That's a good question.

the garnier 100% color 660 is real nice and works on dark black hair pretty well

according to my hair dresser red is one of the hardest shades to keep in your hair. :-( she tried pro-colors, but none met my wild / brightness standard... If you want really bright - I'm not sure there's any where to do it permanantly...

i dyed mine special effects nuclear red for about 6 months - my secret - make a mix of color & conditioner and use it at least once a week to keep your color vibrant between dyeing. you likely will stain your hands, so use gloves or keep a loofah in the shower! i still had to re-dye every 3 weeks or so. I found blood red lasted longer since it was less vibrant...

Magma - By Wella (off scalp only, good for chunky hilights over a less dramatic red or whatever you like..)

Schwartzkopf Igora Royal- Double Pigmented Red Series Dyes 6-888 is truly a bright red! Don't use a high volume peroxide or any red dye will fade. If your hair is not light enough (level 4 or 5) to get to a level 6 using 10 or 20 volume peroxide, then prelighten your hair first. So, if you have dark brown hair level 2 or 3 using bleach or a blonding cream prelighten enough to be about a 6 or 7. It will be an ugly orangey brassey color after the prelightening. Then use the double pigmented red colour of your choice with a 10 volume peroxide.

Also, using red enhancing shampoos and conditioner, or semi permanent glosses inbetween helps. Leave In Conditioner that has sunscreen to protect your color will help a great deal.

I don't know if your hair has been pretreated or what kind of condition it is in so be careful!!
If you don't know about hair color levels it is like the gradient between lightest blond and black. Black is 1 and Lightest Blonde is 10.
I think the Wella site has tutorials on there if you want more basic info on how color works (the info can be applied to pretty much any brand, since it is basically a color theory primer). I can't remember if you have to give a cosmo license number to access that or not, just try anyway. (-; Good luck. Jeannine

It all depends what color you start with, but if you have light enough natural color you can use a permanent red color from a box and then use special effects over it (after you process it and rinse it and dry it). I do hair for a living and in my experience special effects and manic panic fade the most evenly. I only wash my hair when it starts getting greasy, like every three days. The rest of the time I wear a shower cap. Even hot water will fade the color. Red is my favorite, but it"s VERY high maintenance!