PRODUCT REVIEW: NEONZ GEL COLOURS

Neonz are a set of 8 food colours from Squires Kitchen that promise to dazzle with their neon-like intensity. As a huge fan of all things bright and beautiful, I thought I'd give them a whirl...

This is what Squires Kitchen has to say about the range:

"If you are looking to add that wow factor to your bakes and sugarcraft creations, look no further! Squires Kitchen's fabulous Neonz Paste Food Colour range is perfect for professional sugarcrafters, amateur cake makers, hobby bakers, and mini bakers looking to add an eye-catching neon effect to their creations."

Sounds pretty good to me. However, with so many bright gel colours available, the real questions are:

• Are these colours truly unique in terms of brightness and vibrancy?

• Do they deserve a permanent place in your stash?

Let's find out...

Squires Kitchen Neonz pastes are manufactured in the UK and are available in Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Turquoise, Blue, Purple & Pink.

As you can see from my pictures, these are indeed lovely shades. Be sure to follow Squires Kitchen's advice by adding a little colour at a time. Adding too much can lead to over-saturation, resulting in darker, less vibrant colours. So, take it slow and keep adding until you achieve the desired intensity.

The High Points

Let’s start with the red — a notoriously tricky colour for cakers. It often requires a heavy dose of gel to get a bold, vibrant result, which can mess with your paste’s consistency and drying time. Use too little, and you could end up with the dreaded ‘overcooked salmon’ hue.

But not this time. Neonz delivers a delicious, dynamic red with only a small amount of colour required, and the shade stays true as it dries — no darkening, no dulling. A total win.

Next up, the yellow. Forget mellow custard shades — this is high-viz, dayglo brilliance. Even a tiny amount will make your creations glow with citrusy splendour. It’s zingy, bold, and has definitely earned a place in my colour collection.

The blue is a beauty. It’s bright, shimmering, and instantly evokes sparkling seas and summery skies. If you’re after a fresh, vibrant pop of colour, this one definitely delivers.

The Middle Ground

Orange is up next: this didn't quite make the top tier for me. It was a little muddier than my current go-to orange — Sugarflair’s Tangerine/Apricot — which gives a more intense punch of colour. That said, it’s still a lovely, bright shade. I’d happily use it, but I’m not sure I’d rush to re-buy it.

On to turquoise... well it’s certainly a nice shade — but when you hear “neon turquoise,” you expect something really flashy. This wasn’t that. It had a slight flatness to it that left me wanting more. Usable, yes — but not especially memorable.

As for the pink, I was hoping for some super-loud flamingo madness. But this leaned more towards a cooler, blue-toned shade, which wasn’t quite what I was expecting. It reminded me of Sugarflair’s Fuchsia: totally usable, and a very dependable colour — but if you’re after a head-turning, electric pink, this might fall a little short.

The purple also didn’t shine as brightly as I hoped it might. I was looking for a vivid violet shade — something rich and flamboyant. It's almost there but dried a touch darker than expected and lost some of its vibrancy. So, it's good and certainly a lovely colour, just not a unique, knockout shade in terms of brightness. To be fair, though, I’ve yet to find a purple gel colour that truly pops — so the search continues...

The Weirdness

Finally, the green — and this one left me a bit puzzled.

Based on the label and the swatch on Squires Kitchen’s site, I was expecting a bright, zesty lime green. But once mixed into white paste, it turned out more like a standard grass green.

It was fine — just not what I’d call neon. Also, it didn’t help that, when compared to the turquoise, the two shades looked (surprisingly) similar. Not a huge issue, but, yeah… that was a bit disappointing.

Still, I wasn’t ready to give up on it completely. A quick mix with that super-punchy yellow, and I got the vibrant citrusy shade I’d been expecting.

A quick mix later...

The missing link

New line up: now that makes more sense to me

The Verdict

Overall, the Neonz colours have some real highlights — and a few shades that left me a bit underwhelmed.

The red and yellow are standouts. Both deliver impressive results, with very little product needed to achieve them - and behave beautifully when drying. These are the kind of shades I’ll reach for again and again, and they’ve definitely earned a permanent spot in my gels stash.

The blue is also a solid pick — vivid, fresh, and easy to work with — while the orange, pink, and turquoise were nice enough, just not especially distinctive when compared to similar products from other ranges. I’ll happily finish using each pot, but I wouldn’t necessarily buy them again.

The purple wasn’t quite the punchy violet I’d hoped for, but that seems to be a universal problem with purple gels — the dream neon purple still eludes me.

And the green? It was ok — but not quite living up to its label. It lacked the sharp, citrus brightness I was after and felt a little too close to the turquoise to really stand out.

Overall, the quality was good: the pastes are highly concentrated and behave consistently. If you’re building a colour collection and want a few high-impact brights in your stash, these are worth considering — especially that red and yellow.

Disclaimer: This review is completely unbiased. No brands, suppliers, or retailers were involved in this adventure, and all products were purchased at RRP. Our mission, as always is to provide you with honest, objective insights into the world of cake decorating. Have you tried Neonz gel colours?

What did you think of them? Do you agree with my take on the green, or did you have a different experience?

Let me know in the comments