School of Hard Rocks is a greyish green from Essie’s Winter 2011 Collection.  I didn’t really mean to buy this one, but it called to me from the display I came across in Walgreens and I had to give it a chance.

I’ve already reviewed the three paler colors from Essie’s Cocktail Bling Collection here – the light colors seemed the most wintery to me and I picked them up right away.  But when a Cocktail Bling display finally appeared in Walgreens, I found myself liking School of Hard Rocks more than I thought I did; it has a greyish tone that makes it more subtle and quieter than a lot of tealish-green colors like this.  The formula is nice and it only took two coats to be opaque, and it dried very smooth and shiny.   The brush on my bottle did seem a little wonky or less even than I’m used to with Essie, but it wasn’t enough to really cause problems with application.

I like how the color is rich but a bit dusty.  It also looks different with different lighting, sometimes seeming more grey and sometimes a brighter green.  I have several teal colors that are a little bit close to this color, but they’re all more blue and brighter.  So this one is nice to have.

The Cocktail Bling display I saw at Walgreens was one of the smaller displays with only four polishes, and it didn’t include Bangle Jangle or Brooch the Subject.  The Cocktail Bling Collection is also available at salons like Ulta, in larger displays of all six of the polishes.