Essie Gel Couture 'Rock the Runway'

Today, I wanted to share a swatch of my current manicure, Essie Gel Couture 'Rock the Runway'. I recently purchased this polish after being mesmerized with the bright, cheerful shade while passing it by on a few occasions in the drug store!  I was pretty certain that I didn't really need another red polish, until I realized that everytime I saw this particular shade in the bottle in the store, I was instantly drawn to it!

I finally gave in, and purchased it on-line about a week ago. 'Rock the Runway' is a classic, true red creme polish with neutral undertones. Essie describes it on their website like this:

"gorgeous. striking. untamed. the pulsing beat of this longwear, fierce scarlet red creates instant fashion pandemonium"

LOVE!!! They hit the nail on the head with that description - the polish truly is gorgeous and striking! Now, I change my nails way too frequently to typically ever be concerned about long wear, but I can definitely vouch for how beautiful the colour is!  

The swatch above is 2 coats of the polish followed by a coat of quick-drying glossy top coat. The finish of the polish was quite shiny on its own, but I smudged my nails and had to salvage the mani with top-coat!

Revlon Red Polish Comparison

Today I have a mega-comparison post to share, featuring my Revlon red nail polishes. For now, this will probably be the last of the Revlon series of posts that I've been doing for the last little while.

Altogether I have 10 Revlon red polishes: 4 metallic/shimmers, and 6 cremes. Technically, one of the cremes, Revlon 'Valentine', is actually more of a crelly.  In the collage above, I have swatched each polish on a different nail. As you can see, there is a wide range of shades and finishes of red in the set of polishes from the brightest red creme (Revlon Red), to the vampiest, deep burgundy metallic (Divine).

There are two pairs of polishes that are very similar to each other. The first pair is 'Get Reddy', and 'Frankly Scarlet'. They are both mid-tone red shimmer polishes with gold shimmer particles, but 'Frankly Scarlet' has slightly warmer undertones, while 'Get Reddy' has slightly more blue-based undertones.  The next pair of similar shades is 'Bewitching' and 'Raven Red'. Both shades are deeper burgundy-reds, but 'Bewitching' which Revlon's website describes as a "glossy cranberry-red" has cooler undertones, while 'Raven Red', described as a "glossy red-burgundy" is slightly warmer. I will just quickly cite now that from this point on in the post, any descriptions in quotes are quoted directly from Revlon's website.

I've already done individual swatch posts on 'Cherries in the Snow', a "glossy red-pink"; 'Raven Red', and 'Valentine', a "glossy brown-red".  I have also used a lot of the other shades in nail art posts I made previously: 'Revlon Red', a "glossy strawberry-red" was used in my 'Red, Yellow, Green and Black Plaid Nails' post. 'Spidey Sense', a limited edition shade released in 2014 as part of Revlon's 'Electric Chrome Spiderman Collection' that was a cross-promotion with the movie 'The Amazing Spiderman 2', was used in my '60's Print Mani Version 2.0'. 'Frankly Scarlet' was used in my 'Autumn Leaves Mani using China Glaze Aut-umm I Need That'. 'Divine' a "glossy shimmering burgundy" was used in my 'Burgundy and Silver Halloween Manicure'. 'Bewitching' was used in 2 posts: The 'Christmas Splotch Test Mini Post', as well as my 'Christmas Skittles Mani'.

'Vixen', and 'Get Reddy' appear to be the only two shades that I haven't previously blogged about. 'Vixen' is a deep, vampy, burgundy creme polish which Revlon describes as a "glossy brown-plum", and 'Get Reddy', which was mentioned earlier in this post, was already described above. 

Overall I think this is a pretty great range - there's a red for pretty much every mood. Also, all of the polishes have pretty good formulas with excellent coverage, and a high-shine finish. My favourites are probably the red shimmer/metallic shades 'Frankly Scarlet', 'Get Reddy', and 'Spidey Sense', as I typically prefer wearing metallic reds over cremes. My least favourites are probably 'Divine' and 'Vixen' only because I tend to not like wearing dark colours on my nails.

I just did a quick check of Revlon's website, and it looks like 7 of these 10 shades are currently still on the market: all but 'Frankly Scarlet', 'Get Reddy', and 'Spidey Sense'. Hopefully this comparison post will be of assistance to anyone interested in any of these shades.

Red, Yellow, Green and Black Plaid Nails

Polishes Used

Revlon ‘Revlon Red’

Maybelline Color Show ‘Fierce N Tangy’

Revlon ‘Posh’

Bundle Monster ‘Straight Up Black’

Stamping Plate Used

ÜberChic Beauty 'Pretty in Plaid'

I'm really excited to share today's post, because I finally got a chance to do some nail art!!! Even better, I was able to use a couple Revlon polishes for this manicure, so it also continues the theme of the last 6 posts, where I've been rediscovering the polishes in my Revlon collection.

