You know Fall has truly arrived when you find yourself tired of your Ballet Slippers mani, instead craving something dark and rich. It happened to me this week, and I started digging around for some shades that would satisfy this nail lacquer lust. Here, six winners:

1. Estee Lauder Pure Color in Black Amethyst Don't be fooled by the kiddie-looking grape hue of the bottle! This deep purple shade is actually darker than it looks, once two coats have been applied. Very versatile and flattering, and a nice alternative to blacks, browns and blues.

2. MAC Nail Lacquer in Seriously Hip From the Style Black collection, this is a black lacquer teeming with teeny gold pearl particles. It looks like you've painted your nails with fool's gold. Love it.

3. Sephora by OPI in Dark Room A sample of this came in the mail and I immediately thought, "Great, another hideous black nail polish. NEXT!" But then I really started looking at it, in the light, and decided to test it out on my nails. So what makes Dark Room different than every other black polish? Well...it's actually green. Dark Room is a creamy, super-deep forest green. At first glance, it indeed looks black, but then you'll spot that hint of hunter. It's totally unexpected, and a great twist on the regular old dark polish.

4. MAC Nail Lacquer in Baby Goth Girl Like Seriously Hip, this one's from the Style Black collection, and shares a similar black base. But Baby Goth Girl is smattered with pink/purple pearl, giving it a deep eggplant cast. PS - I know the photo makes the glitter appear a bit "chunky," but I assure you, it's not.

5. MAC Nail Lacquer in Rich, Dark, Delicious From Jin Soon Choi's collection for MAC, this is one polish that I thought was truly awful in the bottle. Chocolate-colored nail polish might work for some, but I've never really loved it on me, and this one almost looked muddy. But once on nails, Rich, Dark, Delicious really comes to life; it has a burgundy undertone that really makes it stand out.

6. Essie Midnight Cami This season's hot blue (you know there has to be one), Midnight Cami is a deep, deep blue with a bit of shimmer. I'm not sure how I feel about getting back on the blue train (the midnight express?) after giving it up about a year ago, but if you're still into the blues, this is most certainly the one to wear.