Sakura Gelly Roll Metallic Ink Gel Pen

The pack of Sakura Gelly Roll Metalic Gel pens was another by-product of my after meal trips to Michael's (aka my third home, my second home being CVS). When used with the 50% off coupon they issue occasionally (when they have it, it's usually for the whole week so I plan all of my above-5-buck purchases then), I managed to get the whole set for 8-9 dollars. Michael's is the best place to buy sets like that.

Each pen is slim and come with frosted plastic barrel that are easy to hold. There is matching lid with a clip that's more decorative than practical. Anyway, the pen is pretty enough to look at and very comfortable to hold (given that you don't use it to write for a period of time). As you can see from the tip, all the pen are quite wet/runny (for a gel pen) that not only the ink coats the tip. When it's writing, it also form a puddle on the start of each stroke and takes noticeably longer time to dry.

Why yes, there are two gold ones in the same pack.While these metallic Gelly Rolls are not the best pen for fancier daily writing (I mean, I take notes with lime green inks so this is not too far from that), the ink colors are fairly complex (the glitter gives a nice dimension to each colors and don't appear too chunky or tacky). Overall: They are very nice for adding accents to drawings and writing cards, not so much for writing (too wet/costly and too slippery).

Pilot G2 Ink Gel Pen - Rainbow Review

Does the world really need another review for the famous Pilot G2 Ink Gel pens? Not really but I will go ahead write one anyway. Anyway, I almost have a rainbow of those so I might as well talk about the shade difference a bit.

General information: The Pilot G2 Ink Gel Pens are around 1.5-2 bucks a piece and available in places like drugstores, Target, Walmart. Smaller drugstores offer slightly less color option (the black and blue are always there and I usually see some pink breast-cancer-money-grabbing corporate ones) while Target has more color available in pack. I buy (more like stock when they are on clearance) my normal colors from drugstores and got the "fancier" lime green and burgundy ones from Jetpens (it just seems much more economical compared to buying a whole pack).

The pen comes with tough clear plastic, firm color-matching clip and a cushy rubber grip. The darker ones (just the grip) can become a dust-magnet over time but otherwise the pens hold up really well under wear-and-tear. All six of my G2s are 0.7mm (I have seen finer and broader points available) and they are generally smooth and a easy-writer that's compatible (ie, not too wet or slippery) with my handwriting. However, there is some mild difference across the shades.

Black - This is the smoothest and wettest of the bunch (which means it's also slow drying/smear-prone and get used up more quickly than others). The black is nice and intense on normal paper but a little ball-point like (pale in the center dark on sides) on smoother, fountain-pen-friendly paper. 

Blue - More of a rich blue black with a tad bit of teal. Nicely shades and just a little drier thus more user friendly than the black. This is probably my most used pen-ink-combo before I rediscovered fountain pen.

 Green - Very even medium leaf green that's the perfect wetness (a little dryer than compared to the blue one so there is no mini pool of ink where the stroke starts). I would use it more often it the color is considered normal/official.

Lime Green - Crisp yellow green that's probably cleanest one (more confined/doesn't spread out as much as the other) and driest (relatively speaking). Personally, I found it easy-on-the-eye enough for daily writing and excellent for adding onto or underlining notes.

Burgundy - Another moderately dry/wet with good intensity. Due to the darker color, this seems more uniform in stroke intensity compared to as just as nice to use as the green one.

Red - This one has the lightest gel color that's see through from the tube, on the paper it's vibrant but not too light orangey-pinkish-red. This should be bright but reserved (not too loud) for grading/ self correcting school work. I imagine Diamine Strawberry ink would look something similar.

Packs available at Target (no burgundy available though). I think I will buy the purple/turquoise/pink/orange ones later, just to complete the set.

Writing sample of Pilot G2 - See how the black already smeared?

Uni Hello Kitty Style Fit Multi Pen - Holder & Refill

It seems that every year, Uni Mitsubishi would release a limited collection and this time, it's Hello Kitty! Given that the Japanese yen is going weak at the moment, there is not a better time to make some impulse purchase!

