Vinta Inks Blue Floss Perya Stole My Heart.

Vinta Inks are obsessively designed and meticulously mixed. Our inks are meant for fountain pen or calligraphy use. We promise that we use the finest ingredients to make the best ink that we can.

Vinta Inks are made in the Philippines and they have a pretty cool initiative that I didn't even know about until I started reading up more about them.

At Vinta, we believe that education is one of the most important paths towards poverty alleviation. That is why for every bottle of ink you purchase, we will donate P25.00 to Teach for the Philippines, Inc. in their goal to provide access to quality education for all Filipino children. Help us make the world a more colorful place, one bottle at a time. 

That's pretty cool. I always like supporting companies that are trying to do something for someone else. It's just nice to see they have a bigger picture in mind. Of course, I picked these colors long before I knew about their initiative. These are the four colors I went with, and I am telling you, it was hard to pick just four: Deep water Blue Lucia, Mermaid Green Sirena, Blue Floss Perya, and Violet Maskara. I did not know the background behind the names but I love the names and it's really interesting to learn about the Philippines and the inspirations. They are whimsical and fun, and educational! The boxes are adorable and classy and the round amber bottles are simple and easy to fill from.

• Deepwater Blue - Lucia - this is a gorgeous medium blue with greenish undertones. It shades to a lighter blue but doesn't get too dark. It definitely does not feel like "just another blue" to me. 

Dyesebel is one of the most important Filipino comic book characters in Philippine history. It was originally created by the Filipino illustrator Mars Ravelo. Lucia is the name of Dyesebel's mother. She was obsessed with collecting and gazing at artistic depictions of mermaids while she was pregnant, so the baby (Dyesebel) was born with what looked like a fishtail instead of legs.  Dyesebel's first appearance in the comics was in 1952.

• Mermaid Green - Sirena - what a mystical green! I love how the color changes as it shades - it's a very blueish mint green and there's definitely some grey in there. I don't see a whole lot of pink showing up but wow, is it ever pretty!

Sirena is an homage to Mars Ravelo's famous Filipino comics Dyesebel about a mermaid. It is one of the most popular local comics that was serialized in 1952. This beautiful mint green has undertones of grey and pink.

• Blue Floss - Perya - You know how I feel about things named after food, right? Especially cotton candy, which is one of my favorite things. Sweet as heck, but I like how it looks and the color mixture is captivating, and the texture is soft and perfect. This is my favorite of the bunch. I love the yellow/peach and blue. I can see the cotton candy. I can taste the cotton candy.

One of the most beautiful parks in Manila is Luneta Park built in 1820. It is now known as Rizal Park, named after the national hero of the Philippines, Jose Rizal. Very near the pier, many children and adults enjoy blue cotton candy as they stroll along the park. 

• Violet - Maskara - What a pretty violet! You can see the blue in the shading and boy does it ever shade! It ranges from a light lavender to a violet-blue, and it matches the other three colors in its whimsicality. 

The maskara festival was conceived in part due to the sugarcane crisis in Negros. 1890 was the year the Spaniards split Negros region into two: Negros Occidental and Negros Oriental. These regional divisions remain today. 

They're beautiful in clear pens because they're not super saturated. Inks that shade well usually look fabulous in a clear pen, so obviously these have to go in clear pens. I am discovering I don't have enough clear pens for all my shady inks.

I picked up my selection from Vanness Pens quite some time ago - in fact, I think it was at the DC Pen show in 2019?? WOW. Time has flown, how disturbing. Here's their current selection! No commission, I'm just happy to refer you to them. You can follow Vinta Inks on Facebook & Twitter - @inksbyvinta.

Close up swab of that Blue Floss Perya!