What the hell is up with colours????

Directions said they were forced to change their formulas due to EU restrictions on certain pigments. I wondered a while back how this would affect other British brands, surely they use the same pigments? I have been waiting to see if Crazy Colour and Stargazer make any changes.
As for your Cyclamen, it could just be a bad batch, try washing it a few times and see if it fades more pink.

I had suspicions after the thread about sfx being different. I did have a bottle of cyclamen at xmas time and the same happend. Put it down to duff product as i got it from ebay for 1.99! Its not a bad colour, just not what i was expecting. I really do think the customers should be informed if a product changes. Surely its just common curtosey to give us a heads up!!

I don't think any changes to SFX will be linked TBH as it is produced in the USA and the regs regarding dye production will be totally different.
I am seeing differences in all the Directions I have bought recently though, not just the ones they admitted to changing. It makes me sad, i have been using Directions almost exclusively for over 25 years, but I am looking for alternatives now.

I always loved flamingo pink, i spent about 6 years with either that or cyclamen on an under colour. Neither have been behaving the same as i remember. Really bugging me, I'm too scared to try other colours incase they turn out horrid! (I'm terrible for skipping strand tests!)

How is Flamingo Pink different? I was Flamingo pink for a long time years ago, then a Flamingo/Rose Red mix for several more years.

It doesn't seem as 'deep' as before, not sure how to explain it, normally it looks like the whole hair is coloured right through but now i can almost see my base coming through after 1 wash when usually i could go 4 maybe 5 at a push. I'm tempted to mix the two together when it fades now see if the problem cancels itself out!

Eta, i had a flamingo/pillarbox mix for a while. Called it plamingo ;D

Does it seem more transparent? I have noticed that with the recent reds, they aren't as saturated/pigmented as they used to be, and they look quite transparent in the tub.

That is exactly it!!!! I'm so glad it's not just me! I still love the colour just thought if i had cyclamen as a base it would look brighter. I'm getting used to it now though. Got over the shock of how dark it is. I'm just gonna rock it like i meant it and see if it fades light enough to pop flamingo on the top!

I've been using flamingo for a while and I think it looks more translucent, and it's fading much faster than it used to.

I think it was pinkseasider that noticed a big change too in directions' reds being much more transparent, it didn't even stain her gloves!
http://www.hairdyeforum.com/index.php?topic=12765.0

I'm scared to buy any more Directions. It's a shame Punky Color isn't more available/doesn't have better shipping rates over there, They have extremely similar colors that are pretty much the same as the old Directions (like a very pink based plum, a more blueish turquoise than green, etc) and from what I've gathered it's the same if not better in staying power/pigmentation than the old Directions, some say it's even better than SFX with certain colors. The only one that seems to fade faster is bright yellow. If you're unhappy with Directions and afraid to try other brands, I think a google search for Punky would at least be worth a try. I haven't heard a single thing about any of their colors changing.