Now that I've tried several of Paul & Joe Foundation Primers, I totally get why they have a cult following in Japan. Even I have developed my own favorite among them. I dislike the idea of a "HG" product--I cringe at the word, but let's just say that I will always give a new P&J primer a try because, yes, they're totally worth it.
First up is the Pearl Foundation Primer 005 Bonani Versale released in Spring 2022 as part of Paul & Joe 20th Anniversary Collection. This was the 4th Pearl Foundation Primer I've had from P&J, so I know they aren't without problems, but I'm a total sucker for them nonetheless. Who could resist these colorful pearls suspended in clear gel?
All pictures taken in natural light without flash.
These pearls were so much fun to use! Because the multi-colored pearls were crushed upon dispensing, each pump came out a different color mixture--see for yourself below! The primer applied transparent of course, and any "color" you see didn't show at all. Once massaged into the skin, I got a transparent but glowy layer that kept my face dimensional despite the flattening effect of the matte waterproof sunscreen that I applied on top. And of course, this one set just as quickly and was just as moisturizing as the previous Pearl Foundation Primers.
So what was the problem, you say? Well, once I used up more than half the 30mL/1fl
oz. pump bottle (by the way, all P&J primers are in the same sized bottle with
the same product volume), the pump dispenser would stop working, as in it would dispense mostly the clear gel with only a couple pearls.
So what ended up happening every time was that I had to dump the
remaining 1/3 bottle into a jar and use a scoop to scoop out some
pearls, rubbed my palms together to crush the pearls, and applied with
both hands. A little messy, but oh well.
- 005 Bonani Versale: a mixture of pinky white, pastel pink, pale yellow, pink-coral, and pastel orange pearls. Dispensed a unique mixture of color every time. Gorgeous, right?
Next up is one of my favorite, one of the best primers I've used thus far: the Moisturizing Foundation Primer 03 Clear. Thankfully, this one is not a limited edition and is in the permanent lineup, and I really doubt they would discontinue it anytime soon because it's one of their bestsellers. Either way, I stocked up on this, just in case.
Last holiday season, Beauty Habit stocked some really fantastic P&J Holiday Gift Sets.
As soon as one version of the Gift Set sold out, they put together a new set with different items. The particular set I got had limited editions of the Hand Cream, Lip Treatment Balm, and Lipstick, and minis of this Primer 03 Clear, Cleansing Cream, and Smoothing Body Soap (will post these later). At the same time, there was also a Sweet Trio GWP with the same three minis, so I ended up with multiple travel sizes of my most favorite primer ever! Yipee!
And boy did I travel with them! In fact, for our month of June in Tokyo, I took this full size bottle and both of the minis in anticipation for shorter trips within the month, a week in Kyoto, and a 2-3 days trip to Hakone and Nagano.
My thoughts were, given the heat and humidity, my daytime routine there would need to be reduced to:
1. Light lotion (toner, SK-II Facial Treatment Clear Lotion, will post a Part 2 soon)
2. Light serum (Estee Lauder Advanced Night Repair, will post a Part 2 soon too)
3. Light eye serum that can double as eye cream (Decorte Liposome Advanced Repair Eye Serum, will post later)
4. An emulsion that can double as a face cream (Hanyul Red Rice Moisture Firming Emulsion, will post next).
Even my waterproof sunscreen would have to be a light milk, preferably with some tint but still set to a translucent finish on top of this Primer 03 Clear (Cle de Peau Beaute UV Protective Emulsion, will post later).
The result was spectacular, folks! I just felt so lucky that all the products I picked out above worked together so well. In fact, a couple of months leading up to the trip, I was so stressed out with packing, etc., that I started breaking out. Then we got to the Japan and my simplified skincare routine for both day and night worked out so well that not only I stopped breaking out, my skin started to heal. Usually, it's the complete opposite and my skin would start wrecking havoc in an unfamiliar environment! You bet I was counting my lucky stars, and since then I resolved to keep the same routine going whenever we travel, especially to a hot a humid location.
After all that babbling, you must wonder what's so good about this Primer 03 Clear ^.^ It comes out of the bottle a tinted and translucent milk but applies and set totally transparent, as pictured. I only need 1 pump for my whole face, with any extra left on my hands going to my neck and decolletage. So with everyday use during the whole month of June in Japan, I used up maybe a 1/5 of the full size bottle and about a 1/4 of one mini, with the second mini I brought with me completely untouched. It's a pretty moisturizing primer, just as claimed, so it does off set any dryness that my waterproof sunscreen may cause. Once on, there's no waiting time as it set pretty quickly, allowing me to apply sunscreen immediately afterwards. The result was dewy, glowy skin all day long.
Where does the dewy, glowy skin come from, you ask? When I was in Japan, the dewiness was probably from the Cle de Peau sunscreen that set to a translucent soft matte in the hot and humid weather.
As for the glow, believe it or not, it's from the this Primer 03 Clear. Yes, this primer may go on and set to a transparent finish, but just because you cannot see something does not mean it's not there: the primer actually has white, yellow, and pink micro-shimmers that don't show unless seen at an angle in direct sunlight. When I was in Japan, thanks to the sunscreen's translucent finish, the micro-shimmers came through like a soft, lit-from-within glow rather than a sparkly surface. Hands down this Primer 03 Clear is one of my most beloved primer ever!
Next is a LE mini from Paul & Joe Makeup Collection 2022 Day 2. I know, the last P&J Makeup Collection I posted about was from 2021 and I haven't post anything from the 2022 collection. Until now, ha.
This Makeup Collection 2022 came in a pretty paper hat box, and in it 24 small envelopes with pretty prints containing the 24 small skincare and makeup items and accessories. I liked this packaging a lot because I could reuse everything, from the envelopes to the hat box. In fact, the envelopes were so darn cute my 1st grader confiscated them before I could put them away. Then he used them to wrap little gifts to me and his grandmas ^.^
Anyway, from the Makeup Collection 2022 Day 2 was a mini 10mL/0.33fl. oz. La Tout Eclat Illuminating Foundation Primer Limited 001, which was actually one of the first P&J primers I reviewed a few years ago. Back then, I didn't like it because it was opaque and therefore too much coverage, not to mention too shimmery. Now I'm actually curious to try it again, and with the mini bottle I can control how much to pour out, rather than relying on a pump that dispenses too much at once. Which is to say I didn't pass this on and kept it to try. Glad it's just a mini bottle though!
In the same Makeup Collection 2022 Day 14 is another 10mL/0.33fl. oz. mini Sparkling Foundation Primer 001, which was the very first P&J primer I tried and reviewed! I also liked this one a lot, although I wished it was translucent and not totally transparent. But yes, I kept this mini as well. I love minis!
Honestly, after the Makeup Collection 2021, I thought I was done with P&J's holiday releases. And then I saw that the 2022 collection had not one, not two, but three mini primers, I changed my mind ^.^" Sure enough, on Makeup Collection 2022 Day 24 was this third 10mL/0.33fl. oz. mini of Foundation Primer Limited 002, which was actually a repeat of the year before. But I didn't mind, because after several uses I came to like it also and was happy to have a second bottle.
Here are the minis from Day 2 vs. Day 24
And here are MC 2022 Day 24 vs. its twin from MC 2021 Day 16
Here are some comparison swatches for MC 2022 Day 2--Illuminating Foundation Primer Limited 001, versus Day 24--Foundation Primer Limited 002, versus the identical mini from MC 2021 Day 16.
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