It’s sad that the real Prismacolors appear to be printed more carelessly than the fakes. I found the same to be true! I’ve had so many people contact me asking about fakes, because Prismacolor is such bad quality now.
The reason they don’t line up is the colors are made in batches. I bought a 12 pack of all white pencils and they all lined up with each other, but not really the other colors. I think they did it as a way to separate themselves and make it easier to identify the fakes. Nowadays a lot of fake brands put a lot of effort into appearing perfect. On the prismacolor box the pencils appear as though they all line up, when the reality is they don’t. A fake brand wouldn’t know that unless the bought a set of prismas. It’s kind of smart when you think about it.
@@Night-1331 you’re right about the batches. they also seem to be intended to line up at the top, not the bottom. So different colors are different sized words, and will sit at different heights. The “P” in Prismacolor usually lines up much better than the number. Design-wise, it’s a bit of a weird choice. They should really be lined up from the bottom to look consistent, especially as the tops of the pencils wear down. Most fakes line them up at the bottom, like you’d expect.
I think another reason why less money and attention is spent on the visual aspect of real prismacolors is because they invest it into the ingredients and processing of the actual leads of the pencils. I’d be willing to bet that the temu ones contain far less and lower quality pigments and won’t be as lightfast (they may even contain some potentially toxic substances)
@@kathymarshall220 Yup very likely. Random items from Temu almost without fail test as having dangerous levels of lead, cadmium, and other heavy metals--dozens to hundreds of times more than is considered the safe limit by most countries.
Also they try and copy the same design as the original but you can see where the colours and size of the image differentiate, fake ones tend to use muted our washed out colours @@SarahRenaeClark
I wonder if the Temu colored pencils are made by a manufacturer who used to make prismacolors... but they know the formulations so are now counterfiting the product they used to be contracted to make. So many brands are switching manufacturers in order to save money, and once a manufacturer has the formulations they just do what they want. I heard this happened with some higher quality watercolors; there are so many water color sets that are effectively a 'brand name' as these random manufacturers now have the formulas of some previously better esteemed brands... they just white label the formula to something else. Probably happening across all mediums.... That is why there is a sudden glut of great quality 'off' brands available... a brand wants cheaper manufacturing so they outsource manufacturing to cheaper labour areas, and boom they have no control over how their formulas are used. You can make people sign documents, it does not mean they will follow the agreement not to replicate your formula lol
@@izabelaswa85 well... It actually has kind of sense, the Temu ones said they were made in USA on the box, even they have the Mexico stamp in the pencils 🤔 so maybe yeah, they were made in USA but they need to keep the stamp to look alike.
It's worth noting that Prismacolor discontinued Lilac & Lavender and replaced them with Amethyst & Orchid -- older sets with those colors are going to get discounted so that Prismacolor can start shipping out the new sets. Right before they moved production to Mexico when Prisma was still being made in the US there was more of a satin finish on the pencil barrells I'd get open stock from Blick & Michaels.
I got a reduced-cost set from Amazon, and a lot of the wood was cracked, but everything matches the color and the finish of the smaller tin sets people like to get me for gifts from Micheals. The colors match when swatched. So if they are fakes, they are decently made fakes. I also have 30-year-old sets. I wonder; do they have similar colorfastness?
So it's possible this Temu seller is selling off a lot of old but genuine Prismacolor stock at a discount. The main issue with Temu is you just don't know for sure.
@@agent57 That seems likely to me -- as I've picked up several of the smaller Prismacolor sets with Lavender & Orchid for really good prices as retailers try to cycle in the new product. Amazon even had the 150 set for $108 US a few weeks back.
You are all forgetting the fact that despite that "made in United States" thing on the outside of the box, the pencils were stamped with "Mexico" to match the real set. That debuncts the theory that these are an old set from the original manufacturer.
"artists" who are selling art should not be using this, bet the price of actual prismacolors they aren't lightfast pigments. quality of artist quality supplies dont mean super pigmented and easy to work with, they mean lightfast and able to stand the test of time.
I have seen a couple of people on facebook complain about the ‘prismacolors’ they bought on temu. Last one I saw had hard bits in them. I think you’re better off buying a smaller real set than anything from temu.
I don't know any one else opinion but last I used Staedtler I think they're called those weren't to bad just triangles so feels different when you hold em
As an older person I have learned in my lifetime just because something is more expensive doesn't make it better. Buyer Beware as the saying goes. I've bought clothes from Dillards and Macys that stitching fell out in a few months and Kmart clothes that lasted until my kids outgrew them (sorry, I raised mine in the 80's). In one of my collections I bought a snow globe from Nordstroms for 3X as much as my others from Hallmark or speciality shops and it's the ugliest one in the collection (the fairy inside looks like a stick with a mushed face). Nursing shoes (from a uniform store I bought all my scrubs for years) for $75, fell apart within 3 weeks, Kmart lasted 8 months (11.99)! Extra labels are for Asian (and often where the products are made or at least processed) who aren't regularly represented on other languages like Spanish, French or German are in the instructions. Not throwing shade here to consumers but over the years I think a lot of it is the corporations making us believe, or at least trying to, anything that is not expensive is cheap or chintzy, once again rich corporations controlling that narrative 🤬
The real test would be the lightfastness test. 3 months on a Southern Hemisphere interior window sill in summer would make all but the very best pigments & dyes disappear. Pencils like Derwent or Faber Castell might last even longer. Real cheap, fugitive ones might largely fade or even disappear after 3 weeks. IF both these pencil sets colours lasted as long as Derwent etc then we might claim them as a quality artist's product. A good product, but still student grade one might still look largely acceptable after 6 or more weeks in the sun. Frame works under UV glass or keep them in a folder or UV protecting varnish otherwise.
I bought myself a proper wardrobe from brand names once. Everything was falling apart after 3 months and I went back to cheap supermarket clothes, several items of which I've been wearing for over 10 years.
You briefly mentioned that people complained about quality control after production moved to Mexico. My guess is that the Temu pencils are genuine prismacolor, but may have been old stock that they were able to buy really cheap, and since colored pencils don't really expire or age that noticeably, they're still perfecty good high quality pencils. Similar things happen with misprinted or overstock goods. They can't be sold in the country they were intended for, but the product itself is still perfectly good so they sell it to other countries for a very low price.
Also products can be brought cheaper if the packaging is misprinted, just bought salt 20 percent off because the logo was misprinted, the salt was the same but the packaging wasn't. Temu can probably sell things cheaper just by caring less about how beautiful the box will come out using cheaper ink, cheaper print etc the price can drop pretty well. Idk if Americans have that but in Europe we have eco+ products that are cheaper than the ones with a brand and if you compare them to the brand ones their packaging is bland (all white) with only a picture or the name of the product (like chocolate as an example) in one language only with the logo and then the ingredients, the most expensive things after the product is the box itself and the brand (if you buy shoes off temu you can find good quality stuff for 100 bucks the same quality as Nike but Nike it would cost 1000 bucks because it's labeled Nike)
I purchased a full set of (72) UK manufactured, very high quality watercolour pencils because the colour of the pencil casing was changing from a light blue to a dark blue. The quality of the pencil was exactly the same, but I got them for 75% less. I didn't care what colour the outer casing was, but I remember reading all over the place that retailers were selling "counterfeits", but it was definitely not the case.
I used to work at a ‘high end’ art store and got tons of prismacolor pencils and I HATE them. They constantly break, I’ve had the pigment actually just slide out of the wood, feel scratchy, and don’t lay down well (in my opinion). I switched to faber-castel and I will never go back.
I don’t know. I guess it depends on the artist. I use prismas, faber and caran D’Ache and those last ones are the only ones I like better than prismas. Fabers are so hard I feel like I work twice with those and I don’t have the breaking problems with my prismas.
Yeah, everything I have heard about Prismacolors for years has made me decide to invest on Polychromos directly and to me there is no turning back. Faber Castel, when it comes to their color pencils, has never done me wrong. Even the ones that are for students are so much better than other pencils in the same grade.
I was so disappointed with the prismacolors I bought (yes genuine, bought in an art supply store in the USA lol) I think European pencils are far nicer ( Caran d’Ache, Faber castell etc)
I'd really love to know how they sharpen. Prismacolor is notorious for being just destroyed inside and if Temu ones aren't it may tempt me. If you did a short of sharpening them, that would be super helpful. No pressure though❤.
I have almost given up on Prismacolor for this issue. I hate that the colors are often off-center in the wood and that they break so often. It's not worth the cost for me!
@@lisazimmerman5622the fact that they're so expensive for crap quality blows my mind. It's the name you're paying for, really. They need to learn that their name means nothing if their products are sh*t.
I learned this from a commenter on a different UA-camrs page (might have been on one of Sarah Renae Clark’s videos actually) and it actually has worked for me. Put the prismacolors (or any soft core pencils) that are giving you grief on a hot heating pad for about 20 minutes until warm to the touch and then let the pencils completely cool before touching them. Once cool they will stop breaking every other second and can actually be sharpened. Not 100% of the science but I think you are getting the wax warm enough that it fills in the microcracks that form from rough handling/drops but not hot enough to change the chemical composition. Strangely enough it also works on cheap color pencils like crayola that are no longer putting down pigment from age.
