Search Results for: paul and joe

Paul and Joe Nail Polish

April 22, 2017

Although I gush over how cute Paul and Joe products are, I have yet to sit down and write a review on any of their products! Is that bad of me? Oh well, I’m finally writing one today and it is on their nail polish!

As some background, I would describe Paul and Joe as a girly brand that is both cute and classic. It was created by French designer Sophie Albou, and named after her two sons. Paul and Joe has Japanese beauty influences, married with classic and luxurious French beauty. Japanese beauty tends to be more on the sheer, natural and cute side which is exactly what Paul and Joe products are like.

But, there is also that romantic, luxurious classic feel with their products that is evident in French culture. In addition, their products are made in Japan and the packaging/website are in Japanese, French, and English.

The nail polish I am reviewing today is the shade 27, I didn’t find a name attached to the number. When I first saw the nail polish at the ACI event, it reminded me of the Anna Sui nail polishes due to the intricate detailing on the bottle and lid.

I would describe shade 27 as a pearly, nude pink.

With one coat, it was a bit too sheer for my liking and you could see the brush lines when it dried. Two coats was the perfect amount, as pictured above. Two coats will give you the same colour as the bottle!

In certain lights, the pearliness of the shade will shine more. I was also quite impressed with the wear time without a top coat! I usually like to test polishes without a top coat first, just to see how good the formula is. Most polishes do not last over 24 hours with me, but this one actually did!

Unfortunately, at work I was doing some filing and shelf sorting so one of the metal hanger folders chipped a couple of my nails. It probably would have lasted longer if I wasn’t using my hands as much!

Overall, I am quite satisfied with this polish and will be continuing to use it when I want a nice nude pink nail. I am quite the glitter lover so I love how this is slightly shiny. The hint of pearl is lovely!

Beautiful pearl pink colour
Does not chip easily
Lasts 24+ hours without top coat, which is rare for me
Applies evenly, does not have a watery/goopey consistency
Very pretty and detailed packaging

A bit more expensive than your average drugstore polish, at $16 CAD (But at least it’s actually worth the price unlike the disappointing $40 CAD Chanel polish that barely lasted a day *cough*)

Yay!

Edit: After checking the PR information, shade 27 actually does have a name – Pink Pearl! I was close in describing it 😉

Press product featured. Opinions are own.

ACI Beauty Preview Spring 2017 (Part 1/2)

April 5, 2017

Last week, I had the opportunity to attend the Spring 2017 ACI Beauty Preview. I always look forward to going to this event and learning about the new launches, and then sharing it here! Since I hate having long & wordy posts and try to avoid it as much as possible, I decided to split this event into two parts.
We started off with Stila. Take a guess what the product above is. It looks like lip gloss or some sort of lip product, right? That’s what I thought at least. But, it is actually part of their new mermaid inspired line, Magnificent Metals, and they are actually eyeshadows!

I wish I took a picture of the swatch, but sadly I only put it on my Instastory and it’s gone by now. =( The shades were AMAZING. It had some intergalactic, out of this world vibes but with a hint of sparkle and girliness. This is definitely something for the bold and brave, as you will definitely be getting some (good) attention when wearing this!
The next brand we were brought to was Paul & Joe. Paul & Joe are always super creative and detailed in their packaging, so I’m always excited to see what they come up with next. Just when I thought their cat lipsticks from previous seasons were cool, they did it again with their cat shaped lipsticks!

The pinkish-red lipstick in the middle goes on pretty sheer, while the grey ones go on to match your lip colour. I find that Japanese products (Paul & Joe is made in Japan), they are all about the sheer and subtle which Paul & Joe does perfectly, with a huge dosage of cute!
Another picture of the cat lipstick because it is just too cute.
Continuing along the cat trend, the brushes in the back are actually cat paws! How cute! They were so incredible soft as well. I believe the box contains a blush, but I was too distracted by the soft and fluffy cat paw to be 100% sure.
Paul & Joe usually house their products in paper boxes, that have very cute and detailed designs. These are the new blush and bronzer releases.
Perhaps one of the only Paul and Joe products that weren’t cat themed? I was given a sample of one of their nail polishes here and will be writing a review for that this week as well!

