Carré means square, and that is the first thing to know about these. Sakura's Nouvel Carré sticks are square in section and semi-hard — firmer than the crumbly soft pastels on our shelf but softer than a Cretacolor hard stick. That middle firmness is the whole point: they lay broad colour on their flat face without disintegrating, and they still take an edge for line work. If you have found soft pastels too messy and hard pastels too reluctant to give colour, this is the sensible thing to try.

The important ordering detail is that Set A and Set B are two different twelve-colour palettes, not two sizes. Both are Rs. 2,815 and both hold twelve sticks. In our photographs Set A runs darker and earthier — deep greens, blues, browns, a black; Set B runs brighter — purples, pinks, strong reds and yellows. Neither is the beginner set and neither is the advanced one. Tell us which letter you want on WhatsApp, because we cannot guess it from an order that just says twelve.

There is a 24-stick option on this listing at Rs. 5,600. Per stick that is Rs. 233.33 against Rs. 234.58 for the twelve — half a percent, which is to say nothing. But before you take it, know that we also stock the same range in HALF-length sticks: twenty-four halves for Rs. 2,250, which is about Rs. 187.50 per full-stick equivalent. If length is not critical to your work, that is roughly a fifth cheaper and our Nouvel Carre Half Pastel Set of 24 page covers it.

Be clear-eyed about where this sits on price. At around Rs. 234 a stick it is the dearest pastel on our shelf: our Cretacolor hard sets run Rs. 187.50 to Rs. 231.25, the full-size Mungyo softs are Rs. 80 to Rs. 119, and the Mungyo minis are Rs. 44 to Rs. 58. You are paying for the Sakura name and for a firmness that nothing else here offers, so buy it because the semi-hard square format is what your work needs.

The box is a slim blue card printed with a pastel-drawn cloud, the numeral 12, NOUVEL CARRÉ PASTEL and a CE mark, with the sticks seated in a fitted white tray. Our photographs also show finished work made with them — a sun over water, with the strokes still readable — which is a fairer guide to how they behave than any swatch card.

It suits artists and senior students from about 12 years up. The Safencia price is Rs. 2,815 with Cash on Delivery across Pakistan. Stock, the set letter you want, your city, and delivery charges are confirmed on WhatsApp before dispatch.

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