Highlighters that aren’t neon colors are hard to come by so if anyone else wants more neutral colors / less bright colors, here are a few I recommend!

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1. Zebra Mildliner

This brand needs no introduction! The ‘original’ neutral color highlighters (well all packs except the fluorescent). Even the refresh colors (while brighter than the rest of the color sets) aren’t neon colors.

Read more: Whistle and Birch Rainbow Weekly Spread using the Zebra Mildliners

2. Stabilio Boss Pastel

If you’re in Australia, Officeworks have a very close dupe of the Stabilo Boss pastel colors in their J. Burrows Range.

Read more: List makers spread in the PAIPUR hybrid notebook

3. Milkliner

Eerily similar to the mildliners not only in name, but in colors as well. I really like the various shades of blue from this brand. They don’t have a non-neon yellow or orange though.

4. Dong-A twinliner soft

Another brand with similar colors to the Mildliners. There’s no ‘true’ purple (it looks more of a shade of blue), but it does have a non-neon gold and orange.

5. Uni Propus ‘Smoke’ color set

These don’t seem to be widely available yet – I’ve only found them on Amazon (affiliate link). I really like the other Propus Window highlighters – the design of the chisel tips means they don’t ‘wear down’ as much as other brands (the tips stay sharp). The ‘smoke’ color set is on my wish list!

Image credit (affiliate link).

6. Archer and Olive Autograph Pens

I am oh so tempted to get these pens and if I hadn’t already purchased the bullet journal I’d add them to an order. Shipping to Australia is too expensive to buy only these pens so I shall admire from afar for now!

7. Daiso Marking Pen

Both the pastel and bright colors are eerily similar to the 5 packs from the Mildliner. Each pack is only $2.80 so if you want to try some neutral colors before upgrading to one of the larger packs I’ve mentioned in this post, try these first.

More highlighter reviews

• Best pastel highlighters for planning and bullet journaling
• Highlighter Brands Comparison (And My Favorite Highlighters for Each Brand)
• Highlighter swatches and thickness comparison (38 brands compared)

Planning with highlighters

• 6 Useful ways to efficiently plan your week using highlighters 
• Brush pens versus highlighters: which is better for planning?
• Highlighters vs. Highlighter Pencils: Are they worth the cost? 

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