I decided to try this Mont Marte Watercolor Set because I was in the mood to try something new, a couple of the pigments are unusual, and at under $12, I figured I couldn't go too far wrong. My only previous experience with this brand is that I own a full-sized wooden easel they made, and it's very nice. The paints arrived nicely boxed - it might make a decent budget gift. The tin itself was a bit difficult to open, and although I've owned over 100 watercolor sets from just about every brand, it was a tin I wasn't familiar with. Happily the paints had no smells or issues, Inside are 12 colors - Lemon Yellow (pigment PY1) Medium Yellow (pigments PY1, PR482) Orange (pigments PY1, PR482) Scarlet (pigment PR482) Dark Rose (pigments PR482, PV23) Purple (pigment PV23) Turquoise (pigment PB15:3); this pigment is actually Phthalo Blue, Green Shade Cobalt Blue (pigment PB15:3): this is a hue, and is actually Phthalo Blue, Green Shade Grass Green (pigments PG7, PY1) Viridian (pigment PG7): this is a hue Umber (PBr7) Black (PBk11) The set includes a transparent overlay with the color names and pigments, and thoughtfully the print over the yellows are black while the print over the other colors is white, so it's easy to read them all when the overlay is covering the paints. The paints are big; they're not in pans, but they're significantly larger than a half-pan's worth of paint per color. The paints are very well-pigmented; if they aren't using dye to enhance the colors, they probably have more pigment load than any other budget brand. And I don't think they're using dye, as I was able to lift the paint after painting. I found these moved well when painted wet-in-wet, and although I wasn't expecting it, I was able to mix some colors. The very high pigment load took some getting used to, , and I could make a very smooth wash with it. I found a little water went a long way with these paints when first wetting them, and I was able to mix various other colors - browns, greens, purples - pretty well without getting mud. The set comes with a water brush, and while I'm not the biggest fan of water brushes, it worked fine; I'd say it's a #8 round. The two pigments I wasn't familiar with that I haven't seen used in student, artist or craft grade paints are PY1 (usually sets use PY3 for the lighter yellows) and PR482, which is a pretty red I enjoyed working with and mixing with. But here's my main concerns about this set. Both the blues use the same color - PB15:3, so while one is somewhat darker and more intense, there's no warm blue. I'd have rather replaced one of them with an Ultramarine, and I'm not sure why they didn't since Ultramarine's pigment (PB29) isn't an expensive one. So basically if you need a warmer blue, either as a main color or to mix with, you're out of luck. Also I suspect there's an opaque white used in the Turquoise, as it's pretty opaque and looks like a white is in the mix. Not necessarily an issue, but keep an eye out if you want to use it in mixes. Also please note that this isn't the most lightfast set in the world, but I wouldn't expect that for this price. This is a fun set, and you get lots of each color of paint for your money. The tin lid has plenty of mixing space, the paints activate well with water, and even though there are two Phthalo blues (called Turquoise and Cobalt Blue) and no warmer blue, this is otherwise a decent color selection. Overall these are heavily pigmented paints, so a little goes a long way, they move in water, mix well, and lift well when wet (even the blues, if you act fast), Would I recommend them? It depends. If you are new to color theory, these set can be confusing as several of the paints are actually different colors (the blues and the Veridian, which is actually Phthalo Green); this is not unusual for budget brands. They're also very intense, and couple colors were less transparent than expected, so they won't be typical for most watercolors at any price point. But if you want to play with some colors, like that the pigment info is included (I personally really appreciated that), and want to mess around with a cheaper paint you haven't used before, these can be a blast. And I think these would be fun for mixed media projects that don't require a warm blue.
