Paul & Joe

What’s New in Makeup Bags? New Spring Makeup Bags From MAC, Paul & Joe and Sonia Kashuk

March 30th, 2015 by Karen 13 Comments

I’m pretending right now that these new makeup bags by MAC, Paul & Joe and Sonia Kashuk are filled with food, PMS tea and tiny little blue-eyed teacup kittens.

Because I’m hungry, and I don’t want to have to cook.

And I’m PMS-ing.

Yes, I know that’s TMI. But it’s true.

Paul & Joe Cosmetic Pouch IV ($40)

The MAC Mia Moretti bags are actually part of a set. For $46 there are three — one Large, one Medium and one Small.

My favorite is the Paul & Joe bag because, hello! — ponies happily prancing in their special outfits.

When I finally get MY pony (which will be on my farm on The Big Island of Hawaii, where I intend to make handcrafted organic goat cheese), I’m gonna make it a special outfit. 🙂

MAC Mia Moretti Makeup Bags: Set of 3 in Large, Medium and Small ($46)

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Paul & Joe Protecting Pressed Powder Prepares Pet Assistant Cheeks for Busy Schedules

March 30th, 2015 by Karen 17 Comments

The following guest post was written by Tabs…

You can forget about opening this compact with your paws because, sadly, it is made for human hands only.

Paul & Joe’s new spring 2015 Protecting Pressed Powder is not for powdering tabby noses. It is for human faces, both female and male. (For the record, I’m Team Man Makeup all the way.)

Pressed powders are an essential component of a professional pet assistant’s appearance. This one comes in a beige compact with a sassy tabby on the front smoking a pipe and wearing a jaunty captain’s hat.

Paul & Joe Protecting Pressed Powder

PRICE: $45
AVAILABILITY: Coming in two shades (pale pink 001 and multi-beige 002) this April to Paul & Joe counters and beautyhabit.com.

When you open the compact, there’s a big mirror inside, into which you may stare at yourself if/when your greedy assistant decides to share.

There’s also an embossed — I’m not sure if that’s the right word; I have to look it up in my kitty dictionary — flower design on the pan. I think it’s a chrysanthemum, but I must ask my botanist cat friend about it.

The pressed powder can be worn either on top of bare fur — haha, just kidding — bare skin, or used to set liquid foundations so that they don’t move over the course of a busy assistant’s day.

I’ve observed the product in action on my assistant. When she used it to set her foundation and concealer this morning, she smiled.

Well, before she smiled, she stuck her nose in the pan and said, “Mmm! Smells like flowers, Tabs!”

Honestly, though, I don’t know what she meant by that. Half the time she’s mumbling about lord knows what, and I’ve just learned to tune her out.

Anyway, I do appreciate that her skin looks smoother and less oily than usual. I presume it is due to this powder’s oil-absorbing powers and its ability to blur pores.

Of course, we are cats, and not all of us are carrying American Express Black Cards, so you’re probably wondering if this powder is a good value for the price. It is $45, after all.

Paul & Joe Protecting Pressed Powder: Ingredients and benefits

Crystalline cellulose — Absorbs sebum

Jojoba seed oil — Emollient

Orange flower water — Moisturizer

Rosemary extract — Emollient

Sunflower seed oil — Emollient

White lily extract — Moisturizer, prevents irritation

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Get All the Gloss Without the Goop With the New Spring Paul & Joe Beauté Eye Gloss “S”

February 25th, 2015 by Karen 20 Comments

Paul & Joe Eye Gloss S from the left: Secret d'Or (01), Creme Brûlée (04) and Antique Coin (05) — Three of the five new $25 spring Paul & Joe Eye Gloss “S” from the left in Secret d’Or (01), Creme Brûlée (04) and Antique Coin (05)

All the gloss without the goop. Thank you, Paul & Joe, for helping my lids to glisten without the games that often accompany gloss-tacular eyes.

Yeah, man! Eye gloss isn’t just for Victoria’s Secret Angels who stomp-walk down the runway anymore. We, too, can make it an everyday thing, thanks to Paul & Joe’s Eye Glosses (they’re also called the Eye Gloss “S”).

They have an airy, whipped consistency and a non-sticky texture, so they feel like light feather kisses, and because they dry all the way down (unlike the many glossy formulas out there that stay wet), the gloss shouldn’t shift and settle into your fine lines or creases as you go about your day pet assisting (I feel your pain).

All five of the new spring Eye Gloss “S” shades have a dewy finish and a moisturizing formula that contains jojoba seed oil, orange flower water, sodium hyaluronate and white lily extract, and they seem pretty hydrating. There’s silvery golden Secret d’Or (01), pale silvery blue Firmament (02), pearlescent purply pink Angel’s Wings (03), silvery caramel Creme Brulee (04) and silvery orange Antique Coin (05).