Asian market places are known to sell prototype or B products. Maybe this was a test to find a different manufacturer that didn’t go through. The doll collector bubble searches these platforms for some leaked unused parts for example
I wonder if the Temu ones might have been older pencils, like maybe those ones are real as well, but they're from before the manufacturing moved to Mexico? That might explain why they were shipped potentially to Europe and then back. Because pencils don't expire really, the Temu ones might just be really old and so not sellable to Michaels etc?
They've been made in Mexico since 2010, sorry but while they never actually go bad, they dry out I have prismacolors from when I was 16 and I'm 44 now, they definitely dry out, plus they had different packages then
@@emilymulcahy that’s interesting. Are you still able to draw with them even though they feel dry? I also have prismacolor pencils from when I was in high school (now I’m 40). I haven’t used mine since high school. I’ll have to try them out.
@@monalee7687 yes, with most, some are just little nubbins now and some are full size, they're not dry per se but dryer than they used to be and they're more chalky now than they used to be
I work in manufacturing and sometimes when there is a supplier or production issue or an increase in demand, other plants can pick up orders and “white label” the order to ensure the orders are fulfilled. Temu could also have a similar arrangement to purchase potentially damaged, old inventory, or rather imperfect orders at a discount such as dollar tree or imperfect foods.
And let’s be honest, even US made products might not be produced ethically per se. Many companies have bad working conditions, safety problems etc. all over the world. It really depends on the company and how they think of their workforce (as humans as opposed to numbers on a spreadsheet) 🙈
@@yukikanegawa7470 Ethics were violated when Newell gave Chinese manufacturers the Prismacolor specs to see if they could undercut the already underpaid Mexican manufacturers, all for the sake of buffing dividends. If China now offers the consumer better product for cheaper and fucks Newell stockholders out of money in the process, they're the good guys.
Love my Prisma Colors pencil, but I will only purchase ones NOT made in Mexico. Vintage pencils dating before they moved to Mexico for manufacturing in 2009. * around 15 years ago. The pencils that best are from the late 80- 90's. Pencils made before the move to Mexico, break less, and have better cores. Working as a designer I had a big stash of older pencils.
I'm blessed to have the Eagle Prismacolors from the 70s that were my mom's and they are SO NICE. Honestly my Prima from the early 00s are good too. The new ones I have are eh....
I have the original Karismacolors made in the US and my prismas made in Mexico have way less breakage issues... I bought them from amazon in Europe though but it says they are made in mexico
what you could also find is that a lot of these big named companies will give their "factory seconds" to places like Temu just so they can get some money for them. What I mean when I say factory seconds are things that are not up to brand standard, like the printing on the box, and slight colour variation of the paint on the pencil. Yes, there are fakes out there but a lot of companies do it. They are still legally correct as prisma pencils and can be sold as such, but they have failed inspection to be sold at the standard they hold themselves to. so instead of throwing them out they pass on to cheaper shops and sell at a discount to get something for that product.
Commenter above mentioned they contacted Prismacolor to ask what happens to seconds, and they don't put them into the market, but rather recycle them. There are no seconds on the market.
As a senior on limited budget, TEMU has been my go to for a lot of my art supplies, Copic type markers (worked fine, out of 30 two were dried out, rest were great), metallic paints, markers, and pens (worked great) , gold leafing and products(really beautiful), journaling and planner supplies (also very good) and fine cutting tools, along with miscellaneous other tools were also great! Must check sizes and materials carefully but overall good products with amazing customer service! Good refund and return policies (no shipping fee) thank for careful review!
The thing about Temu and AliExpress is that they are essentially like Asian eBay or Amazon, and that means the offerings are wide, varied, and not necessarily automatically worse than the legit stuff, and may in fact be the legit stuff heavily discounted.
Yeah there's piracy sellers who are criminals, defective item sellers who are shady as what they're selling could be as bad as outright broken or as anal as a slightly off color label. And then there's direct sellers who are selling the legit boutique-standards meeting product you'll see at your local store. But without the added costs of redundant shipping bureaucracy that gets passed on to the consumer. Those people are heroes.
I‘m wondering whether they’re cheaper on Temu because of the „faulty“ print on the packaging? Or maybe they’re older stock before the production was moved to Mexico, hence the differences in the looks of the pencils?
The boxes could be faded from sitting on the shelf for a long time. My Prismacolor pencils came in a metal box so the colors are painted and not printed.
To know for sure, you would have to contact Prisma Color and ask them what they do with their rejects. Like if a whole run comes out more mat, then shiny?
This was my thought actually. I almost feel like the Temu ones might be a box up of factory seconds or something, cause I used to buy boxes of pencils that way on Ebay to get them cheaper, and I saw a lot of things like that.
I wondered if the Temu ones might be seconds, not so much the pencils themselves as the packaging., as soon as the printing extending a little over the edge of the box got mentioned. A lot of perfectly good products (especially snack foods) get rejected for regular stores because there’s a slight error on the packaging. It may be better for Prismacolor to sell pencils that won’t sell at art stores at a steep discount through Temu than the cost of repackaging or dealing with returned stock.
@@azu2729 hecho a mano, también puede significar, más calidad, recuerda que la industrialización de un producto es para fabricar rápido, y esosi puede hablar de bajo control de calidad.
hi chloe, really interesting the difference and similarities, this seems to be a win! i just wondered a) about the two light purple tones that have been removed from prismas, what did you get in your box? and what did you get in the temu ones? and b) how do they sharpen? c) do they blend well going from like a red to orange to yellow? part 2 needed 😄❤
I really like what you said in the introduction about judging people who shop with Temu. Also not wanting to shop with them if you have a choice. Thank you ❤
Really like this video. I truly believe that if an artist on a tight budget can get art supplies they are saving for, for cheap and they work about the same they absolutely should.
Well im certainly glad you did the testing for every one..Thank YOU. I've always held back with art supplies...bc yes cheaper is better fir a senior on a fixed income. But buying cheaper bread say...and to get it home and it's moldy...is a huge pain in the ass and wallet. So i really appreciate your sleuthing.
I like that you mentioned not everyone is fortunate enough to be able to afford because it is true, and people will try make you feel bad for not being able to spend nearly double the amount on the same product. Same with shein, clothing, its helps families out who dont have a lot of money to cloth their kids.
The biggest concern I have buying on a marketplace vs a reseller with allows for knock-offs is the possibility that the materials are possibly toxic there are different ways and materials that can be used to make certain colors. Many of the cheaper pigment used to make colors are known to be very toxic materials and could be a way if not being enforced with safety protocols that official product is supposed to follow to cut costs. Trying to check from the printing of the box is really really hard nowadays because print is actually really cheap compared to materials/pigment. Also lightfastness might not be as good. TLDR: imo: knockoffs don’t follow safety protocols; risking my health and other unknown not worth saving a couple bucks!
This! The very fact that the content creator of this video did not address these 2 factors show she does not know anything about artists materials and did a huge disservice to her viewers. She needs to educate herself before doing something like this again.
I love Johanna Basford as well! I have all of her books. Currently working through World of Flowers. That was crazy that the Temu had a neater look to them. Was not expecting that.
I was wondering if there was a year of manufacturing was printed on the boxes. It would be interesting if they were produced in different years. Great comparison!! 👍
Isn't there usually a production number on the box from which you can find details of the year and place of manufacturing? I mean novadays one could probably just google it
I did the same test because I got the Temu one but had my other set from Blick. I found the Temu ones had a satin finish and Blick ones glossy. The colors were all slightly off also on the ones I tested side by side. Like they could not get a perfect match of the colors. Also, doing a test to see if I could guess which was which based on the performance, I could pick out which was the Blick one because it seemed slightly more buttery and less waxy feeling.
They may not be fakes, but manufactured in China for that market. Similar to Winsor & Newton acrylics. What is avaiblw in US stores was manufactured in Europe but it is possible to buy the sets made in China online
Either that or it was simply the difference between the two manufacturing plants. One from USA and one in Mexico. They moved and maybe the stock just hadn't sold through from the older location. ???
They don't have to be fake. They could be real, but from an art supply store that closed or they could be third shift supplies. Third shift is when the first two shifts go to the original purchaser and then the factory has the third shift make the product for themselves.
I would absolutely buy the Temu ones.The actual Temu tin iteslf looks much nicer than the Michaels one. But it's what's inside that counts. If both the tins have the same quality pencils and you can't tell them apart, then it really doesn't matter......buy the cheapest. I wouldn't hesitate to buy the cheapest of the two. If it's colouring books you want to use them for, then I wouldn't worry about lightfastness as long as they performed well on the paper. If I was going to sell my artwork, then maybe I would buy them from a reputable art store, but even so, that doesn't mean they are legit. Art stores are more likely to stock the real thing beause they don't want to risk their reputation, and customers who buy pencils there, will also buy expensive paper and other stuff at the same time.