You’re probably tired of me gushing over how cute and girly Paul & Joe’s products are, so we will move on to CLEAN. CLEAN is a perfume brand that I haven’t seen around much apart from in the blogosphere, but they do deserve more attention and love.

As their name suggests, CLEAN products smell very fresh and well, clean. One of my favourites from them is a perfume that smells like fresh laundry.

This season, they focused on two summer fragrances, Ultimate Beach Day and Lovegrass. At first, I was a bit reluctant of how the Ultimate Beach Day could smell like a day on the beach, but damn, it really did smell like a day on the beach. It smelled exactly like summer and sunshine, which I am not sure how they perfected it but they did.

The second one was Lovegrass that I didn’t like as much as the Ultimate Beach Day. To me, it had more of a heavier scent and I prefer lighter scents on myself. I think it would be suitable for both females and males.
I’ve never been one to try self tanners or even go to the tanning salon, and have never done both. Does that make me a bad beauty blogger? =P

The main reason why I’ve never tried self tanners is because they look so intimidating and daunting! I always hear horror stories of people not doing it correctly and ending up looking like an orange or waaayyy too dark.

But, I think I do want to try using a self tanner one of these days. I would probably start with the St. Tropez gradual tan, on the left. That way, I can slowly adjust to it instead of somehow messing it up.

The blue bottle in the middle is the same day tan that you spray all over your body. What’s new about it is that it has a 360 degree nozzle so it’s easier to reach your back! The squeeze tube beside it is essentially a body highlighter, you rub this over the parts of your body that you want to have a nice tan sparkle.

This post is getting quite long so I think I will end it here! Part two will be shorter and feature Ardell, Korres, and Bliss.

ACI Beauty Fall/Holiday 2015 Media Preview – Part 2/2

August 23, 2015

In early August, I was invited to the ACI Beauty event to experience their Fall/Holiday 2015 collection! I already mentioned this in part 1, but just in case you haven’t read that yet, ACI Beauty is one of the biggest beauty distributors in Canada. ACI Beauty works with many reputable beauty companies to help their products get on the shelves for us beauty lovers.

At the event, we were guided throughout some of their newest products for next season. Welcome to part 2/2!

I have seen some CLEAN products in Sephora before, but never had the chance to learn or test them out until that day. We got to smell some of the perfumes that day, and I enjoyed all of the different scents. If you’re someone who likes light and neutral scents, then this is the line for you.

I had a few friends that came over and played with the samples, and all of them said that the perfumes smelled like ‘clean laundry’.

I currently keep one of the rollerball minis in my purse,the light blue one in the middle of the box named ‘cool cotton’. It smells very refreshing and wakes me up a bit when I first put it on. The size is very convenient, and good to use on-the-go.

I also found that the CLEAN products are very gender neutral, maybe it’s just moi?? By that, I mean they don’t have a distinct ‘feminine’ or ‘masculine’ scent – it just smells like very clean soap! Although these products are catered towards women, I think that men would be able to wear this as well.

This product was highly raved about with the ACI ladies, they use this almost every day at home!

The Bliss triple oxygen instant energizing mask initially goes on your skin as a gel, but slowly turns into a foam as you rub it on your face. The foam expands on your face depending on much dirt or oil you have, so the foam size can vary each day. It also has a very nice grapefruit smell to it.

I posted this on my Instagram already, but am I ever in love with this Paul and Joe lipstick! This lipstick is part of Paul and Joe’s Fall 2015 ‘Cafe Parisien’ line.