Paul & Joe Eye Gloss S in Secret d'Or (01) — Eye Gloss S in Secret d’Or (01)

Paul & Joe Eye Gloss S in Creme Brulee (04) — Eye Gloss S in Creme Brulee (04)

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The Beautiful Beasts in Paul & Joe’s Menagerie Are Wild About Laid-Back Color: The Spring 2015 Menagerie Collection Face and Eye Color CS Palettes

February 9th, 2015 by Karen 23 Comments

Wearing the new Paul & Joe Face & Eye Colors in CS 0996 and CS 094 from the spring 2015 Menagerie collection — Wearing the new Paul & Joe Face & Eye Colors in CS 096 and CS 094 from the spring 2015 Menagerie collection

Paul & Joe’s spring Menagerie collection is not simply a collection of printed animals on powder pans. It is a representation of my not-too-distant future, a future in which I am a woman of advancing years living on a farm on the Big Island of Hawaii surrounding by cats (obviously) and various other fauna.

Despite El Hub’s protests, we adopt a hippo and an elephant, in addition to ducks (and cats), and all of them live together harmoniously, much as they do on these pans. 🙂

Paul & Joe Menagerie Spring 2015 collection Face & Eye Color CS from the left: Elephanteau (096), Les Flamants Roses (094) and Girafe (095), $39 each — The $39 Face & Eye Color CS palettes from the left in Elephanteau (096), Girafe (095) and Les Flamants Roses (094)

I think I’m physically incapable of not smiling when I look at these limited edition palettes, and they’re also a lot of fun to use, especially on casual makeup days when I’m rocking a ponytail, white tee and jeans (with my ASPCA cat Vans).

Paul & Joe Face & Eye Color in CS 096 — Face & Eye Color in Elephanteau CS 096

The powders are multifunctional eyeshadows/blushes/highlighters and can be used on your eyes and cheeks.

Paul & Joe Menagerie Spring 2015 Face & Eye Color CS in Les Flamants Roses — Face & Eye Color in Girafe CS 095

They also smell like candy hearts. 🙂 And the scent is fairly strong (typical of Paul & Joe). Luckily, I like it.

Paul & Joe Face & Eye Color in CS 094 — Face & Eye Color in Les Flamants Roses CS 094

Just like real life on a farm, these animals have jobs. The cat moonlights as an eyeshadow, the hippo works as an accent shade for eyes, the duck dances as a highlighter, and the elephant assists cheeks (while also doubling as an eye color).

Really, though, you can use any of them on your eyes or face, although Greta in the cube next to you might roll her eyes if she sees you wearing the blue hippo on your cheeks.

But who cares? Do it anyway. I did the other day, haha! I wanted to see how the eyeshadows would work on my cheeks, and they worked great. The smooth, easy-to-blend powders deposit a tiny bit of fallout, but it’s not enough to warrant calling the avenging makeup angels down to unleash their wrath of fire and brimstone. Nothing like that.

Paul & Joe Face & Eye Color in CS 096 Swatches — Face & Eye Color in Elephanteau CS 096

Paul & Joe Face & Eye Color in CS 095 Swatches — Face & Eye Color in Girafe CS 095

Paul & Joe Face & Eye Color in CS 094 Swatches — Face & Eye Color in Les Flamants Roses CS 094

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Fierce Felines Festoon This Palette From the New Paul & Joe Menagerie Collection for Spring 2015, Mrow!

January 29th, 2015 by Karen 26 Comments

Naturally, a tabby was the obvious choice to include on the packaging for this new spring palette from Paul & Joe.

Tabs and I approve. 🙂

The palette is the Face & Eye Color CS Palette in Les Flamants Rose ($39), one of Paul & Joe’s new spring palettes, and the box is covered in cats.

But what do you expect? It’s Paul & Joe, and their design philosophy falls somewhere along the lines of “MOAR CATS.”

Les Flamants Rose ($39) is part of the new spring Menagerie Collection, an infinitely adorable mix of animals and colors available now with the rest of the launch at Paul & Joe counters and online.

I cannot wait to play with this makeup! The last time I freaked out this hard over a Paul & Joe launch was the cat lady one they did a few years ago.

I hope this one’s just as good. I’m gonna put it through its paces this weekend, woo-hoo!

Paul & Joe’s Spring 2014 Collection Is Bucking for Best Dressed This Spring

January 29th, 2014 by Karen 12 Comments

Oh, Paul & Joe… You certainly know how to woo a girl who loves cute packaging.