I ended up with two of these Uni Style Fit multi-pens (each takes 5 refills) holders and 7 refills (should have gone with 10 since the limited edition one are actually 50 cents cheaper). From the packaging, these cases are made in China (not Japan, as listed by Stationery Art) and intended for Japanese market only (yet it still made it to Singapore and Hong Kong). 

 The two models I picked are Pink Hearts (an impulse buy that I ended up liking more) and Dot Ribbon (reminds me of a childhood picture as I had a similar overall and a matching cat). The prints adheres very well and the finish is hard (not scratch-prone at all) and displays some very fine metallic glimmer. Anyway, the cases themselves are very solid and well worth the $2.6 price tag.

 The grip section of the pens is clear so it let you see the color of the refill. It's somewhat thick but still comfortable enough to hold. The limited edition refill (Japan-made and $ 0.99 each), which are only available in 7 shades (Red, Orange, Lime Green, Sky Blue, Blue, Black and Pink) are adorned with the Hello Kitty heads (both in the refill and outer packaging) which is super adorable (and admittedly a bit too much when used with the busy print on the holders)!

As for the refills, all of them are stiff (tip) and smooth (the rolling action), some shades are a little drier than the other. I experience no skipping or pooling. The two stand out shades are the red (which has a nice cherry tinge to it) and orange (bright, bold and juicy). As for the 0.5mm mechanical pencil...I still haven't found out how to advance it mid-writing. Am I suppose to take the grip out then push the spring?

Verdict: Grab them while you can!

Lastly, here is a little meme-y shout out for Stationery Art (In Chinese we would call that "The Conscience of the Industry"  业界良心),  who has lowered prices on new Japanese products.

Say hello to 25-dollar Pilot Prera (unfortunately, all sold out at the moment)  and $1.95 on Pilot Petit...

Marvey LePen Marker Pen - Green, Teal, Blue and Purple

We all know that after-meal walks burn calories, when you live within walking distance from Michael's, you will find out that the trips also work great at burning out your wallet... 

Occupying only a small shelf from the pen section of Micheal's, Marvy Le Pen marker pens first caught my eyes with their rainbow of bright colors and the slim-and-sleek design. As soon as I saw their place of origin (I mean, Japanese pens seldom go wrong for me), I knew they are the perfect items to use my coupons on. After several trips (thanks their one coupon use per day policy) and some online digging (because not all shades were available in store), I ended up with 6 of them that are on the medium-cool end of the spectrum. 

Olive Green - Brownish green that's a little lighter and greener than army green.

Green - Green with a blue lean, like a deeper shade of emerald

Teal - Seem like half-and-half blue green to me. A true teal maybe?

Sky Blue - Bright blue turquoise that looks just like Lamy Turquoise

Oriental Blue - Navy teal that reminds me of cloisonne beads (oriental indeed)

Amethyst Purple- Medium purple that has more of a blue lean. 

All six shades write with medium-high intensity and just-enough (not highlighter) brightness, which means they are not only good as accent colors, they also make good note-taking/journal writer. However, given Le Pen's slim size and lighter weight, it gets tiring after longer period of use. I understand that the built and the somewhat-loose silver clip (echoing with the silver name etched on the barrel) are part of its appeal so I don't hold them against the pen.

Back to the pen parts: These are are porous points with an OK-fine (around 0.5mm, which is just "normal" width of a pen to me) tips and whole plastic body that cannot be taken apart. The pens glide on the paper smoothly (so far) but I reckon someday they will dry out and/or break, due to the nature of the softer tips.

 They plastic are somewhat light weight and quite scratch-prone that not only they don't stay shiny/new-looking for long, there is already some chipping near the tips. I will deal with that part because it just means that the inside and outside of this non-refillable pen will break down around the same time (which is actually a good thing).

 Drawing sample with the Marvy Le Pen. Please note that I didn't come up with the pattern myself...It was circulated on Weibo (Chinese twitter)  but It could be from Japan...

Overall: Great price (it was $1.16 at Michael's after 40% off coupon and $1.15 at Jetpens), so-far-so-good reliable writer (they are dye based so I guess there is some water resistance?), wonderful little things to toss into bag.