I tried a new brand of hair color this month–Lunar Tides. I used their bright red Blood Moon to dye my roots and generally refresh my color. It went pretty well.

First you can see some serious roots and fading red (and my kid’s French braid practice). This old one was Manic Panic Infra Red, which was rich and dark but bled more than any dye I’ve ever used. Next you can see my lovely bleached roots, which is actually kind of a neat effect. Last is Blood Moon, still bright and shiny after a week of washings.

Pros: Vegan, cruelty free, lovely packaging. I like that it comes in a jar instead of a squeeze bottle–jars are less messy to use and let you scrape every last bit of dye out. Blood Moon turned out a nice true red leaning slightly toward orange, which is pretty much what I expected from the descriptions. The price compares well to other brands I’ve used and they have a nice range of colors. It also stains a bit less on fingers and counter tops, which is always nice.

Cons: I could tell even while I applied that this color is less saturated and opaque than most I’ve used. It definitely took more dye to get full coverage and the brightness I wanted. This formula was also a little more liquid than I’m used to, which was both pro and con. Con because less saturation, pro because it was easier to work through my thick curls without missing spots.

Color usually lasts forever for me (a month or more) and this one seems to be holding up fine so far. Overall I liked this product and would probably use it again, though I might actually mix it with some Manic Panic to customize the shade and get better saturation.