In today’s Happy Prince ink review, we’ll take a look at one of the beautiful shimmer inks in Wearingeul’s Oscar Wilde fountain pen ink collection. Keep reading to get all the details about how the ink performed during our review tests!
The Brand: Who Made This Week’s Featured Ink?
But first, let’s talk about the maker of this week’s featured ink, Wearingeul. At the beginning of 2022, we added Wearingeul inks to our collection at Pen Chalet and were thrilled to see the immediate buzz from our pen and ink customers. This Korean ink brand is known for its unique color palettes, drawing inspiration from famous literature, timeless masterpieces, beloved fairy tales, and legendary myths.
This week, we’re showcasing the Wearingeul Happy Prince ink!
The Ink Series: Oscar Wilde Collection
The Happy Prince ink is one of the inks included in the Wearingeul Oscar Wilde Collection that dropped a couple of weeks ago. The inks in Wearingeul’s Oscar Wilde Collection bring the enchanting world of Wilde’s literary masterpieces to life with four dazzling glistening (aka shimmer) inks. Each ink shade embodies a piece of Wilde’s charm and brilliance, making them a unique addition to your ink collection. The inks in the collection include:
- The Happy Prince (a pastel blue with glistening gold pearl)
- The Star Child (an orange-yellow with violet pearl)
- The Young King (a vibrant magenta with rose gold pearl)
- The Nightingale and the Rose (a romantic beige with red pearl)
This week’s ink review features the first one listed above, The Happy Prince Ink, but all four are a great option for writers looking to add a literary twist to their everyday writing.
Today’s Ink: Wearingeul The Happy Prince Fountain Pen Ink
Wearingeuli’s The Happy Prince ink is a violet-blue with a golden shimmer. Inspired by Oscar Wilde’s timeless story, Wearingeul’s “The Happy Prince” ink reflects the transformation of the young prince who once lived a life of luxury. The ink’s violet-blue base captures the serene beauty of the prince’s once-gilded life, while the glistening gold shimmer mirrors the statue’s fading golden exterior. As the prince’s perspective shifts after his death, witnessing the sorrow and poverty of the city, this ink evokes both the beauty and melancholy of his newfound understanding, bringing the story’s emotional depth to life on the page.
Products Used During the Ink Review Tests:
We used a few additional products and items during today’s Wearingeul The Happy Prince ink review. Here’s a complete list, in case you’re interested.
- Wearingeul The Happy Prince ink (30ml)
- Rhodia lined paper
- Pilot Iro-Utsushi dip pen (medium nib)
- cotton swabs
- tap water
- Dee Charles Designs Pen Wipe Wallet
The Review: Wearingeul The Happy Prince Ink Review
Check out all the ink review test results in the image below or read on to get a summary of how things went down as we put this blue shimmering Wearingeul ink through our standard ink review tests.
What’s the Ink Bottle Like?
The Wearingeul 30ml ink bottle is a beautifully crafted, square glass design that perfectly complements the unique inks it holds. It’s compact and simply elegant, with both functional and visual appeal. The bottle’s wide opening allows easy filling, ensuring a mess-free experience when using your favorite fountain pens. The ink bottles are stable when in use, and the labeling is clear with the ink name, brand, and size of the bottle all on the label, as well as the general color of the ink reflected in the color of the label. The bottle’s packaging is reflected in a similar fashion on the exterior cardboard box.
How Did This Week’s Ink Fair in the 1-Dip Test?
We did a 1-Dip Test with The Happy Prince ink, and the ink was able to write all three lines on paper with plenty of ink left over on the dip pen.
What’s The Happy Prince Ink’s Dry Time?
During our The Happy Prince ink review, we saw approximately 7-8 seconds dry time.
How Does the Ink Respond to Water?
We also put the ink through our typical water test (even though it doesn’t claim to be waterproof). For the water test, we put down a writing sample, let it dry for a minute, and then ran a wet cotton swab over the writing to see how the ink responded to water. Here’s what we saw:
- Practically zero bleeding of ink
- Little fading of lines
- There is a slight feathering of the ink
- Zero line distortion
- The ink did not run/bleed at all
Wearingeul’s The Happy Prince ink held up quite well – especially if you’re not trying to go journaling in the rain.
Does The Happy Prince Ink Have Any Good Shading Traits?
The Happy Prince ink is a pastel blue shading to violet-blue; I’d describe it as having a little shading but not much.
Does The Happy Prince Have Any Sheening or Shimmering Traits?
Wearingeul The Happy Prince ink is one of their glistening inks (or shimmering; it’s just another word for the same property). During our review of the ink, we saw a good show of the golden shimmer, especially in the cotton swab swatch and normal dip pen use.
Final Conclusion: Wearingeul The Happy Prince Ink Review
After conducting all the standard ink review tests with The Happy Prince ink, I’d say it’s a very usable shimmer ink. The shimmer isn’t so heavy that you’ll have difficulty working with it or need to plan to use it with a very specific nib size (I’d prefer using it with a broad, stub, or wider nib, but this one seems to work fine with a medium nib, too). I like the unique pastel violet-blue shade paired with the gold shimmer. The shimmer is evident in writing, and as a bonus, the ink is quite good at withstanding any accidental exposure to water. If you’re looking for a blue ink with gold shimmer that isn’t your “typical” blue, I’d suggest taking a closer look at this Wearingeul Oscar Wilde The Happy Prince fountain pen ink. It’s a beauty that doesn’t conform to the typical standard (but then it IS inspired by The Happy Prince, so…)
