Welcome to the second post of 25 Days of Dupes 2025. Below you’ll find the inks for days 5-11. If you have a suggestion for a possible dupe for any of these inks, let me know in the comments, and I’ll add it to the wrap up post.
HEAD’S UP: An ink sample arrived a couple of days after posting week 1 that better matches Energy. Check out the update.
View Reminders
- You can click the images to view them larger.
- I swatched each ink with a small (#2) paintbrush and wrote with a F Sailor Compass Hocoro Dip Pen.
- The dilution pages show the sheening inks diluted with water in single-part steps. I started with just the ink, then 1:1 ink to water, then 1:2, etc.
- While I try to edit the images so they look as close to real life as possible, I can’t guarantee that the color you see on your screen will be true to life. However, with all the dupes on the same page, you’ll see how the colors look in relation to each other, which is the main point of these posts.
- I can’t fairly call any ink a perfect color match, as I’m not comparing them scientifically, I’m just using my eyes. Therefore, I won’t be going any further than calling an ink a “near-perfect color match.”
- I’m not attempting to dupe the special properties of the inks — sheen, shimmer, scent — only the base color.
Enjoy, and happy inking!
Jump to a day: Marie Rose | ⇣ Fir & Fog | ⇣ Blush | ⇣ Dream Catcher | ⇣ Bittersweet | ⇣ Nostalgia | ⇣ Brrr!
Marie Rose
Classification: Standard| Color: Brown
Marie Rose is an orangeish brown, one of those oddities that will look orange if you swatch it with the browns, but look brown if you swatch it with the oranges.
Dupe status: Fail
Closest Match: Robert Oster Whiskey, diluted 1:1 with water
I compared Marie Rose to:
- Colorverse Hahoe Mask – not orange enough and too muted
- Robert Oster Whiskey (diluted 1.5:1, ink to water) – too vibrant
- Robert Oster Whiskey (diluted 1:1) – slightly too vibrant
- Graf von Faber-Castell Cognac Brown – too brown and too dark
- Tono + Lims Old Book – too brown and too dark
- Wearingeul Chaac – too pink and slightly too pale
- Dominant Industry Unknown Land – too brown and also, somehow, too yellow
- Troublemaker Sepia Hour – too purple and slightly too pale
- Colorverse Ginkgo Leaf (diluted 1:2) – too yellow
Jump to a day: ⇡ Marie Rose | Fir & Fog | ⇣ Blush | ⇣ Dream Catcher | ⇣ Bittersweet | ⇣ Nostalgia | ⇣ Brrr! | ⤒ Back to Top
Fir & Fog
Classification: Chameleon| Color: Muted green with multichrome shimmer
Fir & Fog is a grayish-green that shades to dark green. It’s another “oddity;” if swatched among grays it would look too green, but swatched among greens it looks too gray. Its shimmer shifts from green to pale blue to pink.
Dupe status: Fairly close color match
Closest Match: Ferris Wheel Press Spruce County Post
I compared Fir & Fog to:
- Jacques Herbin Vert Atlantide – too green and slightly too pale
- Birmingham Pen Co Pondweed – too blue and slightly too pale
- Wearingeul King Lear – too yellow and too pale
- Ferris Wheel Press Spruce County Post – slightly too green in the swatch, the writing sample is a close match
- Robert Oster Muddy Swamp – too blue and too pale
- Octopus Fluids Write & Draw Green Squirrel – too green
Jump to a day: ⇡ Marie Rose | ⇡ Fir & Fog | Blush | ⇣ Dream Catcher | ⇣ Bittersweet | ⇣ Nostalgia | ⇣ Brrr! | ⤒ Back to Top
Blush
Classification: Standard| Color: Muted pink
Blush is a muted pink. It can shade to a deep pink, but needs a lot of ink to do so.
