Y’all it is almost SEPTEMBER. HOW DID THAT HAPPEN. Time is flying, especially with how much traveling I’ve been doing. I’ve been gone a lot of weekends, which is when I get a lot of blogging done, so my posts have been a little more sparse. But I got a lot of posts on the docket coming up. The photos are taken, the swatches are done, it’s just the posts being written and so much good stuff is coming on up. Stay tuned for all of the fun reviews.

Now, this is the last collection I have to review before we dive full on into fall collections! Don’t get me wrong, I love some warm weather and sunshine, but I’m so ready for fall. Fall is my absolute favorite season, and fall makeup and nail polish is the best. Give me some vamp, gimme some earth tones, gimme that COOL WEATHER.

Now this collection has a lot of oranges and earth tones, so though it may be a summer release, I’m still hella excited to put these on my nails. This is right up my alley.

What I’m going on and on about today is the ‘Rocky Rose’ collection by Essie. It was released as part of the “Summer Trilogy” from Essie, that included the ‘Gorge-ous Geodes’ collection and the ‘Sunrush Metals’ in their Gel Couture line. It’s a 9 shade collection of more earthy and warm toned shades, from browns, oranges and pinks.

I picked these up from transdesign.com (they have a few shades left) and 8ty8beauty.com. I’ve also seen them around at drugstores like Walgreens and Target.

Let’s get right into all of these swatches!

Since these were all a cream finish, they all had the basic same Essie cream formula. They were all pretty well opaque in 2 easy coats. Especially with the new wider brushes, the coats were so smooth and easy to paint on. They can skip a little if there’s not enough polish on the brush, so make sure to load it up a little more – with the thicker formulas it’s not going to flood the cuticles if you paint on a thicker coat. If you’re doing thinner coats, you might need 3 on a couple on 1 or 2 of the lighter shades, just to fully cover up any last nail line. Overall, they had stunning formulas, and you can’t go wrong with any of the shades.

***

Up first, the lightest and most neutral shade is ‘Come Out to Clay’. This is a soft, light sandy nude shade. An easy 2 coat formula.

***

‘Set in Sandstone’ is a darker, more peachy toned shade. There was some streaks and nail line after 1 coat, but it was easily in opaque in 2 coats.

I did prefer to use thinner coats for this shade, as this was one I found can get thick and messy easily with too thick of coats. So I definitely suggest using thinner coats and building this up and letting it fully dry between coats.

***

‘Cliffhanger’ is a warm-toned milk chocolate brown shade. A sheer 1st coat, but another easy 2 coat formula.

***

Next we have two rusty orange shades.

The first is ‘Rocky Rose’, the namesake of the collection. This is a slightly more muted burnt orange shade. This is one shade that can especially skip, so you want to make sure you have enough polish on the brush to have smooth, even coats. But it was easily opaque in 2 coats.

***

The other burnt orange shade is ‘Yes, I Canyon’. This one is a brighter and more saturated rusty orange. It leans much more orange, while ‘Rocky Rose’ above is a little more brown-toned. This had a stunning formula and was pretty well opaque in 1 easy coat.

This is the “pumpkin spice” kind of shade that I LOVE in the fall, and I can’t wait to wear this! I’m in love, and with a beautiful formula to match.

 

***

‘Bed Rock & Roll’ is a deep oxblood shade, with a touch of orange to it. It had some unevenness in the 1st coat, but it was opaque in 2 coats. The color deepens and smooths out on that 2nd coat, and it’s so beautiful.

Another shade that I’m so excited to wear in the fall. This makes me feel like an AUTUMN queen, I’m ready to break some men’s hearts in this. I don’t know what it is about this, but I love vampy shades, and can’t wait to have them on my nails at all times.

***

The last 3 shades are the more pink-toned and “summery” shades of the bunch. They’re perfect for these last few weeks of summer we have.

First up is ‘Into the A-Bliss’. This is a soft cool-toned medium pink shade. It has a touch of mauve to it, and is so soft on the nails. As always, an easy 2 coats. 

***

And now two even brighter pinks.

‘Around the Bend’ is a bright bubblegum pink shade. This has a touch of warmth and peachyness to it, and again, perfect for those last warmer days. This is one shade that if you’re using thinner coats, you could need 3 to cover up any last nail line.

***

Last but certainly not least is ‘No Shade Here’. This is a super bright fuchsia pink shade. This is perfect for a summer bright, but I think it’s deep enough that it’ll work in cooler weather as well. I just love it. Another that was pretty well opaque in 1 easy coat.

Another stunning formula, and this one truly surprised me. I ended up loving it so much.

And that’s the Essie ‘Rocky Rose’ collection! When it was first released and previewed, I wasn’t super interested. It just didn’t call to me fully until I started seeing pictures and swatches of the colors, and saw all of the different undertones, and then I just had to have it. Essie has been killing it lately, and this collection was another beautiful group of polishes. I had no disappointments with any shade.

Like I said, I think this is the perfect collection to transition from summer to fall (I can’t believe it’s almost September!). The formulas were all so good, so if a particular shade caught your eye, you can’t go wrong here.

********

Upcoming Posts
Nails: Zoya Sensual Fall 2019 • Sinful Colors Bebe Rexha Velvet Mattes • OPI Scotland Fall 2019 • China Glaze Gone West Fall 2019

Makeup: Wet N Wild Pac-Man • Colourpop Uh-Huh Honey & California Love Palettes • ELF New Classics Eyeshadow Palette

********

Follow me!
Instagram: @GingerlyPolished

********

Other Essie collections:
Essie ‘Gorge-ous Geodes’ Collection
Essie Glazed Days Collection
Essie Summer 2019 Collection