I can’t remember the last time I saw my hair in its natural colour, unless it’s the roots growing out after my current colour job. In fact, I see my hairstylist every six to eight weeks to maintain my style and colour. But with Covid-19 making things a little crazy and with everyone tightening their wallets, I started reducing my visits to the hair salon.
I’ve seen Mise En Scene hair serums, treatments and DIY hair colour kits on my trips to Seoul, South Korea. Friends who have tried their products have all said good things about it. So I was looking forward to reviewing its popular Hello Bubble Foam Color.
I wanted to see how easy it would be to not only colour my hair myself, but to lighten it too. And of course, if I could end up looking like one of the Blackpink girls – Who’s your fave? Mine is Jennie – why not?
Here’s what happened.
What It Is
A bubble foam do-it-yourself hair colour that promises to deliver even colour from root to tip. In addition to the different colour options, the range also includes a Primer. Think of it as a gentle form of bleach but without the damaging effects – it’s meant to lighten your existing hair colour so that the bright and fun hair colours that follow will look bold and vibrant.
The Mise En Scene Hello Bubble Foam Color comes in shades like Rose Gold, Ballet Pink, Mermaid Green and Twinkle Blue, as well as more natural hues like Dark Choco, Choco Brown and Ash Khaki Brown.
Key Ingredients
The gentle foam bleach contains low levels of hydrogen peroxide and a Secret Magic Oil that is enriched with lavender, Madonna lily and camomile extracts to hydrate and protect the scalp and hair, minimising damage. It also conditions tresses, giving it an enviable glossy shine.
The Texture
Unlike many DIY hair colours that use creams and lotions, Mise En Scene Hello Bubble Foam Color uses a bubble foam that makes application really easy and fuss-free. In addition, the foam isn’t watery so you don’t have to worry about it sliding off and dripping down the back of your neck.
The box comes with most of the essentials needed for a DIY hair colour job: the different solutions, pump, protective hair oil, cape to protect my clothes from the hair dye, and after-care treatment.
To achieve the lighter, brighter hair colour of the Blackpink girls, I used the Primer before applying the hair dye. The instructions were easy to follow – pour in the Bleach Solution and Secret Magic Oil into the Oxidation Solution and gently shake until uniformly mixed. The great thing is that it did not have a strong ammonia scent, unlike other hair dyes I’ve tried before. In fact, the scent was surprisingly pleasant.
Following the instructions, I applied the primer from the crown to the hair ends, in sections, then left it for 30 minutes. By the end of that half hour, I could see that my hair was noticeably lightened. But as the Primer only contains very low levels of hydrogen peroxide, my hair was only marginally lighter – for instance, dark brown hair will become brown hair. It will not transform you into a platinum blonde.
The Primer is ideal if you want to experiment with lightening your hair but don’t want to go all the way with salon-grade bleaching. And because the Primer is mild, my hair wasn’t as dry as it was when I did a salon bleaching two years ago.
While I could have moved on to the hair dye after I washed the Primer out of my hair, I opted to add the colour the next day instead.
I decided to channel Blackpink’s leader, Jisoo, with the rose-gold hair. The instructions were similar to that of the Primer, but this time, it was combining the Hair Colorant and Ampoule into the bottle with the Oxidisation Solution. Give the bottle 20 gentle swirls in a clockwise motion to ensure that the solutions are well-mixed.
Then, I applied the colour in the same manner as the Primer and waited 30 minutes for the dye to develop. If you want more subtle colour, you can leave the dye on for 20 minutes before rinsing it out.
I was really happy with the end result. My hair wasn’t considerably lightened but the colour was noticeable under the sunlight.
Overall, the bubble foam made the hair dye easy to apply, though the addition of a comb applicator with the box would have made application easier (especially for those with longer hair).
One bottle of bubble foam was also more than enough for my slightly shorter than shoulder-length hair. Even though the packaging stated that I would need a full bottle, I ended up using only three-quarters of it.
I was most impressed with the hair treatment pack – Perfect 3-Minute Serum Salon Pack, that was included in the box. It left my hair so soft, smooth and shiny after colouring. The good news is that you can also grab a full size of this treatment to use on a regular basis to nourish and protect hair, especially if you colour your hair and/or use heated styling tools regularly.
The rose-gold colour lasted about a week, though if you have had your hair already bleached at the salon, the brighter shades would probably last longer, even with regular shampooing. And even after the colour washed out, my hair’s base colour remained lighter than normal because of the pre-dye Primer.
If you’re looking to experiment with brighter hair colours, this is a great way to do so because it’s easy to use, it smells pleasant and the colour options are so pretty. Plus, who wouldn’t want to look like one of the Blackpink girls – even if you’re only channelling their hair colours, right? Although, if you’re looking to cover any greys, you might want to opt for the darker shades instead.
These five shades are available exclusively at the official Mise En Scene flagship store on Shopee: Ballet Pink, Twinkle Blue, Deep Bordeaux Rose, African Sunset Orange and Vanilla Gold.
These three shades – Dark Choco, Sahara Rose Pink and Mermaid Green – are exclusive to Watsons.
And these – Rose Gold, Dusty Ash, Metallic Ash, Choco Brown, Ash Khaki Brown, Matt Gold and the Primer – are available at both the official Mise En Scene official store on Shopee and Watsons.