Paul & Joe renewed its lipstick range in fall 2012, and I reviewed a few shades from the range (104 Mademoiselle, 107 Rose Sorbet & 207 Grapevine). Five years later, the brand revamped its lipstick range once again with the launch of Lipstick N for fall 2017. (All the Lipstick shades have been discontinued.) Today I will be reviewing Lipstick N in 214 Paris Métro and I will also be sharing my thoughts on Lipstick Case N 01 and Limited Lipstick Case 001 in the same collection.
Paul & Joe Lipstick N in 214 Paris Métro (ポール & ジョー リップスティック N 214 パリ メトロ, ¥2000 in Japan (refill only), £14 in the UK (refill only)) is a light-to-medium (towards medium) beige rose with a medium pigmentation level and a shimmerless satiny finish with a subtle sheen. It glides on the lips smoothly and feels fairly moisturizing on the lips. It has a good staying power.
(Just like the shades in the Lipstick range, the shades in the Lipstick N range fall into three categories: Clear (shades with numbers beginning with 1), Natural (those with numbers beginning with 2) and Full Coverage (those with numbers beginning with 3). 214 Paris Métro is in the Natural category.)
I like both the color and the finish of 214 very much. The color looks natural, understated and elegant. It is lighter than some parts of my lips, but overall it doesn’t look pale on me. (I do still wish it were a tiny bit darker.) The satiny finish appeals to me as well.
In comparison, it is lighter than Paul & Joe’s Lipstick in 207 Grapevine (see link above) and darker than Le Beran Mignon’s One Stroke Rouge in Milk Beige. While I like all three of them, my favorite (in terms of color) is 207 Grapevine.
Paul & Joe Lipstick Case N 01 (ポール & ジョー リップスティック ケース N 01, ¥1000 in Japan, £7 in the UK) is the regular case for the Lipstick N range. (The refills of Lipstick N are slimmer than those of Lipstick, and therefore the Lipstick refills don’t fit into this case (or any other case designed for Lipstick N refills).) I wasn’t sure if I liked the barrel shape of the base or its raked surface, but I got used to them very quickly.
What I love the most about the design of the case is the matte finish of the cap. It is beautifully smooth to the touch and it almost feels like a fine piece of matte earthenware. The matte finish also helps showcase the delicate details of the embossed chrysanthemum motifs. I also really like the light dusty-blue shade of the base, which I find quite elegant. It is an unusual color for a lipstick case, but I think it works. It will be very interesting to see if the packaging of Paul & Joe’s upcoming products will continue to feature the matte finish and the blue shade.
Paul & Joe Limited Lipstick Case 001 (ポール & ジョー リミテッド リップスティック ケース 001, limited edition, ¥1500 in Japan, £10 in the UK) is one of the two designs of Limited Lipstick Case in the brand’s fall 2017 makeup collection (which also includes three new designs of Lipstick Case CS). It features leaf and bird motifs against an off-white cream-beige background. The bird motifs provide some color accents.
Like Lipstick Cases CS, Limited Lipstick Cases are mostly made of paper. However, the unique selling point of Limited Lipstick Cases is that they are wrapped in pieces of fabric with the brand’s seasonal prints.
The sizes of Limited Lipstick Cases and the new Lipstick Cases CS are the same. They are longer (by about 0.5 cm) and very noticeably slimmer than the previous paper-based lipstick cases. Also, the two ends of the new cases are flat. (The photo below shows the top of the case.) This is again different from the design of the previous paper-based cases. (For example, see the top of Lipstick Case CS 034 from fall 2016. The bottom of the case has the same design.)
I haven’t got used to these changes. I prefer the shorter and wider cases as they look and feel more substantial. I also prefer the design of the two ends of the previous cases.
(The differences (in terms of the overall size and shape) between the then-regular Lipstick Case (see the link to the post on 207 Grapevine above) and the new regular Lipstick Case N are less pronounced. Lipstick Case N is also longer than Lipstick Case by about 0.5 cm, but it is only slightly slimmer.)
Paul & Joe has had a few major revamps since its launch in 2002, but I think the fact that the brand changed the size of the lipstick refills this year is fairly significant in terms of the progression of the brand. I hadn’t really thought about the possibility that the free interchangeability of the exteriors of the lipstick shades (which fans of the brand had probably taken for granted for years) would face a cut-off point (which is beautifully presented but somewhat harsh in essence). Of course, changes and updates are part of retail and marketing. In a way (and to risk over-philosophizing), this is a reminder that what we have now can’t always be part of the future in the ways we want.
Paul & Joe’s 15th anniversary is certainly another milestone for the brand. I am sensing that the fall 2017 makeup collection marks the start of another product renewal, and we will probably see more major changes in the next few seasons.
Related posts:
Paul & Joe 15th Anniversary Makeup Collection
Paul & Joe Isetan Shinjuku Exclusives for Fall 2017
Stash Focus: Paul & Joe Compacts 013, 014 & 015 and Lipstick Cases CS 037, 038 & 039
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