Diamine Inkvent 2023: Day 6 — Bucks Fizz
Day 6!
Hello everyone! For day six of Diamine Inkvent, we have Bucks Fizz.
The color/properties:
Bucks Fizz is another chameleon ink. It’s a type of shimmering ink with particulates that are supposed to change color depending on the lighting and angle at which you’re viewing the ink. At least, that’s what it’s supposed to do. I didn’t notice much of a color shift in Bucks Fizz. I promise I tried very hard to see anything other than a gold shimmer. On multiple occasions, I found myself checking the bottle to make sure I was reading “chameleon” correctly. After doing the droplets, I did see a hint of blue or green, but even then, it wasn’t the easiest thing to see regardless of the lighting I was in.
The base color is a light/almost coral orange. It has a moderate intensity and it offers a high degree of shading. There’s a lot of contrast between its varying shades, and there’s a crisp and clear cut where the ink pools, emphasizing the effect even further.
*Please note that the scan is the accurate representation of this color.
Rhodia
Leuchtturm
How did it perform?
Bucks Fizz performed well. The flow was on the drier side, but I didn’t experience any clogs or stops. Dry flow aside, it was still lubricated enough to not feel unpleasant while writing. The shimmer distribution was consistent, but there wasn’t a lot of it. I suspect that has something to do with why the chameleon effect was so difficult to see.
Cleaning Bucks Fizz was disappointing. The color washed out easily enough, but it left a reflective film along the inside of the barrel, similar to what I experienced with Day 4’s Masquerade (pictured below). It required the pen to be disassembled and scrubbed for it to be clear again.
An example of the haze left behind in the pen
Ink splat
Ink droplets
My personal thoughts…
Bucks Fizz was going to be an instant buy for me. I was so excited to get this ink in a test pen. I love the color, and the inconsistent chameleon effect doesn’t bother me — it’s good regardless. It’s an awesome ink, and one that I would have used regularly, but the film that was left over inside the pen after cleaning really sours the experience. Much like Masquerade from Day 4, I could still see myself buying a whole bottle of this, but I’m not as decided as I was when I first swatched it.
Written in a Leuchtturm1917 notebook
More Images/Info:
Tools and materials used in the writing samples:
A TWSBI Diamond 580 AL with 3 nib units including a Fine, Medium, and Broad. All nibs are tuned to perform at the same wetness.
A Rhodia No16 A5 DotPad
A Leuchtturm1917 A5 Notebook
Scan of the writing sample