Maintaining blonde, experimenting with lavender and root-touch up aftermath

I know I haven't posted as much as I initially planned, but work is so incredibly draining this time of year, it's hard to make time. 

Speaking of work- unnatural hair colors are sort of taboo at the office- but being that I'm blonde currently, this is my opportunity to attempt unicorn fairy dreamhairs (at least part of the way) so a couple weeks ago I dyed my hair (the bottom half) with Ion color brilliance in Lavender. 

(A strand test- this sat for just 30 minutes)

Anyone who has know me since my teenage years knows I am in love with silvery lavenders. I used to want to paint my car a dusty lavender and by coincidence only I also love the lavender plant- I mix teas using dried lavender. But I digress- back in those 90's grunge days (holy shit, was that 20 years ago???) I used to have lots of weird hair colors- but pastels were not really a thing. Bright vibrant colors were sort of a staple and faded hair just meant it was time for a touch up and you had to ask mom to buy more dye, which was a struggle. 

Now however- pastels are totally a thing and this makes me really happy- though the last few years I've lived vicariously through Pinterest lusting over these shades. 

Anyway, I did the underneath parts of my hair with the lavender (after the strand test above- I let it sit for two hours while I played FFXIV) and it turned out really pretty- it even faded to lovely, mauve-y shades like I had hoped. I really want to do my entire head but I'm afraid of the fallout that will ensue at work ;). However- I might right before my trip to Italy- if I do, I will post!

I will note my blonde (if you can't tell from the above) is still a shade or two too dark for that Danaerys look- but that said, the lavender complements the yellows that are left and the result is a mixture of true lavender and mauve tones- and it is super pretty and almost natural looking. I really really like how it worked on my hair with the leftover red tones. It will probably look like a cooler, bluer purple on those who do not have red tones in their hair or go pre-toned with something like T18 successfully prior to dying.

So I went on a Sally's stock-up spree and did a root touch up yesterday. Following up the bleaching with the infamous Wella T18, I experimentally put it on the faded lavender strands. (FYI- this really doesn't seem to "stick" in my hair and I use lvl 20 developer- I understand a darker toner might be better for my shade but my hair is porous and I am paranoid) Part of me thought it would lift it out with the level 20 (I've seen people use the toner on freshly bleached with leftover pink and it's pulled it out) but part of me feared it would turn a darker purple or grey. Well- it did both. And my lavender strands faded, but also immediately took on this grayish, teal hue upon contact with the toner. After a little while, I jumped in the shower and while the top continued to tone I shampooed the underneath a couple times and the result was a very faded teal-green. Sort of minty. Not my thing. 

The lavender is so pretty! Why must i be an adult?! Sorry- back to the process. So I mixed up a purple-y conditioner concoction this morning to assist in neutralizing the green. 

I probably used equal parts manic panic and color jamz, but the raspberry is much more potent- (and if I remember well from the 90s, manic panic is almost diluted compared to other dyes and it seems it's still rather true) and I wanted it to be pinker due to the leftover blues still left in my hair. I applied the conditioner and left it for almost 2 hours and it resulted in no change other than to darken the green a bit. I'm thinking the conditioning I did after bleaching, toning and washing my hair closed the cuticles too much for this method to work. 

I then washed the hair that I tried to color with a clarifying shampoo, did not condition, blow dried most of the way and applied the ion lavender dye (it takes a whole tube to do the bottom half of my hair), covered it and let it sit 2 hours, hoping it would cover the greenish blue.

It took very well. The color is deeper than the first time I applied it and left it to for hours, but I'm attributing that to the use of the hair dryer in addition to the pigment left by the toner. Depending on the light it's cooler or similar to last time- so we'll see if it favors blue or pink as it fades... But I have raspberry kamikaze if I need it to touch up later. 

So- anyone think I could get away with a mauve-y lavender at the office? (Like in the side-by-side with the mint disaster) I'd love to know!