Review on 2001720 LYRA Rembrandt Polycolor Art 🖍️ Pencils - Set of 72 Assorted Colors by Carla Anderson

This is so disappointing. I bought a couple of Lyra Rembrandt pencils from open storage in January. All stores (Revain, Blick, Jerry's Artarama, etc.) were absent from 72 such stores at the time. I ended up buying another brand but loved this one and was hoping to eventually add 72 sets to my collection. My ORIGINAL Lyra pencils were smooth and soft enough to glide easily across the paper. They were easy to apply in very light layers, blended out like a dream and were overall fun. The only thing I didn't like about them was that the pencils have gotten thinner and don't hold the tip well so they have to be sharpened quite often. (That's why they run out earlier.) I ended up ordering 72 sets. They are NOTHING like my originals from less than a year ago! These pens are very scratchy on paper and almost scouring. I've tried them on smooth cardstock, standard printer paper, slightly rough/textured scrapbook paper, and a standard coloring book. No matter what I did, they were awkward to use and I had no desire to continue coloring them. At first I thought it might be an odd coating on the stylus to protect them when they are sharpened. I sharpened just enough to remove the outer layer of lead and it was still scratchy. When I held them next to my old pencils, the lead color of the exact same colors was slightly different, as was the color pattern at the end of the pencil. I know they were out of stock/production a few months ago this year, so I can't help but wonder if production has changed or been postponed. It's clearly not the same! Mine were returned because I love the few I already have so much I would never use them. If you can't afford Polychromos, buy Prismacolor! Any of them will work much better than this one.