Fountain Pen Day Giveaway - Winner!

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I am once again humbled for the turnout for this giveaway - almost 300 entries!  Thank you all so much for your readership, and I hope you had an awesome Fountain Pen Day!

The winner is.......

UPDATE:  Mary did not claim her prize, so I've drawn a new winner - Brian S!  Brian, keep an eye on your email - I'll be reaching out to you to notify you that you've won!

Congratulations Mary!  Mary spent Fountain Pen Day inking up her new Lamy 2000 (love that pen).  Keep an eye on your email for a message from me - get your address to me by next Friday!  Thanks so much to everyone else for participating - I'll do another giveaway soon!

Ink Review: De Atramentis Cucumber (Scented)

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De Atramentis Cucumber (scented) - June 2015 Ink Drop
Pen: Lamy Al-Star Silver Green (F)
Paper: Rhodia Dotpad 80gsm
Shading: moderate to high
Saturation: medium
Flow: medium
Dry Time: 13 seconds

When I inked up the first ink in this month's Ink Drop, I was surprised by the color.  I had imagined a color called "Cucumber" by De Atramentis would either be a lot darker like the skin of a cucumber, or lighter like the inside.  I was actually quite pleased - this shade of green has always been one of my favorites.

De Atramentis Cucumber is another in the brand's scented line of inks.  I was actually a bit disappointed by the cucumber scent, though.  It really doesn't resemble cucumber at all to me.  Unlike, Hyacinth from last month's Drop, the scent doesn't really resemble its name at all - at least to me.  I had my boyfriend smell it too and he seemed to agree with me.

The ink is lighter on the saturation side, which produces a pretty substantial amount of shading.  It flows pretty well, though a little on the dryer side, but there's no feathering, ghosting or bleedthrough on Rhodia.  Dry time was a bit on the high side for a fine nib at right around 13 seconds.

Chromotography was...anti-climactic, but interesting nonetheless.  It's literally green, with a touch of greyish undertone.  It shows really well on the page - and incidentally couples my two favorite colors!

I've not come across an ink that compares exactly to this ink, but in swab form it is somewhere between Noodler's Bad Green Gator and Private Reserve's Avacado.  It's much lighter than both of these on paper, though.

This ink may be my favorite of this month's Ink Drop by Goulet Pens.  Stay tuned for the other 4 reviews this week!  If you're interested in a bottle for yourself, and aren't dead-set on having an ink that smells like real life cucumbers, then you can grab a 35mL bottle for $12.95.

Thanks for reading!
Lori

Ink Review: De Atramentis Hyacinth (Scented)

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De Atramentis Hyacinth (scented) - May 2015 Ink Drop
Pen: Lamy Al-Star 1.1 stub
Paper: Rhodia Dotpad 80gsm
Shading: low to moderate
Saturation: high
Flow: wet
Dry Time: 30 seconds w/1.1 stub; about 15 for a F

Once again, De Atramentis has wowed me with another one of their inks.  This time, it is 'Hyacinth,' which is from their line of scented fountain pen inks.  It was included in the May 2015 Goulet Ink Drop, which was themed "Wake Up and Smell the Roses."  An apt theme for this pollen-filled time of year.

Hyacinth is an amazingly bright and brilliant royal blue, that smells as if you've been walking through a flower shop filled with fresh flowers of the same name.  The color is such a brilliant blue, that I believe it would be a very suitable replacement for the ever-controversial Noodler's Baystate Blue.  The scent is very noticeable when writing and makes for a really pleasant experience.  Unfortunately, once the ink has been on the paper for a short while, the scent slowly fades; so it's meant mainly for the enjoyment of the writer and not the recipient of the letter.

The ink behaves quite well, as I've seen with most all of the De Atramentis inks I've used thus far.  This royal blue really pops off the page at you and even gives a bit of a red halo with heavier writing pens.  It doesn't have a ton of shading, but there is some.  Saturation is nice and high, which I really like, and the ink flows wet.  Dry time with my Lamy 1.1 stub was fairly high at 30 seconds, though not terrible for a stub.  For a regular F nib, it's about 15 seconds.

In comparison to other blue inks I have used (which are few currently), the closest in color is Lamy blue.  Keep in mind though, that this ink is worlds over more saturated and bright than Lamy blue, but the shade is fairly close.

This ink has inspired me to try more of the De Atramentis scented inks - if you have any suggestions please hit me up via Twitter, the comments below or the contact form.  I honestly just don't use a lot of blue inks, but if I were to use a blue that wasn't a blue-black, it would be something like Hyacinth.  The ink just pops out at you which is nice to see, and De Atramentis' standard line of inks are very easily maintained.  If you're interested in a bottle for yourself you can pick it up from Goulet or a similar retailer for $12.95.

Thanks for reading!
Lori

Giveaway Winner: Noodler's & Diamine Inks, Tons of Ink Samples & Nock Co. Notebooks

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There were over 200 entries for this giveaway - I am humbled by the turnout and thankful for each and every reader of the blog.  I look forward to having another giveaway soon for all the awesome folks in this pen community!

Now for the fun part - the winner is.......

Congratulations Janis!  I'll be emailing you shortly to get your address so that I can get the package on its way to you (be sure to check your spam folder just in case)!  Thank you so much to everyone that entered - it was neat to read what everyone's favorite pens were!  If you're curious Janis' was the Pilot E95S.