Here are all the inks from the 2023 Inkvent!

In this year’s calendar, we got inks from five different series: Standard (7), Shimmer (6), Chameleon (9), and Scent (2). Additionally, a (sort of) new series was introduced – Star Bright (1) – which turned out to be a shimmer ink with an extra dose of shimmer. That is to say, this was an excellent calendar for those who appreciate shimmer inks – a total of 16 inks contained some form of shimmer.

Surprisingly, there were no Sheening inks, as there have been previous years, although several inks still displayed some sheen.

The paper used in all these pictures is Tomoe River, allowing the inks to truly showcase their best features.

The color distribution in this year’s Inkvent was quite varied, which I liked:

• 1 black (Astral)
• 1 gray (Moon Beam)
• 1 yellow (Fortune’s Gold)
• 2 orange (Buck’s Fizz and reddish orange Fireside Snug)
• 2 red (Tinsel and burgundy Bah Humbug)
• 3 pinkish (Cashmere Rose, Masquerade, and Sweet Dreams)
• 3 brown (Walnut, Cinnabun, and indeterminate, pink-brown-green Weeping Willow)
• 3 green (Merry & Bright, Sugar Snap, and teal Velvet Emerald)
• 4 blue (Early Dusk, Nightfall, Glacier, and Blizzard)
• And a whopping 5 purple inks (Jacaranda, Rainbow’s End, Lavender Frost, Tranquility, and Raise a Glass)!

I found my favorites among the standard inks (e.g., Early Dusk, Jacaranda, Fireside Snug) and among the most extravagant chameleon inks (e.g., Bah Humbug, Astral, Tranquility). Unlike last year, I found the scent in both scented inks to be okay, but I found them both excessively wet and feathering.

As usual, I did not enjoy the too dry or too light inks, and several of these I will never use again. However, I appreciate good flowing inks and/or inks with significant shading.

I am reasonably pleased with this year’s calendar. The colors are relatively varied, and I will revisit several of the inks later. However, 16 out of 25 inks with some form of shimmer may be a bit too much for some people.

Liv Mogstad Strickert is a regular contributor to Pennen er mektigere and will be posting daily ink reviews of Diamine’s Inkvent 2023 in December.