Punky Colour..

It's pretty much the same as Directions. I'm still unsure if it actually is the same or not, but it's close enough to not make it worth paying the extra postage and tax!

Oh right. I only want to get Plum & Violet, do you know if there's a big difference between those compared to the Directions.

I actually don't know. Plum might be an interesting one though, depends if they have had the same reformulation as Directions. I would guess not, but as most of the members of the board are actually from the UK, I doubt many will have compared them, or even used Punky colours. Hopefully one of the Us members has used it recently.

I know others have mixed a good plum substitute, but I can't remember which colours they used right now.

I use Punky Colour, and have used Directions as well.  They are very different - all they share are color names.  Plum is a very pink based deep purple and Violet is a very indigo based purple.  Both are extremely pigmented and can be diluted 50/50 without it altering the color much.  Here Punky only cost $7 vs. Directions $10 and Punky is a much bigger container.  I don't know how much it is for you - everywhere I buy from offers free shipping.

It definitely won't be free shipping to the UK (well, highly unlikely!). But there's also the VAT added to keep in mind when it comes into the UK. Anything over £18 is charged + £8 royal mail handling fee. It really pushes the cost up. Mixing colours is far more cost effective.

If that is the case, I agree - Adore Purple Rage and Indigo would be decent dupes of those colors if Punky has to be shipped internationally.

ETA - this seller offers international shipping, not sure if that would be more cost effective if you are insistent on Punky, as I see it is like 11 pounds on Amazon which is a lot.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Jerome-Russell-Punky-Colour-Semi-Permanent-Hair-Color-Choose-from-20-colors-/221181689140#shpCntId

Thanks. My local hair shop stock Adore so I'll check them out  😀

I saw Punky on  Amazon UK with free shipping

I've looked on the UK Amazon, some people want £20 odd for a pot which is crazy.

I saw several that said free UK delivery including this one http://www.amazon.co.uk/Jerome-Russell-Permanent-Colour-1428/dp/B0011UXEIS/ref=sr_1_cc_1?s=aps&ie=UTF8&qid=1425082483&sr=1-1-catcorr&keywords=punky+violet

Still really expensive though just for a pot of dye ::)

I now use SFX Deep purple as a Directions Plum substitute, it is pretty similar in terms of depth of colour and fade.
I mix it with SFX Blue Velvet for violet shades. You can get almost any purple shade from those two dyes, and they are both really well pigmented so great value.
Punky Violet is one I would also love to try, but mixing seems to be a much more cost effective option. Pravana Violet would be a good starting point, but Punkys violet is bluer. I think Adore is a good suggestion too, as they are cheap so ideal for experimenting with.

I'll take a look at those as well , thanks @Wicked. It's annoying that Punky isn't over here & the very few sellers on Amazon that do sell it want a lot for it!

Went to my local hair shop & they don't do Adore Blue Black, the only blue black they do is by a brand called Via or something.. Which I've never heard of, I did however buy the Adore Indigo Blue & Purple Rage, then a few other colours caught my eye & with the help of my son we narrowd it down to Adore Raspberry Twist, Pink Fire & Pink Rose  🙂