Colorverse Lucky Galaxy Ink Review & Chromatography How-To

(Kimberly (she/her) took the express train down the fountain pen/stationery rabbit hole and doesn't want to be rescued. She can be found on Instagram @allthehobbies because there really are many, many hobbies!.)

As soon as Lauren Elliott, AKA FlygirlElliott and Lucky Star Pens posted about the latest addition to the Lucky Star Colorverse lineup, I knew I had to buy one, which is exactly what I did at the recent Baltimore Pen Show. Colorverse Lucky Galaxy is the third exclusive release for Lucky Star Pens and was created to celebrate its 3rd anniversary. The prior two releases were Lucky Star and Lucky Star II. Like the other two before it, Lucky Galaxy is a shimmer ink, or what Colorverse calls “Glistening”. The ink comes in a 30ml glass bottle and sells for $20.

The 3 Colorverse x Lucky Star Pens inks: Lucky Star, Lucky Star II and Lucky Galaxy.

I inked up my trusty TWSBI Go with a Medium nib and used that for the writing samples on the Col-O-Ring cards. For the other writing samples, I used the Kakimori steel dip nib with 52 gsm and 68 gsm Tomoe River and Cosmo Air Light 75 gsm papers.

In large swatches, Lucky Galaxy leans more red than pink.

Writing sample on 52 gsm Tomoe River paper.

68 gsm TR.

Cosmo Air Light 75 gsm paper.

In the writing samples, the pink is more pronounced.

The shimmer is there but not in-your-face, which I like.

The turquoise/blue shimmer can make it look kind of blurple but what you see near the nib is the real ink color.

Lucky Star Galaxy had an average flow when writing but definitely took a while to dry on 68gsm TR. Dry times may be a bit slower on 52gsm TR or faster on papers like Rhodia, copy paper, Cosmo Air Light or with drier or finer nibs. The ink has blue/turquoise shimmer, minimal shading and no sheen.

Inks similar to Lucky Galaxy are Diamine Pink Glitz (gold shimmer), Diamine 2019 Inkvent (Blue Edition) Candy Cane (no shimmer), Sailor Ink Studio 731 (no shimmer but gold sheen), Colorverse #49 Felicette (no shimmer), and Diamine 2021 Inkvent (Red Edition) Pink Ice (silver shimmer.)

While I have similarly colored inks in my collection, it’s not often that non-gold or silver shimmer is used so I’m glad that Lucky Galaxy has a different shimmer. This ink sells for $20 per 30ml bottle on the Lucky Star Pens website, which is about the perfect amount for a bottle of ink.

BUT WAIT! There’s more!! Just when you thought this article was over, it’s not over!! I thought I’d share something new that I decided to do for ink reviews - chromatography! Basically, chromatography is a way to show the various components of a mixture (in this case, ink) as different parts get drawn up the strip via capillary action at different rates. As it relates to ink, this means chromatography allows you to see the colors that make up the ink.

What you need to do ink chromatography

• Chromatography strips - You can find them on Amazon - the ones I have (which are out of stock) are about 6” x 0.75”. I have not tried these personally but I have heard that white coffee filters (cut into strips) or even paper towels, can be used in lieu of chromatography strips.
• Cup - I use glass so there is no risk of staining if I accidentally get ink in there
• Rod - A chopstick, slim pen/pencil, wooden dowel, or in this case, a paintbrush, will work
• Clip - You will need a clip to secure the strip. I use binder clips because I can suspend the strip from the rod.

Wine glass (cuz I’m bougie that way), binder clip, chromatography strip, paintbrush.

How to do ink chromatography

1. Put some water in your glass
2. Depending on how tall your glass is and how much water you put in it, you may need to trim your strips or add/remove some water. You want the strip to touch the water a bit but you don’t want to submerge the ink.

Strip is on the outside of the glass so I can see if it will touch the water.

3. Draw a line across the strip about ½” from the bottom (does not need to be exact.)

Testing this outside the glass so I can add/remove water as needed.

4. Put the rod through the binder clip and rest it on the glass such that the strip touches the water, then you wait.

You can see the ink line is above the water line and is already beginning to “move up.”

Roughly 4 minutes in.

I waited until 5 minutes when the ink “stopped moving” before removing it from the glass. Duration of wait time will vary based on how quickly the ink is separating up the strip. If you wait too long, the colors may get too diluted and be harder to detect.

Letting the strip dry on a paper towel (no, those aren’t blood stains, just Lucky Galaxy!)

Closeup reveals a hint of shimmer at the base where I drew the line and basically pink ink throughout.

Contrast that with a multi-shading ink (or chromashader) like Sailor Manyo Fuji which shows shades of magenta/pink and blue, with a bit of yellow above the pink.

While chromatography isn’t necessary to enjoy inks, it is a fun way to see how similarly colored inks may have underlying differences that aren’t as noticeable in writing samples or ink swatches. I can’t wait to see my future ink chromatographies.

(Disclaimer: I purchased Lucky Galaxy ink at regular price from Lauren Elliott at the 2023 Baltimore Pen Show.)

Nebula by Colorverse Casual A5 Notebook Review

The Nebula by Colorverse Casual A5 notebook is a sleek spiral-bound notebook that really checks a lot of boxes. You probably know Colorverse from their amazing inks, and they know what it takes to pair a good ink with good paper.

The notebook is one of the most minimalist designs I've seen lately. The front and back cover are a thin cardstock with almost nothing printed on them. The front cover has a few stars in the upper right corner to add a little flair, and the back cover has some manufacturing information on the notebook. The inside covers are both blank, and there are no pockets or sleeves. The stars on the front cover are so easy to miss that it's delightful when the light catches them in a way that draws in your attention.