To make this cute cat lipstick, Paul and Joe uses a Japanese candy-making technique called Kintaro-ame, which depends on two separate tubes – one columnar and one cat-shaped. This ensures that the cute cat faces remain visible until the lipstick is used up, so you don’t have to worry about the cute cat print going away!

Also on the topic of lipstick, here are the new shades for Anna Sui. I called these the ‘shooting star’ lipstick because of the way the lipstick is shaped inside the tube! The colours are very rich and make a good transition for the Fall season.

The Anna Sui loose powder, which comes in a new beautiful design, is pictured in the back. It comes with a fluffy purple puff, and looks so classic and elegant. I could picture a princess using this powder on her vanity table. Beside it is the Anna Sui BB Cream.

I showed this picture in my Anna Sui nail colour review post already, but here are the new nail colours and a new bottle design! It features a birdie on the top of the brush, while the bottle has an intricate ball gown design to it.

All of the Anna Sui nail products also have an amazing scent to them! The one I received smelled like lemons, and other scents include rose and lychee.

I also really adored the mini ‘latte’ eyeshadow pods that Paul & Joe had, featured on the left. The swirl and creaminess of the colours, coupled with a cute little foam tip brush is reminiscent of that a perfect, smooth latte on a chilly afternoon. I am a big fan of champagne/gold shades, so the eyeshadow pod is right up my alley.

Also featured are the pressed powder pods, which are purchased separately from the packaging. Beside the pressed powder pods are the moisturizing foundation and makeup primer.

The last station we were introduced to was Bliss’s regular collection (not the holiday gift set collection as featured in part 1). For myself, the most interesting product here was the ingrown eliminating pads, I am very curious to see if they will help with my ingrown hairs.

I mentioned this above already, but try to get a chance to try their body butter and soap, which are pictured in the back! The smell is absolutely amazing and will make you feel happy =)

I also did a review of the Bliss fabulous gel to oil cleanser, pictured in the middle beside the Fat Girl Slim products. You can read that post here.

I had a great time at the ACI Beauty event, thank you for having me. I learned about a plethora of new products and am very excited to try them out! Keep your eyes posted for upcoming reviews on some of the products that I have mentioned here.

Which product was your favourite from this post? Let me know in the comments!

Thanks for reading!

-Carmen

ACI Beauty Fall/Holiday 2015 Media Preview – Part 1/2

August 18, 2015

Following Stila’s fall media preview event, I had the pleasure of attending the ACI Beauty fall collection preview event as well. After doing some research, I found out that ACI Beauty is one of the biggest beauty distributors in Canada and work with big beauty brands such as Anna Sui, Ardell, Bliss, Ceramic Glaze, Clean, Paul & Joe, Stila, and more.

As a result, I was able to see a variety of different products from all the brands that ACI works with. I left the event with a lot more knowledge about these different brands, and am excited to see the 2015 Fall/Holiday collection in stores.

All the different brands were beautifully placed inside the room, I will be discussing the products in the order that they were presented to us in by the wonderful ACI ladies.

The first product we were introduced to were the new holiday collection line from Bliss. The gift sets come in different sizes, which is convenient if you are just looking for a stocking stuffer or a larger present. You can either get a set of lotion or skincare products, which are the two bigger boxes.

We sampled the grapefruit body butter, shown in the big blue box in the middle, which smelled amazing.

I’ve only recently seen Paul & Joe products on social media and other beauty blogs, but this was the first time I’ve seen their products in person. I am absolutely smitten by Paul & Joe’s packaging. It is a mix of classic elegance, with a touch of cuteness.

Pictured here is a makeup bag, with all the contents spread out. This would make a good gift to someone over the holidays, or a great way to be introduced to the brand as it comes with a few of their different products.

All of us beauty bloggers were in awe with the elegant and innovate packaging for their eyeshadow samples. I’ve never seen them be presented like this before so it was definitely really cool. There is a definite cat theme going on this season – this is for all you cat lovers out there! Meow =)

The next table featured some of the Fall 2015 Anna Sui products. Starting on the left is the limited edition miniature fragrance gift set. The fragrance set includes the new perfume, ‘Romantica’ along with other returning favourites. All of the bottles are so beautiful!

