my natural base is a warm 7. I am 60 years old and have been having highlights and colour since I was a teenager, so.... over 40 years. Both salons and home colour. I've been having balayage for around 5 years, but other than one hairdresser who since left, I never get the base colour I want. The salon use Wella products and I have Illumina which I like. But I like to be predominantly blonde so I always ask for more blonde highlights and some dark bits pulled through to break it up. A bit of dark regrowth looks good on me, but only if it is a neutral, not warm or ash. Ash looks awful with my complexion. I used to mix Illumina 7 with a bit of 8/69, to neutralise the warmth. BTW... I hate blue shampoos and I hate toners. I like my blonde highlights to look clean and bright but the base to look darker, without being too dark. My regrowth is really awful right now, as she mixed 7 and 8 and didn't refresh my highlights. So it's altogether far too dark and muddy warm looking. I'm sick of wasting money... last time was £150! It's been 4 weeks since I had the regrowth coloured. I was wondering, if I used Wella Illumina 8/69 on it's own with 30 developer, would this lift my roots but give a more neutral, and not so dark result? I would then pull some blonde highlights through. Be super if someone could help with the science, here. Thanks in anticipation. H