Purchased by me, affiliate links used
As someone who LOVES China Glaze Halloween releases, the release of this collection couldn’t come soon enough! For Halloween 2023 we have the Serpentine collection. In typical China Glaze fashion, we have 6 polishes. Much like the Fall collection for this year, the finishes are all a mixture of shimmers and metallics.
I don’t think promotion for this collection has started yet but it is starting to pop up on online retailers. I purchased these from PolishPick. China Glaze polishes are also available on the following retailers Beyond Polish (use code NicoleLovesNails to save an extra 10%), Amazon, Sally Beauty, Walmart, Rite Aid and Ulta.
Live Swatch Video
China Glaze is a US based mainstream brand. Their polishes are in 14ml bottles, 7 free and cruelty free.
Caution: Might Bite
Description: a pumpkin orange crelly base with gold flecks or shimmer
Caution: Might Bite I freaking love this shade of orange! It’s a very warm toned orange so if you are like me, it will look very red leaning.
It had fantastic coverage but not quite a one coater, both the formula and application were fantastic. The gold flecks/shimmer weren’t as in your face on the nail as I had hoped they would be. They looked so impressive in the bottle but kinda low key on the nail.
My photos show Caution: Might Bite in 2 coats plus glossy top coat. Removal on this one won’t be overly difficult and I didn’t experience any staining.
Fall From Grace
Description: a grey base with metallic blue and pink shimmer
Fall From Grace had a pretty good formula. It was thinner than the other polishes in the release but those were all fairly thick so this seemed thin in comparison. It is sheer so it does need to be built up to reach full opacity.
I found this polish kinda meh. It didn’t wow me, I didn’t outright dislike it, it’s kinda meh. The shimmer is pretty but I think I would like it more if it had some holo perhaps.
My photos show Fall From Grace in 3 coats plus glossy top coat. Nothing on here dries down textured but you will want top coat for a glossy finish.
Gold Hearted
Description: a bronze metallic with gold shimmer
Gold Hearted I don’t usually start swathing collections with the polish that I was most excited for BUT I had to with this one. The base was on the thicker side, I didn’t struggle with the application but it was thick enough that I did end up adding some nail polish thinner (KBShimmer’s Restoration drops) to my bottle.
Due to that thickness, this was 90% opaque on me in one coat. I absolutely love the shimmery-ness of this polish! There seem to be some added gold specs/micro flakies in the polish itself and on top of that, there is a slight and I mean slight green color shift.
I noticed when I was doing my voice over for the live swatch video that there appears to me be some holographic in this polish. I completely missed it up until I was looking at it in direct sunlight. To see the holo, check out my live swatch video.
My photos show Gold Hearted in 2 coats plus glossy top coat. This dries down fairly flat so you will need top coat for a glossyy finish. Removal will be fairly easy but messy.
Madam Medusa
Description: an olive green metallic with gold shimmer
Madam Medusa had a good but thicker formula. This one skirted the line on needing thinner. I think the next time I reach for it, it will likely need some thinner.
I love the almost prugly green base and I really love the addition of the gold shimmer. You do get some brush strokes trough the shimmer but they aren’t super noticeable.
My photos show Madam Medusa in 2 coats plus glossy top coat. This also dries down flat so you will want top coat for a glossy finish.
Pantheon-Goddess
Description: a silver metallic with green, blue to purple shimmer
Pantheon-Goddess as a habitual metallic polish hater, I was more than ready to hate this polish just for being yet another silver metallic. Color me surprised but this is a color shifty silver metallic polish so I was very intrigued. The shimmer has a green, blue to purple at extreme angles color shifts.
Unfortunately, this one was very thick for me so I did need to add a good squirt of thinner to my bottle. Once I added thinner, this applied beautifully.
The metallic finish shows a lot of brush strokes when wet but some disappear as it dries down. You can still see them with the naked eye but they aren’t as strong dry as they are when wet.
My photos show Pantheon-Goddess in 2 coats plus glossy top coat.
I had thought this was going to be a dupe for Essie’s Geek Chic (Cyber Society collection ) but it has different color shifts to it.
Ssslither
Description: a very dark brownish grey metallic
Ssslither I absolutely hate snakes so the name of this polish made me shudder a little bit. Initially, I thought this was a grey polish but upon closer examination, it is a dark brown with greyish undertones.
This is the second polish in the release that has me thinking there might be some holographic in the base? This is a fairly opaque polish so I didn’t catch the holographic until I was looking at it in direct sunlight. Sorry, again check out the live swatch video to see what I mean.
Both formula and application were great, it was slightly on the thicker side but not so thick that I needed to use thinner.
My photos show Ssslither in 2 coats plus glossy top coat. You will want top coat for a glossy finish, nothing will be difficult to remove.
Final Thoughts
If you’re a fan of China Glaze or at least read most of my blog posts, you would know that in my opinion, 2022 was a rough year for China Glaze releases. 2023 has been better for the most part but there hasn’t been a collection this year that has had me screaming from the rooftops about it. Although the Spring collection was pretty nice.
This release was pretty good. I don’t get a ton of Halloween vibes from it but it does give off Falloween vibes so I will take that as a win. Especially since last year’s Halloween collection got an F from me.
I am pretty confused at why Ssslither and Gold Hearted seem to have holographic that is all but invisible but I suppose I shouldn’t complain about there being holographic in them. Those two are going to be my top picks.
China Glaze
14ml, 7 Free, Vegan & Cruelty-Free
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Sale Information
The Serpentine collection for Halloween 2023 is starting to pop up on online and should be in store any day now. I purchased my set from PolishPick.com.
If you would like to purchase this release at a discount as well as support the blog, consider using any of the following affiliate links. Beyond Polish (use code NicoleLovesNails to save an extra 10%), Amazon, Sally Beauty, Walmart, Rite Aid and Ulta. Thank you for the support!
