I distinctly remember ordering this Paul & Joe collection in April of 2019, as my dad was still in the ICU and I felt guilty for taking a few minutes to place an order before visiting him. But I knew the collection would sell out immediately so I had to go for it. Adorable though it is, I kept putting writing about it until this year, and then when I finally got around to doing some research I discovered this little guy's birthday is September 3, 2112 so I waited a bit more (although obviously I couldn't hold off for another 92 years unless cryogenics actually worked.) Please give a warm welcome to Doraemon, a robotic cat from the future!

Doraemon is a manga series created by a duo of Japanese writers Hiroshi Fujimoto and Motoo Abiko, better known by their pen name, Fujiko Fujio, in 1969. Fujimoto was inspired by three specific events: his wish for a machine that would come up with ideas for his writing, his daughter's toy that caused him to trip, and the sound of some neighborhood cats fighting. The story chronicles the misadventures of Nobita Nobi, a preteen boy who is described as goodhearted and kind yet lazy. He gets bad grades due to his laziness and is frequently bullied.

(image from doraemon.fandom.com)
Doraemon is sent back from the future by Nobita's great great grandson, Sewashi Nobi, to help Nobita grow up to be successful and alter history so that his descendants will be more prosperous. However, since Nobita's misfortunes continue as an adult which affects his future offspring, Sewashi is poor, so he can only afford a mediocre and not particularly helpful robot.

(image from vsbattles.fandom.com)
That premise sounds interesting in and of itself, but there's more. Doraemon has a special four-dimensional pouch on his tummy where he stores various futuristic gadgets intended to help Nobita. Some examples, according to the Doraemon Wiki page: "Bamboo-Copter, a small piece of headgear that can allow its users to fly; the Anywhere Door, a pink-colored door that allows people to travel according to the thoughts of the person who turns the knob; Time Kerchief, a handkerchief that can turn an object new or old or a person young or old; Translator Tool, a cuboid jelly that can allow people to converse in any language across the universe; Designer Camera, a camera that produces dresses." These sound like fantastic ideas, but you can see where they're heading. While the devices were supposed to make Nobita more successful, the series focuses on the hijinks that ensue as he uses them incorrectly or for the wrong purposes.
(image from doraemon.travel.blog)
As with nearly all the protagonists in Japanese series, Doraemon's character is carefully conceived with a complete backstory. The "Dora" part of his name derives from "dora neko" (stray cat), while "-emon" is an archaic suffix for male names – just Fujimoto having a bit of fun by giving a character from the future an obsolete moniker. The reason for Doraemon's blue color and rounded head is that shortly after his creation in the robot factory, a mouse nibbled his ears off and frightened Doraemon so badly he turned blue – he was originally yellow in color. Poor thing!

(image from says.com)
As for Paul & Joe, they spared no details. All of the products are covered in a delightful floral print featuring Doraemon in a variety of poses.


The lipstick caps as well as the lipsticks themselves are engraved with Doraemon's face. These lipsticks, you might recall, use a technique known as kintaro-ame.



How cute is the embossing?! And the bell on the pouch recalls the one Doraemon wears around his neck.

This is perhaps my favorite piece of the whole collection. Not only is the outline precious, the balm is scented like dorayaki, pancakes filled with a sweet red bean paste that are Doraemon's favorite snack.

Doraemon's cultural impact cannot be overstated. After 1,465 stories in the original manga and 2,372 episodes between two TV series to date, in his native country the character became as iconic as Mickey Mouse is in the U.S. The popularity of the Doraemon series in Japan can be attributed to several factors, such as the dawn of a new technological age in the late 1960s and economic prosperity starting in the late '70s (the first animated Doraemon show premiered in 1979). And while it was intended for children, it's also relatable for Japanese adults, whose workaholic culture perhaps makes them envious of Nobita's lackadaisical style. However, Doraemon's appeal is universal. Despite varied receptions in different countries, people from all over the globe generally identify with Nobita's struggles and Doraemon's attempts to help. As Caitlin Casiello, a Yale Ph.D. candidate in Japanese and film and media studies, explains to the Japan Times, "A lot of the appeal of 'Doraemon' is actually that Nobita is so familiar and relatable β heβs average, goofy, lazy, a bit uncool, but still a good kid β so we recognize him. Therefore, Doraemon would be our friend, too. This contrast between a normal boy and time-traveling robot cat makes us feel connected to Doraemon, like participants in their adventures."

