Felissimo Coloring Pencils Review
Felissimo is a Japanese brand that among other things sells coloring pencils and pencil accessories. They are made in Katsushika Ward, Tokyo, which is well known for making colored pencils. The set of 500 has been produced for the last 27 years.
The company was awarded the Red Dot Design Award in 2019 for outstanding workmanship crafting the pencils and design.

If purchasing the set of 500 – pencils are packed in a box of 20 with a crafting card project. Each box has a different them eg Love
Fast Summary of the Felissimo Colored Pencils
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- available in a set of 150 colors or a subscription service of 20 pencils per month until you have the full set of 500.
- The full set of 500 is divided into 25 themes with 20 pencils in each theme. Each theme has a fun name like “Sweets, Love, Serenity”. You can see the full list and colors here
- The 500 set contains 360 colors “corresponding with the color wheel” and 140 pencils comprising metallics, fluourescent, pastels and dark colors.
- the 150 set is well packaged in a solid plastic tube that has protective foam at both ends. Pencils in the 150 set have a round barrel. Pencils in the 500 set have a new ergonomically designed square barrel.
- if purchasing the 500 set each set of 20 pencils they are packaged in a box and also contain cards for coloring
- the pencils are pre-sharpened
- each tube of pencils features colors from the same color family
- the barrel is 17.5 cm long with 3.5 mm leads.
- on the barrel is the whimsical name of the pencil together with the number in both English and Japanese (the 150 set is printed in gold foiling. the new 500 set has silver foiling)
- the pencil barrel is made from Cedar sourced in North America and processed in China with the pencil production in Japan
- Felissimo pencils are wax-based
- the pencils are not water-soluble but you can use water to soften stroke marks but they do not disburse like watercolors
- massive range of colors in the complete set
- individual pencils have not been given a lightfast rating but they are to JIS standards. Felissimo states that they will fade if left or stored in sunlight.
- You can see my testing of the Felissimo pencils on HERE Various brands of paper here.
They perform better when used on the paper that suits them.

Felissimo Colored Pencil Swatch
Pros
- beautiful range of colors to achieve a smooth transition of color
- can be used as home decor – see the Instagram account for 500 pencils here for ideas
- blend, lay down color, sharpen and erase well
- the barrel of the 500 set has been changed to a square shape for ease of coloring. According to Red Dot this design change allows the pencils to “rest ergonomically in the hand and thus support free-flowing, fatigue-free work“
- the names of the colors will bring a smile to your face 🙂
Cons
- the 150 set does not contain a black or white pencil to tint or darken colors
- you cannot purchase open stock or replacement pencils at this time. Felissimo have stated that they do not have any plans to sell single pencils at this time.
- if you purchase the subscription set you are committing for 25 months of payments for pencils and shipping (together with any customs duties etc that you may be liable for). You cannot cancel the subscription according to their terms of service.
- the pencils are not as soft as other wax-based pencils, like Prismacolor for example. If you have arthritis or hand pain they may be uncomfortable for you to work with
- large upfront cost of purchasing a full set of 500
Summary
I am happy that I purchased the 150 set of Felissimo pencils. Personally, I find them too hard to work with all the time (but I have a wrist injury). Going forward, I plan to use them as a base for coloring and use my Prismacolor pencils that are softer (and better suited for my wrist pain) over the top.
Where to Buy Felissimo Coloring Pencils
You can buy the full set of 500 pencils here (without a subscription)
You can purchase the set of 150 colored pencils here (as reviewed in the video)
You can sign up for the subscription service of 20 pencils for 25 months for a set of 500 here (you cannot cancel the subscription)
Misc
Other products used in the video
Happy coloring x
Lea
I have the original fellisimo pencils of 500 ( that are like your 150 set ) I like them very much but they’re quite a hard pencil but still nice..
And I just finished getting the newer Tokyo seed 500 subscription sets..
I love the newer pencils more ; they’re very blendable and have beautiful colours. Are you planning to get the newer ones ?
They are certainly hard especially when you are used to softer pencils! I would love to get the 500 set as I’m such a pencil lover …even just to look at them. At this time though, it’s just not in my budget 🙁 Maybe one day. Thank you for your feedback on the newer pencils – I’d love to compare them. I’m keeping my eye out for a box so I can sample them and see how they compare! Stay safe. Happy coloring x
The older set was harder but they’re nice on certain paper..perhaps have more oil as I never have had waxy buildup. ( the older set was even touted by Martha Stewart of all people. I think you can still see her little video about them online…The newer set is more waxy but they don’t seem to get built up either. Yes they’re a bit costlY.. was paying around $50 Canadian a month..I don’t regret either set. .. I looked at the expenditure in the same light as buying art ..they’re unique and beautifully made.
( I bet that they’ll start making smaller sets of the newer pencils…I’d keep checking their site . Oh they also have great customer service…very quick to reply and help when an order was lost.. they immediately re sent the set by courier…
You’re really welcome ! Take care! ❤️