Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

So I just bought this kit yesterday (at CVS, wish I had bought on Amazon, it's about half the price). My longtime hairdresser decided to cut back on her business because her husband is in the military and she needed to be home with her daughter more. I've always had a hard time finding a stylist that can get my "honey colored ombré / balayage" look right, and I almost always end up having to go back the next day for it to be toned down or fixed because it's too yellow, too ash, or just too many highlights. When I was faced with finding yet another new stylist, I decided to just try it myself, which I had no business thinking I could do, but I have a conference for work next week and my hair was in desperate need of something. I was SUPER nervous after reading reviews and watching tutorials online. I was getting ready to take it back and just go to my conference as I am and suck it up until I have time to find someone new. But I kept going down rabbit holes on YouTube and miraculously came across 3 different tutorials that used a boxed bleach kit (all used different brands), but they all used a sort of finger painting technique. After watching them over and over, I decided it was worth a try. It looked like a technique that I could control myself a little more and always go back and add more if I wanted. It took me about 30 min to do, and I did 3 layers/sections of hair starting with the bottom and working up to my crown and face - because the bottom was darker to start so figured it would take more time to process. When I finished the top, I let it process about 25 min, checked a couple strands in front and it looked like it needed 5 more min. I rinsed using the included shampoo then used a L'Oréal deep conditioning hair mask which I left on for about 30 min then did another shampoo/condition cycle with some color safe stuff I got at beauty supply store. Honestly, the results I got were phenomenal, first time, and I liked it better than even my most recent favorite hair stylist that can't fit me in anymore. So, now I'm saving almost $200 and I like it better! FYI, the best tutorial video I found was actually from Jesse James Decker on YT (reality TV star married to NFL player). My results may be beginners luck, but if you have medium to dark brown hair, I think this kit is perfect, just do your research and watch videos online to feel comfortable before you try something at home you've never done 😉