Shimmering watercolor paints are pretty, shiny, and easy to use- just add water, right? But there are quite a few brands out there at WILDY different price points. So one evening I did an epic Periscope (you can watch the replays here even if you don’t have a smartphone or want to watch live) and my stalwart gang of Art Scopers and I did some testing.
I broke down the hour-long session into two reasonable videos- the first part, about 8 minutes long, is an overview of 5 different brands (US Artquest (formerly Pearl-Ex Palette) Twinkling H20’s, Creative Expressions, Gansai Tambi Starry, and Niji.
Take a look:
Next, we have a real demo where I swatch out each brand on three different kinds of papers- watercolor, heavy card (one sheet wonder) and Yupo (Polypropylene). And towards the end of this 12-minute video I even do a comparison on black paper and an extended swatch sheet.
Now, as I mention in the video, you have to choose which brand you like, can afford, and gives you the result you want!
I do have some handy affiliate shopping links to Amazon if you’ve made your decision!
Affiliate links for shopping:
Gansai Tambi Starry Night: http://amzn.to/22GOPLP
Pearl Ex Mica: http://amzn.to/22GODMl
US Artquest Jewels: http://amzn.to/1UC4fNT
Niji: http://amzn.to/210LNQV
Twinkling H2O’s: http://amzn.to/1Y0VFe9
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Thanks for your review! I like the pearl ex and think I have some in my craft closet so will have to see how,to turn them into watercolor.
I have the Starry night palette and absolutely love it for the shimmer it adds on top of my Zig kuretake water colors. I made a card last night for a challenge and laid down the water color then put a gold on top for the Starry kit, I thought it was stunning. I guess it depends on how much saturation you want. It is always good to have options!
Thanks for all you do!
I have another brand that I really like…Fine-Tec out of Germany. It is a palette of 6 pearlized colors: Tibet gold, Inca gold, Arabic gold, Gold Pearl, Moon gold and Sterling Silver. I would say that they fall somewhere around the Twinkling H20 range. Can’t remember the price point. I think they were part of a craft haul.
I have been lucky enough to try all but the Gansai Tambi Starry Night and my top 2 are the US Artquest and Pearl-ex. Both gave wonderful pearlescent sheen and have a great range of colors!!
First I want to kindly ask if you can make your affiliate links open in a new window. Kinda troublesome to see a product in the vid and when I click the link it opened in the same tab. (Yes, I know I can right click and then select “open in a new tab”, but if you don’t know the link is not set to target a new tab then you end up having to find your place in the video the first try). The fact that it opens in the same tab could be deterrent to people using the link – it would be just as easy to write the names down and go find them ina new tab! Just sayin’
Second, I habe and love my Twinkling H2O’s, those are the only shimmery watercolors I’ve ever bought, but i have made several pots of my own with cheap cheap eye-shadow from the dollar store and gum arabic, and those are also pretty handy to have! Just have to make sure the first ingredient in the eye-shadow is mica.
Thanks for the review!
Great review thank you. I have the twinkling and have for years, I like the different looks you can get from them, from a light Shimmer water colour to a really thick creamy paint when wetted and left five min. Good to see the others. X
Hi,
I’m in the UK and the Cosmic Shimmer pan sets are relatively new. Before they did the’s they did the individual pots like Twinkling H2O and Creative Expressions still sell them like that. They also do pallets in Brights, Pastels, Garden, Metallic, etc. It maybe your store doesn’t stock them all yet. There is also a plan to sell empty pallets and open stock paints so you can customise your own which is why they were designed like this. Unfortunately there is no date for this as yet.
Thanks for the comparison. There is such a huge difference. I had been really disappointed in the Niji paints, but would like to try the pearl ex or artquest.
The following two link lead to the same page on amazon:
Pearl Ex Mica: http://amzn.to/22GODMl
US Artquest Jewels: http://amzn.to/1UC4fNT
Hi,
I just love your recordings! It really helps me, saves me from buying all of the products. You allow me to buy what I really want.
While watching your recordings I am fascinated by the room behind you. Have you done a tour of your craft studio for us? I really would love to see how you store and organize your room.
Regards,
Mary
Thank you for covering this topic- I the link was sent to me by a friend because we had been talking about all the products out there for painting on cardstock or watercolor paper to make cards. She had several different kinds of paints and today just told me she bought the Ganzai Tambi with her 40% off coupon for Hobby Lobby. She got a great deal on that. But I had no experience in this area, and didn’t even understand the terminology of these items. Pearlescent, Twinkling H20’s, you get the picture. This was all new to me. I appreciate you taking the time to show us how they worked on different kinds of paper. It was very good. Because of the price and bang for the buck I had recently bought the Palette that had 21 colors in it. I threw the cover board away but on the bottom of the palette it says Yosumutu or something like that. It looked like the one you tested with all those colors in it. I noticed it didn’t have a whole lot of body to it, but what do I know. Now after watching your videos, I’m going to watch them again and make a decision.
Great video comparison. I have a TON of H20’s. Was told several years ago at the Akron stamp show, they were being discontinued and bought into that theory by purchasing the entire set. I usually feel like I got “taken”, but I also have to say that they’re very nice. As you show in the videos, the H20’s don’t have a heavy mica effect, just add a shimmer to whatever color you’re using. I’ve used them quite a bit over the years, and there’s still a lot of paint in those little pots. I do love them. Thanks for all you do. I almost forgot…have you done a Yupo review? Would be very interested in that.