Of Toys and Co: Paul & Joe Lipsticks and Lipstick CS Part XI

In general, I'd say Paul & Joe releases can be eye-catching, or at least they try to be, with lots of cute cat motifs. However, save for their lippies, I haven't been tempted with much else, especially since I've learned that their eye shadows can be wildly hit-n-miss.

In 2019 though, the brand broke down my resistance quite a bit. Hopefully, I'll get around to post some of those goodies soon. For now, enjoy photos and swatches of Lipstick CS in LE 111 Amaryllis and 112 Gerbera Daisy, and Paul & Joe x Doraemon Lipstick D in LE 002 Happy Red, all three from the spring, and Lipstick Limited 007 Disco Inferno from the summer. There are also Lipstick Case CS in 050 and 051, and Lipstick Case Limited 004, and only three because the Doraemon Lipstick D came in its own case.

All pictures taken in natural light without flash.

To be honest, I'm not in love with 111 Amaryllis or 112 Gerbera Daisy, though only because they're way more pigmented than I'd expected. This is what I'm most annoyed with when it comes to P&J lippies. Their permanent line has three ranges with clearly defined coverage and pigmentation, Clear (sheer), Natural (build-able medium pigmentation), and Full Coverage, while their LE releases are all over the place, often with pretty and poetic descriptions that tell me sweet nothing about coverage and pigmentation of the lipsticks. In this case, both 111 and 112 are more along the Natural range, with medium pigmentation and moderate coverage. Had I known, I wouldn't have bought either colors.

- 111 Amaryllis: appears red in promotional photos and is described as a "power red." However, the tube is pink-red, on the back of my hand it swatched a medium pink that's on the bright side, and on my lips it's even more pink. There's no red at all whatsoever. Talk about bait and switch. Boo. Hiss.

- 112 Gerbera Daisy: I like this color much better, a reddish orange, but still it's too pigmented for my daily wear. I do reach for it every now and then but could have definitely do without it.

111 Amaryllis and 112 Gerbera Daisy.

Lipstick Case CS in 050 and 051 were pretty though!

I was pretty excited about this P&J x Doraemon collaboration. After all, I did grow up reading Doraemon ^.^ Still, I was pretty restraint and only bought the LE Lipstick D in 002 Happy Red and skipped the blue and pink versions.

This particular lippie came with its own metal case with Doraemon print, which of course means it's pricier than the usual refill. The Japanese retail was 4,000yen plus tax but I paid $33 via Beauty Habit. Yup, no markup and hence I keep buying from them ^.^

The lipstick itself is totally transparent and colorless with a red core and a raised surface of Doraemon's face. This raised surface didn't last through the first couple of applications of course, so thinking back now I do realize it was kind of a gimmick. I'm most disappointed with the formula though. Despite looking all balmy, the colorless part of the lipstick is rather hard and waxy, overall nowhere near as comfortable or moisturizing as the usual P&J lippies I'm used to. The red core was better, but it's tiny and doesn't really help. So in the end, this lippie is nice for collection purposes. It's Doraemon, enough said. But I'm glad I skipped the blue and the pink.

- 002 Happy Red: a translucent red that leans cool. Since the core is tiny, after pressing my lips together, I get a lovely sheer reddish tint that's probably the only redeeming quality of this lipstick.

Then summer came around and once again P&J got me with their Lipstick Limited in 007 Disco Inferno. There were also 005 Play that Funky Music (a silver top wash) and 006 More More More (pink), but I skipped both. Also pictured (on the far right) was a Treatment Lipstick 401 that I'll post later.

Anyway, all three colors 005, 006, and 007 had somewhat chunky shimmers in them and a cat-shaped bullet that's only 2.7g of product, versus the 3.5g in the permanent line lipsticks. So basically, I paid the same price for almost 1 full gram less, all for the the sake of cutesy. Ha. Good thing the formula is as expected, much better than the Doraemon Lipstick D, soft and moisturizing.