MAIMOUFIN Soft Pastels for Artists Highly Pigmented Sticks 48 Vibrant Colors ...

I have used soft pastels of many brands and these are on par with the top tier pastels. My studio is full of Rembrandt soft pastels and Sennelier extra soft pastels and these are somewhere in the middle, softness wise. They're much softer than Rembrandt pastels and somewhat harder than Sennelier Extra Soft.Color saturation is on par with Rembrandts. If I had any criticism, it's that these are even smaller than the Sennelier half sticks, which makes them more pricey than you might think, though they're still very worth it.The selection of colors has a good mix of muted and bright tones, setting me up for excellent landscape art or portraiture.Overall a shockingly excellent product!

I was drawn to these for the colors. Although some of the color names aren't traditional, they do match up well. Very pretty on paper. Ultra smooth and soft too making them top layer worthy. I also like the shape and size of these. Overall great pastels.

These dry pastels from Maimoufin are slightly rounded, easy to grip, and have a very smooth feeling to them while remaining highly pigmented. The back of the case shows a star rating for lightfastness which I appreciate greatly when coming to pigments. The more stars next to a pigment name and colour, the more lightfast it is. Keep in mind with the lighter shades in this pastel set that the colours with fewer stars will fade quicker under direct sunlight so it's best to place a UV fixative with your finished works if you plan on displaying them. :)On to blend-ability, these did surprisingly blend when keeping close to the same colour family! I had a lot of difficulty blending the lighter tones with the darker ones, however, without the area turning muddy in appearance. Overall, this is a great mid-range set if you are willing to use a UV protectant on finished works.

These are soft and creamy and adhere well. Love the colors!!! So glad i ordered!

I'm a professional soft pastel artist and believe these are a perfect addition for artists of all levels. Perfect starter set for painterly pastel techniques.They're extremely affordable (compared to other brands), fairly soft and decently pigmented. They're not "top" quality, as you can expect from the price, but they're quite nice and soft enough to achieve multiple layers on pastelmat. I might score these a 3.75 out of 5 stars on a professional pastel stick lineup. Some of their colors just don't carry the pigment punch, where others excell. They start off with a slippery hard outer layer, but you can shave that off by dragging the stick over a piece of sandpaper.Overall, highly recommended to every pastel artist. I use these in both painterly and realistic applications, base layers and final touches.

These would make a nice treat for yourself if you are learning pastel. Great colors and feels good on paper. I like them more than the Gondola soft pastels, softer than Gondola. Softer than Rembrandt but not as soft as Sennelier or Unison. Would be good for plein air/quick sketches. Half-sticks, but bigger than Gondola's half-sticks; rounded edges, not straight, hard edges like Gondola. An advanced pastelist might not love them, but a nice learning set and fun to use if starting. No wrappers, numbers are embossed on stick. Would be a good learning set in combo with Nupastels/hard pastels.

not a great color range. found the colors to be slightly muddy but i am used to using nicer brands.

I have used a number of soft pastels in my artwork, some cheap, some costly, including pastel pencils. Their differences sometimes make them useful for different things. I was hesitant to buy these, thinking I really didn't need more pastels (they are not my primary medium) and they cost a bit more than some. I caved into my craving.I'm so glad I did. These are now my favorite pastels. The colors are rich and they have a creamy softness that glides onto the pastel paper or board better than any other. They blend beautifully, especially if you don't mind getting your fingers dirty. They are dusty, as a good soft pastel should be, so a mess will be made. But they cling well to a rough or gritty surface. (I am trying them now on sandpaper 600 grit. It works surprisingly well for an economical way to practice.)My only wish (I can't call it a complaint) is that they would also make the same pastel in more slender pieces or make them into a pencil. This may not be possible, given how soft they are, but it would make detail work easier. I am currently experimenting with Georges Rouault's style so these are perfect with their capacity to yield bold lines and colors. (attached photo is my copy of his work)