Dupe status: Fairly close color matches
Closest Matches: Laban Aphrodite Pink and Colorverse Brunch Date
I compared Blush to:
- J. Herbin Rouille d’Ancre – slightly too orange and slightly too pale
- Diamine Wilted Rose – too brown
- Scribo Rosa Antico – too brown and too pale
- Laban Aphrodite Pink – too vibrant and slightly too dark
- Diamine Masquerade – slightly too purple and too dark
- Colorverse Brunch Date – slightly too brown and slightly too pale
Jump to a day: ⇡ Marie Rose | ⇡ Fir & Fog | ⇡ Blush | Dream Catcher | ⇣ Bittersweet | ⇣ Nostalgia | ⇣ Brrr! | ⤒ Back to Top
Dream Catcher
Classification: Extreme Sheen| Color: Blue
Dream Catcher is a royal blue that leans slightly turquoise — where you can see the color — completely overshadowed by a magenta sheen unless you limit the amount of ink put down. As with most “sheen monster” inks, it’s prone to smudging.
Dupe status: Success
Closest Match: Diamine Cosmic Glow
I compared Dream Catcher to:
- Diamine Majestic Blue – a near-perfect color match, without the sheen
- Organics Studio Ralph Waldo Emerson – slightly too green
- Diamine Skull and Roses – too blue, sheen is too orange
- Diamine Cosmic Glow – near-perfect match, right down to the magenta sheen that obliterates the base ink color
- Diamine Ruby Blues – slightly too blue, sheen is slightly too orange
Dilution
Dream Catcher showed up as more teal on the Airmail paper, but it took a 1:3 dilution ratio to see any significant amount of the color. Even at a 1:5 ratio, you still get sheen along the edges, but you do start to see some change to the ink color. I’d advise going with a 1:4 or 1:5 ratio if you aren’t a sheen lover.
Jump to a day: ⇡ Marie Rose | ⇡ Fir & Fog | ⇡ Blush | ⇡ Dream Catcher | Bittersweet | ⇣ Nostalgia | ⇣ Brrr! | ⤒ Back to Top
Bittersweet
Classification: Standard| Color: Green
Bittersweet is a green that leans toward teal; some would call it seafoam. It wants to be a multishader, with hints of yellow appearing where a lot of ink pools.
Dupe status: Successful color match
Closest Match: Anderillium Luna Moth Green
I compared Bittersweet to:
- Colorverse Danoje Festival – slightly too blue
- Sailor Ink Studio 160 – slightly too blue
- Wearingeul Pinocchio – near-perfect color match, contains gold shimmer
- Anderillium Luna Moth Green – slightly too dark in the swatch, writing sample is a near-perfect color match
Jump to a day: ⇡ Marie Rose | ⇡ Fir & Fog | ⇡ Blush | ⇡ Dream Catcher | ⇡ Bittersweet | Nostalgia | ⇣ Brrr! | ⤒ Back to Top
Nostalgia
Classification: Chameleon| Color: Purple with multichrome shimmer
Nostalgia is a grungy purple that leans heavily toward brown. Its shimmer shifts from pink to orange to gold.
Dupe status: Successful color match
Closest Match: Colorverse Egg Cockle
I compared Nostalgia to:
- Diamine Seize the Night – too brown and too blue
- Robert Oster Pink Squirrel – too pink
- Colorverse Egg Cockle – slightly too purple in the swatch; writing sample is a near-perfect color match
Jump to a day: ⇡ Marie Rose | ⇡ Fir & Fog | ⇡ Blush | ⇡ Dream Catcher | ⇡ Bittersweet | ⇡ Nostalgia | Brrr! | ⤒ Back to Top
Brrr!
Classification: Pigment Shimmer (Pigment Chameleon)| Color: Pale Blue
Brrr! could be considered either a pale blue or a turquoise. Officially, it is listed as a pigment shimmer ink, but the shimmer shifts from turquoise to a pinky-purple. Of note: the shimmer is more subtle than other shimmers in this Inkvent
Dupe status: Close color match
Closest Match: Taccia Fukaki Hanada
I compared Brrr! to:
- Inkebara Giant Blue – too dark
- Taccia Fukaki Hanada – near-perfect color match, shades darker
- Wearingeul Alice – too pale, shades to pink
Jump to a day: ⇡ Marie Rose | ⇡ Fir & Fog | ⇡ Blush | ⇡ Dream Catcher | ⇡ Bittersweet | ⇡ Nostalgia | ⇡ Brrr! | ⤒ Back to Top
What was your favorite color from this week? Did I miss any potential dupes? Let me know in the comments! I’d love to hear from you.
Thanks for reading to the end, I hope you enjoyed my post. Make sure to subscribe to my blog or follow me on Instagram so you don’t miss any posts. I generally post at least once a week.
