The
opacity of the colours is shown on the stick wrapping. However, it is
in diminutive size and I had to use a magnifying lens to see it
properly. Some of the sticks and colours are opaque, others translucent,
and others semi. The pigments used for each stick are also displayed on
the wrapping. As my set most of it written in Chinese ain't sure if the
lighfastness is mentioned in Mandarin. There
is no indication of it on the accompanying leaflet. However, I've browsed the web and there seems to be an agreement among artists that these pastels have a good level of lightfastness.
THE TEST
I tried them in two rough sketches I did on two pre-gessoed craft tags (not on pastel-purpose paper) just to check their pigmentation and blendability. These pastels are a pleasure to work with. The creaminess is not only yummy and satisfying, but it also favours colour spread and mixing. I used simple average tissue serviettes as blenders and they did the job really well. The colours are gorgeous, but they lack a bit of more pigment in them, something that's understandable due to the price tag. The pointy tips really help drawing an outlining. The colours mix well with each other. I used them to make a clean image and a impressionist textured one and worked well in both cases. I will try them on pastel paper and will edit this review in the future if necessary.
I used a permanent fixative when I finished the sketches and, before that, a workable fixative to allow me to keep working on them without the fear of smudging what I had already done.
Overall, a wonderful set of good quality pastel oils that are good replacement to Sennelier if you cannot afford the latter.
