Pretty Serious Herald of the Skeleton War is part of the second trio in the Pretty Serious Stop! Collaborate, And Listen Collection.

Described as a blackened green jelly with glitter sprinkled in, it’s certainly a unique shade in my stash. But I wouldn’t expect anything less because it was designed by Scrangie.

Ever since I got more seriously into nail polish back in 2008, I was a daily visitor to her blog. For years, I admired her incredible swatches, and her solid descriptions kept me coming back for more. Scrangie was the first nail blogger I stumbled upon and quickly became a favourite. She was also the first person I ever encountered who shared the same passion for nail polish as I did (and do)!

Although she hasn’t blogged since 2014, I still find myself going back to older posts and enjoying them. They bring back a lot of fond memories for me, especially reminding me of the days before I became a blogger and was solely a reader.

Without a doubt, Scrangie provided so much inspiration for me, and I respect her on so many levels because her passion for colour, creativity, and self-expression always shines.

Pretty Serious Herald of the Skeleton War Pictures

Pretty Serious Herald of the Skeleton War Ingredients

Ethyl Acetate, Butyl Acetate, Nitrocellulose, Adipic Acid/Neopentyl Glycol/Trimellitic Anhydride, Copolymer, Acetyl Tributyl Citrate, Isopropyl Alcohol, Trimethylsiloxysilicate, Stearalkonium Bentonite, N-Butyl Alcohol, Acrylates Copolymer, Styrene Acrylates Copolymer, Benzophenone 1, Polyvinyl Butyral, Trimethyl Pentanediyl Dibenzoate.

May Contain +/-: CI 15850 Red 7 Lake, CI 15850 Red 6 Lake, CI 77499 Black Iron oxide, CI 77891 Titanium Dioxide, CI 15880 Red 34 Lake, CI 77019 Mica, CI 77163 Bismuth Oxychloride, CI 77491 Red Iron Oxide, CI 77510 Ferric Ferrocyanide, CI 19140 Yellow 5 Lake, CI 77000 Aluminium Paste, Silica, CI 60725 Violet 2, Polyethylene Terephthalate.

Pretty Serious Herald of the Skeleton War Swatches

All swatches have:

• OPI Nail Envy Nail Strengthener (Used as a base coat)
• 2 coats of Pretty Serious Herald of the Skeleton War
• Seche Vite Dry Fast Top Coat

Natural Light Photos

Artificial Light Photos

Claims: TRUSTED

• Blackened green (Yes)
• Jelly (Yes)
• Iridescent blue flakes, golden green & purple micro-glitter plus multi-sized purple hex glitter (Yes)

Key Notes

• Name: Pretty Serious Herald of the Skeleton War
• Collection: Pretty Serious Stop, Collaborate & Listen Collection (2nd trio) 2015
• Colours Available in the Collection: Herald of the Skeleton War, Kashmir & Iktsuarpok
• Amount: 11 mL (0.37 oz)
• Retail Price: $9.95 AUD
• Press Sample: This nail polish was provided by Pretty Serious.
• Where to Buy: Pretty Serious website

Pretty Serious Herald of the Skeleton War Review

Colour

Herald of the Skeleton War by Pretty Serious has a vampy-green base that can appear black or near-black in dim lighting. However, in natural or bright light, it’s distinctively green. It’s a moody green that has some edge.

Then, suspended in it is purple hexagonal glitter, as well as purple micro-glitter, and iridescent-blue flakes. As a whole, they work very well to contrast nicely against the deep base without stealing the show. Very complementary, and green with purple is among my favourite colour combinations!

While some nail polishes bring to mind a myriad of ‘close-enough dupes,’ I can safely say that I have absolutely nothing that resembles Herald of the Skeleton War by Pretty Serious. (For years, I’ve stopped updating my Excel document of my nail-polish inventory, but it’s easily over 1,000. Considering that I don’t own a dupe or anything close to this, it’s pretty remarkable! Creating a unique shade in an industry that’s so colourful and creative is not an easy feat, so I applaud Scrangie.)

For some reason, this nail polish reminds me of my favourite holiday – Hallowe’en! So that makes me very happy! 🙂

Finish

There’s a lot of glitter going on in this nail polish, and the texture was noticeable. This polish requires a thick glossy top coat in order for it to look its best, and that’s how I wore it. (Another time, I’m going to see what it looks like matte. Bet it would look cool that way, too.)

The jelly base looks nice and squishy, and it allows the beauty of the glitter to shine through instead of covering it up.

Application & Formula

Herald of the Skeleton War by Pretty Serious has a formula that is a bit tricky to apply. You have to pay special attention when painting your nails. You can’t just slap it on quickly, or it can look chunky really easily.

I found that the jelly-green base was very easy to paint, but then once my brush picked up a clump of glitter, that’s when I needed to manipulate the pieces to position them onto my nails more evenly, or they would tend to pile up in one spot.

Sometimes the glitter wanted to hang out at the edge of my nails, so I had to carefully push them back to avoid my manicure drying like that and leaving sharpness at my tips. It wasn’t difficult or time-consuming.

Although the formula required more attention when applying, I felt that it was worth the finished result because the shade was so unique.

Big-4 Free

For those who are looking to purchase nail polish that omits some chemicals, you’ll be happy to know that Herald of the Skeleton War doesn’t contain Toluene, Formaldehyde, Formaldehyde Resin, or DBP.

Animal-Friendly

It also is cruelty-free and vegan!

Pros Unique shade Deep & edgy with some twinkle Sprinkling of a variety of different glitter Green-jelly base adds depth Big-4 free formula Cruelty-free & vegan

Cons Formula can be tricky to paint with, so you need to take greater care when applying Needs a thick shiny top coat to look its best & to smooth out the texture

Final Verdict: 7.5/10

For the incredibly unique shade, I would give it a perfect score, but I had to subtract a few points because I found the formula tricky to work with. Yes, it’s worth the effort, though!

If you’re a fan of green nail polishes like I am, or if you enjoy wearing shades that aren’t necessarily in the mainstream, I recommend you try this one. It’s interesting to look at, and the chance that you’ll have the same manicure as another person is very slim.

Are you a fan of green nail polish? If you could design your signature nail polish, what would it look like? Are you also one of Scrangie’s readers?