I normally don’t like pastel anything… except when it comes to highlighters. These are my favorite brands that are pastel without being too washed out.
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1. Stabilo Boss
The chisel tip on these highlighters are perfect for 5mm dot grid bullet journals. The ink also seems to last forever. There’s just something about these highlighters- they’re just so smooth.
2. J Burrows
As you can see in the photo above, if you’re a fellow Aussie then Officeworks’ J Burrows brand have highlighters that are almost an exact replica of the Stabilo Boss. They work just as well too!
3. Staedtler Textsurfer
I have the bright Staedtler Textsurfer and love them – they highlight just as smooth as the Stabilo Boss so I assume the pastel are just as good. The colors also look very similar.
4. Uni Propus Window
I like these highlighters because they’re not super pastel – they’re somewhere in between. They’re also dual tip with a thin and fat end.
Related: Pens & Highlighters Smear Testing: Which ones don’t smear
5. Faber Castell Textliner 38
I have the bright colors for this brand but not the pastel. The bright work great – highlight very smoothly with a pen like shape.
6. Zebra Mildliner
I’m sure you’ve heard of these already. Expensive? Yes. But they have the best range of colors including the best range of pastel colors. There’s plenty of shades that highlighters don’t normally come in too. If you do want a cheaper alternative. I’ve found 4 which I shared in this post.
Read more: Best highlighters for bullet journaling
7. Staedtler Textsurfer Triangular Shape
If you’re after a highlighter than is more pen than highlighter, these are the way to go. I have just about everything Staedtler… except these which I can only find online, not in stores here in Australia. The reason I always recommend Staedtler is the tri grip – makes it very comfortable to write with.
8. Monami Essenti Soft
Another highlighter that’s hard to get here in Australia. I bought a pastel mint to try it and liked it. But as you’ve probably guessed by it’s position on this list – it’s good, but there are other better pastel highlighters to choose from (that are more readily available too).
Pastel highlighters I don’t recommend
Pilot Frixion Erasable
I know, it’s not very often I say something bad about anything Frixion however the pastel highlighters are terrible! The ink is so feint you may as well not bother highlighting.
Iconic 2 Way
I was excited when I first discovered this dual tip highlighter, however the pen end is scratchy.
Cosch
This highlighter is ok but I wouldn’t rave about it, they’re overpriced and the green is a yucky olive green instead of pastel green.
Kokuyo Beetle Tip
Another highlighter that’s good but not great. I thought I’d use these all the time for underlining things, but I usually just end up angling the point of a chisel tip highlighter. I don’t think it was worth paying the expensive price for these.
Other options:
- Marvy Uchinda pastel highlighter – I haven’t purchase as they seem to be the same shade of the same colors as the rest of the highlighters on this list and I can only find them online.
More stationery reviews
- Highlighters vs. Highlighter Pencils: Are they worth the cost?
- Ballpoint versus gel pens: which are better for planning?
- 5 expensive pen brands that are worth the money (I have no regrets for splurging on them!)
Planning Tips
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