Paul & Joe Beaute Spring 2020 Swatches & Review
Spring doesn’t officially begin until March 19th, but Paul & Joe Beaute Spring 2020 Collection already put me in the mood for warm weather. I posted a few teasers on my Instagram stories last week, and after testing everything over the weekend, I’m finally ready to share my thoughts.
This launch includes a lot of new products, more than Paul & Joe normally releases at once; usually, their collections are more limited, more capsule-based. I split everything into five categories, for convenience:
- Face & Eye Palettes x2
- Lipstick Case x6
- Lipstick Refill x17
- Tinted Lip Balm x1
- Lip Crayon x8
PALETTES
There are two new palettes for spring:
- 121 Amuse-toi bien
- 122 Voyageuse Du Monde
The formula is infused with several skin-loving ingredients, including P&J’s signature orange flower water, white lily extract, jojoba oil, hyaluronic acid, and chestnut rose, that provide a more luxurious experience. Both palettes can be used for face and eye looks, and each one features three main colors plus a small silvery overspray with palm trees and Paul & Joe logo that will disappear after the first couple of uses.
Paul & Joe Face & Eye Color CS 121 Amuse-toi bien ($35) is a darker, mostly cool-toned palette that contains a dark, cool-toned greenish-blue cat with silver shimmer, cool-toned aqua blue sun with silver shimmer, and a neutral magenta background with silver shimmer.
Paul & Joe Face & Eye Color CS 122 Voyageuse Du Monde ($35) is a warm-toned palette that houses a cocoa brown cat with silver, red, and bronze shimmer, sunflower yellow sun with bronze and gold shimmer, and peachy-pink background with silver shimmer.
The powder texture varied slightly between the shades: some were more pigmented than others, and some were stiffer, and more firmly pressed into the pan. The “sun” pans performed the best and offered a more intense color payoff, while the “cats” and the blush backgrounds were a little more muted. Building up the color was very easy, but I thought the blending could be better – this formula sticks to the skin too well. On my slightly oily lids, none of the shades creased at all, the color didn’t even fade at the end of the day.
CRAYONS
There are eight new lip crayons for spring, all featuring a soft matte finish in classic French colors. Matte lip products can be very drying, so Paul & Joe added softening shea butter, jojoba oil, and macadamia oil to the formula, as well as the brand’s signature neroli water and white lily extract.
Paul & Joe Lip Crayon ($17) is available in 8 new shades:
- 01 Soiree Amusante – brick red
- 02 Lapin Rose – peachy red
- 03 Meilleurs Amis – rose beige
- 04 Petits Mots Doux – berry red
- 05 Toujours Sourire – poppy red
- 06 Reveuse – hot pink with lavender shimmer
- 07 Chocolat Praline – chocolate brown
- 08 Un Calin – beige
A closeup shot of 06 Reveuse so you can better see the lavender shimmers. It’s the only lip crayon shade that has added sparkle.
I like that these crayons are small and can be used with better precision as I tend to mess up my lipstick application pretty often. The formula is fairly long-lasting and the color fades into a lip tint slowly over the course of the day. You can easily layer multiple shades to get an ombre look that will actually stay that way on the lips without mixing too much. The only potential con is perhaps the fact that the formula is a bit stiff and feels more like a soft lip pencil than a lipstick.
LIPSTICKS
There are 17 new Paul & Joe Lipstick N ($20) shades that will be replacing the current ones from the permanent collection – old shades 101, 201, 204, 206, 208, 209, 211, 212, 302, 303, and 308 will be discontinued. The new Paul & Joe Lipstick Case N 02 ($9) will also be available permanently. New lipsticks come in three finishes: shades that start with 100+ are sheer, 200+ have natural medium coverage, and 300+ are richly pigmented, full coverage one-swipers.
Sheer:
- 104 Groseille – medium red
Natural:
- 215 Fraise de bois – warm strawberry red
- 216 Conte de Printemps – tulip pink-red
- 217 Candy Bouquet – warm medium pink
- 218 Dragon Fruit – cool hot pink
- 219 Chrysantheme – warm peachy-pink
- 220 Bon Enfant – warm candy pink
- 221 Hortensia Rose – raspberry pink
- 222 Sakura Pink – cherry blossom pink
Full coverage:
- 309 Petale de Pavot – orange red
- 310 French Cassis – burgundy pink
- 311 Rose Potpourri – rose red
- 312 Talons Hauts Rouges – universal red
- 313 Boite Antique – mauve red
- 314 Queue D’ecureuil – oxblood reddish brown
- 315 Le beau dimanche – peachy beige
- 316 Debutante – medium hot pink
There’s only one sheer shade, for now, so I don’t know if all of them will be the same or not, but the formula is pretty unforgiving on dry lips. It looked gorgeous when I exfoliated and moisturized them properly, but the first swipe looked pitiful – red pigment grabs onto every speck of dry skin. So yeah, if you tend to neglect your lips from time to time, maybe this particular shade is not the best choice.
Natural shades were very creamy, almost like a soft lip balm with pigment, so they didn’t last very long on the lips – maybe 1.5 hours tops, and that’s without eating or drinking. Because they were so buttery, I felt like they made my lips look and feel better after the color wore off, which is nice. In short, these are fabulous, as long as you don’t mind frequent touch-ups.
Full coverage shades performed the best on me. They all applied evenly, easily stayed on for at least 4-5 hours, and survived a few drinks and a salad without any touchups. They don’t emphasize dry spots, and the formula feels weightless so you’re not constantly aware of your lips. If you can only get one Paul & Joe lipstick, pick a shade that starts with 300 – you won’t regret it!
LIPSTICK CASES
While the fancy plastic case above is permanent, there are also five new Paul & Joe Lipstick Case CS ($9) paper cases to choose from. Paul & Joe often releases featherweight limited edition cases that allow you to have fun with your makeup packaging. If you are someone who prefers everything to be super minimal then you probably won’t be interested in these, because the designs are usually very cutesy and girly, with a vintage twist. This spring Paul & Joe dressed the cases in the adorable romantic patterns, with lots of pinks, pastels, and some bright sunny colors. The pink one with white kitties is my favorite, of course!
TINTED LIPSTICK
Speaking of kitties, last but certainly not least – Paul & Joe cosmetic fame really began when they launched their first mini-collection with cat-shaped items, including their famous cat lip balms. The Internet loves cats, so whoever came up with this idea is a genius. The latest addition to my cat-shaped arsenal is Paul & Joe Tinted Lipstick Limited ($15) in 001 Globetrotting, a bright yolky yellow that reacts with your skin’s pH and transforms into a unique shade of pink that will flatter your skin tone. Not going to lie, these transformative formulas always fascinated me, and it’s fun to compare the resulting color with my friends. The formula is similar to the lipsticks and lip crayons and contains neroli water, white lily extract, orange peel oil, as well as jojoba oil, macadamia oil and shea butter.
Paul & Joe Spring 2020 collection is available on Amazon, while supplies last. As a reminder, the lipsticks are permanent, and everything else is limited edition.
