4/19/2025

Moleskine Art Watercolour Pocket Notebook (black)

This is my first Moleskine. I now know  why people love these beauties.This notebook is specifically designed for watercolour and has a beautiful smooth 200gsm cold-pressed paper. The size is really pocket (3.5x5.5in = 9.53 x 1.91 x 14.35 cm), meaning that it can be easily carried in a small handbag or a large coat pocket for example. So, it's perfect for travelling or daily commute rides.
 
The cover is really good quality. The binding is fabulous and I can open the notebook fully flat. Besides, the stitching has no holes, so the paint doesn't bleed through them, like cheaper notebooks I own do. 
 
The 200 gsm (135lb) watercolour paper is smooth and a pleasure to work on. I use mixed media, with plenty of wet media, and these pages stand everything. I prep them with a coat of clear gesso to make them more resistant, but I own other journals where the gesso is not enough for the same use. So far, none of my paints, inks or watercolours has bled.  
 
I love the elastic band as the notebook tends to stay self-open after having the pages full open for a while, so, it helps correcting that. Also, it's necessary as most notebooks increase volume when fully painted. I'm not a fan of inner pockets placed looking towards the binding, like in this Moleskin, but it comes handy nevertheless. I miss the notebook having a bookmarking ribbon, something that I always like and use.
 
My notebook came with a quality control ticket in the pocket, something that I really appreciate. 
 
Any watercolour Moleskine is expensive, but I was lucky enough to grab this one heavily discounted. I often look up for catches like this on Amazon, so I was ready to 'shoot' when the sale popped up. 

Meeden Portable Paint Brush Washer (Large, 11D x 11W x 12.6H cms)

I have a similar small washer, which I love, and I was looking for a container as large as this one. However, I couldn't find anything affordable till I found this Meeden washer. 
 
This washer is as large as described on the Amazon product page, not less not more. It's made of good quality sturdy stainless steel and its design is perfect for indoors and outdoors, for acrylics and oils. 
 
I can carry this outdoors thanks to the handle and the locking system, which allows me to hermetically close the jar. Sometimes, I use it on its own, without its inner grate insert, and others with it. The grate is perfect to rub the brushes and help removing stuck paint. If left for a while, the solid parts of the paint deposit on the bottom, so I can empty the water and wipe out these solids with a napkin and dispose of it in the rubbish. 
 
The container box looks great and is really good quality, so it's perfect for gifting.

4/18/2025

Paul Rubens (Haiya) 8-pc Oil Pastels (Black)

This is a selection of black soft-oil pastel sticks to complement any Haiya set. This is one of the colours that I use the most; so, having an extra supply of them at an affordable price is paramount. Otherwise, I would have to replace them with other brands' sticks, which might or might not have the same properties or qualities. 
 
These oil pastels are buttery soft, like a lipstick, and very good quality. They spread, mix and blend well, but aren't as loaded with pigment as professional brands like Sennelier. Yet, one can't expect this to be the case due to the price tag. They can be blended with tissue paper, stumps, or my fingers, and can be used for layering and sgraffito. They're also great for finished touches in mixed media projects. I use fixatives on anything I put them on to prevent smudging and favour durability. 
 
The wrapping is around each stick should be re-designed. It looks good, but the information on them is barely visible or readable, like the opacity and pigments used on them.  I have learnt from artists' tests on YouTube that most of the Paul Rubens soft oil have great lighfastness, but I cannot see this reflected on the packaging leaflet or on the sticks wrapping paper info.
 
They come in a beautiful box, which makes them great for gifting.

FRESHIN 7W GU10 LED Light Bulb (Cool White)

This is a cool white LED light, equivalent to 60 Watts of a traditional bulb. The light projects well across the room and it really helps in the evening and early morning when using my computer. I prefer cool white lighting for studio and office settings as it doesn't make me sleepy.  I've had had this only for a couple of months, but so far so good. I wish they made it stronger so that the whole room could be lighted with just one bulb.
 
My bulb top arrived with some sort of gooey thing on it. It might be a return or a fabric fault, but it doesn't gave me a good impression.  

A bit pricey for just one piece, but I bought it just to try it out and see how it works in my place. Next time, I will buy the most affordable Freshin muti-packs.
 
MIND
This is not a dimmable bulb.

Lofee Coffee machine and counter mat (Dark grey, 40x60cm)

I have one of these on my kitchen counter top underneath my air-fryer and toaster. It's quite large and made of thick cushiony material that doesn't slide or move on its own like other mats I own do. It repels small crumbs or salt or pieces of food while other mats seem to attract them. It absorbs water well, liquids dry quickly and it's easy to clean. It also look great on the counter. I wish they made them twice the size. A bit pricey, but well worth it.

Paul Rubens (Haiya) 60-pack Soft Oil Pastels Set

Paul Rubens (HAIYA) Oil Pastels have been a discovery for me an have reignited my passion for this medium. I cannot afford Sennelier oil pastels, which are my favourite in the whole world, but also uber-expensive.  However, this Haiya set has many of the qualities I love in Sennelier minus the price tag. These pastels are really creamy and the colours are vibrant and beautiful. There is a large selection of browns, greens, blues, aquas, purples, reds, oranges and yellows, with a black and white added. On the contrary, there is a lack of pastel colours (another Haiya's set has those), grey and beige tones, and warm whites. They can be blended with tissue paper or my fingers, and used for layering, sgraffito and layering purposes. 

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.  

KOMPLEMENT Drawer mat, light grey patterned, 90x53 cm

This is a drawer mat made of stiff warm grey felt with a cute white pattern. It's very pretty. The mat back has tiny silicone dots so that it holds onto the surface you place it on. This size perfectly fits the Ikea Komplement drawers, but it can be easily cut to size to fit it in other drawers. 
 
I bought several of these to use them as drawer mats, floor mat (under a small storage unit) and to cover the inside of some large woven Ikea boxes.  and floor mats. Yes, I know, this was never designed as floor mat, but I have two of these underneath the translucent floor protector on which I have my swivel chair, and they look great as well and protect the floor without adding any bulk.   
 
DESIGNER IKEA of Sweden