Inky Madness – Diamine

This post is inspired by Theresa is Dead‘s video Why Picking ONE Blush from 32 Is the Most Dramatic Thing You’ll Watch Today! I thought it would be a lot of fun to narrow down my top ink of any given brand. Because I own the most Diamine inks, I decided to start there.

I started this bracket with colors as similar as possible to make the early choices a bit more fair/even. As I decide between any two given inks, I’m looking at my swatch book. Forgive me for not including pictures of the swatches, but I don’t have time right now to photograph and edit 44 images. I have, however, provided links to ink reviews for each ink.

Disclaimer: I pulled images from several sites to have isolated photos of each bottle: JetPens, Mann Inc Ltd, Vanness Pen Shop, Flax Pen to Paper, Cult Pens, and some Reddit posts.

Jump to a round: Round 2 | Round 3 | Round 4 | Ultimate Winner | Full Bracket

Round 1

As with any bracket, I started with all 44!! inks I own bottles of.

Blood Orange vs Matador

Oooh, this one is pretty easy. While Blood Orange is a lovely orangey-red, Matador is my favorite solid red ink ever, so it wins.

Winner: Matador

Fire Embers vs Poppy Red

This one is significantly harder. It’s basically the previous battle but with brighter inks. Poppy Red was one of my first ink loves, but Fire Embers is a richer color. I prefer the hint of orange over the hint of pink.

Winner: Fire Embers

Sailor’s Warning vs Tinsel

This one is almost unfair. Sailor’s Warning — renamed to Red Sky, but I prefer its original name — has a fantastic blue/purple shimmer and shades beautifully. In contrast, Tinsel has a fairly common rose gold shimmer and doesn’t shade much at all.

Winner: Sailor’s Warning

Cashmere Rose vs Wistful Watermelon

This one is hard, too, as these two are significantly different. Wistful Watermelon is significantly brighter, usually my preference. But, Cashmere Rose is a beautifully muted ink that shades like crazy. I’m going to give this one to Cashmere Rose.

Winner: Cashmere Rose

Peach Punch vs Petra

Peach Punch is pretty, and vibrant. However, Petra has significantly more character, and shades like crazy.

Winner: Petra

Buck’s Fizz vs Launch

I’m sorry to Launch, as it’s a lovely orange ink. But, Buck’s Fizz has shading and shimmer. Launch never stood a chance.

Winner: Buck’s Fizz

Deep Dark Orange vs Golden Honey

Deep Dark Orange is such a beautiful, rich color. But Golden Honey has better shading. And, as you’ve likely noticed by now, that carries a lot of weight with me.

Winner: Golden Honey

Amber vs Marigold

Amber does have more shading than Marigold. However, Marigolds have a special importance in Mexican culture, and I specifically purchased this ink for use in my Día de Muertos pens. So, it wins.

Winner: Marigold

Fortune’s Gold vs Machu Picchu

Fortune’s Gold is pretty, but it’s a greenish-gold — whereas I prefer more orangey golds — and it doesn’t really shade much at all. Machu Picchu, on the other hand, has significant amounts of shading, and is a gorgeous yellow-green.

Winner: Machu Picchu

Kelly Green vs Sugar Snap

Oh no, another tough one. Kelly Green is both vibrant and shades beautifully, more so than Sugar Snap. But, Sugar Snap is such a pretty color, and has shimmer. Falling back on my ink battle ratings, Kelly Green wins on lightness and gets a bonus points for shading; Sugar Snap wins on hue and gets a bonus point for shimmer. They tie on saturation. That’s not helpful. I feel like I should give Kelly Green the win since I’ve had the ink much longer, but I want to give it to Sugar Snap. Update: I gave the win to Sugar Snap, but by the time I got to Sugar Snap in round 2, I changed my mind. I know it’s cheating, but I’ve come back to give the win to Kelly Green

Winner: Kelly Green

Mistletoe vs The Great Wall of China

I can hardly believe I’m saying this, but Mistletoe easily falls to The Great Wall of China. The latter is my favorite kind of muted green and it has some multishading.

Winner: The Great Wall of Chine

Celadon Cat vs Chichen Itza

This one is also really hard. Celadon Cat with its hint of green just wins for hue Chichen Itza over Chichen Itza’s muted blue. They tie for saturation, and for lightness. Both get a bonus point for some shading, and a bonus point for some hints of multishading, Celadon Cat to gray and Chichen Itza to purple. These two are really well matched, but Celadon Cat just wins.

