OPI Let Your Love Shine

Let Your Love Shine was released by OPI as part of the huge 18-polish Starlight collection for holiday 2015 back in October last fall. There were three reds in this collection, of which this one is the darkest. It has a creme/jelly hybrid base in a magnificent deep carmine, a dark red subtly nuanced by tones of purple and deepest magenta, bearing superabundant yellow-gold microflake shimmers. The shimmers read as warm red and bright magenta through the base, blanketing this lacquer with gorgeous analogously-colored sparkle in direct light and providing a resonant warm red "lit-from-within" glow in low light.

Application was delicious. I always approach deep well-saturated reds with a bit of trepidation, but Let Your Love Shine has a fabulous formula. The consistency is fluid, smooth and dense, with a luxe, velvety glide over the nail and excellent self-leveling properties. If it weren't for my shaky hands, I'd like to think I'd be able to produce a completely clean manicure with this polish -- that's how wonderful it is to work with. Alas, though, I do have shaky hands, but hey -- that's what cleanup is for! The pigmentation here is outstanding. One coat will deliver wearable coverage, but of course you'll want two to ensure fullest, most even opacity and to make the most of the shimmer effects. Cleanup is kind of messy, I cannot lie. Pigment travel and trace staining are probably going to be troublesome if you've got substantial cleaning up to do, as I did. Just take your time and be thorough, it's worth it. Let Your Love Shine dries naturally in good time to a beautiful glossy finish. 

Photos show two coats of Let Your Love Shine over treatment and basecoat with a topcoat of Seche Vite.

OPI Let Your Love Shine

OPI Let Your Love Shine

OPI Let Your Love Shine

OPI Let Your Love Shine

OPI Let Your Love Shine

OPI Let Your Love Shine

OPI Let Your Love Shine

OPI Let Your Love Shine

OPI Let Your Love Shine

OPI Let Your Love Shine

OPI Let Your Love Shine

OPI Let Your Love Shine

OPI Let Your Love Shine

If the name of this polish seems familiar, perhaps you recall the lyrics from the 1976 Bellamy Brothers crossover hit Let Your Love Flow....

Let your love fly like a bird on a wing,
And let your love bind you to all living things,
And let your love shine and you'll know what I mean
That's the reason.

I loved that song! But that's not why I purchased Let Your Love Shine, although all things considered I think it's reason enough. No, I bought this after reading a blog post about it, and it's a shame that I can't remember the blog because the way that blogger wrote about it was so compelling that I immediately went to ebay to find it. It's actually even more lovely than I expected and more graceful and spellbinding than a still image can show.

Deep reds like this are not my typical fare, I tend towards brighter, more medium-toned shades, but this one has won my heart. It's not unduly prepossessing in the bottle, but on the nail it's rich and dimensional and utterly stunning.

love,
Liz