Cheese is from season 2 of the Sodapop set from Starry Ink. Each season includes four inks packaged together. It’s a gorgeous, warm ink with as much bling as you care to add! The set includes a packet of shimmer and an applicator spoon for you to add it to the ink. Experiment, and add in small quantities until you get exactly what you like! (See image 5 for the full set.) When I first saw the set, the name Cheese immediately appealed to my imagination!

Cheese is a beautiful, citrus, sunset yellow-orange. Both the splatter and written strokes show it to be a strong shading ink. Dark areas plunge deep into the oranges of a burning sunset, while in light areas the oranges melt away leaving the bright, pale yellows of the morning sun’s first rays. I added a small portion of shimmer powder this time, which only slightly restrained the glimmering silver. The result is lovely, but the untouched base color is quite attractive without it, as well.

Raspberry, another ink from season 2 of the Sodapop set, provided a fantastic writing experience. And although Cheese hasn’t been a big disappointment, it hasn’t lived up to the benchmark set by Raspberry. Cheese is a neutral to slightly wet ink, but I had some issues with flow. The same nib and feed that were so compatible with Raspberry felt somewhat repellent to the chemistry of Cheese. When it worked well, it was lovely, but it lacked consistency. I didn’t have any problems with the shimmer itself, and drying was faster than average, overall. I’m going to continue to use the ink in a variety of pens, and I’m confident that I’ll find a good pairing.

Although I haven’t been completely satisfied with Cheese, my opinion is unchanged on Starry Ink’s Sodapop set. It’s so much fun trying different ratios of shimmer powder! I can’t imagine getting more inky enjoyment for the US$20 that the 4-ink set cost delivered from AliExpress. As of February 2023, the set is still available.