Very true to color. It does turn out dark and the color does get darker as it sets for a few days. I waited to review this until 4-5 weeks after I colored. I was able to apply the oil almost daily and wash just once a week. I felt the color actually held truer longer than normal hair dyes. Yes, it does fade, but if you wash less and if you wash with the Rose Shampoo, I feel that shampoo does not strip the color out nearly as much as "color safe" shampoos. The first time I used this, I did use the detox shampoo as my hair is very chemically colored and grey. I did get red highlights on about 1/4 of the hair. I lived with it and expect that not to happen next time.