…to see the senoritas dance with flowers in their hair! Okay, not really, that's part of a song my sister and I used to sing as kids. But it looks like Paul & Joe had their own personal circus at Isetan Shinjuku department store in Tokyo to celebrate the release of their new lipsticks. I'm not sure why they went with a circus theme or why they had to make these exclusive to Isetan, but what I do know is that a certain curator was determined to get her hands on them by any means necessary. Basically I paid through the nose to use a personal shopping service in Japan. But I believe it was worth it, as these new cases are easily some of the cutest and most unusual Paul & Joe has come up with in a while. I also suspect these are brand new prints that are unique to the cases. I might have looked too quickly, but I did briefly peruse the fall 2017 Paul & Joe fashion collections and didn't see any of them.
I love the caps! (And I was ever so happy to see the return of Cap'n Kitty!)
While the cases retailed for a mere 1,100 yen (about $10 U.S. each), the shopping service itself charged…well, I'm too embarrassed to tell you how much. But look at this very dapper penguin. I mean, he's wearing a freakin' top hat and bow tie!! As I said, worth it.
While Cap'n Kitty will always hold a special place in my heart, I think this was my favorite case of the bunch. The images are just so delightfully absurd. We have a cat lady in a hoop skirt, a tiger riding a bicycle, an antelope, a parrot riding a zebra, and for some reason a monkey holding a fan sitting by a windmill. Bizarre, but the vintage style is utterly charming nevertheless – reminds me a little of Alice in Wonderland.
If you thought the cases were awesome, you need to take a gander at the Isetan event itself. I'd have given my eye teeth to be there, as it looked amazing. Whoever Paul & Joe's event planner was, they hit it out of the park. (I hate the event planning I do for work but if I could do these types of events for a beauty company I probably wouldn't mind so much!)
I loved the gigantic kitty lipsticks, which naturally made for a perfect photo opportunity.
They even had a life-size statue of the cat lady! She was cleverly placed in front of the lipstick case print and wearing one of Paul & Joe's fall 2017 dresses.
There were even actual circus performers!
The huge gumball machine was a fun touch too. While it looks like simply a novelty piece of decor, it actually worked. I don't have the video of a couple girls putting a few coins in and getting their prizes because Paul & Joe only had it on their Instagram stories, but there was proof that it wasn't just for show.
I'm wondering how much this event cost and how long it took to plan – those giant cat lipsticks, gumball machine, framed prints and other decor couldn't have been cheap or produced overnight because they would have to be custom-made with Paul & Joe's designs. Even these little balloons must have been pricey. (I guess because of my day job and also planning elaborate birthday parties for my niece, I just can't stop thinking about the work and money that went into this event!) They must have had an unlimited budget and an entire fleet of event coordinators.
(images from Paul & Joe's instagram)
But wait, there's more! Another spectacular event was held for CanCam, a popular Japanese fashion magazine. Entitled "CanCat Night Pool", the event name put a fun Paul & Joe kitty spin on the magazine's moniker while pointing to the night swimming activities. This one also looked like a ton of fun!
Again, custom pool floats = $$$.
(images from cancam.jp)
All in all, I was overjoyed to be able to add these cases to my collection, and I was glad Paul & Joe provided plenty of pictures of their wonderful events for those of us who are thousands of miles away and couldn't attend. Also, I think my new career goal might be doing event planning for a big makeup company. ;) If you weren't able to get your hands on these lipstick cases, don't despair – I wouldn't be surprised if Paul & Joe releases them worldwide eventually.
What do you think? Do you have a favorite?