Today I have swatches of Road House Blues, from OPI’s Touring America Collection for fall.  It fits right in with the dark blue polish moment that seems to be going on, and I was curious to see how it compared to a hard-to-find favorite, Sapphire in the Snow.

OPI’s Touring America Collection is a new release, but it’s starting to trickle in to stores.  Many of the colors are very dark and grey/brown.  When I checked out pictures, Road House Blues stood out for me–it reminded me of Sapphire in the Snow, a dark blurple from OPI’s Holiday 2009 Collection.  Sapphire in the Snow sold quickly and is hard to come by now; you pretty much have to find it on eBay.  Given that Dior’s fall collection is focused on two blue polishes, and Chanel’s classic Blue Satin made a recent re-appearance on the Chanel runway, dark blue seems to be a big polish color for this fall, so Road House Blues has that going for it, too.

Road House Blues is a dark, slightly purplish blue creme. The formula was nice and took only two coats for this opacity, and it also dried very shiny even without topcoat.  I was a little worried it would be too straight navy blue when I looked at the bottle, but it definitely has a purple undertone on the nail that gives it a rich feel.  It makes me think of blueberries-slightly dusty, and dark blue with a hidden berry purple lurking underneath.

In less direct light, the purple is even more apparent.  It’s a very dark blue, but it doesn’t turn black in indoor lighting.

Next I pulled out Sapphire in the Snow to compare.   In the picture below, Road House Blues is on my index and middle fingers and Sapphire in the Snow is on my ring and pinky fingers.  I was happy to find that these polishes are pretty close, so if you’ve been bummed about missing out on Sapphire in the Snow, Road House Blues is a nice option.  The polishes aren’t the same, though; Sapphire in the Snow is less dusty and has a brighter purple undertone, more of a royal blue/purple.  I’m happy to have both, and I think I’ll be wearing Road House Blues a lot once the weather cools down a bit.

I found my Road House Blues in a small picked-over display at Ulta this weekend, but the Touring America Collection should be available at all the normal OPI retailers, soon if not already.