A paint set shaped like the palette itself — the classic kidney outline with a thumb hole, printed in a wood-grain finish and marked Artist Palette, Palette d'artiste, with the Clever mark beside it and 12 Pcs at the foot. Twelve round colours are set around the rim, a red brush clips into a slot beside the thumb hole, and the flat middle is left bare as the mixing surface.

That shape is the whole idea. On an ordinary paint box the paint is in the tray and the mixing happens on the lid, which means two surfaces and a child holding neither. Here the colours, the mixing area and the thumb hole are one moulded piece, so a five-year-old can carry the entire thing in one hand and still have the other free for the brush.

Rs. 160 for twelve colours is Rs. 13.33 a colour, and that is the cheapest colour anywhere on this shelf — cheaper than our Kaidisi tray at Rs. 15, our Shark set at Rs. 29.17 and our Keep Smiling 90 tin at Rs. 38.89. If a class needs twenty of something, this is the arithmetic that makes it possible.

The twelve are the primary school spread: red, orange, yellow and white; magenta, light green, blue and teal; then a deeper blue, purple, brown and black. Enough to paint a picture and mix a few more shades, and nothing so subtle that it gets wasted.

Be clear about what it is not. This is not artist's watercolour, and we would not sell it as such — for that, the Daler-Rowney Aquafine and Winsor & Newton Cotman sets are on the same shelf at a hundred times the price per pan. This is honest school paint in a shape a child can actually hold.

We list this palette from 5 years up. The Safencia price is Rs. 160 with Cash on Delivery across Pakistan, and stock, your city and delivery charges are confirmed on WhatsApp before dispatch.

Why this product is worth considering