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Ahh glitter. We all love it. We all hate it. We love the shine and the sparkle. We all hate that we find it everywhere for days after we've used it. But that won't stop us. We gotta have our glitter. At least I do. Glitter, glitter, glitter. Love it!
For today's review, I'll be doing a comparison between the clear Wink of Stella Glitter Brush Pen and the Spectrum Noir Sparkle Pen in Crystal Clear Overlay.
I'm going to show you a comparison of each pen and then a comparison of the results that I found.
On the left we have the Wink of Stella Clear and on the right is the Clear Spectrum Noir Sparkle pen.
In my area, I have found both pens to be accessible for purchase individually. I know that the Spectrum Noir pen can be purchased in a 3-pack on line, but I haven't seen that in my art stores.
Both pens have a brush tip and a squeezable barrel, both have click on caps to protect from damage or leaking (unless you squash it, then it'll probably leak all over. But that's on the user, not the design)
Clear Wink of Stella:
- Brush Tip
- Small narrow tip - ideal for those tough spaces
- Clear liquid
- Smooth application
- Glitter appears to be gold when held in the light
- White barrel - if you hold it up to a light you can see approximately how much is left
- Can be taken apart and filled with water and used as a regular brush pen after the glitter is gone
- Requires several passes to make the area really sparkle
Spectrum Noir Crystal Clear Overlay:
- Brush Tip
- Larger brush - less ideal for tiny spaces
- Clear liquid
- Smooth application
- Glitter appears to be iridescent when held in the light
- Black barrel - unable to see approximately how much is left
- Larger barrel - sounds like it holds more liquid
- Can be taken apart and filled with water and used as a regular brush pen after the glitter is gone
- Very thin liquid - do not squeeze this barrel over your project
For comparison I used this cute stamp from MFT's "Beary Special Birthday" I only applied glitter to the orange area, the portion of the bow on the box was also covered with Glossy Accents by Ranger. The paper is my usual 110lb Copic-friendly cardstock. The image is stamped with Memento Tuxedo Black ink and coloured with Copic markers.
I wanted to include this image as well, I wanted to show it in my usual lighting, this is the spot in my art room where I usually take photos of my projects, before they are posted to my blog.
Comparative Thoughts:
- While both give off great sparkle, I found the Spectrum Noir really shined. It is picked up better by the camera, I needed fewer passes over an area to get the sparkle I wanted, and the glitter appears to actually be clear, while the Wink of Stella glitter had a golden shimmer to it.
- Both need to be squeezed after opening to get them flowing. The liquid in the Spectrum Noir is very thin and after only a light amount of pressure it was dripping off the brush. Do not squeeze this over a project. I cannot stress this enough.
- I've mentioned before that I have arthritis in my hand so the larger barrel of the Spectrum Noir is more comfortable, that being said the Wink of Stella is not uncomfortable, but there is a noticeable difference in size - if you have gripping issues this may be something to consider.
- In my area (and this will differ based on where you purchase your supplies) I found the pens to be similarly priced. And even that difference varied by store.
Overall, I like both pens and think that both have their place in the craft room. In terms of super shiny-sparkliness the Spectrum Noir wins for me. I feel the quality for the amount I spent on it is excellent and the final result is more glitter. Yay Glitter.
If you are doing smaller areas that require more detailed application - I'd recommend the Wink of Stella, the difference in brush size my not look like much in the pictures but in actual use there is definitely an advantage to having the smaller brush tip.
In the end, the choice you make is up to you depending on what you are looking for in your glitter pen and the project that you are working on. For myself, I will continue to stock both pens in my art room as I have a need for both.
I hope you like today's review. If you haven't all ready, please follow me over on the right side bar, if you are viewing this via mobile device, scroll to the bottom and click "View web version" first. You can also follow me over on Facebook. If you have any questions about these pens, or have a suggestion for a future review please toss me a line in the comments section below. I would love to hear from you.
*Disclaimer: I am not sent products for review, nor am I paid to review them. I review the products that I find interesting and that I purchase myself, with my own money and I receive no incentive, reward or payment to do so. All reviews are based off of my personal experiences with the products.
