Can you recommend a hair dye, please?

[MaxSchreck]

I don't know what I'm doing, really I don't.

I have darkish, goldenish blonde hair. I used to have 1/4 head of highlights every few months but no more!
I don't want a solid colour.

What should I use?

If you don't want a solid colour, all you can do is either have highlights at a salon or try one of those at home kits, which I hear are not too good...Otherwise a semi-permanent like the Casting creme range, which would fade naturally and so avoids too much rootage...What are you aiming for?

Or low lights a salon of course...

I don't want it to look like a bad dye job, you know, really solid all over?
Something with tones?

I know what you mean. I guess if you have naturally 'tonal' hair, the dye will take differently to the different colours in your hair anyway, which can look ok. But again, I do like the casting creme, and they are less harsh on your hair as semi-permanent. Only good if you want to stay on the same level or go a bit darker though, you can't lighten with a semi-permanent. Not always great at covering greys, so it depends how many (if any!) you have...

What colour do you want and do you want a natural-looking colour, or a stronger, more intense colour? I have used all sorts from very blonde, to browns, to reds to purple, so I have quite a few recommendations...

Okay, you use a Clairol Nice n Easy - Light Golden Brown or Medium Golden Brown.

Look at my pictures on my profile. The topmost picture has Medium Golden Brown. Note that it is muti-tonal.

You might have the Light Golden Brown though. I would advise starting light. You need to buy both, and strand test, mixing 15ml of each bottle that comes in each box together and snipping off an (underside) bit of hair, secure with a label or stickytape (labels are better), paint dye on over some aliminium foil, fold over, wati 30 minutes, rinse off...etc

If that produces too warm a tone, you could try an ash or neutral light brown.

You CAN do this at home. You just need to know how, and colour test. Check out my pictures. Highlights are great, but not the only way to multi tonal hair - the block colour is nearly always caused by too-dark permo colour.