Saturday, July 14, 2012

Pretty Serious Cosmetics Hello World! Collection Nail Polish Swatches and Review

I'm very pleased to introduce to you the first nail polish collection from Pretty Serious Cosmetics. Pretty Serious is a new Australian beauty brand created by my buddy Kaz. We share a love of vintage/discontinued polishes and old Sega games, so when I heard that she was creating her own line of polishes, I was super excited to see what kind of colors she would create. Now the first Pretty Serious collection is finally here and it does not disappoint. Aptly named Hello World!, it's a set of six awesomely geeky computer-themed polishes packed full of bright color, sparkly glitter and even a little duochrome. Alongside the six polishes are sets of matching eyeshadows and lipglosses, but I'll cover those separately as they each deserve their own post.

So, here it is, the Hello World! collection from Pretty Serious!


Pretty Serious BSOD. A deep blue jelly with lots of very shiny blue glitter. The rich blue jelly base is the perfect setting for the glitter. It adds depth without drowning the sparkles, allowing glitter from every coat of polish to shine through at different intensities. The glitter is small, smooth and extremely shiny and twinkly, and at some angles it appears to give off a blue-green sheen.


Pretty Serious CGA. The base color of this one is right in between magenta and lavender. I'm not sure if it's actually a dark pink or a light purple! Either way, it is a light pink/purple creme that's accented by some delicate light blue/green color-shifting shimmer. The bright cyan blue shimmer is visible in any light, but brighter light really brings it out and makes it shine. It looks like a glowing blue sheen over the polish that shifts to a greener color at certain angles.



Pretty Serious Forbidden Fruit. This is a very light grey, or perhaps a slightly greyish white with shiny silvery-white flecks of shimmer. When I wear it, it seems to take on a slightly blue cast, though not quite so blue as it seems here. The shimmer in this is small but defined. From normal viewing distance, the shimmer looks silvery. But, when you look at your nails up close, you can see that some of the shimmer is iridescent, showing little flashes of red, blue, and green.


Pretty Serious Morning Java. This is a warm golden brown and bronze shimmer base with bright yellow-gold microglitter. I can also see some little tiny sparks of copper in here as well. The darker color of the brown shimmer base makes the lighter gold glitter look even shinier. This color makes me think of autumn!


Pretty Serious Tux. This is a very dark blackened teal base with blue-green-purple-gold duochome shimmer. The shimmer particles are about the size of (or just slightly smaller than) the ones in Forbidden Fruit, so they look distinct and stand out against the base. The shimmer in this is also a true duochrome, shifting from blue to teal to green, with a little purple duochrome visible at extreme angles or in dim lighting.


Pretty Serious VT100. A grassy yellow-toned green with big sparkly pieces of yellow-gold foil shimmer. The gold shimmer particles are somewhat irregular in shape and size so it looks more like a broken foil fleck than a uniform microglitter, but it still sparkles just the same. Yellow-leaning greens are my favorite kind of greens and this one really amazes me every time I wear it. The green-gold combination makes me think of money, or more specifically, Scrooge McDuck, in a top hat, skiing down a large pile of money.

The formula on these was great. The texture is on the thick side, but they're smooth-flowing and not sticky or gooey. They all applied evenly and had very good pigmentation. All shades were opaque in two coats, but I did three just to see how it would look. The third coat makes the glitter shades look richer and fuller, but it's not necessary for opacity. The brush is quite soft, but evenly cut. Drying time on these is average, not lightning fast but not slow, either.


Every Pretty Serious item comes in this awesome purple box, adorned with pinup-style artwork by Leigh Young. In addition to the adorable artwork, each box is printed with a full list of ingredients and the URL for Pretty Serious. Each bottle of polish also includes a full ingredient list and a url underneath the bottom label.

Pretty Serious can be purchased from their own secure website, located at www.pretty-serious.com. The website is attractive and easy to navigate and includes all the necessary information such as shipping costs, a FAQ section, ingredients lists for each product and a privacy policy, plus some extras, like a really handy swatch gallery. They currently accept PayPal, but will soon be adding secure Visa and Mastercard processing to the site.

They ship internationally and have shipping rates for each region listed here. International orders are shipped from fulfillment partners to allow for faster transit times and lower shipping costs.

All Pretty Serious products are free of formaldehyde, toluene, DBP and formaldehyde resin, and are both vegan and cruelty free.

I think these are awesome. The theme is absolutely perfect for a first collection. The colors are all gorgeous and the formula is very good. I had high hopes for this collection and it did not let me down. The only criticisms I can find are that the size/volume of the polishes doesn't appear to be printed anywhere on the bottle or box and that they only have six colors! I believe they do have another collection or two coming out soon to remedy that last part. Otherwise, everything is pretty much spot-on. The packaging is professional and attractive (a feature I especially appreciate), the polishes apply and wear well, the colors and themes are cool, the website is secure, easy to navigate and has large, clear pictures of every product (including swatches), they ship worldwide for a reasonable rate and they offer a discount if you buy full collections or matching sets. Well done.

Pretty Serious Cosmetics' Hello World! collection is available now on www.pretty-serious.com. Each 11ml (0.37 fl oz) polish retails for $9.95 AUD (about $10 USD) and nothing is limited edition.

(This was sent for review.)

48 comments:

  1. BSOD and Serious Tux look gorgeous! This is an amazing starter collection!

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  2. This is a seriously awesosome first collection! I like all of them. Like you said, none dissapoint! :)

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  3. They're all pretty but on first look, I think I like BSD (what's it short for?) and Morning Java the most.

