A Foolproof Way To Dye Dark Hair Cool Colors

Update: Shadowing your hair is having a major moment, thanks to Instagram. We tried this ridiculously simple trend on three raven-haired ladies to show you how it's done. Click through the slideshow, pick your favorite shadow, and give this look a go.

When you've got dark hair, and you want to try unicorn hair color in a non-committal way (read: no bleach), you're not really left with a ton of options. Most temporary chalks and dyes on the market don't really work on your strands because they don't make enough of an impact to actually show up. At best, that pretty aqua will just look like a blackened blue on your strands. Bummertown, am I right?

So, when we started hearing buzz about using eyeshadows in your hair to sub as full-on color, we were immediately interested. Apparently, the shades inject your hair with a visible pop of color that shows up on even the inkiest of black strands. And, with a few crafty tricks, it will supposedly actually stay put for more than five minutes. Best of all, no bleach or dyes of any type to futz with.

To test that theory, we grabbed three of our raven-haired coworkers — all with distinct hair types — to see if this was the real deal. Each one tried a different technique with varying results. Click through to see what happened. This may be the final push you need to test drive a rainbow mane.