De Atramentis Magic Dragon Violet

[saskia_madding]

I've always wanted to try this colour. I'm really in love with deep, rich purples, and this colour particularly intrigued me. The downside is the exorbitant shipping costs when buying direct from De Atramentis and shipping to North America. But last month my boss spent an entire month at his Italian villa, and graciously allowed me to ship several bottles to him there. So here's the first of my slew of De Atramentis reviews that will come over the next month and a bit.

http://i997.photobucket.com/albums/af97/Saskia_Madding/Ink%20reviews/De%20Atramentis/DSC09404.jpg

As you can see, this is a fairly dark purple. Given the 1.1 CI Lamy nib I was using it in, there was some fairly dark shadowing, though no feathering or bleed through. Having said that, I could write on both sides of CF and Rhodia paper.

http://i997.photobucket.com/albums/af97/Saskia_Madding/Ink%20reviews/De%20Atramentis/DSC09406.jpg

Shading is variable depending on paper - sometimes subtle, sometimes quite apparent, but is always very pretty.

http://i997.photobucket.com/albums/af97/Saskia_Madding/Ink%20reviews/De%20Atramentis/DSC09412.jpg

The only real downside to this ink is its TERRIBLE smell - an unfortunate mix of fruity bubble bath and kerosene. Although the smell doesn't stay long on the paper, you can definitely smell it wafting up from the nib every now and then while you're writing. Thankfully, after being in the pen a few days the smell tones down a bit, but not much.

http://i997.photobucket.com/albums/af97/Saskia_Madding/Ink%20reviews/De%20Atramentis/DSC09407.jpg

As usual, more images in my De Atramentis sub-folder here.

[Bo Bo Olson]

Dragons were not known for smelling great...but at least you got the kerosene smell as warning before it spits fire.

[Deirdre]

All my De Atramentis inks have had unfortunate smells. This one might be worth it, though.

[Laura N]

That's a hilariously vivid description: "an unfortunate mix of fruity bubble bath and kerosene." Looks like a great color, but I think the kerosene smell might be hard for me to overcome. Perhaps for outdoor use only. A true summer ink.

[Scriptorium Pens]

I have both DA Magic Dragon and Aubergine, and I can't tell the difference between them, aside from the slight smell of the Dragon. Either way, it's a gorgeous, fun color.

[raging.dragon]

For the smell, my guess is:

 

dragon = kerosene

magic = fruity bubble bath

 

 

I have both DA Magic Dragon and Aubergine, and I can't tell the difference between them, aside from the slight smell of the Dragon. Either way, it's a gorgeous, fun color.

 

Perhaps Magic Dragon is Aubergine plus scent? I hope so, because it's a nice looking ink, and not only does Aubergine lack the ill reputed scent, it's alot easier to get here - a local store, Laywine's, carries a few DA inks including, I believe, Aubergine.

[Scriptorium Pens]

For the smell, my guess is:

 

dragon = kerosene

magic = fruity bubble bath

 

 

I have both DA Magic Dragon and Aubergine, and I can't tell the difference between them, aside from the slight smell of the Dragon. Either way, it's a gorgeous, fun color.

 

Perhaps Magic Dragon is Aubergine plus scent? I hope so, because it's a nice looking ink, and not only does Aubergine lack the ill reputed scent, it's alot easier to get here - a local store, Laywine's, carries a few DA inks including, I believe, Aubergine.

 

I'll go out on a limb and say they are the same. The smell doesn't bother me, though. I've have several of their scented inks, and the only one that I can't stand is the Violet. It has a strong, cloyingly sweet smell. I opened the bottle once and will never do so again. Pretty color, though.....

[saskia_madding]

I'll do a comparison over the weekend. My gut reaction is that they aren't the same - aubergine has strong red undertones, while dragon violet looks more blue. I'll post a picture on Monday.

[Scriptorium Pens]

I'll do a comparison over the weekend. My gut reaction is that they aren't the same - aubergine has strong red undertones, while dragon violet looks more blue. I'll post a picture on Monday.

 

It's so hard to tell with De Atramentis. I have a bottle of DA Havanna Brown and a bottle of Laywine's Havanna Brown (Thanks to Signum1!), and they aren't anywhere near the same color, even though they're supposed to be.

[Fabienne]

All my De Atramentis inks have had unfortunate smells. This one might be worth it, though.

I only have one De Atramentis ink which is supposed to smell like Vanilla and smells like nothing. Go figure.

[raging.dragon]

I'll do a comparison over the weekend. My gut reaction is that they aren't the same - aubergine has strong red undertones, while dragon violet looks more blue. I'll post a picture on Monday.

 

It's so hard to tell with De Atramentis. I have a bottle of DA Havanna Brown and a bottle of Laywine's Havanna Brown (Thanks to Signum1!), and they aren't anywhere near the same color, even though they're supposed to be.

 

From that, I'd guess they have alot of batch to batch variation.

[GreenVelvet]

Did anyone ever confirm whether or not Magic Dragon was just Aubergine plus scent?

[saskia_madding]

I did a comparison. Give me a second to find and post it.

[saskia_madding]

http://i997.photobucket.com/albums/af97/Saskia_Madding/FPN%20comparison%20shots/DSC09573.jpg?t=1329940461

 

Well, I took a look at my comparison and have decided that although they are VERY VERY close, they are not quite the same colour. Magic Dragon is actually just a teeny, tiny bit duskier, lighter, and redder than Aubergine. It's hard to tell, even in person, unless you stare really closely at the shaded portion of the text. Honestly, if you were to look at a full page of written text from each, it would be hard to tell them apart. Frankly, I prefer the richness of Aubergine to the duskiness of Magic Dragon.

 

More pictures in my comparison photobucket ablum here.

Edited February 22, 2012 by saskia_madding

[GreenVelvet]

Thank you so much for the comparison!

[creakinglemon]

On the screen, this colour looks very similar to my Noodler's Violet.

[sadiemagic]

Thank you for posting this. I had just emailed Goulet Pens about the scent and how strong it is or is not. I have a sample of their Hyacinth, which is a lovely, lovely blue with a hint of purple....but it is sickeningly sweet, a cloying smell. I certainly want to be in a well-ventilated area if I got a full bottle of it.

 

I was guessing that dragons would not smell sweet....Fruit and kerosene, eh?

 

The dragon color is awesome.

Edited February 24, 2012 by sadiemagic