As with Sanrio characters, there are literally thousands of Doraemon-branded products and collaborations, which raked in $5.6 billion in sales as of 2016. Even Takashi Murakami got in on the Doraemon action.

(image from jw-webmagazine.com)

(image from artsy.net)
Naturally I checked to see if there was a Doraemon museum since Japan seems to have one for everything, and lo! There is a Doraemon museum a mere 30 minutes outside Tokyo. The museum is technically named the Fujiko Fujio Museum after Doraemon's creators. The displays run the gamut of original sketches and a recreation of Hiroshi Fujimoto's study to a life-size Anywhere Door.


(images from fujiko-museum.com)
Speaking of collabs, if you think Paul & Joe's collection is the first makeup brand to feature Doraemon, you would be mistaken. In the fall of 2015 Korean brand A'Pieu unveiled a Doraemon collection. The Paul & Joe one is different not just in terms of packaging but in the product lineup. A'Pieu offered eyeshadow palettes, cushion compacts and lip gloss and also incorporated Doraemon's younger sister Dorami in the packaging.

(image from rinesoo.wordpress.com)
To sum up, the Doraemon collection is absolutely on brand for Paul & Joe, given their previous dalliances in cartoon collaborations, the founder's love of cats, and the fact that Paul & Joe makeup is produced by Japanese company Albion. Still, I'd love to know more about how the partnership came about and why in 2019, as Doraemon's other "birthday" is 1970 when the manga made its official debut. In any case, it's adorable and I'm glad I was able to learn about an important Japanese cultural icon from this collection. And if you missed it, don't despair – word on the street is that a second Paul & Joe Doraemon collection is coming for the holidays. So maybe that will be more appropriate for the series' 50th birthday.
What do you think of this collection? Had you heard of Doraemon previously? I obviously had not! I watched a few clips from the TV series and while he's cute, he did not capture my heart the way another Japanese character did.
Paul & Joe is a brand whose collections I look forward to each season. This fall's theme, Moonlight on the Seine, is probably not as inspired as it could have been, but the resulting collection is solid nevertheless. Here's the brief description provided by the company: "The 2018 PAUL & JOE Autumn Creation encompasses the romanticism and mystery of the rippling reflection of the full moon on the Seine, the Pont Neufβs streetlamps being silently lit, and the transient nightscape of Paris as evening deepens into night." I like that they chose to focus on a peaceful evening rather than the hustle and bustle of city nightlife. The prints are, of course, chock full of adorable kitties. I picked up everything except the three compact cases, since they had the same prints as the lipstick cases.

I appreciated the star and crescent details on these Face and Eye Colors – definitely reminiscent of a starry Parisian night.

How cute is this case? I always think Paul & Joe couldn't possibly come up with any more cat designs, but here we are. I don't know how anyone could use it though, I imagine it would get dirty in one's purse very quickly.

I couldn't identify the rose print on one of the face and eye colors, but was able to suss out the others pretty easily since they were all in the fall 2018 collection.
(images from vogue)

This cat print is from the Sister fall 2018 collection and features one of Paul & Joe founder Sophie Mechaly's cats, Nounette.


If I were 20 years younger I'd buy the purple version of this dress in a heartbeat.

The fluffy white kitty is Mechaly's other cat, unfortunately named G*psy, who appeared on several items in the regular fall collection (and many other prints over the years, as I found out via Paul & Joe's Instagram.)


(images from paulandjoe.com)
Bad name aside, these two fluffballs are truly adorable! Paul & Joe did a great job capturing their likeness in their prints.




(images from pressreader.com and instagrammernews.com)
Getting back to the makeup, while the decor was not as elaborate as that of their circus-themed Isetan exclusive collection, Paul & Joe still created an impressive "makeup street" in Osaka to welcome the collection.





(images from instagram)
The selected prints don't seem particularly fall-like to me, but obviously the cute factor outweighs the seasonal inappropriateness. And while I do think using some of the fashion collection's quirkier prints might have been interesting, the safer ones are probably best for a collection whose theme is a romantic, moonlit evening in Paris.
Thoughts?
Today I'm briefly sharing a very hard-to-get collection. When PJ at A Touch of Blusher posted about these adorable lipstick cases from Paul & Joe, my heart sank as I saw they were exclusively available at Hankyu Umeda, a department store in Osaka. While I have several personal shoppers at my disposal, all of them are based in Tokyo, and Osaka is quite a trek from there. And since the items were only available to purchase in-store, nothing could not be ordered online or via phone by my trusty shoppers. So how did I get my hands on these, you ask? Well, a very sweet Instagram buddy of mine messaged me to let me know they had popped up at a Japanese auction site, so one of my shoppers was able to purchase them for me there and ship 'em straight into my eager collecting paws. It's a springtime miracle!
There were compact cases also available, but I just picked up the lipstick cases since they had the same prints.