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    1. BSD is short for Berkeley Software Distribution, a Unix-based operating system. But BSoD is short for Blue Screen of Death (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue_Screen_of_Death) :)

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  4. OMG!! Is Pretty Serious BSOD a blue version of Ruby Pumps?? So pretty!

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    1. It is! Oddly, I never thought about that until you mentioned it, but now that you've said it I think that's right on!

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  5. I love the colors of these polishes! Wow!

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  6. Beautiful colors and gorgeous package! Want them all!

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  7. wooow they are so pretty!
    but even they ship international, it's not really my budget :/

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  8. Tux looks absolutely gorgeous.

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  9. Morning java,nice! new follower here! :-)

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  10. I really like CGA. Just can't get enough cool pinks/lilacs, especially opaque ones! Morning Java looks good too, although in more of a "a good bronze is essential for late summer and autumn pedicures" way.

    I could almost buy BSOD just for the name. :D

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  11. This is the first time I have liked every single color in a collection! The only downside is that its a little pricey for me, esp since I want the whole collection...speaking of duochromes though, have you heard about the new china glaze bohemian collection that's coming this fall? I would love to see your swatches when they become available -- you always have the best ones!

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  12. Yes, McDuck's Money Bin! I'm glad my brain isn't the only one to link things like that. :P

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  13. Thank you for sharing this information and some gorgeous colors & swatches!

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  14. Love these! And, I love Leigh Young's artwork - win, win! I really want BSOD, CGA, Forbidden Fruit and VT100.

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  15. I could wear any of those, but I think BSOD and Tux have to be my favourites. The shipping to the UK isn't exorbitant either, I don't mind paying for a polish I really want but I hate it when the shipping is more than the order. I really appreciate the amount of information you put into each post, it must take forever to do that, never mind the switching, photography etc etc, you spoil us.

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    1. Last time I ordered from Models Own, I paid $23 in shipping for $15 worth of polishes XD

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    2. Glad it's not just me ;) if you ever want anything I can get here in the U.K though, please let me know, and I'll send it to you.

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  16. I have the whole collection and I love everyone of them. Kaz did an amazing job and I can't wait to see what her second collection looks like.

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  17. I have the whole collection and love them all. Kaz did an amazing job and I can't wait to see what she creates in her next collection. Looking forward to seeing your swatches of the shadows and lip glosses.

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  18. All of these are amazing, so gorgeous!

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  19. I work in the IT department so I pretty much love the theme for these nail polishes!! Tempting...very much.

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  20. how does bsod compare to essie starry starry night?

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    1. Starry Starry Night has a darker blue base, not as vibrant of a blue color and only silver glitter

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  21. and how does serious tux compare to opi unripened from the go goth collection?

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    1. Unripened (and its Nicole dupe) has a black base, larger glitter/shimmer and the duochrome colors are slightly different, but both polishes have a similar look. Tux is smoother and greener looking.

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    2. thanks so much, i'll definatley be picking those up asap

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  22. seriously...what is your secret??? every nail is perfectly done... i can't get over it!

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  23. Dammit I want them so badly... First collection I've seen in a long time that I've wanted all the polishes!

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  24. I just wanted to mention, http://nailscolor365.blogspot.com.au/2012/07/pretty-serious-cosmetics-hello-world.html?showComment=1342403084445#c1141569209244449369 copied your post, without crediting you.

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  25. I LOVE the box that they come in. I love the colours as well, but the packaging sets this brand apart from others for me. I would probably buy these just for the boxes. I'm a sucker for pretty packaging :)

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  26. All of these are amazing, but I especially love VT100. And BSOD, but mostly the green one. I have trouble finding true sparkly greens that I like and this couldn't be more perfect. Amazing swatches as always, and these are pretty reasonably priced. On my wishlist!!

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  27. Can I ask what topcoat you use? Your nails are always so shiny!

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  28. I have all of these and they're gorgeous :) Beautiful photos Scrangie, you have described them all perfectly

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  29. printf("BEAUTIFUL POLISHES!");

    <3 computer geeking && nail polish. Literally my two favorite passions.

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  30. Pretty Serious Tux reminds me of Essie Dive Bar! Gorgeous! X

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  32. I HAVE to get all of these. I can't wait until my budget allows. I am a sucker for blue everything so as of now BSOD is my fave. I'm so glad that none of them are limited edition. I absolutely am starting to hate LE status on products.

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  33. I'm so happy that these are not LE! I will be getting all of them when my budget allows!!!! I am a sucker for blue everything and BSOD is unlike any blue polish that I own. I think I will love it more than OPI Absolutely Alice. I can't wait to add all of these to my collection. I am also happy that the shipping to the US isn't crazy. I almost died when I ordered from Model's Own. I bought more polishes just to make it seem worth it from them. I don't know if I can afford to order from them again, but if Pretty Serious keeps up with making awesome collections with an awesome shipping price, I will be all over them.

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  34. Just the fact that they are formaldehyde, toluene, DBP and formaldehyde resin free make me want to buy them, and oh the fact that the colours look AMAZING!
    Thanks for sharing :)

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  35. Would you happen to know how CGA compares to UD Freakshow? I loved that polish but the formula was horrible so I tossed it out (this was before I realized a good base coat could help the chippiness problem) and regretted it ever since.

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    1. Hmmm.... I'm pretty sure I have that one but I can't remember exactly what it looks like =x I will have to see if I can find it in my stash and compare!

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  36. Oh, I had no idea that she came out with her own polishes! That's so awesome!

    BSOD is incredibly sparkly - when I saw it on my screen, I let out a gasp. That's truly gorgeous.

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