Sennelier Soft Pastels Half Stick Set 120/Pkg-Paris, Paris

I've been an amateur pastel painter for about 10 years, using primarily Nupastel and Rembrandt, and a few sticks of Unison, Great American, and Terry Ludwig - so I feel that I can compare these Sennelier half sticks with other popular brands. I wanted some softer, more highly pigmented sticks and these satisfy that desire. These are highly pigmented pastel sticks of about the same softness as my Unison sticks - which is to say, much softer and "better" than my Rembrandts, not quite as soft as my Great Americans. Softness varies from stick to stick, as it does with all sets, but all the sticks I've used will lay down densely pigmented color smoothly, yet they can also lay down relatively fine lines. ==> They are not "crumbly" at all !<== There's a wide range of colors, with excellent selection of colors for general pastel work. The value of this set (for general use) is probably unsurpassed among high-end pastel sets. The set took a couple of weeks to arrive, but the sticks were all intact. Sticks vary significantly in softness, as they do in all sets. Many sticks are very slightly curved, so before trying to lay down a wide swath of color, it's a good idea to test the stick, and use the convex side of the curve. They will soon wear down to a "straight" shape if that's what is wanted. So far I can't think of a single negative of these. I'll update this review after I've used them for a longer time period. UPDATE AFTER ABOUT A MONTH of use - I wouldn't change a thing in the above review. If you can use very soft pastels (for a long time, I was too heavy handed), these are the best 120 half stick set out there - no doubt about it. (I have another set of 120 half sticks from a different manufacturer. They're also excellent but the color selection isn't as good as the Senneliers.)

These are the best soft pastels I've ever used. They are highly pigmented and very soft. I use them for doll face ups. They are expensive, but worth the cost. This set had some great colors in it for my use. The packaging was VERY good, the pastels were securely surrounded by foam and tightly packaged so that there was zero breakage.

I loved this product the moment I saw it online, but it was nothing to actually having it in my hands. The pastels are half sticks but they are still quite large so they are plenty big enough. (I placed a pencil in the photos for comparison). They also have some weight to them which is quite nice. They are very soft so they go on so smoothly to whatever surface you choose to use. I did the swatching on canson mi tientes paper which didn't work too well for my cheap, harder pastels but it worked beautifully for the sennelier ones. I haven't done a painting on that paper but I have a suspicion it wouldn't layer very well. swatching works great though. I was surprised to see that, even with them being as soft as they are, they don't crumble to pieces when using them. They probably would if you used to much pressure but if you don't push too hard they're totally fine. The color range is gorgeous and can be used to paint pretty much anything you desire and more. The color payout is insane, they're so bright they almost glow. Some of them are softer than others but that's to be expected because of the different pigments used to make each color. I have zero complaints for these and I think they are a great purchase for anyone interested in pastels no matter the skill level. I did a lot of research to find a nice set and this was by far the cheapest I could find with the best color range. Nothing else even came close to the quality compared with the price and amount in the set. I almost feel like it's stealing to get this set at this price. I would highly recommend these to anyone!

I love everything Sennelier. These are so nice to work with. Now i am spoiled.

These half sticks are a bit larger diameter than the full sticks. They hold together a little better. Great quality. I prefer them to the full sticks.

I am very new to pastels, and don't really have anything to compare them with. However, I am a watercolor artist, and Sennelier is a very well-known, higher quality product in the art world, so I thought I would give these a try. I didn't want a cheap set because, as a beginner, I didn't want to give up in frustration with a cheap set. These seemed to fit the bill, and do very well. I use them in my watercolor paintings, and they are amazing as an overlayer, and to add accents an small details. Some are softer than others, and some are quite hard, depending on the color.Why 4 stars? None of these are labeled, so if I want to buy individual sticks, I have no way of knowing which colors I need to buy if I run out, or, if I want to buy some I currently do not own. Plus, because they are not labeled, you can't use the labeled part as you paint, to help not get as much dust on your hands. All of this is not a deal killer, but it is something I will keep in mind when/if I shop for other pastels.

Initially had delivery issues but was pleasantly surprised it was delivered before the deadline date of January. The selection of colors are great the packaging comes with a swatch sheet which can be good, however it is hard to lay colors on paper since it is not fit for pastels the pastel sticks are soft and depending on each stick very soft/crumbly pic exp so I had did swatched on mixed media paper prepared with clear gesso and the colors adhere to paper better but still have excess dust and crumbs. I feel this would be a issue in ease of use unlike Unison pastels so would be good as a final layer, love how vibrant and alive the colors appear on tone paper the colors blend well there are some sticks that have a scratchy feel to it if that is the case would need to removed layer, overall I am glad I bought this.

Very fragile. Package should have been better protected. Pastels are awesome…