Okok I haven't seen the rest of the video but one thing I remember reading before was that these marketplaces like Temu often contain no only knockoffs, but sometimes products which may have been legitimately produced, but may not have passed quality inspection for one reason or another. Stitching issues, slight imperfections, various things which a brand may reject a production run of. So after comparing the boxes, I am very curious to find out if this might be the case! Commenting before finding out because ADHD says so
There is a UA-camr that recommended a one use credit card number when making purchases from temu because banking info has a habbit of being leaked. I don’t know if it’s true but it seems like a good warning none the less.
Some people have had their banking info compromised. Was it 100% Temu? Who knows. I personally use my Paypal account when I make purchases on Temu. Which is just safe online purchasing practice.
@SH-sq6pz. It’s not thar banking info is “getting leaked”. YOU, and your information, are the product for China-they’re selling cheap crap but they make so much more in stealing your data. They steal your data, your banking info, and then sell it on the dark web or use it for other nefarious purposes. The US state department (among other country governments) have warned about this. And if you download the temu app, it puts spyware on your device that catches every key stroke and can do other stuff.
I use a cash app card that I load with cash or transfer money from my bank to and I've never had a problem with Temu and I've been ordering from them on a regular basis for a couple years.
the real test for me would be how they work with gamisol. That will "test" the amount of wax that is used in the manufacturing of the "lead" itself. That and the type of wood used for the "casing" would be the two things I would look at. But for colored pencils, I'm the crazy nut that actually prefers crayola!! lol I grew up with them and using/blending them and I love em! lol
I love Temu, I purchase from them pretty regularly. I choose to purchase from them because as a family of 3 on one income it’s what we’re able to afford. I also have done birthday and Christmas shopping through them as well. My best advice is to read reviews. I have been super happy with everything that I’ve purchased through them.
Heat the pencils up with a heating pad and let cool completely. Pencils should be fine to sharpen with breaking. The pencils have a tendency to get dropped in transit breaking the core, heating them up with consistent but still fairly low heat lets the wax melt just enough to reform the core.
@@CourageousPainting I was skeptical at first and then I actually tried and sure enough it totally worked. The key is a gentle, even heat (hence the heating pad), and letting them cool down. Works great on even reviving old crayons color pencils that no longer put out pigment.
That's very interesting. The one thing that remains to be seen is how well the color lasts. I once bought markers from temu or Ali Express that looked exactly like the really expensive ones, and the colors were wonderful. But I made a swatch chart and four years later the colors are all faded beyond recognition.
Hey for anyone looking to save money on quality watercolor paper Temu also sells a brand called Baohong that is 100% cotton 300gsm paper for literally a third of the price as Arches and other name brand papers. The Baohong comes in all sizes, block, separate pages, pads, cold/hot pressed and a rough grain. I came across the listing and checked out some reviews on youtube and all the reviews were great. I just placed an order and I'm waiting on a pad right now but I have very high hopes. And when I say afforable I'm talking sets starting at $4 for smaller sets and/or number of pages to $15 for the biggest sets. And they're all 100% cotton 300 gsm. I also ordered a synthetic/squirrel brush for around $6. It wasnt from that same brand but it looked pretty good so I thought I'd give it a try too.
I'm currently looking into the soul market and try to sell mine for the full set of prismacolor premier 🤣 Here in Portugal, with shipping, it would take literally half of my monthly income to get one and do my art therapy 😭 my dream set of pencils for sure. And now every time someone points another brand to be the closest you could get to prismas that one sky rockets in price 😪
I’ve heard there’s been a HUUUGE quality decrease in prismacolor, you’d be better off with different pencils if the price is the issue, as it’s very likely it won’t be worth it in the end (they tend to break super easily, and even inside the barrel they’re broken in transport). There’s plenty of better quality pencils out there that will hopefully be more worthwhile for you that are the same price as Prismacolor.
At my place they are really expensive, too. I was totally disappointed when I finally got a set of them. The quality and the attributes themselves were not very pleasant. A few days ago, I tried arrtex, they are totally more affordable and have much better quality while being buttery as Prismacolor. In future I will totally pass on Prismacolor. Maybe artexx is an alternative for you?
I purchased some in a few months ago and honestly they arent that great. Dont get me wrong I love them, but if it is half your monthly income they arent worth it. I tried a few from other brands and my dream pencil are either the Caran D’Ache or the Faber Castell which I like both of them better than the Prismacolor. Idk what those brands are price wise in your areas. Just something to consider. There are also a few sets on Amazon that are close enough to the Prismacolors that you could get 80-90% of the results. I had Soul color before and I would give them an 8.5 vs 9.5 for Prismacolors. Don’t let that be what makes you feel bad about your art.
I think several people have said that Amazon basics (haven’t tried them yet) are pretty dang close to prismacolor and they routinely go under $15 on the US Amazon for the 72 set. As an Amazon brand I can’t image it’s too much more outside the states.
oh that is good to know ,I have got a few things from Temu being cheaper which is helpful for budget I had wondered if those pencils were legit or not and if they worked well. so Thank you 💖
I agree with what she said about buying from temu, but no matter what, no matter how much money you have or don’t, you should never Be buying useless junk on temu. Like to say you can’t afford other things after buying some useless gadgets is so backwards. I understand clothes and necessities, but I will never accept buying useless things
You actually put my mind at rest. I bought a set from amazon that were so badly printed i thought they were fake - they're fine in use, was just thinking i'd been conned lol
Same here - the diamond painting coaster sets and trinket boxes are quick and fun to do, they have excellent diamond paining storage. I also got the 300 Kalour set of pencils from them , but I got my Prismas from Amazon Australia - their special was better than Temu. I have also been buying suncatcher making supplies from Temu, very good quality and well packed
So I wonder if they consider the big box stores like an outletter compared to a true art store and maybe the quality standard is a little cheaper. But I'm from FL and I can tell you that humidity plays a big role in how our supplies perform here on a given day so it almost makes me wonder if that's the case in manufacturing in a tropical locale too.
ArtjourneyUK did the same video & came to the same conclusions when she did the comparison video. The printing on the temu version is crisper than the Mexican prisma's.
I loooove your Sketch Book ideas....please keep them coming. Very inspirational. Question: I have been painting in oils for years and now want to try watercolours. What brand would you recommend in the middle price range please? In my country I have been looking at Mungyo Professional Watercolour Paints....if you know them, please let me have your impression of their pigment, lightfastness and quality. Thanks Pat
I find the drawing journals from Temu to be perfect in terms of paper quality and erasability. Can you try a comparison between a drawing journal from Michaels and a drawing journal from Temu? That would be amazing to see a comparison.
I buy from Temu monthly. I never use the coupons, too confusing. I’m happy 95% of the time. I don’t buy name brand stuff from them. Their return policy is wonderful. No complaints
I'm sorry but I really hate the whole "if you cant afford it its fine". Like most of these websites are providing products from companies and warehouses where ppl are literally paid little to nothing, child labor and just abused straight up. we as humans have somehow gotten numb to these horrific things as long as they aren't happening to/around us which has to be one of the most selfish things imaginable. If you want to use these website fine, support the cycle of abuse, but don't try to give lame ass excuses. I hope ya'll be giving your thanks everyday you were born in the country you're in to be so privileged as to ignore and actually aid in the abuse of others so you can buy pretty little things that mostly end up as landfill anyway.
As someone who isn't financially stable enough to purchase high price items, it's a last resort. Especially since I live in the US, have no job, and don't like depending on my parents for everything. I use websites like temu to buy art supplies that I can use to create stuff to sell until I can get a stable income. Saying "they support forced labor" does essentially nothing to STOP the forced labor. It's out of our control, whether we buy from there or not.
Just because we can afford to buy them, it doesn't make us "privileged" or fortunate in any way. Rather, it's the other way round, those others (poor people) are unfortunate, and that doesn't mean the rest of us are greedy and nasty because we buy "pretty little" things as you put it. I'm sure you would own some of those "pretty little things" your self, be it shoes, clothes, or a nicely furnished home. You need to take a chill pill. We are not selfish for buying these things, and if we didn't buy them, many of those factory workers would be hungry and homeless. We are all very much aware of the conditions those less fortunate have to endure, but i'm not going to deny myself the things I want if I can afford them, and besides, it's not going to make a difference even if I did.
Did the packaging happen to include a manufacturing date? On the box from Temu, the colors of the pencils appeared faded (common time related effect). But, with so much being the same or painfully similar, I have to wonder if the seller on Temu was trying to move some really old stock. If a date or batch number that can be researched is present, perhaps that could answer some questions.
Trying to justify child abuse and child labour with ‘things are expensive’. Also they don’t look the same at all… your camera clearly picks up the difference in colour and quality.
