Last year when I did my Stationery Favourites post it ended up really long, and I had to split it into two parts, so I’ve decided to do the same thing again in 2025. This first post will cover pens and inks, and the second part will cover all other stationery.

In terms of pens, I feel like 2025 was a good year. Whilst 2024 was my first full year in the fountain pen hobby and I bought lots of pens, this year I feel like I slowed down and bought more carefully selected pens. I think this has resulted in me finding a lot more gems this year, which is good, but has made the job of narrowing it down to just three favourites incredibly difficult. Although one of these favourites was actually a 2024 purchase that still hasn’t been knocked off the top spot!

So let’s look at my favourites:

My Top 3 Fountain Pens of 2025

1. Benu Talisman Moonstone (M)

I finally got around to trying the Benu brand in 2025, after eyeing their showstopper glittery pens for quite a while. I liked the first one I got, the Benu Pixie Pocket in Plum Cream, but I absolutely loved the second one: the Benu Talisman Moonstone. 

This pen is probably the most beautiful pen in my entire collection, with it’s combination of iridescent, glittery white and transparent blue sections full of chunky glitter. And not only is it stunning, but the Talisman model is incredibly comfortable in my hand, and the medium nib is absolutely perfect. 

2. Esterbrook x TheCoffeeMonsterzCo Estie (F)

Going from glitzy to more muted with my second favourite pen of the year, I have to go with the Esterbrook collaboration with TheCoffeeMonsterzCo. I’ve wanted an Estie for quite a while, but none of the regular resins really clicked with me, since I’m not the biggest fan of the cracked glass look. 

So when this special edition was announced, I knew this was finally the Estie for me! I love that this is both a neutral pen, but an interesting pen, with the swirled resin of the grip section, and the cute little emoti engraved on the nib. I knew I’d like this pen, but I wasn’t prepared for just how comfortable the Estie would be in my hand. It’s pretty much the perfect size and weight for writing for long periods of time, so I’m so glad to finally have one, and one that’s as pretty as this! 

3. Platinum 3776 Nice Lavande (F)

And the repeat pen from last year’s top list? My trusty Platinum 3776 Nice Lavande with a fine nib. 

This was the first gold nib pen I bought, and the first expensive pen I bought, so maybe that gives me some fondness towards it, but mostly I just think this pen is my favourite nib. It’s exactly the right level of fineness for me, and is still lovely and smooth, and the pen itself is very comfortable in my hand. 

And let’s face it, this pen is also beautiful! This pen has everything, as far as I’m concerned, and it remains my favourite in my entire collection!

My Top 3 Fountain Pen Inks of 2025

My ink collection expanded a lot in 2025, more so than my pen collection, so it was hard to pick three favourites, as I feel like I was constantly swapping out inks to try the new ones. But there were three that stood out to me as inks I’m always excited to use:

1. Robert Oster Cosmic Swirl

Purple is my favourite colour, and Robert Oster Cosmic Swirl has to be my favourite purple ink. I particularly love pastel purples, but obviously pastels don’t make for particularly legible inks, but I think Cosmic Swirl is the perfect mix of vibrant and easy to read, even in fine nibs, whilst still retaining a certain softness to it.

2. Pilot Iroshizuku Syun-Gyo

This ink is one that’s very hard to define, and it looks quite different in different nibs. Sometimes it’s a deep burgundy red, other times it’s a dark plum purple, but it’s always a beautiful, and extremely interesting ink. 

3. Sailor Shikiori Kamoshika

I’m a big fan of brown inks, and this has to be the standout brown in my collection. It’s a cool toned dusty brown ink that just has such a unique look to it. Often brown inks can be quite similar, they’re either warm or cool, and dark or light, but this one sort of defies expectations. Another interesting ink!

My Top Gel Pen of 2025

Similarly to my top 3 fountain pens, my favourite three gel pens of the year are two new ones, and a repeat winner from last year. And the repeat winner is still my all time favourite!

So these were my favourite gel pens of the year:

1. Pentel Energel

The Pentel Energel is just an all round fantastic gel pen. The refills are nice and smooth (and come in a variety of colours) and the pen bodies are available in about a million cute styles. I can’t get enough of these! 

2. Zebra Sarasa Dry Airfit Grip

This pen was a late entry this year, as I only got it a few weeks ago, but I’m really liking it! The Airfit grip is really comfortable, and the dry refill is nice, as it’s harder to smudge. Plus I don’t know what it is about transparent pens – they just look cool!

3. Uniball One

And my continual favourite, is the Uniball One! I also like the Uniball One P (particularly my clear pink one!), but the regular Uniball One is such a sleek design, comfortable in the hand, and the smoothness of the refills is unmatched. For me, this is the King of Gel Pens!

So what were your pen and ink favourites of 2025?