Subtle yet not boring | Venvstas Ink Review - Mirtillo & Fumo di Londra

The current trend of ink in recent years has been one with shimmers and sparkles and all the sheening in the world, accompanied by vibrant and eye-catching colors. It is quite a scene to witness the innovation in fountain pen inks, still there is always room for those subtle and calming, somewhat mundane colors such as blue or black.

Venvstas has graciously sent me two of their most popular ink colors alongside the Magna CC which has been reviewed right here, and from the first glance, I could see why they are their most popular.

Mirtillo

It's italian for a more familiar name: blueberries. There are countless blues in the fountain pen world, and this is not the most extravagant blue you can buy, but it is on the more interesting side of things. The shade is dark enough to be legible in low lighting, and the hints of red sheening are not too in-your-face - subtle enough to not stand out, yet noticeable under the sun. In a medium nib of the Magna CC, the ink flow is steady and it has enough lubrication to smooth out the writing experience.

the pool by the ink bottle on Tomoe River

it doesn’t stick a lot to the cap, so probably not the most staining ink from my personal experience

we can already see some of that red sheen coming through

next to the writing sample, it’s a lovely blue black that’s quite work appropriate

on a piece of tissue paper we can see a bit more of the chromatography, some bright blue, purple and black makes it an interesting color combination up close

Fumo di Londra

This one is quite italian in the name, yet the inspiration comes from the british fog - hence the name, London's smoke. Fumo di Londra is rather tricky to capture in person: it's some sort of greyish green - or greenish grey - depends on the type of paper you're putting it against. I really like the shade and would definitely get another bottle for myself when this one runs out! It might not the best performer with finer nibs, so I would not recommend it if you are to put this one in, say japanese extra-fines.

Both of these gorgeous inks do go against the stream amongst vibrantly sheening and colorful shimmery inks, and I do feel it is actually for the better: for daily writers the subtlety is better appreciated for legibility, plus there is plenty of use cases where a much darker shade of ink is preferred.

it’s rich and I can see this one having a cult following with a mixture of grey, green and blue

the mossy green has this calming vibe to it, the shade is definitely its selling point, oh and there is a bit of Mirtillo on the side for comparison

through the nib of the Venvstas Magna CC, it’s thinner compare to the ink pool, so a broader nib is the way to go with this one for legibility

the green-ish-somewhat-teal color is coming through nicely on a piece of tissue paper

Do you own these two bottles? Are there similar colors to these two from different brands that you like? Please let me know down below. Thank you for reading, and how about checking out other ink reviews right here.