Beside the fragrance set is the limited edition moisturizing set. This comes with nail care oil, rose hand cream, and moisturizing balm.

On top of these two is the customizable makeup box, available exclusively at Hudson’s Bay. It comes free with any cosmetic purchase of $80 and you are able to choose from Anna Sui favourites.

All of these products will be available in stores in October 2015!

Following, we were introduced to Cargo Cosmetic’s eyeshadow palette. I love the darker shades of this palette, and it feels very romantic to me. This palette would be great for holiday parties – look at all the shimmery gold tones! The pinks would look nice as a office day time look as well.

Behind the palette are some Fall 2015 nail colours from Ceramic Glaze. Just like Cargo’s eyeshadow palette, the rich and darker shades would pair very well with an evening party dress for holiday parties. I can’t believe I am talking about the holiday season already! =P

Ending off part 1, we were also introduced to Paul and Joe’s bath & body collection as well! There are two bath & body collections – Arlequin and Columbine. Both smelled very luxurious and feminine – I would love to take a bath with these bath salts!

Which products are you most excited for?

Thanks for reading and stay tuned for part 2 of the ACI Beauty Fall/Holiday 2015 Media Preview!

-Carmen

Press samples featured, all opinions are my own.

ACI Beauty Preview Fall 2018 – Part 1/2

September 24, 2018

It’s time for my semi-annual ACI Beauty Preview post! In case you don’t know, ACI Beauty is a Canadian distributor for brands such as Stila, Korres, St Tropez, Ardell, CLEAN, Paul & Joe, etc. This post will feature products from Korres, Stila and St. Tropez.

I always look forward to seeing what new product launches they will have in the Fall and Spring!

This season had a section on cult faves, aka products from each brand that made them famous. Aka, their OG products – hence the nostalgaic decor! Recognize any of these nostalgic items? 🙂

For St. Tropez, we have the bronzing mousse. They have mastered the art of the at-home spray tan, especially when it comes to the scent. I am not familiar with spray tans but I have heard most spray tans do not have a great smell. St Tropez ensures that their tans smell great so that it is not off putting.

For Stila, we have a variety of different cult favourites including the Stay All Day liner, One Stop Correct primer, certain shades of eyeshadows, and the liquid eyeshadow! My own personal favourite also includes the Stay All Day foundation.

Lastly, for cult faves, the two products from Korres was the Golden Krocus Elixir and the Black Pine Eye Serum. The Golden Krocus Elixir can be described as a very rich, liquid gold product. And with that name, I would certainly not question it! The Black Pine Eye Serum has a push cap and helps to fill in fine lines and plump up the eye area. It can also be used as an eye primer to smooth everything out.

I have tried neither of them so I can not really offer my own opinion on them.

Moving on now to the new releases! There are a bunch of new releases from Korres, but I will only talk about one line in this post. I don’t like super long posts so I will make another post on the other new Korres, Stila and St. Tropez releases after this.

The Korres Wild Rose oil is one that I have raved about multiple times here. This season, they have released the Wild Rose 15% Brightening Serum which is basically an improved version of the original Wild Rose… I mean, the Wild Rose oil was already amazing at brightening up your skin, so I can’t imagine how it can get any better. The vitamin c oil helps brighten skin and with regular use, you will notice a difference.

Another new launch in the Wild Rose line is the Korres Wild Rose Foaming Cleanser. It also contains the same vitamin c as the oils above, which will further assist in brightening your skin. The cleanser is gentle and moisturizing yet is able to remove waterproof makeup easily. I have been using it for a few days, so stay tuned for a review!

This post is getting lengthy so I will end it here! Stay tuned for part 2 where I share another Korres line launch, and the new Stila and St. Tropez releases!