Day 6’s ink is Diamine Fir & Fog, a chameleon ink. The base ink colour is an attractive dark grey grey, which is very evocative of fir trees in the fog. The chameleon effect is subtle but lovely – shimmers range from green, through blue and silver, to pink. What you see depends on the lighting conditions, the angle at which you view the paper, and the width of the nib. I used a generous Lamy Safari medium nib.

The base ink, without the chameleon effect, would have been excellent as an Inkvent ink in and of itself. It’s a muted and characterful green that offers a good amount of shading and interest and is dark enough to be used not just for holiday correspondence or for journaling. The chameleon effect isn’t in your face, over the top shimmer. It’s more like a little secret that only those in the know get to experience.

Today’s bear is a Canterbury Bear with no name. I like his “frosted tips” fur and his owl-like face (and the fact that he’s from a small maker), which is why I purchased him.

Diamine Fir & Fog is a wonderful ink, a great addition to the Inkvent calendar, and definitely an ink that I would consider purchasing a full bottle of in the future. I think it’s a great wintery ink, and it would look even better on cream coloured paper.

What do you think of Fir & Fog? Did you catch the chameleon effect?

Day 5’s ink is Diamine Marie Rose, a standard ink that looks like a thousand island dressing. Apparently Marie Rose is a British seafood or cocktail sauce. I never heard of it before, likely because I don’t eat seafood. In any case the ink colour is unique and beautiful, with plenty of interesting shading.

Although Marie Rose is a light ink, it’s dark enough to be readable, and would work particularly well in thin papered notebooks, as there’s bound to be no ghosting or bleed-through.

Today’s bear comes with very little information, beyond a price tag and an embroidered tag with the name “SHULTZ” on it. He’s tiny (about the size of a Col-o-ring) but full of character, and proper bear.

I like Diamine Marie Rose and I’d see myself using it in the future. It’s a light and optimistic ink that’s well behaved, interesting and unique. It makes up a bit for yesterday’s disaster ink.

What do you think? Do you see yourself buying a bottle of Marie Rose ink?

Day 4’s ink is Diamine Smoky Tobacco. It’s a scented sepia ink and I loathe it with every fiber of my being. I hate that it’s named after tobacco, I hate that it’s a scented ink, I hate that it stinks to high heaven, I don’t like the ink’s flow and I’m not a fan of the colour. I have no idea what Diamine were thinking naming an ink after Tobacco and then having it reek of stale Tobacco but it’s a terrible idea and a terrible ink. It went straight to the trash can after this review, and the pen is about to be thoroughly cleaned out.

The issue is that this ink stinks so much that it actually made my whole notebook smell like it had been in a smokers house for the past few years. I am considering ripping the page out and throwing it to the garbage. If it still smells this badly in a day or two that’s what I’ll do.

Today’s bear is one of the prettiest in my collection. Her name is Zelda and she’s a Charlie Bear. Her body is so, so heavy but her mohair fur is as soft as it looks. It’s like stroking clouds.

I am so angry at Diamine for naming an ink after Tobacco, and then going out of their way to give us the full Tobacco experience. Here’s hoping that tomorrow’s ink is better, and that this is the last of Diamine’s scented inks, at least for this year’s Inkvent. Otherwise we might be getting a “dead rat carcass in the chimney” ink, or a “rotting wreath” one.