Day 13’s ink is Molten Basalt, a standard dark blue ink with so much brown sheen that I don’t understand why this ink wasn’t categorized as a sheen ink. It’s a baffling ink, not something that I’d expect in an Inkvent calendar.

Something about this ink reminds me of Montblanc Around the World in 80 days – it’s a dark indigo blue ink that looks like spilled petrol more than anything. It reads as a dirty black ink – a brownish black.

This ink is interesting, even though I’m not sure it should be part of the Inkvent calendar. There’s something about its strangeness that makes me think that it could have been one of the those inks that Diamine designs with input from the community – like celadon cat.

The only way to see the base colour is to look at it while it dries. Once it’s dry you see the brownish purple sheen settle on every letter.

Today’s bear is Alex by June Kendall of Hardy Bears. I have several of her bears and I like her work.

I’m still not sure what I think of Molten Basalt. I will likely not buy a full bottle of it – will you?

Day 10’s ink is Diamine Nostalgia, a maroon chameleon ink with some shading. I used a TWSBI GO with a 1.1 nib to test out this ink, and it really showed off both the chameleon shimmer and the ink’s shading properties well.

There’s gold, copper, pink and red chameleon shimmer in this ink, and the effect is quite fetching. There are angles where you see little to no shimmer, and others where all the lines shine. An ink full of surprises.

The chameleon shimmer lightens Diamine Nostalgia, at least in certain angles, and the base maroon colour is warm and attractive. I think this combination works really well, as brown inks can be either very interesting or very flat and boring. Diamine Nostalgia has depth and interest because of the combination of the base colour, the shading and the chameleon effect.

I redrew yesterday’s bear. Dixie, as I didn’t like my sketch yesterday. I like today’s sketch more. Look how Dixie’s nose glows in this angle:

Closeup of the chameleon effect:

Today’s bear is Dixie from J&P bears – the same bear as yesterday, just reposed and redrawn.

I like Diamine Nostalgia – I think that it’s a good addition to the calendar, that it has a great (and appropriate) name, and that it will likely work fantastically well on cream coloured paper. What do you think?

Day 9’s ink is Diamine Bittersweet, a minty green standard ink. I used a Pilot Metropolitan with a fine nib to test this ink, and it lays down a fine and relatively dry line, but still there was a hint a shading with Bittersweet.

There is something about this ink that makes me think that Diamine Bittersweet is simply Diamine Mint Twist but without the chameleon shimmer. It’s not necessarily a bad thing, it’s just something that I’m curious about. In any case Diamine Bittersweet is a nice, solid ink and a good addition to the Inkvent calendar. It may not be the most interesting or unique ink of the bunch, but it’s still an ink that I can see myself journaling with – it’s very calming.

I’m tired so the bear in the sketch is off. I will redraw this bear with a different ink tomorrow, but for now here’s Dixie, my third and final J&P Bears bear.

What do you think? Are Diamine Mint Twist from last year’s calendar and Diamine Bittersweet related?

Day 8’s ink is Diamine Dream Catcher, a dark blue “extreme sheen” ink. It’s a super saturated ink with so much red sheen that it makes the ink look a bit purplish.

Here’s another angle of the sheen:

As you can see, the base ink colour barely appears in these samples:

I was using a TWSBI GO with a 1.1 nib to test out Diamine Dream Catcher and I hadn’t seated the nib properly after cleaning (a common issue with my TWSBI GOs is how hard it is to get the nib and feed assembled well enough to not burp out ink or wobble when writing with them). This meant that I almost had the nib burp ink on the page, which is why there are a few smudges in this sample.

You can see the lovely dark blue base ink colour pretty well when you write with it, but as soon as the ink dries practically all you can see is red sheen. It also (unsurprisingly as it’s such a saturated ink) takes a long time to dry.

Today’s bear is called Tilly, and she was made by J&P (Jean & Pauline) Bears. I like her face but I don’t like that she’s clothed.

Diamine have a lot dark blue inks with varying degrees of red sheen, and in this Diamine Dream Catcher is a bit of a disappointment as it doesn’t really stand apart from its predecessors. If you want a super sheen ink, then maybe this will be for you. Personally I don’t plan on buying a full bottle of this.

Day 7’s ink is Diamine Blush, a standard blush pink. This ink is a “super-shader” and the colour is lovely – a dusky pink that will work wonderfully well for greeting cards.

Whoever named this ink did a fantastic job – Blush perfectly describes the ink colour and the intense amount of shading that you get. It was a lot of fun sketching with this ink, and if it was waterproof it would be an interesting addition to my sketching rotation. As it is, it’s a very attractive ink that I’m pretty sure will be easy enough to clean out and well behaved enough to be safely used in vintage pens. It is slightly on the dry side, so take that into account when selecting a nib to go with it. I used a fine Lamy AL-Star nib.

I think that today’s bear is called Abi – her tag was a little confusing. In any case she’s a British bear, made by J&P Mohair Bears – a small maker – and purchased in Stonegate Bears in York. I don’t like bears that are clothed, but I liked this bear’s face enough to overlook her knitted dress.

Diamine Blush is a wonderful ink, and a good addition to Diamine’s pink ink lineup. I don’t see myself purchasing a full bottle of it, but I will enjoy this sample while it lasts.

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.