The limited edition 19-piece spring 2014 collection recently sprung on Paul & Joe counters and online, and, as one might expect from the line, everything’s cute, cute, cute!

There are eight eyeshadow trios ($35 each), four Eyeshadow Compacts ($10 each), five nail polishes ($16 each), a Face Powder ($45) and one Face Brush ($30).

I wore three of the pieces last weekend to the Marine Mammal Center. A few brief thoughts… (On the pieces. I loved the Mammal Center!)

The Face Powder S — A little like Guerlain’s Meteorites Perles! I used it as a highlighter and got a gentle, barely there glow… Smells amazing, too. Like violets.
Face Brush — Soft like kittens? Check.
Eye Color Trio in My Little Kitty — Mostly glitter. Low in pigment (it’s pretty sheer). It reminds me of the Bobbi Brown glitter shadows. I wore the bronze shade on my lids, the gold in the inner corners and used the dark purply brown as a liner. They lasted on my lids for 12+ hours with primer but migrated into my fine lines and creases. Really pretty, though, for subtle, sparkly looks.
Nail Enamel in Petunia — An uber-sheer pink with tiny flecks of glitter in different shapes and sizes, which is cool. I think it’s cute, but a little too subtle for me.

Paul & Joe Face Powder S — Face Powder S, $45

Paul & Joe Eye Color Trio in My Little Kitty, $35 — Eye Color Trio in My Little Kitty, $35

My Little Kitty trio (far left) and Face Powder S (far right)

Once Upon a Time, a Vintage Orange Lipstick: Paul & Joe’s Limited Edition Lipstick in Once Upon a Time 081 From the Autumn 2013 Collection

August 27th, 2013 by Karen 20 Comments

Paul & Joe Autumn 2013: Lipstick in Once Upon a Time 081

Once upon a time there lived a handsome husky tabby cat with a nose for gravy and a penchant for posing on runways and catwalks.

“Meow,” he told his assistant one day. I’m leaving home. “Mrrow-row-wow.” I’m moving to Novato to pursue my dream of becoming a world-class plus-size kitty model.

Like Tabs, I’ve always liked Paul & Joe’s products for their artistic touches, like the cute detailing on their lipsticks. Sometimes, it’s cats wearing top hats (YES!); other times, it’s chrysanthemums, like the ones gracing tubes of Once Upon a Time 081 from the Paul & Joe BeautÃ© Fall 2013 Fairytale Collection.

Once Upon a Time is a refill — one of three new lipstick refills from the new launch — so you may need a $5 case if you don’t already have one. There are three limited edition refillable lipstick cases in the collection, just in case.

Like most Paul & Joe packaging, the cases are made of paper, and consequently they aren’t indestructible. I wouldn’t leave one on the bathroom sink, if you catch my drift.

As for this story here, Once Upon a Time, I like the color, and you might, too, if you dig warm, pumpkin orange lipsticks with creamy finishes.

More details…

The formula smells and tastes like roses.
It has a 2-3 hour wear time.
It feels more like a balm than a lipstick to me.
The coverage is sheer.

Once Upon a Time tells the tale of a vintage orange lipstick living in the world of today. 🙂 Really fun to wear with black cat liner and false lashes!

Paul & Joe Autumn 2013: Lipstick Case CS 009 ($5) and Lipstick in Once Upon a Time 081 Refill ($17) on the right — Lipstick Case CS 009 ($5) and Lipstick in Once Upon a Time 081 Refill ($17) on the right

Paul & Joe Autumn 2013: Lipstick in Once Upon a Time 081 Swatch — A warm orange with a creamy finish

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Should You Bring the Paul & Joe Beaute Eye Liner WP & Eye Crayon Duo in Saint Tropez 001 to the Beach, Baby?

June 25th, 2013 by Karen 29 Comments

Few years ago I got to talking with a friend of mine who lived in Hawaii for some years. She said that while she lived there, she never once went in the ocean.

Paul Joe Eyeliner from Saint Tropez 001 Duo — Eyeliner from Saint Tropez 001 Duo Eye Crayon on the left and Eye Liner on the right

It kind of blew my mind. As a bonafide beach baby, I couldn’t fathom living in a place with warm, tropical water and not once stepping into it while you’re there. It’s everywhere around you, after all!

I know, different strokes for different folks, but if I could, I’d go swimming or surfing in that ocean every day…or at least every other day (everyone seems to say that, though, don’t they?).

Maybe that’s why Paul & Joe Beaute’s Beach Baby collection speaks to me…

Paul Joe Eye Crayon from Saint Tropez 001 Duo — The Eye Crayon from the Saint Tropez 001 Duo…

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