Day 4: Green - Barielle Date Night

I know I said I was going to do another crackle mani today, but then I remembered I had Barielle Date Night sitting in my untrieds. Date Night, an emerald green shimmer, was on my wishlist for quite a while, and I took advantage of a recent sale to get both it and Elle's Spell for what ended up being basically a steal. I used two coats with Insta-Dri top coat, and again, I retouched my hangnail, because it's still getting better.

 direct sunlight

 direct sunlight

direct sunlight

Isn't it gorgeous? I took some pictures in indirect light, too, but none of them really turned out accurately, so I decided to stick with the sunlit pics. I wasn't sure Date Night would live up to my expectations when I first saw it in the bottle in real life, but it's turned out to be every bit as rich and decadent as I hoped it would be. I may just wear it in May next year, because my birthstone is the emerald. And with that, I'm off! I have an Arabic quiz this afternoon, so I need to study. Wish me luck, and have a great Friday!

EDIT:
Whoops, I forgot to include links to my fellow bloggers doing the challenge this month:
Bright Lights, Big Color
Life and Polish
Manicure Addict
Dees Polish Endeavours
Aly Loves Lacquer

Barielle Falling Star

I've been wanting Barielle Falling Star for quite a while, so I was very glad to get it in a swap a few weeks ago. Part of my attraction to Falling Star is that it's blue and (sort of) bronze (though it's really more copper), which are Ravenclaw colors, and I'm both a rabid Harry Potter fan and a rabid Ravenclaw. However, it's also simply a gorgeous polish and absolutely unique. There is nothing like Falling Star...except Falling Star. Unfortunately, it was rainy and gloomy when I wore this, so I only have inside pics. This was two coats with Seche Vite.

 indoors, artificial light

indoors, artificial light

Falling Star was a bit dull and a bit gritty without top coat, but that is truly it's only fault, and a coat of Seche Vite fixed it right up. I wore this for four days with one small chip on the third day and a tiny bit of tipwear, which is an eon for me lately - I can't remember the last time I got polish to last that long on me AND actually wanted to wear it for that long. The pictures here were taken, I believe, on the fourth day of wear. As far as picture accuracy, the base is a bit more dusty than the pictures show, and the polish as a whole is much more vibrant and gorgeous in real life. The glitter isn't always in your face (not that there's anything wrong with that...Mad as a Hatter, anyone?), but it's definitely there. 

Falling Star is absolutely one of my top five nail polishes now - and that may be a theme this week, because I got GOSH Holograhpic in a giveaway, it arrived Friday, and I'm wearing it now. I'm waiting for the sun to come out for me to take pictures, but I hope that happens at some point this week. If not, I may go ahead and post it anyway because it's absolutely amazing.

Aaaand, finally, here are a couple of new nail polish blogs I found this week - they are both definitely worth reading, and they both have some great nail art. Check 'em out!

Nailside

Nail Polish Art Addiction

P.S. This is my 200th post...woohoo!

Barielle Coco Bar

I originally bought Barielle Coco Bar because I was looking for the perfect chocolate-y brown creme. In all reality, I think this is it. Here are two coats of Coco Bar with a coat of Rush top coat (though it didn't need it to be glossy):

indoors, artificial light

Coco Bar is the color of a Hershey's bar...and it makes me want one, too. I love how it looks on my nails, and it was very easy to apply. While it didn't wear well, I honestly suspect Rush is to blame for that, as the last few polishes I've used Rush on have worn horribly. (But when I use Orly In a Snap, which I have a mini bottle of, my polish wears well.) I think my bottle is getting old, which is not good - I still have 15 mL left.

In other news, my thumbnail broke past the quick today. Ow. I fixed it with some nail bandages I bought in a pack for a dollar at a local grocery store, but I don't imagine it'll look too pretty under a creme for a while. Oh well, I'm going to wear whatever the heck I want anyway! :) I hope you are all having a wonderful week!