If you’d told me five years ago that I would like purple inks, I would have scoffed. The older, wiser me nods agreeably. “Indeed, there are some purple inks I do quite like.” J. Herbin’s Poussière de Lune (Moon Dust Purple) is one such purple. This is another ink I purchased in the little 10ml shooter bottle ($4.75 each) which is just such fun. Any day now, I think I’ll own the whole spectrum of J. Herbin inks just because I can purchase them all in these little snack-sized bottles.
Poussière de Lune is an eggplant-y purple black. The photos show a bit more luminance and a touch more red than it appears in person. When I first touched the ink to paper, I was immediately struck with the complexity of the color and it reminded me of the original formula of Noodler’s Black Swan in Australian Roses. When I compared the inks though, Poussière de Lune is actually closer in color to Rohrer & Klingner Scabiosa without the iron gall. This might be a plus for some people who want the color of Scabiosa but are worried about damaging their pens with an iron gall ink.
The color does dry a flat, matte color but I think that’s to be expected with any inks that aren’t in the J. Herbin 1670 line with the metallic flakes in them.
Overall, I like the performance of J. Herbin inks. They are wet enough for my fine nib pens and have a good amount of shading. Poussière de Lune is no exception and may actually be one of my favorite J. Herbin inks thus far.
DISCLAIMER: This item was sent to me free of charge by Jet Pens for the purpose of review. Please see the About page for more details.
I have this ink in my Pilot Metropolitan and I love it. It shades so beautifully and it’s a gorgeous muted purple. If this takes me close to the original Noodler’s BSIAR, then I’ll take it. My favorite J. Herbin ink is Lie De The and this one comes a close second. This post is awesome and I love how you’ve showcased the ink’s beautiful characteristics!
Same here! I don’t know what it is, that makes this combination the perfect match.
btw, the Metropolitan is a super sturdy pen. Once I accidentally dropped the penon the floor, the cap went off, the nib was crooked. I gave it a try, bent the nib back in shape and the ink flows perfectly fine.
I’ve felt wary of purple inks as well but I use the Diamine Grape almost everyday.
I love purple inks, and pens, and notebooks, and I’ll spare you the rest of the categories of purple items I love. I especially like the purple-gray color family. This is a beautiful ink, definitely one I’ll want to buy.
Purple is to me as green is to you, to you an SAT-type analogy
Meant to say “to use”…someday I will learn to proofread comments.
Wow, quite lovely. May need to splurge…
If there’s an ink that symbolises 1950’s and 60’s private schools in France, the world of Madeline and Petit Nicolas, this is it. A true classic, this ink goes well with similarly aged Séyès-lined paper (8mm squares), if you want the full Monty. Essentially, this is the French equivalent of Diamine Royal Blue, the stereotypical fountain pen ink in England: unlike most purple inks, this is charcoal-suit and bowler hat conservative, and not effeminate in the slightest.
Poussière de Lune is VERY WET and slow to dry. You will want a fine nib and absorbent paper; not too absorbent, though, as this ink also has a tendency to feather (especially if you’re a shorthand writer and use a flexible nib). There is almost no shading or sheen.