A Benu Talisman has been on my wishlist for the longest time, but I’d never decided which one I wanted. But when the Moonstone Talisman was announced, I finally decided to take the plunge: it was the one for me! 

I preordered it, which meant I did have quite a lengthy wait to get my hands on this beautiful pen, but it did mean I got a 10% preorder discount from Stilo & Stile, and now it’s here, it’s definitely been worth it!

As you’d expect from a Benu pen, it’s extremely glitzy and in your face, even with the cooler pastel tones. A majority of the pen is white with an incredible blue iridescence, thanks to the fine glitter particles throughout. The bottom half then transitions into transparent blue with chunky iridescent glitter flecked throughout. Similarly the cap has sections of pastel blue in it with chunky glitter embedded, and a translucent blue cap band. 

As with all Benu Talismans, the body of the pen and the cap are faceted, whilst the grip section is smooth and fairly long, with a small step down from the body of the pen to the threads, and then the grip. 

All things considered, this pen is a solid 10/10 as far as aesthetics go, but like most Benus, this is definitely a matter of taste. This certainly wouldn’t be everyone’s cup of tea! I also feel like it has strong wintery vibes with the cool colour palette, which doesn’t exactly match the heatwaves we keep having here in the UK. But since this is such a beautiful pen, I’ll be using it year round anyway!

But now to the most important question: how is the writing experience?

The pen is very comfortable in the hand, thanks to the long grip section, and is large enough to use unposted. It does post securely, but I personally find it to be a little back heavy.

The Talisman comes with a #6 Schmidt nib, and I chose the fine, and I have to say, I really like it. It’s definitely quite broad for a fine nib, more so than my TWSBI nibs, or Kawecos, and it’s also quite a wet writer. That isn’t always to my taste, but with a pen like this I can imagine myself pairing it with a lot of pastel inks that need a broader nib for legibility, or even some glittery inks that might clog a finer nib. 

For the pen’s first inking I feel like I went a bit rogue, as I dithered for a long time between a variety of blues, before ultimately deciding to go contrasting, by choosing Robert Oster Dusky Pink. This is one of my favourite pink inks, and I do feel like it sort of matched the pen, since some of the glitter looks pink in some lights. So far I’m enjoying the combination. 

This is my second Benu pen (I previously reviewed the Benu Pixie Pocket Plum Cream), and I feel like I’m quickly becoming a big fan of the brand. I can see why their flashy, glittery pens wouldn’t be for everyone, but I personally love how different their pens are from any other brand out there. Both of my Benus are real show stoppers in my collection, and (unfortunately for my wallet!) I can definitely see some more Benu pens in my future!

So what do you think of the Benu Talisman Moonstone fountain pen? Do you own any Benus? What do you think of the brand?