Where to buy: iZods UK [Here]

Price: £14.50

Bottle size: 50ml

Price/ml: £0.29 (2dp)

Shading: Yes!

Sheening: No

Recommend?: This has become my favourite ink and absolutely yes. Get it. Update 28th June ’17 – This ink is still my favourite and I stand by how amazing it is.



Play along with me. Buy a bottle of ink for every dreadful sea related pun I make. The first bottle is a given because after reading, I can assure you’ll want to buy this ink:

Apparently this year, the famous Blue Monday (which typically occurs on the third Monday in the month of January) was the worst of the years since the formula was devised in 2005 and it was indeed something I felt. But it wasn’t bad – it was enjoyable. Why? Because I was using a blue ink – an AMAZING blue ink. So it was (good) Blue Monday for me this year. I’m going to tell you why this ink is absolutely phenomenal and I hope you’ll sea why (I’m so glad I got that out of my system).

For the United Inkdom meta review, I was sent the ‘sea’ Robert Oster signature inks. I have been fortunate enough to try out Deep Sea before, just as my teal ink fascination (perhaps that’s an understatement? Obsession?) was beginning to flourish. Along with the hype around Fire and Ice in the bloggersphere, it’s pretty safe to say that I went in with high expectations, especially as this ink is also a blue. From using Fire and Ice myself, I’d say that this ink is more saturated and a touch darker. Personally, I think Blue Sea blows Fire and Ice out of the water (ha).

Fire is hot, sure. But this ink is hotter.

I’m a blue guy. I think the number of blues I have in my collection outnumber other inks, though I’m not certain on this. However, I think what makes me think it’s a better shade than Fire & Ice is because I’m not one for sheen. Sure, it’s fun and interesting and cool, but it isn’t a necessity for me. Another colour, Majestic Blue, has very intense red sheen as well. So if you wanted a sheening blue, perhaps try those two. In terms of shading, I wouldn’t characterise it as Noodler’s Apache Sunset, Mont Blanc Irish Green or Diamine Autumn Oak (to name a few..) but it isn’t Diamine Orange which is incredibly flat and two dimensional. I adore conservative shading inks, so this is definitely one of the reasons I enjoy this ink.

In terms of shade, I would say that Blue Sea is definitely on the lighter side, but I wouldn’t call it a turquoise. For point of reference, it’s darker than Diamine Sapphire Blue. While I’ve been called out once before (namely as a result of my pedantic stance on the nomenclature of the Private Reserve inks I was reviewing a while back) so I hope I don’t rock the boat here, but I may as well mention that in comparison to other ‘sea’ inks, like Diamine Sargasso Sea, it is much much lighter, but more of a true blue in comparison to that of the greenish-blue, Caribbean Sea by Caran d’Ache. That’s my naming convention plug done for the review. Smooth sailing from here on out (I’m not even sorry). I would say it’s a more saturated, less.. Uh.. Paint like ink than Britannia’s Blue Waves. I never really realised how many sea-themed inks there are.

This is an ink that will beat any sinking feeling that you’ll experience on days like Blue Monday, so sail on over to iZods and pick up a bottle or two.. Or, uh, how many dreadful puns was that?

Pros:

The most beautiful ink ever

Performs well

Nicely saturated

Isn’t an excessive shader but you can definitely notice it

Cons:

Don’t be silly

Disclaimer: I was sent this ink in exchange for an honest review. All views and opinions expressed are my own.