REVIEW of O.P.I.'s You Callin' Me a Lyre? With SWATCHES

Hi chickadees!

Hrm. I'm conflicted about reviewing this polish. I was so in love with it for so long. I tried it out at the salon when it was first released only at salons and we instantly clicked. From then on I had a ritual of going to the salon and getting a OPI You Callin' Me a Lyre? manicure before big exams. But now that I've finally tried it for myself...? I have to say the first blush of romance has worn off. I don't know if I'm just tired of it or if it was never as good as I thought it was but I'm no longer so in love with the color and I definitely have issues with the formula. Let's discuss...

Color: I think my problem with this polish is that even though it sometimes photographs cool, this is a warm-toned sheer pink polish. It brings out the yellowness in my skin and just does bad things in any lighting. My skin either looks dull, sallow or oddly dark...as if my hands are dirty and not as if I've gotten a tan. In the first few coats it looks like your basic sheer polish but as you build it up, you can see that it really has a milky appearance. To me it's the sheer version of a jelly polish. I think for the right skintone, this could be a pretty, effortless, girly polish.
Formula: The formula itself was not too much of a problem. It's a sheer polish but it wasn't especially thick or watery. It was a bit difficult to even out but I'm not sure if that was a polish issue or an application issue.
Application: This polish definitely went on a little streaky at first. At 3 coats, it looked fine. It wasn't opaque but I could have left it if it hadn't looked patchy and if I hadn't seen some clear balding. So I ended up using 4 coats which I think gets it as opaque as you want a sheer/milky polish to get. This is one of those OPI polishes with the wide brush. I couldn't tell if it helped or was a hindrance in this case. I will say it was easier to use than the wide brushes I've used in the past but I still had issues. I managed to even things out more or less and with Seche Vite on top, I couldn't notice streaks or unevenness to the point that they bothered me. Really the thing I had the most trouble with was the color.

CONCLUSION: I can't really recommend this polish if you have a similar skintone to mine and I can't really recommend it based on the formula either. As much as I used to love it, I don't think I'll be repurchasing this.

SWATCHES

SWATCHES of OPI's You Callin' Me a Lyre?

Hi,

Quick post because I got my nails done at the salon so I can't review this polish. This is 3 coats of O.P.I.'s "You Callin' Me a Lyre?" from the O.P.I. NYC Ballet Soft Shades collection. I did not think much of this collection until I saw swatches on Scrangie and ever since I've been hunting for them. They're only going to be sold in salons, beauty supply stores, (and on amazon, ebay, etc. obviously) so I'm trying to find the cheapest way to get all the colors I want. I definitely want 2 bottles of this and 1 bottle of Piroutte My Whistle. I'm unsure about the rest of them. I might have to go back to the salon and test them out first.

My impression from the way she did my nails at the salon was that the formula was decent. It glided on well. It seemed a teensy bit patchy and too sheer after the second coat so I asked her to do a third. On the third coat it's more translucent than sheer and you can see more of the pink. It looks like lingerie for the nails. I love it. I did notice some bubbles but that may have been the way she applied it. Again, this is why I can't review polishes I haven't applied myself.

SWATCHES!
(I also included some photos at the end so you can see the polish compared to a bare nail.)

The second nail from the left is completely bare. No polish, top coat, base coat, etc.

The second nail from the left is completely bare. No polish, top coat, base coat, etc.