The double spiral binding is strong and easy to turn through the pages (meaning the pages don't clog up in the spiral binding when you turn through several pages). A good spiral notebook is hard to ignore given how they can lay absolutely flat, but this never stops me from buying notebooks with perfect binding. The covers are lightweight and sturdy, but they wouldn't put up with much abuse. The rounded corners make it easy to slip in and out of a bag or pouch without anything snagging, which is good since you'll most likely only carry this inside something to protect the cover and spiral binding.

The paper inside the notebook is an off-white color, but not close to ivory or cream paper. Each page is perforated, making it easy to cleanly remove pages. The 90gsm paper makes for a fantastic writing experience. It's a smooth paper with a small amount of tactile feedback when writing. If there's a coating on the surface, I can't tell it's there. Ink behaves really well on the paper, which makes me really happy since an ink company put their name on this notebook. There isn't any feathering or bleeding, and show-through to the back of the page is impressively minimal. The back pages are definitely useful even when using wetter/broader nibs. The version I have is lined paper, but you can also get dot grid and blank. No matter what version of the paper you choose, you get 120 pages of this delicious 90gsm paper.

At $15, the Nebula Casual A5 notebook is a great value. It performs exceedingly well and really holds its own with other more established paper products. This isn't just a gimmick notebook to cash in some extra profits — this is a fantastic notebook that was made by (and for) people that understand what makes a great writing experience. I highly recommend picking one up when you have a chance. If orange isn't your thing, you can also find turquoise, baby pink, black, navy, and green.

(Goldspot provided this product at no charge to The Pen Addict for review purposes.)

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Colorverse Eye on the Universe Season 7: eXtreme Deep Field and NGC 1850 Review

(Jeff Abbott is a regular contributor at The Pen Addict. You can find more from Jeff online at Draft Evolution and Twitter.)

Colorverse is an ink company in South Korea that is well-known for their innovative inks that draw inspiration from space. I've always enjoyed seeing the collections they come up and reading about the source material from different space programs. The latest ink pairing I've had a chance to try out is from the seventh season of Eye on the Universe. These inks are inspired by findings from the Hubble Telescope, which is particularly interesting to me since I have family members that worked on the Hubble program at NASA. And, just like every other Colorverse ink I've tried, these don't disappoint!

This collection is made of two inks: eXtreme Deep Field and NGC 1850. The former is a deep teal with red sheen, and the latter is a dark teal with a silver shimmer material. As a pair, they look great together and seem to be based on the same deep teal color. I'm blown away by how many little surprises are tucked away in both inks.

With both inks, they are incredibly dark and somewhat boring when wet. I was a little disappointed by both until I gave the ink a few seconds to dry, and then I was blown away by what I saw. The eXtreme Deep Field has a dark red sheen that isn't shy at all as long as you find the right viewing angle. The NGC 1850 is even more stunning after it dries. The shimmering silver bits are hard to miss, but it's the stunning variation from dark teal to lighter teal and even some purple sheen that make this ink pop. When I made the first swatch with this ink, I accidentally created a piece of art that reminds me of a nebula photo. Such beautiful colors and shades! The shimmer on top looks like distant stars. Needless to say, I'm in love with this ink.

While both inks swab and swatch really well, they're a little less interesting when writing with them in normal nibs. I still enjoy using them, but you can't really see the full potential of these inks without using a large nib or just brushing this stuff all over the paper. It's just gorgeous and I'm a little bummed that it doesn't come out more easily in normal writing.

Gripes aside, both inks perform beautifully. They're incredibly wet and well-lubricated inks, making the writing experience really smooth. They dry fairly quickly at the 15-20 second mark, but I doubt they'll work well for left-handed writers.

Both inks have a fair bit of shading, which comes out easily in larger nibs (anything medium and above). The red sheen of the eXtreme Deep Field comes out easily in areas where the ink pools, adding a good deal of visual interest to your writing. The NGC 1850 is a beautiful dark teal with plenty of silvery shimmers on top that instantly grab your attention. It's also worth noting that I didn't have to shake the NGC 1850 bottle prior to filling the pen to ensure I got plenty of shimmer materials. I filled a pen both unshaken and shaken and the writing results were identical.

Both inks take a little bit of work to clean out of your pen's feed assembly. It took a few flushes of clean water until the water coming out of the nib and feed ran clear. It wasn't the most difficult ink to clear out of a pen, but it definitely wasn't the easiest. This should bode well for the longevity of the ink once it's dried on paper!

The eXtreme Deep Field ink comes in a 65ml bottle and the NGC 1850 comes in an adorable 15ml bottle. I wish they were both the same size — maybe a 30ml bottle each? Either way, 15ml will still go a long way, and I'm sure I'll get plenty of enjoyment out of this shimmery beauty.

The set costs $36, but you can normally find these on sale for a few bucks less. If you're interested in space exploration, NASA, or just interesting ink combinations, I highly recommend this set. It's a dark and mysterious combo that makes me smile every time I use it.

(Goldspot provided this product at no charge to The Pen Addict for review purposes.)

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Enjoy reading The Pen Addict? Then consider becoming a member to receive additional weekly content, giveaways, and discounts in The Pen Addict shop. Plus, you support me and the site directly, for which I am very grateful.

Membership starts at just $5/month, with a discounted annual option available. To find out more about membership click here and join us!