I noticed several people asking about the difference between these and the regular metallic "glitter" set from them. These pigments are not bound to the mica, so they work just like normal watercolors with a tiny bit of ultra-fine silver glitter residue left over as you paint. It's much more separate than the color coated mica of the normal sets which make everything a homogeneous mixture. When they say phosphorescent, I believe they were just looking for a word that meant light reflective (from the mirror-like silver particles), as these paints do not glow/uv react.
This set is mostly regular watercolor, with just a touch of finely ground silver glitter residue in each color. The glitter effect does not dominate, because it is not bound to the color the same way as their usual mica glitter/pearlescent/metallics. Think of their usual metallics like silver plating on jewelry, they coat the shiny mica with a pigment color (adhered). In their other set the pearlescent mica metallic effect is thoroughly mixed (stuck to the color). The pearlescent effect does not separate back into clearly defined color AND sparkle, but rather just gives an all around pearlescent effect to each color. In contrast, this new phosphorescent/hint of glitter is not bound to each other, so it separates into just tiny pools of glitter with clearly defined separate color.
-UPDATE- It looks like they may have seen my review and updated the listing description for better clarity, but what it said at the time I purchased it was incorrect. The "trace of gold powder" they mentioned is actually a tiny touch of silvery pearl mica, which is a finely ground iridescent effect. It is reflective white, a stardust effect, not gold at all. The color selection is very close to the original 24 pan set they offer, just with a tiny hint of sparkle, with a few colors swapped out to include their new color separating paints.
OTHER ERRORS: ***Note when you get this set, what looks like a duplicate Royal Purple is just a copy paste mislabeling.*** One of them was darker, and I assumed it was actually their "moonlight purple". I guessed based on the fact this listing has Moonlight Purple typed out. I can't be 100% sure because on the physical product BOTH the pigment list AND the color name were wrong. This error was on both the pan label AND the blank color chart. This set also includes "royal purple" and "christmas green". They are pretty, but require some extra water and perhaps some salt texture to expose their unique qualities. I'll include a picture to show how these colors pigments separate in a really wet wash.
Aside from some other errors/typos showing incorrect pigments (such as blue peacock is a phthalo yet it says pb28 which is cobalt blue, sigh!) they are nice paints. Sadly the included blank chart (for you to paint yourself) was not as nice of watercolor paper as they have put in previous sets. The tin is very durable, much deeper mixing areas, better enamel coating and some inserts to prevent pan wiggling. I just wish it had been more clear what I was buying, for those who like to keep swatch card records of their paints you'd have to do a lot of extra fact checking. It's a unique product, as most watercolors are either very metallic/glittery or just not at all, these are a new middle ground. Just a tiny hint of glitter you will only notice in certain light/angles.
| Brand | Paul Rubens |
|---|---|
| Model Number | Paul Rubens Phosphorescent watercolor |
| Color | With blue case |
| Package Dimensions | 23.19 x 9.5 x 3.71 cm; 531 Grams |
| Item Weight | 531 g |