Winner: Celadon Cat

Eau de Nil vs Platinum Jubilee

These two are very different. Both Eau de Nil and Platinum Jubilee are gorgeous colors with significant shading. Platinum Jubilee has shimmer, but Eau de Nil has some lovely character. And I’ve loved Eau de Nil for so long I feel like it should get a bonus point for service. I’m giving the win to Eau de Nil

Winner: Eau de Nil

Presidential Blue vs Tudor Blue

I really want to give this to Tudor Blue, since I love the Tudor era. But, Presidential Blue is such a great blue. I use it frequently, and it shades well. I need to be honest and give it the win.

Winner: Presidential Blue

Prussian Blue vs Taj Mahal

This one is easy. Taj Mahal is too dark for me. It shows up almost black when writing. Prussian Blue, however, is a gorgeous muted blue that shades.

Winner: Prussian Blue

Tranquility vs Tyrian Purple

Tranquility and Tyrian Purple are pretty similar in hue. Tyrian Purple shades more, but Tranquility has Diamine’s chameleon shimmer. Tranquility is more saturated. It’s so silly that I feel bad about eliminating an ink. It doesn’t have feelings. It doesn’t care. But Tyrian Purple is another long-time love of mine. But Tranquility is really prety.

Winner: Tranquility

Rainbow’s End vs Astral

This one is super easy. While Rainbow’s End and Astral both have Diamine’s chameleon shimmer, Astral is a black ink, and I’ve said before how little I like black inks.

Winner: Rainbow’s End

Memory Lane vs Pansy

Another easy one. Memory Lane recently won an ink battle, it’s beautiful. Pansy is nice, but it’s too dark for me to use regularly. I’ve actually been toying around with decluttering it.

Winner: Memory Lane

Falling Leaf vs Macassar

Another one I feel guilty about. Macassar is a gorgeous chocolate brown, but only in the narrowest of nibs as it shades to basically black. Falling Leaf, however, is significantly lighter, and looks chocolate brown in all but the wettest pens.

Winner: Falling Leaf

Colosseum vs Weeping Willow

Colosseum is pretty, and shades beautifully, but so does Weeping Willow, and it has some multishading with pink and green. Weeping Willow wins easily.

Winner: Weeping Willow

Moon Beam vs Christ the Redeemer

Apologies to Christ the Redeemer. While it’s my favorite hue of gray ink, Moon Beam is as well and has chameleon shimmer. The winner is clear.

Winner: Moon Beam

Ash vs Earl Grey

Earl Grey is just too dark to win this battle. Especially when Ash has hints of multishading.

Winner: Ash

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Round 2

OK, I succeeded in narrowing the inks down to 22 without too much trouble. I’m guessing this round will be much harder.

Matador vs Fire Embers

And, right off the bat, I’ve got a hard one. Matador is a truly glorious red, but Fire Embers shades so beautifully. Why did I think this was going to be a fun post? OK, Matador wins hue, They tie for saturation, Fire Embers wins lightness, and Fire Embers gets a bonus point for shading. The win goes to Fire Embers.

Winner: Fire Embers

Sailor’s Warning vs Cashmere Rose

Cashmere Rose is a gorgeous color, but Sailor’s Warning is so bright, and it has that gorgeous shimmer.

Winner: Sailor’s Warning

Petra vs Buck’s Fizz

Maybe on a different day I’d feel different, but Petra is currently calling to me much more than Buck’s Fizz. Petra’s shading really is gorgeous.

Winner: Petra

Golden Honey vs Marigold

Another toughie. Both of these are gorgeous inks! Golden Honey has such awesome shading, even more so than Marigold. But Marigold is so bright and vibrant, and means so much. Golden Honey behaves a little better because it’s not so orange. But Marigold is such a happy color. I’m going with Marigold. I just can unseat it with Golden Honey.

Winner: Marigold

Machu Picchu vs Kelly Green

Two beautiful shaders. Two gorgeous colors. One very hard decision. *sigh* This was an easier decision when Machu Picchu was against Sugar Snap. But I suppose that supports my decision to change the winner to Kelly Green. I think these tie on hue. Kelly Green wins for saturation. They’re equally nice for lightness. And, they each get a bonus point for shading. But, that still puts Kelly Green slightly ahead.

Winner: Kelly Green

The Great Wall of China vs Celadon Cat

Although these two are tied on hue, saturation, and lightness, The Great Wall of China gets bonus points for shading and multishading, so it wins.

Winner: The Great Wall of China

Eau de Nil vs Presidential Blue

Oh dear. Eau de Nil and Presidential Blue are the same except for color. Their shading levels and lightness are virtually identical. The question is do I prefer the turquoise Eau de Nil, or the blue Presidential Blue. It so much easier when there’s something to quantify the decision. My preference for colors changes on a daily basis, sometimes even faster. At this particular moment, I’m leaning toward Presidential Blue.

Winner: Presidential Blue

Prussian Blue vs Tranquility

It defies all odds that I love Prussian Blue so much, but it just can’t beat out Tranquility.

Winner: Tranquility

Rainbow’s End vs Memory Lane

Rainbow’s End is very pretty; and if it leaned more toward a “true” purple — less blue — it would probably have won this battle. But, since it doesn’t, Memory Lane wins.

Winner: Memory Lane

Falling Leaf vs Weeping Willow

Falling Leaf is beautiful and chocolatey, but it’s not a multishader. Enough said.

Winner: Weeping Willow

Moon Beam vs Ash

Ash’s hint of multishading isn’t enough to beat out Moon Beam’s shading and chameleon shimmer. Moon Beam gets a bye round since there are an odd number of pairings (11) for this round. You’ll see it again in round 4.

Winner: Moon Beam

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Round 3

As if round 2 wasn’t hard enough, here we go for round 3.

Fire Embers vs Sailor’s Warning

At full strength, Fire Embers and Sailor’s Warning are fairly similar in color. But, Sailor’s Warning is significantly lighter in finer nibs. Granted, I really only use finer nibs, so I should think about it as a lighter ink. It’s got that gorgeous shimmer, but Fire Embers shades really well. I’m choosing Sailor’s Warning because the swatch makes me think of watermelon. Stupid reason, yes, but I need something to beat the deadlock.

Winner: Sailor’s Warning

Petra vs Marigold

As hard as it is, I have to give this one to Petra. It has a lot more character than Marigold.

Winner: Petra

Kelly Green vs The Great Wall of China

Whooo, boy. Kelly Green wins for hue. I love the saturation levels on both of these inks, so we’ll call that a tie. Same goes for lightness. They both get a bonus point — Kelly Green for shading and The Great Wall of China for multishading. Oddly, I think this would be easier if it was Machu Picchu against The Great Wall of China — they’re all on the same swatch page, and I would easily pick Machu Picchu in that battle. But, that’s not the decision I need to make. Kelly Green is happier, but The Great Wall of China is more interesting. But Kelly Green shades more in the writing sample I’m looking at, so it wins.

Winner: Kelly Green

Presidential Blue vs Tranquility

This one is actually pretty easy. It’s rare that a blue will win out over a purple with me.

Winner: Tranquility

Memory Lane vs Weeping Willow

Weeping Willow is really pretty, but Memory Lane is a purple with shimmer.

Winner: Memory Lane

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Round 4

OK, the penultimate round. I can do this. I’m surprised by the inks that have made it this far. There’s a pretty interesting spread.

Sailor’s Warning vs Petra

Well, Petra made it really far, father than I thought it would. But Sailor’s Warning has shimmer, shading, and a color more to my preference at the moment, so it’s the winner.

Winner: Sailor’s Warning

Kelly Green vs Tranquility

First off, I have to say that these two are a gorgeous combination. Something about the bright Kelly Green and the somewhat muted Tranquility are hitting all the happiness buttons for me. That said, in a move that will likely surprise many, I’m giving the win to Kelly Green. In this case, shading wins over shimmer.

Winner: Kelly Green

Moon Beam vs Memory Lane

Yes, Moon Beam shades well. And yes, Moon Beam has chameleon shimmer. But, today is not the day that this color lover picks a gray ink over a purple ink.

Winner: Memory Lane

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Final Round

Well, round 4 was surprisingly easy. But, this one won’t be. I’m kind of surprised at the inks that made it to the final round. I don’t know that I would name any of them if asked for my favorite Diamine ink in my collection.

Sailor’s Warning vs Kelly Green vs Memory Lane

Well, for the most part, my ink battle scorecard is worthless. All three inks are gorgeous colors. Memory Lane is less saturated than the other two, but in a good way, so it’s another tie there. They’re all in a similar range for lightness. They all shade, although Kelly Green shades the most. Sailor’s Warning and Memory Lane both have shimmer.

Looking at the swatches, Sailor’s Warning doesn’t push as many happiness buttons for me right now as Kelly Green and Memory Lane, so it’s out. I need to think of other considerations for this battle, as the standard ones aren’t helping me make a choice.

Memory Lane is more versatile, as it can be both a shimmer ink and a standard ink, depending on if I let the shimmer settle. It may also be easier on the eyes for a full page of writing. With that in mind, I’m giving it the win.

Winner: Memory Lane

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Full Bracket

So, after I finished all of my decisions, I was curious to know if my choices went with my ink usage. So, I added the total number of times I’ve filled a pen with each ink to the bracket below — click the image to see it full-size (and readable). For the most part, my choices are supported by the usage, but there are some definite exceptions.

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Where do you disagree with me? Which ink would have won for you? And would you like to see more inky madness, or even pen madness? Let me know in the comments! I’d love to hear from you.

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