of us.  It gave us a bit of an idea how it might look as well as giving us the giggles.  Perfect temporary colours for the summer holidays and a little bit of bright seasonal fun.
Each box contains:
1 tube Colour Cream 50ml
2 sachets of Care Conditioner 15ml
1 instruction leaflet

Twin 1 has auburn hair but she’s been keen for a brighter red, I put on the gloves which came in the box and squeezed out the Colour Cream ready to apply.  My daughter has a lot of hair and we knew one box wouldn’t colour it all but we could lift the colour enormously. I painted on the colour, a thick paste, full of pigment with no risk of dripping.  Brilliant, no one wants dripping product falling on skin or clothing.  I worked at it a little, combing it through as much as possible and wrapping it up with a clip to sit whilst we did the next colour.  This colour should last approximately 15 washes according to the box and this is good timing before they’re back at school in a few weeks.  It doesn’t really smell a great deal, it’s relatively subtle.

Twin 2 has light brown hair and she’s been pining for a blue colour for some time.  This colour from the Urban Metallics range looks phenomenal on the box, a bright, glossy, deep blue which isn’t garish.  This product apparently includes a metallic shine booster and it certainly looks that way on the box.  Twin 2 wanted streaks rather than a full colour so after mixing the products, in two parts, we wove the dye in, hairdresser style with a tail comb and wrapped them up to keep them from staining the rest of her hair.  This is a permanent dye and should stay there long term.  This is much stronger smelling product and the strong chemical smell was noticeable but not overwhelming.

Then both of my daughters wove thin pink and purple streaks into my blonde hair.  I like it subtle so by weaving in thin strands of bright colour I could keep my natural colour and brighten it up a little for the summer.

By the time we all had our colour on it was time for Twin 1 to wash hers out.  She gave it a good wash, keeping the water relatively cool to prevent the hair shaft from opening up too much and loosening anymore of the colour than necessary.  She also used the conditioner from the box which smelled fabulous and left her hair easy to detangle.  The colour became obvious quite quickly, strong and vibrant red.  It was really obvious on her auburn hair and I can imagine it would have been even more wild on my lighter hair.

Twin 2 then washed her hair and also conditioned using the product in the box.  This time the colour was more subtle, it can be seen and glows a bright and shiny blue in the sun, indoors its far more relaxed but still evidently blue.  Again if her hair was as light as mine, by bleaching or otherwise, it would be a more obvious and bright colour.

Then it was my turn, the colour came out easily, whilst still leaving plenty of bright and vibrant colour behind.  The conditioner helped me to keep my hair easy to detangle.

Twin 2 blow dried her hair, keen to see the colour once dried and it was sleek and shiny.
Twin 1 left hers to dry naturally and we could see it looked great.
I plaited mine back in thin braids so it would dry wavy and I was delighted with the result once I took the plaits out. Subtle pink and purple waves amongst my lighter hair.  Exactly as I wanted.

Schwarzkopf Live Ultra Brights delivers stunning, bright and shiny results.  I’ve dyed my hair often over the years and used a multitude of different products.  Schwarzkopf have impressed me with the colours and the strength of the colour value.  I love that it was easy to adapt the products to suit our needs and it really delivered on the colour.

The next test was washing.  Over the week we’ve each washed our hair and the colour has remained consistent.  I was pleased to see it didn’t seem faded, even after swimming for Twin 1 who didn’t fasten her hair up.  The colour stayed on her hair in the pool and during washing.  There were no stains on the towel either.

It’s almost a week now since we used the colours.  Twin 1’s hair remains strongly red and the shower is still white.  Twin 2 has her relatively subtle blue streaks which look stunning in the sun, the purple has faded somewhat with 3 washes, but the pink remains strong and beautiful.

If you’re looking for a stunning colour which is sure to wow everyone Schwarzkopf Live Ultra Brights will deliver a brilliant result in under an hour start to finish.  Similarly the Live Urban Metallics will give a longer term colour which is going to colour your hair until it grows out.

I’d definitely buy the Schwarzkopf Live products again.  They seem to be good quality, and all of us were happy with the results.

You can find the range here and on offer in some shops, of course there’s other colours to choose from too.  A variety of blues, reds, pink, purple, brown, copper, black… the list goes on.

Find them in high street and online chemists from £6.50:
HTTPS://WWW.BOOTS.COM/SCHWARZKOPF-LIVE-ULTRA-BRIGHTS-093-SHOCKING-PINK-HAIR-DYE-10155055
HTTPS://WWW.BOOTS.COM/SCHWARZKOPF-LIVE-COLOUR-URBAN-METALLICS-U67-BLUE-MERCURY-HAIR-DYE-10236118

 Rating: 5/5