As someone who isn't financially stable enough to purchase high price items, it's a last resort. Especially since I live in the US, have no job, and don't like depending on my parents for everything. I use websites like temu to buy art supplies that I can use to create stuff to sell until I can get a stable income. Saying "they support forced labor" does essentially nothing to STOP the forced labor. It's out of our control, whether we buy from there or not.
Your lucky your fornuate enough to buy expensive things next time no need to be a asshat also if we don’t buy then guess what those workers will starve to death and die did you ever think of that probally not yes their barely paid anything but guess what if everyone stopped buying anything off them you are actually killing off those peoples little income their not gonna stop doing it ever!
New subscriber, I am so glad I found this. I was wondering about those on temu. I lost my complete set and wanted more but can’t afford them. I am going to go ahead and buy the temu ones
okay i know this not the point the video but are the temu ones really cheaper? when Michaels always have coupons i see one right now 50% which makes it only $90.. i cant tell if this always a coupon they have or not in USA but im in canada and Michaels pretty much always has 30% or 40% coupons like it okay to buy it on temu if your in a area when they don't sell prismacolors
Hi Chloe, I'm from Malaysia btw and prismacolor is not a familiar product in our country. But in previous year, I did bought this set of prismacolour in a very cheap price i guess. Of course it cost me MYR481 but if convert to USD, it's only for usd 101. It was delivered from korea. Furthermore, nor only that i get the set, i also was given the sharpener and the blending sets FOR FREE! Of course watching this video making curious that my set is fake, but it did had the made in mexico stamp anyway and the feels of using it is the same feeling as per expected and describe by so many people. And i did get 2 pencils which crack plus another one was missing. So, the real stuff really got the quality issue i guess😅.
Knowing they are sooo similar has me thinking 🤔, I would definitely get them cheaper and know that I would still feel my art has the best medium used on it. I do hope you so more like this with other art brands, thank you 🤗❤️👍🏽💯
Notice the grain pattern of the wood topped table on which your sheet of paper is placed, and how that could factor into how each color swatch could "feel" as you laid them down.
I bought my prismas years ago on europe amazon and they are all perfect, centered and the finish is impecable plus never ever had issues with breakage... now I wonder if those were fake? it was 10years ago though
I wonder how their lightfastness compares. if you took a piece of art made with each and displayed them on a wall for a few years in normal indoor light, how well do the colors retain their brightness? I don't expect to find out, lol, just musing.
The centred cores alone is enough to make the "fake" pencils much better. Especially if you can't tell the difference when using them. Think of the savings in shavings!
i have the brand name prismacolor pencils that i bought before i knew about temu. i am a casual user of them and not an expert by any means. i am not surprised that the temu one is comparable as the other craft supplies i have purchased from temu have been great quality. the suprising/upsetting part of the brand name is how, in comparison, is so badly made. smudged ink on label, barrels off center, cracks. they are not a cheap pencil. i definitely did expect a bit more quality from them. but they color well and are among the top pencils. i would prefer my pencils produce great coloring results over having perfect packaging but seeing this comparison makes me think both are possible in the same pencil and makes me question why they aren't. thanks for the very informative video!
I actaully did notice a color differnce between the 2. On all the colors you put down except the last red/orange the Prismacolor were just a little but more vibrant or brighter. Not really enough to make a big difference though. I buy stuff from Temu now and then and so far I'm pretty happy with what I've bought. I haven't bought any flat art supplies as I mostly just sculpt now so I've gotten some sculpting tool kind of stuff and a thing that holds my tools.. I love it! its spins and each little holder comes out except for the round center one. Anyways glad you did this. I plan to get back to flat work someday and I still have my set of prismacolors ( I started as a Illustrator/painter) but they are like 20 years old now lol.. if I need new ones and Temu's around I may buy from them.
My husband treated me to the Prisma's and I was somewhat disappointed tbh... I had 6 pencils that just broke, broke and broke... It'd break, I'd sharpen, it'd break again, letting approx 10mm of "lead" fall out, and repeat until all 6 are about thumb length. So I stopped using them, knew they were the real deal as I saw the receipt and he bought them direct. I mentioned this in a colouring group on FB and it seems a lot of people had similar experiences... My worry is that I've maybe used 50 pencils and 6 were dreadful, how many duffers will be in the rest of the box...? Oh and the Johanna Basford books are my favourites, I LOVE them, maybe a lil too much. I'm scared to use them in case I mess them up... they are so gorgeous they get me all OCD.
Hi Chloe! Thanks for uploading this vid its been really helpful! Can I ask if you can do a review on Brutfuner color pencils? I would love to see the comparison between Prismacolor and Brutfuner
To be honest, I don't buy from temu, but yes, prisma color pencils are very expensive depending if u have % off coupons or whatnot or even buying from another person online. I've felt I love prisma because of fact there buttery but I've tried tons of color pencils and bought a cheep 20 dollar for 120 pack of color pencils by the creative expert brand premium colored pencils from Ross Dress for less there my favorite besides prisma I'd love u to try this brand I say but there more colors for less money! 😅 I was surprised at how saturated they were. I hope u can try these one day because I honestly love the brand.
I buy individual replacement prismacolor single pencils all the time and they arrive in a variety of shades and finishes..three sienna browns will be three different shades of brown for instance, on the outside at least! And often the outside paint colour is vastly different to the actual core colour too..theyre still the best though.
Love, love, love the video and your work! One thing id add to get a broader audience, and make us stay, is to add at least a subtitle with metric, kgs ... ya know, for the rest of the world to understand!!! 😂❤🎉
Wow. I have some real prismas and they're my favorite. They sharpen well, the color is rich, they don't break like people seem to say. Idk what the problem is with everyone elses sets but i love them.
It’s sad that the real Prismacolors appear to be printed more carelessly than the fakes. I found the same to be true! I’ve had so many people contact me asking about fakes, because Prismacolor is such bad quality now.
The reason they don’t line up is the colors are made in batches. I bought a 12 pack of all white pencils and they all lined up with each other, but not really the other colors. I think they did it as a way to separate themselves and make it easier to identify the fakes. Nowadays a lot of fake brands put a lot of effort into appearing perfect. On the prismacolor box the pencils appear as though they all line up, when the reality is they don’t. A fake brand wouldn’t know that unless the bought a set of prismas. It’s kind of smart when you think about it.
@@Night-1331 you’re right about the batches. they also seem to be intended to line up at the top, not the bottom. So different colors are different sized words, and will sit at different heights. The “P” in Prismacolor usually lines up much better than the number.
Design-wise, it’s a bit of a weird choice. They should really be lined up from the bottom to look consistent, especially as the tops of the pencils wear down.
Most fakes line them up at the bottom, like you’d expect.
I think another reason why less money and attention is spent on the visual aspect of real prismacolors is because they invest it into the ingredients and processing of the actual leads of the pencils.
I’d be willing to bet that the temu ones contain far less and lower quality pigments and won’t be as lightfast (they may even contain some potentially toxic substances)
@@kathymarshall220 Yup very likely. Random items from Temu almost without fail test as having dangerous levels of lead, cadmium, and other heavy metals--dozens to hundreds of times more than is considered the safe limit by most countries.
Also they try and copy the same design as the original but you can see where the colours and size of the image differentiate, fake ones tend to use muted our washed out colours @@SarahRenaeClark
I wonder if the Temu colored pencils are made by a manufacturer who used to make prismacolors... but they know the formulations so are now counterfiting the product they used to be contracted to make. So many brands are switching manufacturers in order to save money, and once a manufacturer has the formulations they just do what they want.
I heard this happened with some higher quality watercolors; there are so many water color sets that are effectively a 'brand name' as these random manufacturers now have the formulas of some previously better esteemed brands... they just white label the formula to something else. Probably happening across all mediums....
That is why there is a sudden glut of great quality 'off' brands available... a brand wants cheaper manufacturing so they outsource manufacturing to cheaper labour areas, and boom they have no control over how their formulas are used. You can make people sign documents, it does not mean they will follow the agreement not to replicate your formula lol
I was thinking this too
Could you name some. I will help a poor artist save some money
Even if that's the case here it doesn't make any sense because previously they were made in USA didn't they?
@mmecharlotte do you have a link? The only guache I see is $26
@@izabelaswa85 well... It actually has kind of sense, the Temu ones said they were made in USA on the box, even they have the Mexico stamp in the pencils 🤔 so maybe yeah, they were made in USA but they need to keep the stamp to look alike.
It's worth noting that Prismacolor discontinued Lilac & Lavender and replaced them with Amethyst & Orchid -- older sets with those colors are going to get discounted so that Prismacolor can start shipping out the new sets. Right before they moved production to Mexico when Prisma was still being made in the US there was more of a satin finish on the pencil barrells I'd get open stock from Blick & Michaels.
I got a reduced-cost set from Amazon, and a lot of the wood was cracked, but everything matches the color and the finish of the smaller tin sets people like to get me for gifts from Micheals. The colors match when swatched. So if they are fakes, they are decently made fakes. I also have 30-year-old sets. I wonder; do they have similar colorfastness?