The jungle-kitten print seems to be a combination of several Paul & Joe Sister items. While I don't see the cat in the print below, it did appear in a pair of embroidered shorts.


(images from paulandjoe.us)
I'm not sure where the leopard pattern on the red case originated, but the zebra and giraffe print is borrowed from the spring 2018 resort collection.

(images from vogue.com)
I'm so glad to have gotten my hands on these! My love for this brand's packaging knows no bounds, and I would have been upset to have even more gaps in the Museum's Paul & Joe collection (I'm missing nearly all of their items from 2005 and earlier).
What do you think of the prints? And have you ever been overjoyed at acquiring a much-wanted item?
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As you know, I'm not a fan of cold, dark days so I'm definitely over the 2018 winter season. With that in mind I thought I'd look forward to some springtime cheerfulness courtesy of Paul & Joe. While the theme of "April in Paris" is a bit generic and repetitive (see their 2005 spring collection), I do like that they returned to including some text about the collection.
"When the cherry blossoms burst into bloom
along with horse chestnut flowers on the Champs-Elysees
and the leaves are bedewed with springtime rain,
All the colors of the city become more intense and alive with the sparkle of spring.
Itβs Paris in April, bursting with color and light.
Listen to your favorite song and enjoy a walk out into town
Paris in springtime is the most beautiful place in the world!"

I can't say these eye shadows would be very practical – you might get 1 or 2 uses out of them – but the record-shaped packaging is simply adorable. (And right on trend, as music-inspired makeup seems to be having a moment.)


The cat print on the left is borrowed from the Paul & Joe Sister spring 2018 collection, while the other two prints in this set are from the '70s-inspired resort 2018 collection. I must say I like these two prints better on makeup packaging than clothing.




The only print I couldn't identify out of the six was this one on the left. But the style looks quite similar to one of the pop-up palettes from the spring 2016 collection. The other two in this set are from the Sister spring 2018 collection. You would think disembodied cat heads would be a little creepy, but if anyone can pull it off, it's Paul & Joe founder/designer and cat lady extraordinaire Sophie Mechaly. That woman really knows her way around a cat pattern!



(images from vogue, paulandjoe.us, and nordstrom)
What's interesting about April in Paris is that it doesn't borrow any prints from the regular Paul & Joe spring 2018 collection, just the resort and Sister lines. Perhaps they were trying to go with a more playful vibe. In any case, I didn't think this was anything earth-shattering, but solid and Museum-worthy nevertheless.
Thoughts? Did you get anything from this collection?
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…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?
Hello, March! As it is the first day of the month in which spring supposedly will arrive, I thought I'd share Paul & Joe's spring 2017 collection. Consider this part 1 of a 2-part celebration of the beauty brand's 15-year anniversary (not to be confused with the Paul & Joe fashion line's 20-year anniversary, which occurred last year). The summer collection will have yet more cat-shaped goodies so that will be part 2. ;) But first, the spring items.

These face color powders are too cute, as usual. I believe the cat print with the red background appeared previously on nail polish boxes from the spring 2012 collection. And do you not love the cat in glasses?!

The cat design on the powders is also borrowed from the spring 2012 collection, only this time there's the addition of hearts.

It's always in the details with Paul & Joe. All of their collections are pretty and/or adorable, but it's the little things like this puff that make them stand out. It's soft but I don't know how practical it would be to apply blush or highlighter. I do know that it's just precious.

I need more cat-shaped lipsticks like I need a hole in the head, but here we are.

The patterns on the lipstick cases are from the spring fashion collection. PJ at A Touch of Blusher has amazing descriptions of them so I'll just direct you to her site since I can't describe them nearly as well! I didn't purchase the accompanying square compact cases since they have the same prints, especially since I'm not actually using them anyway. I figured the lipstick cases were enough from a collectible standpoint. Eh, who knows, I'll probably cave and get them later. π



The bird print was from the Paul & Joe Sister line; the other 2 are from the regular Paul & Joe women's collection.


(images from paulandjoe.com)
While I was working on this post some Museum staff members wandered in, as they tend to do (they like to keep me company while I blog) and got into a little mischief.

Well, at least they're not eating them, right?
Overall I thought Paul & Joe did a great job. