This post is a little different than my standard tag post. I found A Clockwork Reader‘s video Makeup Book Tag! first, which gave me this idea. In the description of that video, they list “Creator’s video: no longer available.” However, Angelica Nyqvist recently posted The Makeup Book Tag | MY FAVES FROM BOTH WORLDS 😱 to her second channel where she credited Belle Terese‘s video makeup book tag! 💋📖 | bookmas day 7 ❄️ (2024) and sarawithoutanH‘s video MAKEUP BOOK TAG (2016), neither of which credit a tag creator. All that to say, the original idea isn’t mine, but I have adapted the idea to the stationery world.
Since I’ve unintentionally gotten known for #MakeupMonday and #FPCosplayFriday, this seemed like an appropriate tag to do. I had to seriously change some steps, because I just don’t use those makeup products, but I made this work for my routine. Without further ado, let’s jump in.
Eye Primer: What’s your most recommended starter fountain pen?
Eye primer sets the stage for my eye makeup in the same way a starter pen will introduce someone to fountain pens and (hopefully) pique their interest.
If someone has never tried a fountain pen before, I tend to recommend the Platinum Preppy. But, if someone has a bit of fountain pen experience, I generally point them to a Kaweco Sport or TWSBI 580 because the nibs are easy to change, allowing a newbie to test out different nibs without have to buy so many pens.
My current eye primer: Smashbox Photo Finish Primerizer+
Spot Concealer: What pen model do you wish you could get rid of?
I don’t use a lot of concealer, just a dot here or there to hide a pimple or scratch — the joys of life with cats and as a clumsy person. In a similar vein, I can immediately think of a pen model that I tend to pretend doesn’t exist.
The Montegrappa Fortuna model needs to disappear. The chunky threads combined with so few turns allow the nib to dry out really fast, even if you store your pen on its side. I’ve had this problem with the three different Fortuna model pens I’ve owned — one wood, one metal, one plastic — and they were all different models produced a year or two apart.
My current spot concealer: Pro Fix Stick Correcting Concealer in Vanilla
Eyebrows: Do you prefer thicker or thinner pens?
Brow trends continuously change and can range from pencil thin to thick and fluffy such as would make Frida Kahlo proud. Likewise, you can find pens ranging from super thin to batons that would probably qualify as a weapon.
I prefer middle-of-the-road pens. The thinnest grip I’m truly comfortable with is the Kaweco Sport series (9.4mm diameter). At the opposite end, my Stipula Leonardo da Vinci is pushing it for comfortable writing at 14.2mm in diameter.
My current brow pencil and gel: NYX Lift & Snatch! Brow Tint Pen in Brunette and Essence Thick & Wow! Fixing Brow Mascara in Caramel Blonde.
Matte Eyeshadow: What is your current everyday paper?
I usually treat matte eyeshadow as the supporting role to my shimmer shadow, just like paper is an important support to fountain pens. You can have shimmer without matte, but it’s not as impactful; you can have a fountain pen without excellent paper, but it’s not as satisfying.
I’m really enjoying the Muji loose-leaf paper. The grid ruling is too small for my taste — thank goodness I only have one pack to make it through — but the blank and dot grid are excellent.
Shimmer Eyeshadow: What color family of ink do you use most often?
Shimmer shadow is usually the star of my makeup look, either as the shiny/pretty finish to the eye look or as the color I throw on my lid with a bit of mascara in a hurry. It’s a bit of a stretch, but ink is the star of writing; it can be the finish to the perfect pen/nib combo, or the real star of a page when writing with an unmodified stock nib.
Based off of my 2024 usage statistics, purple, as four of my top ten inks were purple. But, if I look at all of my tracked usage stats in my Airtable database, then it could be green or purple.
Keeping in mind that I’ve disposed of some bottles of inks, I have 186 tracked uses of green inks and 203 tracked uses of purple and blurple (blue-leaning purple) inks. The purple family has significantly more uses. But, if I separate purple and blurple inks (148 and 55 uses, respectively), then green has many more uses.
Eyeliner: What’s your favorite nib modification?
When I choose to use eyeliner, it’s to bring extra attention or drama to a look. Similarly, I choose nib grinds because I enjoy the extra character they impart on my writing.
I love semi-sharp edged left-foot oblique (AKA left-foot italic) modifications for the amount of character they add to my writing. Line variation is significantly more noticeable than standard stub/italic modifications, even at small nib widths. I love Spencerian modifications because they let me have fun with romantic, calligraphic writing.
Oblique modifications beat out Spencerian modifications by a hair because they are useable across more types of paper. You really need excellent paper to properly use a Spencerian nib.
Blush: What’s your favorite aesthetic aspect to pens?
Blush helps balance out my colorful eye looks with the rest of my face; it’s not necessary, but it’s helpful. By the same token, a pen doesn’t have to be pretty, but it makes the pen, and the user experience, better.
I love art. This should come as no surprise. So pens that showcase a maker’s non-pen-making art — engraving, painting, etc. — are favorites.
Highlighter: Do you prefer blinding or subdued shimmer in ink?
Because I don’t wear foundation, highlighter is absolutely unnecessary — skin naturally catches the light on high spots — but it’s pretty and shiny and makes me happy. Identically, shimmer is completely unnecessary in ink, but it’s pretty and shiny and makes me happy.
I chose the specific words in this question because it’s how people often refer to highlighter. As it relates to ink, blinding would be where the shimmer almost completely obscures the ink color, whereas subdued is where shimmer can be difficult to see, or can only be viewed at an angle where it catches the light.
Blinding shimmer is fun, but it’s also far more likely to clog your pen. You need either a wet nib or to use your pen regularly while it’s filled with a blinding shimmer. For that reason, while blinding shimmer has its place, I have to go with subdued shimmer. Some subdued shimmers are no more prone to clogging or drying that non-shimmer inks.
Setting Spray: What qualities are necessary for your perfect paper?
Good setting spray stabilizes the look and makes sure it’s going to hold up all day. Thinking along the same lines, paper needs to be fountain pen friendly, but for me to consider it excellent, it needs something more.
To start, when I classify a paper as fountain pen friendly, I expect it to have zero bleed-through or feathering — with exceptions granted for crappy inks, like last year’s Inkvent scented inks.
And that “something more” I mentioned? Zero ghosting — AKA show-through, not to be confused with bleed-through — and low absorption. I seriously dislike ghosting — which is why I avoid Tomoe River paper as much as possible — and my perfect paper would have zero ghosting. Low absorption means that it takes longer for ink to dry on the paper, which gives it the chance to show off special properties like shading or sheen. My perfect paper would allow ink to mostly pool and dry on the surface rather than absorbing instantly.
My current setting spray: Morphe Continuous Setting Mist
Mascara: What’s your favorite ink property?
Mascara can lengthen, curl, volumize, separate, etc., etc. Comparably, ink can shade or not, shimmer, or sheen.
Shade > Sheen. Fight me. Don’t really, I bruise easily, but I will choose a shading ink over a sheening ink every time, especially if it’s a multishader. Shimmer is kind of a whole separate thing for me. When I’m in the mood, I’ll pick a shimmer ink.
My current mascara: Essence Bye Bye Panda Eyes Smudge-Proof Mascara
Lipstick: Do you prefer finer or broader nibs?
In my opinion, lipstick is a vital part of a look; you can make or break it with just the color of your lipstick. Likewise, changing your nib tip size can change your entire writing experience, and you need to make sure you choose the right size for your writing.
I write small, so I prefer finer nibs. I love how tidy my writing looks with an EF or even UEF nib. But, I can work with a M, or even — occasionally — a 1.1 stub.
What do you think of my answers? Would you be interested to see the original (book) form of this tag? 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.
