(Sarah Read is an author, editor, yarn artist, and pen/paper/ink addict. You can find more about her at her website and on Twitter. And check out her latest book, Out of Water, now available where books are sold!)
There's yet another lovely shade from our Australian rainbow of inks! Robert Oster Cosmic Swirl is a charming shade of purple that is somehow different from the alarming number of purples I already have in my swab collection.
This is a lovely cool violet with blue undertones that come out in the chromatography. It's not a complex color, but it's a really nice tone that feels very fresh and nicely seasonal as we move from spring into summer.
This ink shows some pretty shading, from a very soft purple, to a more saturated tone, then showing its blue features where it pools, giving it a 3-color shade that is super difficult to photograph. There is a touch of bronze sheen, but only where I literally dumped ink on the page. I did not see any come out in writing.
It doesn't feel dry when writing, but it isn't a wet ink, either. It's a nice happy medium. It does have a fast dry time, though, between 15 and 20 seconds.
In the water drop test, it does show a slight resistance to water. It's not impervious at all, but I can still see my lines even where the water sat for a bit before I wiped it away.
While I'd consider this a fairly pale color, it's saturated enough that I don't have any trouble reading text in it, even in dim light. That hits a nice sweet spot for me, as I enjoy the soft colored inks, but I'm often writing at night, or trying to type my manuscripts in low light.
I think this is a great staple purple for people who are looking for a shade that isn't too pink. While it definitely has some blue tones, it isn't too blue, either. As far as comparisons go, I think it is closest to Iroshizuku Murasaki Shikibu, but doesn't layer as dark. This color stays fairly soft even where it's concentrated, which is unique in my purple universe.
I think Robert Oster offers some of the best purples out there (and probably also the most purples out there). This is another great one that I think will excite a lot of people looking for the perfect purple.
(JetPens provided this product at no charge to The Pen Addict for review purposes.)
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