Swarovski Crystalline Lady Butterfly Ballpoint Pen Review

Who loves a bit of bling?
I'd like to say me but it wouldn't be true. I'm not a girly girl. You only need to look at my battered canvas pumps and last seasons handbag to see that shopping isn't my favourite past time. I like diamonds but they are more of an acquaintance than a best friend and if you do ever happen to catch me wearing a dress it's probably because I'm on my way to a wedding. But show me a pen that dazzles and delights and I'm putty in your hands.
When House of Fraser offered me the chance to review the Swarovski Crystalline Lady Ballpoint Pen I jumped at the chance. What's there to think about? We all need at least one bling thing in our lives right? Be it bags, shoes, diamond rings or in my case, a gorgeous pen. Pen bling is the only kind of bling likely to turn my head and get my heart racing.

No matter how hard I tried I could not capture the true colour of this pen with my camera

When the Swarovski pen first arrived I sat by the window for a good long while turning it over and over, admiring the shimming pink crystals in the sunlight. There are around 140 Swarovski crystals neatly arranged within this pen and it's fascinating to look at. The body of the pen has a beautiful pearly shine to it. I'm undecided on the colour. I can't decide if it's pink or purple or both or neither. It depends on the light and which angle you view the pen from.
I knew this was going to be a pretty pen but I wasn't prepared for how quickly I would fall in love with the butterfly charm. If I had been presented with this very same butterfly dangling from a silver necklace I'd have been over the moon. Three of its wings are decorated with approximately 20 clear crystals and the other wing is rose gold metal plated and is so ridiculously shiny that I could see my face in it. This is definitely not your average pen charm.

This charm is good enough to be worn as a necklace

Not only does this pen look great, it feels luxurious too. Here's where you're going to think I've completely lost the plot. The most comfortable position for holding this pen is above the cone shaped tip, a good 20mm away from where the pen meets paper. You may have noticed my many ramblings about various pens with grips too far away from the tip and here I am, with a pen which has no grip and I'm happy about my finger positioning which may as well be miles away from the tip for all the moaning I've done in the past.

Uses the twist mechanism to retract the ballpoint

But it works. I think the pens slim frame and evenly balanced weight is a huge factor. It's the perfect fit for my fingers. As I write, the butterfly swings from side to side which originally I was sure would become a nuisance but in fact it amuses me slightly. Even the rhythmic tip tapping of the butterfly against the pen as it swings is endearing rather than irritating.
I noticed that during extended writing sessions slipping was only a minor issue. There may not be a grip but being able to hold the pen loosly without a battle with gravity meant the pen stayed put for the most part. Look at me gushing over this pen. Maybe the butterfly has hypnotised me into only being capable of paying compliments. I'd better find the boyfriend, it's been a while since I paid him a compliment, he'll love this.

Ok so I've made my point, I like the pen but will this ballpoint fall at the final and most important hurdle? It's time to test it's writability.

Writing sample

I've tossed my scribble pad aside for the time being as this pen has been producing ink, first time, every time so it's a great start. With a ballpoint I've come to expect a certain amount of skipping but actually, the refill in this pen isn't bad. Yes some letters appear a touch lighter than others but the ink never gave in and all my letters are complete. I really have nothing to complain about.
Those dreaded ballpoint blobs and gloops are nowhere to be seen, the pen is easy going on paper and writing is non eventful in the good sense.

Refillable

The pen uses Schmidt mini refills. So maybe I'll need to change the refill a little sooner than usual but that's ok, it's the way it has to be if I want to keep the pink crystals. Schmidt isn't a brand I've used before and I have to say I'm impressed. I'll definitely bear Schmidt in mind when refilling my ballpoints in the future.

The clip proudly displays the Swarovski name and so it should. Swarovski is a name I'd previously associated only with jewellery but it's clear they have so much more to offer. The clip has a small amount of flex in it. It's enough for me to be able to clip it to my pocket or notepad easily but not enough for it to be easily knocked off and lost. I'd have no choice but to walk the streets pinning LOST PEN signs to every lamp post if that were to happen.

I really wasn't expecting to be so excited by this pen. The more I use it the more I love it. This Swarovski pen is elegant, feminine and sylish and has used it's sparkly charm to bring out the girlier side of me which is something many have tried and failed to do.

Christmas is closer than you think so if you know someone who would love this pen then you can find it over at House of Fraser.

Thankyou to House Of Fraser for providing me with this pen for the purpose of this review. All opinions in this review are entirely my own.