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In today’s post I will be reviewing;
Wink of Stella
Product Details
- Manufacturer/Brand; Kuretake; Zig Memory System
- Range; Wink of Stella
Reason For Buying
I was lucky enough to be sent some samples of these new pens, from Kuretake to try out. I have to admit, I was going to be a hard sell on glitter pens. I have a love hate thing with glitter, I love the bling but HATE the mess. Currently the only way I’ll get near glitter is with Ranger’s Stickles Glitter Glues.
Pros/Cons
Pros
- Acid Free
- Archival
- Pigment Ink
- Colour base to the ink, with glitter running through it.
- Colours co-ordinate with other Zig pens in a variety of ranges; Calligraphy markers and Brushables.
- Works great on; Smooth card like the Rymans one I use for stamping. Also perfect on water-colour card and on stampbord.
- Works well with; other Zig markers, including Calligraphy and Brushables.
- Great for adding highlights to detailed stamps and for vintage projects.
- Super smooth to use, no begging it to work, or keep working like you get with gel pens.
- The brown, gold and silver are perfect for vintage projects as they are more subtle than other metallics, really nice. The black is also a soft black so if you use it with a black calligraphy pen it looks like a shadow.
- The clear pen is great when you want to add sparkle without a colour base. Also perfect for snow 😉
- You can watercolour with them too!!!
Cons
I tried to find some, honest! But I couldn’t find any, these pens did what they are supposed to and more. I have no complaints.
Build Quality
Excellent! The lids are well-fitting but not to hard to remove. The nibs are 0.8mm perfect for writing and also for adding detailed highlighting to lettering or stamped projects. Ink flow is superb! No scratchy nib over the writing surface, no clogging. You need to store them flat, but I had a miracle revival on a pen! The silver one arrived without its lid on and didn’t work. However when I put its lid back on and left it lying flat on the table for a few hours, it came back to life and has continued to work perfectly! I think this was lucky and don’t recommend you do this but it is a testament to a well designed pen.
Value for Money
Can’t actually rate this, as at the time of writing the pens have yet to be launched and I have no details of the rrp or the pack sizes they will be sold in.
Would I buy it Again?
YES!!!!! If I’d seen them, I probably wouldn’t have bought them, written them of as glittery and eww BUT I would have missed out! They are so much nicer than glue pens as you can get fine detail, when you first apply them you don’t notice the glitter. When you tilt your project into the light the glitter really pops. They don’t disturb the ink below them, unlike glitter glue. Below is an image where I used them over Distress ink. I love how subtle they are, and would buy more.
Summing up
LOVE these pens. I never thought I would like anything glittery, but I love them.
- Versatile; work as highlights for fine detail images, enhancing lettering or on larger areas by water colouring with them.
- Subtle; at first glance you don’t notice the glitter, till the light hits it then POW
- All the bling without the mess; the results are beautiful (if hard to photograph). Stunning glittery finish without gunky residue that comes with glitter glue. The glitter doesn’t shed, for the amount of sparkle these pens pack, the glitter doesn’t rub off! Even when you watercolour with them! Very impressed.
- Reliability; They work! Simple as that, they do what they say on the tin. Not everything does but these DO!
- A joy to use and write with.
Links
At the time of writing, I am still awaiting details of colours that will be available & prices, so I’ll update this review with that information, when I recieve it. In the meantime, for stockists near you, check out the Kuretake website for more details.
- Kuretake UK; Manufacturers of Zig Memory System products.
Come back on friday to see the video demo I made for these pens and some techniques for using them.
Many thanks to Kuretake for giving me the opportunity of trying these pens, they are superb and have become among my firm favorites.
Best wishes and thanks for reading, see you soon
Billie 🙂
***Update***
Latest news from Kuretake;
- There are 13 colours in the range.
- Create & Craft have these pens for £19.99
Hi Billie –
These look like fun. Can’t wait for them to hit the market so I can try them out. I’m with you regarding glitter. I love it, love how it looks – hate the mess. I hate how days later you are still finding it all over the place. But does that stop me buying it? NO! I keep picking up bottles of it. I don’t know why, maybe its the sparkle. I mean, all I really use is Stickles (I’m addicted to them). Maybe these pens will help me get over my glitter fascination – LOL!
Thanks for the review sweetie!
Elaine
Hi Elaine
They are a lot of fun and a big step up from glitter glues. These are going to be regulars on my desk from now on 🙂 Love them lots, they don’t mess with the ink coloured underneath them like stickles either. Which is handy as I tend to use dye inks a lot.
Best wishes
Billie 🙂
[…] Comments « Review of Zig; Wink Of Stella pens […]
Hey you!! How cool that Zig sent you pens to review! Seriously though – do you think you could use them over acrylics? I was thinking one or two for art journalling… What do you reckon?
Lovely to read your comment on the blog too – I miss the “workshop/classes” chats… are you taking any new ones this year?
Hope your health is a bit better too hun! xo 🙂
Hi Rosie
Good to see you. Yes I was thrilled to try these pens out and they are fantastic.
Have sent you an email 😉
luv n hugs
Billie 🙂
Hi
I love the idea of thease pens and so want some now. Have you had any update as to when and where the pens will be availabe in the UK?
Thanks
Char
Hi Char
No I haven’t heard yet, but I’ll go ask for you 🙂
Best wishes
Billie 🙂
Hi Billie
A year later & I have just ordered a pack via Amazon UK…..Can’t wait for them to arrive. Lots of places are selling them as individual pens but on Amazon I have managed to order a complete set for £20.44. I am so please that I am finally going to get my hands on a set.
Char
Hi Charlotte
Yey, I’m so glad you managed to get some. These are real stars, I love the way you can apply the sparkle to really small areas for just a little glint or by watercolouring it, cover a larger area. I also like NOT having a desk covered in glitter specks hehe
Have fun, would love to see your projects with them too.
Best wishes
Billie 🙂
I have these And love love LOVE them . They’re so great for highlighting/accenting. I only wish they had a RED one !!
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