So it's possible this Temu seller is selling off a lot of old but genuine Prismacolor stock at a discount. The main issue with Temu is you just don't know for sure.
@@agent57 That seems likely to me -- as I've picked up several of the smaller Prismacolor sets with Lavender & Orchid for really good prices as retailers try to cycle in the new product. Amazon even had the 150 set for $108 US a few weeks back.
@@agent57 yes or maybe (I saw it in another comment) they (USA) are the old manufacturers and have the formula and equipment to make them.
You are all forgetting the fact that despite that "made in United States" thing on the outside of the box, the pencils were stamped with "Mexico" to match the real set. That debuncts the theory that these are an old set from the original manufacturer.
Interesting 🤔
I think based on your end results, if the "temu" pencils are all an artist's budget could allow, definitely NOT a disappointing result!
For real!
"artists" who are selling art should not be using this, bet the price of actual prismacolors they aren't lightfast pigments. quality of artist quality supplies dont mean super pigmented and easy to work with, they mean lightfast and able to stand the test of time.
I have seen a couple of people on facebook complain about the ‘prismacolors’ they bought on temu. Last one I saw had hard bits in them.
I think you’re better off buying a smaller real set than anything from temu.
@@louizelimepips3517this, people underestimate what you can do with only a few crayons and blending together! If you can avoid supporting temu i would
It is not worth the malware tho
Sadly, I feel like there are so many more "budget" colored pencils that are better than Prismacolors now.
Which ones do you recommend? I tried Cezanne and I liked those.
I don't know any one else opinion but last I used Staedtler I think they're called those weren't to bad just triangles so feels different when you hold em
don’t gatekeep
Commenting to see when they answer😊
@@catchheronthefly4532same
As an older person I have learned in my lifetime just because something is more expensive doesn't make it better. Buyer Beware as the saying goes. I've bought clothes from Dillards and Macys that stitching fell out in a few months and Kmart clothes that lasted until my kids outgrew them (sorry, I raised mine in the 80's). In one of my collections I bought a snow globe from Nordstroms for 3X as much as my others from Hallmark or speciality shops and it's the ugliest one in the collection (the fairy inside looks like a stick with a mushed face). Nursing shoes (from a uniform store I bought all my scrubs for years) for $75, fell apart within 3 weeks, Kmart lasted 8 months (11.99)! Extra labels are for Asian (and often where the products are made or at least processed) who aren't regularly represented on other languages like Spanish, French or German are in the instructions. Not throwing shade here to consumers but over the years I think a lot of it is the corporations making us believe, or at least trying to, anything that is not expensive is cheap or chintzy, once again rich corporations controlling that narrative 🤬
exactly.. why assume that Micheals buys genuine? They need huge profit to cover all their sales gimmicks and huge rents.
The real test would be the lightfastness test. 3 months on a Southern Hemisphere interior window sill in summer would make all but the very best pigments & dyes disappear.
Pencils like Derwent or Faber Castell might last even longer.
Real cheap, fugitive ones might largely fade or even disappear after 3 weeks.
IF both these pencil sets colours lasted as long as Derwent etc then we might claim them as a quality artist's product.
A good product, but still student grade one might still look largely acceptable after 6 or more weeks in the sun.
Frame works under UV glass or keep them in a folder or UV protecting varnish otherwise.
I bought myself a proper wardrobe from brand names once. Everything was falling apart after 3 months and I went back to cheap supermarket clothes, several items of which I've been wearing for over 10 years.
You briefly mentioned that people complained about quality control after production moved to Mexico. My guess is that the Temu pencils are genuine prismacolor, but may have been old stock that they were able to buy really cheap, and since colored pencils don't really expire or age that noticeably, they're still perfecty good high quality pencils. Similar things happen with misprinted or overstock goods. They can't be sold in the country they were intended for, but the product itself is still perfectly good so they sell it to other countries for a very low price.
Also products can be brought cheaper if the packaging is misprinted, just bought salt 20 percent off because the logo was misprinted, the salt was the same but the packaging wasn't. Temu can probably sell things cheaper just by caring less about how beautiful the box will come out using cheaper ink, cheaper print etc the price can drop pretty well. Idk if Americans have that but in Europe we have eco+ products that are cheaper than the ones with a brand and if you compare them to the brand ones their packaging is bland (all white) with only a picture or the name of the product (like chocolate as an example) in one language only with the logo and then the ingredients, the most expensive things after the product is the box itself and the brand (if you buy shoes off temu you can find good quality stuff for 100 bucks the same quality as Nike but Nike it would cost 1000 bucks because it's labeled Nike)
That might also exsplain why the one said made in us
I purchased a full set of (72) UK manufactured, very high quality watercolour pencils because the colour of the pencil casing was changing from a light blue to a dark blue. The quality of the pencil was exactly the same, but I got them for 75% less. I didn't care what colour the outer casing was, but I remember reading all over the place that retailers were selling "counterfeits", but it was definitely not the case.
I used to work at a ‘high end’ art store and got tons of prismacolor pencils and I HATE them. They constantly break, I’ve had the pigment actually just slide out of the wood, feel scratchy, and don’t lay down well (in my opinion). I switched to faber-castel and I will never go back.
I've got so many coloured pencils of different brands and honestly? Prismas are pretty mediocre. And I agree - you can't go wrong with FC.
I don’t know. I guess it depends on the artist. I use prismas, faber and caran D’Ache and those last ones are the only ones I like better than prismas. Fabers are so hard I feel like I work twice with those and I don’t have the breaking problems with my prismas.
@@gemininosagasame with me. I like all my pencils the same. Prisma, Holbein, caran dache, fc, etc
Yeah, everything I have heard about Prismacolors for years has made me decide to invest on Polychromos directly and to me there is no turning back. Faber Castel, when it comes to their color pencils, has never done me wrong. Even the ones that are for students are so much better than other pencils in the same grade.
i got a set of faber castle ones for college and they are really great. So expensive though. I also am a fan of there oil pastels as well.
I was so disappointed with the prismacolors I bought (yes genuine, bought in an art supply store in the USA lol) I think European pencils are far nicer ( Caran d’Ache, Faber castell etc)
I'd really love to know how they sharpen. Prismacolor is notorious for being just destroyed inside and if Temu ones aren't it may tempt me. If you did a short of sharpening them, that would be super helpful. No pressure though❤.
I have almost given up on Prismacolor for this issue. I hate that the colors are often off-center in the wood and that they break so often. It's not worth the cost for me!
@@lisazimmerman5622the fact that they're so expensive for crap quality blows my mind. It's the name you're paying for, really. They need to learn that their name means nothing if their products are sh*t.
I learned this from a commenter on a different UA-camrs page (might have been on one of Sarah Renae Clark’s videos actually) and it actually has worked for me.
Put the prismacolors (or any soft core pencils) that are giving you grief on a hot heating pad for about 20 minutes until warm to the touch and then let the pencils completely cool before touching them. Once cool they will stop breaking every other second and can actually be sharpened.
Not 100% of the science but I think you are getting the wax warm enough that it fills in the microcracks that form from rough handling/drops but not hot enough to change the chemical composition. Strangely enough it also works on cheap color pencils like crayola that are no longer putting down pigment from age.
I DID give up on prismacolor for this issue!
I thought it was just me having g bad luck!
Asian market places are known to sell prototype or B products. Maybe this was a test to find a different manufacturer that didn’t go through. The doll collector bubble searches these platforms for some leaked unused parts for example
I wonder if the Temu ones might have been older pencils, like maybe those ones are real as well, but they're from before the manufacturing moved to Mexico? That might explain why they were shipped potentially to Europe and then back. Because pencils don't expire really, the Temu ones might just be really old and so not sellable to Michaels etc?
They've been made in Mexico since 2010, sorry but while they never actually go bad, they dry out I have prismacolors from when I was 16 and I'm 44 now, they definitely dry out, plus they had different packages then
@@emilymulcahy that’s interesting. Are you still able to draw with them even though they feel dry? I also have prismacolor pencils from when I was in high school (now I’m 40). I haven’t used mine since high school. I’ll have to try them out.
@@monalee7687 yes, with most, some are just little nubbins now and some are full size, they're not dry per se but dryer than they used to be and they're more chalky now than they used to be
Try to "restore" their color: use a heating pad to heat them up for 20 minutes and then cool. It can reactivate the wax in the pencil. Good luck!
@@chrystalteal4171 that can also destroy them
I work in manufacturing and sometimes when there is a supplier or production issue or an increase in demand, other plants can pick up orders and “white label” the order to ensure the orders are fulfilled. Temu could also have a similar arrangement to purchase potentially damaged, old inventory, or rather imperfect orders at a discount such as dollar tree or imperfect foods.
Honestly, does it really matter if the TEMU ones are fake if they perform JUST as well as the real ones? For that price difference, I'd get the TEMU
It's for the ethics of buying from a brand like that. Also idk if I'd trust their light fastness.
