Beloved the world over, Faber-Castell Polychromos are my go-to colored pencils and personal favorite. Combine them with the incredibly unique colors of Tombow Irojitens (so many muted colors and pastels!), and they are a match made in heaven.
Both of these sets of pencils have hard cores and like to be built up in multiple layers, which makes it very natural for me to pair them together. And while there is a learning curve to figuring out how to best use them—-it may be tempting to press down super hard and try to get a full color payout from them right away, but try to resist the urge! Speaking from experience—-with practice I find they lay down smoother than any other sets I own.
While more expensive in the USA per pencil than Prismacolor Premiers, I find that these pencils last much, much longer than a Prismacolor pencil does. As a result, they have become the more affordable pencil for me in the long run.
Cassia Dee 