hi, you sound just like me, i was highlighted light blonde for the last 43 years of my life, i decided i had enough with the yellow look and went red! i went to a level 7 golden brown first with highlights (a little darker than my own dark blonde hair color), then went to a semi-permanent color of auburn that my sylist mixed up. i got tired of paying her to do it, so i got brave and did it myself! i bought "caution red" (by castings color spa,semi-permanent and very gentle, low, low peroxide) a really dark brown auburn. it looks great even as it's slowly fading out, never gets rusty. (by the way i always wash my hair in lukewarm water, it really keeps the color!) the shades EQ color my sylist used on me before always faded to an ugly copper, rust brown color, but not this! anyway, i am very, very happy. this color alows my own natural highlights to show a little, giving it more dimension and looks very natural. and being that it's semi-permanent, i can lighten back to a golden blond over time, but it's more fun being red!! good luck!!