I used a 'buffalo check' plaid stamping image from the ÜberChic Beauty 'Pretty in Plaid' stamping plate. For the base colours, I used red, yellow, and green creme polishes, and I stamped the plaid image in black. Since I stamped the buffalo check image over a red, yellow, and green base, my nickname for this look is my 'Buffalo Soldier Check' manicure 😉.  Here are a few more shots of the manicure, and a nice shot of the base layer prior to stamping:

This manicure was so much fun to create! I really love the final look, and the striped base looked pretty cool as well!  I may have to create a mani with vertical stripes one day soon... Below, I have a collage with my bottle shots, as well as label shots showing the names and numbers of all of the polishes I used.

The polishes used were: Revlon 'Revlon Red', Maybelline Color Show 'Fierce n Tangy, Revlon 'Posh', and Bundle Monster 'Straight up Black', black stamping polish.

Revlon 'Coral Me Wild'

Today's post is a swatch of Revlon's 'Coral Me Wild'. This polish is a pink-leaning coral crelly, with a glossy finish. As opposed to 'Craving Coral', which I discussed in yesterday's post, this polish really does give me strong coral vibes when applied to the nail. It has that perfect balance of pink and orange that is requisite for the perfect shade of coral.

I really love this polish! It's fun, cheery, and summery - although I'm not one to limit summer shades to summer only!  In fact, I believe that sometimes you need a pop of summer on your nails in the middle of a harsh Canadian winter!  😉

Revlon's 'Craving Coral'

Today's swatch is Revlon shade 902 'Craving Coral'. It's a warm, orange-leaning coral jelly polish with a high-gloss finish. In the bottle, I see more of those pinky, creamy undertones that make the polish seem more coral. However on the nail, in most lighting conditions those undertones don't really translate, and the shade appears to me to be more of a red-orange jelly. It's still a beautiful shade that works well with my skin tone, but it just doesn't scream CORALLLLL!!!! to me! 😄

Revlon's 'Plum Seduction'

Today's post is another swatch from my Revlon Collection. This is shade 917 'Plum Seduction'. This polish is a bright plum crelly polish that dries to a wonderfully shiny finish. This manicure was so bright and fun - I truly enjoyed wearing it!

Revlon's 'Cherries in the Snow'

Continuing with swatches from my Revlon collection, today's swatch is of the iconic 'Cherries in the Snow'. This shade was originally released way back in 1953! It's a gorgeous pink-toned red creme nail polish, with a glossy finish.  

I find this polish to be a bit of a chameleon. Based on the lighting and angles, sometimes it looks more pink, and at others, it looks more red. You can see this even in the 2 pictures in this post. The picture above had more direct lighting, and the polish appears more pink. Meanwhile, in the picture below, when the lighting is concentrated more on the label as opposed to the nails, the polish appears more red.

Revlon 'Raven Red'

As promised, for today's post I am continuing with a Revlon swatch. From what I've gathered on-line, it seems that today's swatch, Revlon's 'Raven Red' may possibly be the oldest Revlon shade still available today.  Apparently, the shade debuted in 1945! If so, that would make 2020 the 75th anniversary of the shade! It truly boggles my mind that women around the world have been enjoying the exact same nail polish shade for 3 quarters of a century - I guess if it ain't broke, there's no need to fix it!

The polish is a warm-toned red creme, with a nice glossy finish. It is a classic, easy-to-wear colour that would suit a variety of skin tones. I purchased this polish fairly recently, so this is only the first time that I've worn it. Overall, I enjoyed wearing this shade, and I'm glad that it has joined my collection!

It's funny, but I don't really recall ever seeing this shade in stores, however, I did find it to be readily available with major on-line retailers. I suppose that the displays in the stores only stock a limited amount of shades due to space constraints.

Revlon 'Valentine'

Today I have a quick post featuring a hastily done swatch of Revlon 'Valentine'.  It's a gorgeous deep red polish with a slightly transparent finish.  I've had this bottle for years, and it has held up quite well! Recently I've been rediscovering the Revlon shades in my collection, inspired by some information that I came across on vintage nail polish and lipstick shades that are still available today.

Revlon was founded in 1932, so they have been making nail polish for almost 90 years! In a cosmetics landscape currently full of limited edition releases and hoopla surrounding 'the next new thing', sometimes it's nice to take a break from all of that. It's so wonderful to indulge in tried and true classics that are not only loved by thousands of women across the world, but have also been loved by thousands of women across the ages!

Over the next few posts, I'll be swatching some more of my Revlon shades...  Stay tuned!