The present invention provides a formulation for a reactive dye layer for a limited-play optical storage medium, the reactive formulation including at least one carrier material or curable acrylate monomer, at least one reactive material disposed within the carrier material or acrylate monomer, and at least one photo-bleaching retarder material disposed within the at least one adhesive material. The at least one photo-bleaching retarder material includes at least one polymeric polyhydroxy compound selected from the group consisting of polyhydroxystyrenes, cellulose, and functionalized cellulose derivatives.