@@yukikanegawa7470 real prismacolors ain’t lightfast either
And let’s be honest, even US made products might not be produced ethically per se. Many companies have bad working conditions, safety problems etc. all over the world. It really depends on the company and how they think of their workforce (as humans as opposed to numbers on a spreadsheet) 🙈
@@yukikanegawa7470 Ethics were violated when Newell gave Chinese manufacturers the Prismacolor specs to see if they could undercut the already underpaid Mexican manufacturers, all for the sake of buffing dividends.
If China now offers the consumer better product for cheaper and fucks Newell stockholders out of money in the process, they're the good guys.
Okay when you do that for yourself, but if you’d be professional and you’d for example sell your pieces it would be kinda ridiculous
Love my Prisma Colors pencil, but I will only purchase ones NOT made in Mexico. Vintage pencils dating before they moved to Mexico for manufacturing in 2009. * around 15 years ago. The pencils that best are from the late 80- 90's. Pencils made before the move to Mexico, break less, and have better cores. Working as a designer I had a big stash of older pencils.
I'm blessed to have the Eagle Prismacolors from the 70s that were my mom's and they are SO NICE. Honestly my Prima from the early 00s are good too. The new ones I have are eh....
I have some from a 16th birthday gift (I'm 44 now) they are dryer than they used to be new
great to know, thanks.
I have the original Karismacolors made in the US and my prismas made in Mexico have way less breakage issues... I bought them from amazon in Europe though but it says they are made in mexico
@@RavibunI just found several of those in my stash😀
The fake looks actuality better than the original 😂
Seems to be hard to fake the poor quality in manufacturing.
what you could also find is that a lot of these big named companies will give their "factory seconds" to places like Temu just so they can get some money for them.
What I mean when I say factory seconds are things that are not up to brand standard, like the printing on the box, and slight colour variation of the paint on the pencil. Yes, there are fakes out there but a lot of companies do it. They are still legally correct as prisma pencils and can be sold as such, but they have failed inspection to be sold at the standard they hold themselves to. so instead of throwing them out they pass on to cheaper shops and sell at a discount to get something for that product.
Commenter above mentioned they contacted Prismacolor to ask what happens to seconds, and they don't put them into the market, but rather recycle them. There are no seconds on the market.
As a senior on limited budget, TEMU has been my go to for a lot of my art supplies, Copic type markers (worked fine, out of 30 two were dried out, rest were great), metallic paints, markers, and pens (worked great) , gold leafing and products(really beautiful), journaling and planner supplies (also very good) and fine cutting tools, along with miscellaneous other tools were also great! Must check sizes and materials carefully but overall good products with amazing customer service! Good refund and return policies (no shipping fee) thank for careful review!
you can buy cheap supplies at any store without giving away all your personal data to a company famous for extremely shady practices
The thing about Temu and AliExpress is that they are essentially like Asian eBay or Amazon, and that means the offerings are wide, varied, and not necessarily automatically worse than the legit stuff, and may in fact be the legit stuff heavily discounted.
…and it is possible or even probable that there are different sellers selling ‘the same’ product, one legit and one not so much..
It's sometimes gray goods too. Which means they are sort of legit, but for whatever reason the company didn't intend to sell them
Yeah there's piracy sellers who are criminals, defective item sellers who are shady as what they're selling could be as bad as outright broken or as anal as a slightly off color label.
And then there's direct sellers who are selling the legit boutique-standards meeting product you'll see at your local store. But without the added costs of redundant shipping bureaucracy that gets passed on to the consumer. Those people are heroes.
There was just a report that came out that things from Temu contain carcinogens..like nail polish
@@RG_Ephso do most nail polishes made in the USA
I‘m wondering whether they’re cheaper on Temu because of the „faulty“ print on the packaging? Or maybe they’re older stock before the production was moved to Mexico, hence the differences in the looks of the pencils?
The boxes could be faded from sitting on the shelf for a long time. My Prismacolor pencils came in a metal box so the colors are painted and not printed.
They moved to Mexico about 15 years ago, so doubtful plus colors have been retired and reintroduced as well as different packaging in that timespan
likely cheaper for the same reason anything manufactured in a communist country paying slave wages, is cheaper.
To know for sure, you would have to contact Prisma Color and ask them what they do with their rejects. Like if a whole run comes out more mat, then shiny?
This was my thought actually. I almost feel like the Temu ones might be a box up of factory seconds or something, cause I used to buy boxes of pencils that way on Ebay to get them cheaper, and I saw a lot of things like that.
But that would mean they rejected all the ones with clear printing 😂🤣
@@nicolemitchell446 Actually it's more likely the print is clean because they didn't get the gloss coat over top, that makes things run really easily.
I asked Prismacolor that when I did my video comparing the Temu pencils and they said they recycle their reject pencils.
I wondered if the Temu ones might be seconds, not so much the pencils themselves as the packaging., as soon as the printing extending a little over the edge of the box got mentioned. A lot of perfectly good products (especially snack foods) get rejected for regular stores because there’s a slight error on the packaging. It may be better for Prismacolor to sell pencils that won’t sell at art stores at a steep discount through Temu than the cost of repackaging or dealing with returned stock.
It honestly sounds like a difference in binder for the color itself and it feels like prismacolors are more handcrafted than they are machine crafted
what a kind way to say "has awful quality control" x'D
@@azu2729 hecho a mano, también puede significar, más calidad, recuerda que la industrialización de un producto es para fabricar rápido, y esosi puede hablar de bajo control de calidad.
Some factories can choose the quality control of items depending on what country or what store they are sending them too.
hi chloe, really interesting the difference and similarities, this seems to be a win! i just wondered a) about the two light purple tones that have been removed from prismas, what did you get in your box? and what did you get in the temu ones? and b) how do they sharpen? c) do they blend well going from like a red to orange to yellow? part 2 needed 😄❤
I really like what you said in the introduction about judging people who shop with Temu. Also not wanting to shop with them if you have a choice. Thank you ❤
Your intro is so sane and non-judgmental. Much love to you for that ❤
I'd love to see a lightfastness test on both of these sets. I'd be happy to see a video about that in 6 to 12 months...
The Temu pencils would probably perform better taking into account that only 67% of Prismacolor Premier pencils are lightfast 😅
Really like this video. I truly believe that if an artist on a tight budget can get art supplies they are saving for, for cheap and they work about the same they absolutely should.
Well im certainly glad you did the testing for every one..Thank YOU.
I've always held back with art supplies...bc yes cheaper is better fir a senior on a fixed income. But buying cheaper bread say...and to get it home and it's moldy...is a huge pain in the ass and wallet.
So i really appreciate your sleuthing.
I like that you mentioned not everyone is fortunate enough to be able to afford because it is true, and people will try make you feel bad for not being able to spend nearly double the amount on the same product. Same with shein, clothing, its helps families out who dont have a lot of money to cloth their kids.
If I had to guess, I would think they are just manufactured .by different manufacturing companies…not that they are fake.
The biggest concern I have buying on a marketplace vs a reseller with allows for knock-offs is the possibility that the materials are possibly toxic there are different ways and materials that can be used to make certain colors. Many of the cheaper pigment used to make colors are known to be very toxic materials and could be a way if not being enforced with safety protocols that official product is supposed to follow to cut costs. Trying to check from the printing of the box is really really hard nowadays because print is actually really cheap compared to materials/pigment. Also lightfastness might not be as good. TLDR: imo: knockoffs don’t follow safety protocols; risking my health and other unknown not worth saving a couple bucks!
This! The very fact that the content creator of this video did not address these 2 factors show she does not know anything about artists materials and did a huge disservice to her viewers. She needs to educate herself before doing something like this again.
I love Johanna Basford as well! I have all of her books. Currently working through World of Flowers. That was crazy that the Temu had a neater look to them. Was not expecting that.
I'm so glad you did this video. I was wondering they
would be good or not
I was wondering if there was a year of manufacturing was printed on the boxes. It would be interesting if they were produced in different years. Great comparison!! 👍
Isn't there usually a production number on the box from which you can find details of the year and place of manufacturing? I mean novadays one could probably just google it
They both say 2018.
@@ArtJourneyUK Interesting! Thank you!
I did the same test because I got the Temu one but had my other set from Blick. I found the Temu ones had a satin finish and Blick ones glossy. The colors were all slightly off also on the ones I tested side by side. Like they could not get a perfect match of the colors. Also, doing a test to see if I could guess which was which based on the performance, I could pick out which was the Blick one because it seemed slightly more buttery and less waxy feeling.
They may not be fakes, but manufactured in China for that market. Similar to Winsor & Newton acrylics. What is avaiblw in US stores was manufactured in Europe but it is possible to buy the sets made in China online
So from your video I gather that the temu ones ARE fake but they're damn good fakes?
That’s what I gathered!
yes
Either that or it was simply the difference between the two manufacturing plants. One from USA and one in Mexico. They moved and maybe the stock just hadn't sold through from the older location. ???
They don't have to be fake. They could be real, but from an art supply store that closed or they could be third shift supplies. Third shift is when the first two shifts go to the original purchaser and then the factory has the third shift make the product for themselves.
I just spent $114 on this set at Michael’s with a 40% coupon so it’s same price as your temu
I would absolutely buy the Temu ones.The actual Temu tin iteslf looks much nicer than the Michaels one. But it's what's inside that counts. If both the tins have the same quality pencils and you can't tell them apart, then it really doesn't matter......buy the cheapest. I wouldn't hesitate to buy the cheapest of the two. If it's colouring books you want to use them for, then I wouldn't worry about lightfastness as long as they performed well on the paper. If I was going to sell my artwork, then maybe I would buy them from a reputable art store, but even so, that doesn't mean they are legit. Art stores are more likely to stock the real thing beause they don't want to risk their reputation, and customers who buy pencils there, will also buy expensive paper and other stuff at the same time.
Okok I haven't seen the rest of the video but one thing I remember reading before was that these marketplaces like Temu often contain no only knockoffs, but sometimes products which may have been legitimately produced, but may not have passed quality inspection for one reason or another. Stitching issues, slight imperfections, various things which a brand may reject a production run of. So after comparing the boxes, I am very curious to find out if this might be the case! Commenting before finding out because ADHD says so
There is a UA-camr that recommended a one use credit card number when making purchases from temu because banking info has a habbit of being leaked. I don’t know if it’s true but it seems like a good warning none the less.
Some people have had their banking info compromised. Was it 100% Temu? Who knows. I personally use my Paypal account when I make purchases on Temu. Which is just safe online purchasing practice.
@@Bekz715 I also pay through Paypal when buying from Temu and have never had an issue. I use Paypal for the majority of my online shopping.
@SH-sq6pz. It’s not thar banking info is “getting leaked”. YOU, and your information, are the product for China-they’re selling cheap crap but they make so much more in stealing your data. They steal your data, your banking info, and then sell it on the dark web or use it for other nefarious purposes. The US state department (among other country governments) have warned about this. And if you download the temu app, it puts spyware on your device that catches every key stroke and can do other stuff.
I use a cash app card that I load with cash or transfer money from my bank to and I've never had a problem with Temu and I've been ordering from them on a regular basis for a couple years.
For that very reason I always use PayPal, not only are my bank details secure but also in the event that an order goes awry PayPal give guarantees
the real test for me would be how they work with gamisol. That will "test" the amount of wax that is used in the manufacturing of the "lead" itself. That and the type of wood used for the "casing" would be the two things I would look at. But for colored pencils, I'm the crazy nut that actually prefers crayola!! lol I grew up with them and using/blending them and I love em! lol
I love Temu, I purchase from them pretty regularly. I choose to purchase from them because as a family of 3 on one income it’s what we’re able to afford. I also have done birthday and Christmas shopping through them as well. My best advice is to read reviews. I have been super happy with everything that I’ve purchased through them.
My question is how well do both of them sharpen? I always have issues with my prisma colored pencils breaking when I sharpen them. 😅😭
Heat the pencils up with a heating pad and let cool completely. Pencils should be fine to sharpen with breaking. The pencils have a tendency to get dropped in transit breaking the core, heating them up with consistent but still fairly low heat lets the wax melt just enough to reform the core.
@@DeathyAS I had no idea I could heat them up. Thank you for this advice. I might try using colored pencils again.
@@CourageousPainting I was skeptical at first and then I actually tried and sure enough it totally worked. The key is a gentle, even heat (hence the heating pad), and letting them cool down. Works great on even reviving old crayons color pencils that no longer put out pigment.
Temu, wish, Ali express, you pay your money and takes your chance. It really is a lottery as to getting real goods or fakes.
True enough. Same with Amazon and Walmart.
I would love to see more videos like this. I want to know about more branding options whether from temp or somewhere else.
I love your hair and outfit, Chloe. You look beautiful.
ive never been so early omg i love chloe so much she relped me get out of a dark time in my life
When the Fake become better than the Original, Prismacolor needs to rethink their Businessmodel.
That's very interesting. The one thing that remains to be seen is how well the color lasts. I once bought markers from temu or Ali Express that looked exactly like the really expensive ones, and the colors were wonderful. But I made a swatch chart and four years later the colors are all faded beyond recognition.
I wonder what the lightfastness is for the TEMU.
What about the size of the leds and the circumference of each pencil?
0:12 idk why this made me laugh so much
Hey for anyone looking to save money on quality watercolor paper Temu also sells a brand called Baohong that is 100% cotton 300gsm paper for literally a third of the price as Arches and other name brand papers. The Baohong comes in all sizes, block, separate pages, pads, cold/hot pressed and a rough grain. I came across the listing and checked out some reviews on youtube and all the reviews were great. I just placed an order and I'm waiting on a pad right now but I have very high hopes. And when I say afforable I'm talking sets starting at $4 for smaller sets and/or number of pages to $15 for the biggest sets. And they're all 100% cotton 300 gsm. I also ordered a synthetic/squirrel brush for around $6. It wasnt from that same brand but it looked pretty good so I thought I'd give it a try too.
I'm currently looking into the soul market and try to sell mine for the full set of prismacolor premier 🤣 Here in Portugal, with shipping, it would take literally half of my monthly income to get one and do my art therapy 😭 my dream set of pencils for sure. And now every time someone points another brand to be the closest you could get to prismas that one sky rockets in price 😪
I’ve heard there’s been a HUUUGE quality decrease in prismacolor, you’d be better off with different pencils if the price is the issue, as it’s very likely it won’t be worth it in the end (they tend to break super easily, and even inside the barrel they’re broken in transport). There’s plenty of better quality pencils out there that will hopefully be more worthwhile for you that are the same price as Prismacolor.
At my place they are really expensive, too. I was totally disappointed when I finally got a set of them. The quality and the attributes themselves were not very pleasant. A few days ago, I tried arrtex, they are totally more affordable and have much better quality while being buttery as Prismacolor. In future I will totally pass on Prismacolor. Maybe artexx is an alternative for you?
I purchased some in a few months ago and honestly they arent that great. Dont get me wrong I love them, but if it is half your monthly income they arent worth it. I tried a few from other brands and my dream pencil are either the Caran D’Ache or the Faber Castell which I like both of them better than the Prismacolor. Idk what those brands are price wise in your areas. Just something to consider. There are also a few sets on Amazon that are close enough to the Prismacolors that you could get 80-90% of the results. I had Soul color before and I would give them an 8.5 vs 9.5 for Prismacolors. Don’t let that be what makes you feel bad about your art.
Have you looked into Faber Castell Polychromos? They’re great, maybe they are easier to get in Portugal :)
I think several people have said that Amazon basics (haven’t tried them yet) are pretty dang close to prismacolor and they routinely go under $15 on the US Amazon for the 72 set. As an Amazon brand I can’t image it’s too much more outside the states.
oh that is good to know ,I have got a few things from Temu being cheaper which is helpful for budget I had wondered if those pencils were legit or not and if they worked well. so Thank you 💖
I agree with what she said about buying from temu, but no matter what, no matter how much money you have or don’t, you should never Be buying useless junk on temu. Like to say you can’t afford other things after buying some useless gadgets is so backwards. I understand clothes and necessities, but I will never accept buying useless things
You actually put my mind at rest. I bought a set from amazon that were so badly printed i thought they were fake - they're fine in use, was just thinking i'd been conned lol
I buy a lot of diamond paintings from Temu. These are good. Better than some I bought from shops here in the Netherlands.
Same here - the diamond painting coaster sets and trinket boxes are quick and fun to do, they have excellent diamond paining storage. I also got the 300 Kalour set of pencils from them , but I got my Prismas from Amazon Australia - their special was better than Temu. I have also been buying suncatcher making supplies from Temu, very good quality and well packed
So I wonder if they consider the big box stores like an outletter compared to a true art store and maybe the quality standard is a little cheaper. But I'm from FL and I can tell you that humidity plays a big role in how our supplies perform here on a given day so it almost makes me wonder if that's the case in manufacturing in a tropical locale too.
ArtjourneyUK did the same video & came to the same conclusions when she did the comparison video. The printing on the temu version is crisper than the Mexican prisma's.
I mentioned this as well…❤
Thanks Claire & Sparkle 🥰
I would love more videos like this - spot on point about non-judgmental
I loved that you were honest about the pencil set. Love you're videos you are amazing.
I loooove your Sketch Book ideas....please keep them coming. Very inspirational. Question: I have been painting in oils for years and now want to try watercolours. What brand would you recommend in the middle price range please? In my country I have been looking at Mungyo Professional Watercolour Paints....if you know them, please let me have your impression of their pigment, lightfastness and quality. Thanks Pat
I find the drawing journals from Temu to be perfect in terms of paper quality and erasability. Can you try a comparison between a drawing journal from Michaels and a drawing journal from Temu? That would be amazing to see a comparison.
I buy from Temu monthly. I never use the coupons, too confusing. I’m happy 95% of the time. I don’t buy name brand stuff from them. Their return policy is wonderful. No complaints
I'm sorry but I really hate the whole "if you cant afford it its fine". Like most of these websites are providing products from companies and warehouses where ppl are literally paid little to nothing, child labor and just abused straight up. we as humans have somehow gotten numb to these horrific things as long as they aren't happening to/around us which has to be one of the most selfish things imaginable.
If you want to use these website fine, support the cycle of abuse, but don't try to give lame ass excuses. I hope ya'll be giving your thanks everyday you were born in the country you're in to be so privileged as to ignore and actually aid in the abuse of others so you can buy pretty little things that mostly end up as landfill anyway.
As someone who isn't financially stable enough to purchase high price items, it's a last resort. Especially since I live in the US, have no job, and don't like depending on my parents for everything. I use websites like temu to buy art supplies that I can use to create stuff to sell until I can get a stable income. Saying "they support forced labor" does essentially nothing to STOP the forced labor. It's out of our control, whether we buy from there or not.
Just because we can afford to buy them, it doesn't make us "privileged" or fortunate in any way. Rather, it's the other way round, those others (poor people) are unfortunate, and that doesn't mean the rest of us are greedy and nasty because we buy "pretty little" things as you put it. I'm sure you would own some of those "pretty little things" your self, be it shoes, clothes, or a nicely furnished home. You need to take a chill pill. We are not selfish for buying these things, and if we didn't buy them, many of those factory workers would be hungry and homeless. We are all very much aware of the conditions those less fortunate have to endure, but i'm not going to deny myself the things I want if I can afford them, and besides, it's not going to make a difference even if I did.
Did the packaging happen to include a manufacturing date? On the box from Temu, the colors of the pencils appeared faded (common time related effect). But, with so much being the same or painfully similar, I have to wonder if the seller on Temu was trying to move some really old stock. If a date or batch number that can be researched is present, perhaps that could answer some questions.
Please stop buying from sites like Temu.
Great video! Loved the comparison, valuable information. Thank you!
Trying to justify child abuse and child labour with ‘things are expensive’. Also they don’t look the same at all… your camera clearly picks up the difference in colour and quality.
As someone who isn't financially stable enough to purchase high price items, it's a last resort. Especially since I live in the US, have no job, and don't like depending on my parents for everything. I use websites like temu to buy art supplies that I can use to create stuff to sell until I can get a stable income. Saying "they support forced labor" does essentially nothing to STOP the forced labor. It's out of our control, whether we buy from there or not.
Don’t be a asshole
Your lucky your fornuate enough to buy expensive things next time no need to be a asshat also if we don’t buy then guess what those workers will starve to death and die did you ever think of that probally not yes their barely paid anything but guess what if everyone stopped buying anything off them you are actually killing off those peoples little income their not gonna stop doing it ever!
I want to know how they hold up to sharpening? Does the "lead" part break a bunch, or does it feel like a solid piece of color inside?
I would probably go for the temu ones. The cores look more centred, thus less prone to breaking, when sharpening
New subscriber, I am so glad I found this. I was wondering about those on temu. I lost my complete set and wanted more but can’t afford them. I am going to go ahead and buy the temu ones
Can you link the Temu prismacolours because I cannot seem to locate them
okay i know this not the point the video but are the temu ones really cheaper? when Michaels always have coupons i see one right now 50% which makes it only $90.. i cant tell if this always a coupon they have or not in USA but im in canada and Michaels pretty much always has 30% or 40% coupons
like it okay to buy it on temu if your in a area when they don't sell prismacolors
Hi Chloe, I'm from Malaysia btw and prismacolor is not a familiar product in our country. But in previous year, I did bought this set of prismacolour in a very cheap price i guess. Of course it cost me MYR481 but if convert to USD, it's only for usd 101. It was delivered from korea. Furthermore, nor only that i get the set, i also was given the sharpener and the blending sets FOR FREE! Of course watching this video making curious that my set is fake, but it did had the made in mexico stamp anyway and the feels of using it is the same feeling as per expected and describe by so many people. And i did get 2 pencils which crack plus another one was missing. So, the real stuff really got the quality issue i guess😅.
I respect your choices and arguments so so much ❤❤❤
Knowing they are sooo similar has me thinking 🤔, I would definitely get them cheaper and know that I would still feel my art has the best medium used on it. I do hope you so more like this with other art brands, thank you 🤗❤️👍🏽💯
How do the Temu Prismacolor sharpen in comparison to the Michael's Prismacolor? I wonder about the quality of the wood.
They sharpen well! No splitting. I covered that (and more) in my Temu vs Real video 😊
Notice the grain pattern of the wood topped table on which your sheet of paper is placed, and how that could factor into how each color swatch could "feel" as you laid them down.
I bought my prismas years ago on europe amazon and they are all perfect, centered and the finish is impecable plus never ever had issues with breakage... now I wonder if those were fake? it was 10years ago though
I wonder how their lightfastness compares. if you took a piece of art made with each and displayed them on a wall for a few years in normal indoor light, how well do the colors retain their brightness? I don't expect to find out, lol, just musing.
can temu be layered? I have hardcolors and they kinda create slight dust? and dirty the page and hand
The centred cores alone is enough to make the "fake" pencils much better. Especially if you can't tell the difference when using them. Think of the savings in shavings!
Exactly!
Love your video . my man brought my rom BLICK 150 Set and will take few weekd to arrave . I live in UK . thanks for this lovely video xxxx
On camera Temu looks darker then Prisma to me Prisma seem brighter like they are the same color but ones darker feel
Are there “lot numbers” on the boxes?
i have the brand name prismacolor pencils that i bought before i knew about temu.
i am a casual user of them and not an expert by any means.
i am not surprised that the temu one is comparable as the other craft supplies i have purchased from temu have been great quality. the suprising/upsetting part of the brand name is how, in comparison, is so badly made. smudged ink on label, barrels off center, cracks.
they are not a cheap pencil. i definitely did expect a bit more quality from them. but they color well and are among the top pencils. i would prefer my pencils produce great coloring results over having perfect packaging but seeing this comparison makes me think both are possible in the same pencil and makes me question why they aren't.
thanks for the very informative video!
I actaully did notice a color differnce between the 2. On all the colors you put down except the last red/orange the Prismacolor were just a little but more vibrant or brighter. Not really enough to make a big difference though. I buy stuff from Temu now and then and so far I'm pretty happy with what I've bought. I haven't bought any flat art supplies as I mostly just sculpt now so I've gotten some sculpting tool kind of stuff and a thing that holds my tools.. I love it! its spins and each little holder comes out except for the round center one. Anyways glad you did this. I plan to get back to flat work someday and I still have my set of prismacolors ( I started as a Illustrator/painter) but they are like 20 years old now lol.. if I need new ones and Temu's around I may buy from them.
My husband treated me to the Prisma's and I was somewhat disappointed tbh... I had 6 pencils that just broke, broke and broke... It'd break, I'd sharpen, it'd break again, letting approx 10mm of "lead" fall out, and repeat until all 6 are about thumb length. So I stopped using them, knew they were the real deal as I saw the receipt and he bought them direct.
I mentioned this in a colouring group on FB and it seems a lot of people had similar experiences... My worry is that I've maybe used 50 pencils and 6 were dreadful, how many duffers will be in the rest of the box...?
Oh and the Johanna Basford books are my favourites, I LOVE them, maybe a lil too much. I'm scared to use them in case I mess them up... they are so gorgeous they get me all OCD.
Hi Chloe! Thanks for uploading this vid its been really helpful! Can I ask if you can do a review on Brutfuner color pencils? I would love to see the comparison between Prismacolor and Brutfuner
To be honest, I don't buy from temu, but yes, prisma color pencils are very expensive depending if u have % off coupons or whatnot or even buying from another person online. I've felt I love prisma because of fact there buttery but I've tried tons of color pencils and bought a cheep 20 dollar for 120 pack of color pencils by the creative expert brand premium colored pencils from Ross Dress for less there my favorite besides prisma I'd love u to try this brand I say but there more colors for less money! 😅 I was surprised at how saturated they were. I hope u can try these one day because I honestly love the brand.
Love Temu! Love everything on their site! Most fun site ever!!!❤️❤️❤️
I was surprised to see you compare the pencil colours by the outside finish. What matters is the pigment of the actual lead inside. lmao
I buy individual replacement prismacolor single pencils all the time and they arrive in a variety of shades and finishes..three sienna browns will be three different shades of brown for instance, on the outside at least! And often the outside paint colour is vastly different to the actual core colour too..theyre still the best though.
Can you share a link which ones did you buy on Temu? 🙏
Love, love, love the video and your work! One thing id add to get a broader audience, and make us stay, is to add at least a subtitle with metric, kgs ... ya know, for the rest of the world to understand!!! 😂❤🎉
I wonder if the lightfast quality is the same or not?
Wow. I have some real prismas and they're my favorite. They sharpen well, the color is rich, they don't break like people seem to say. Idk what the problem is with everyone elses sets but i love them.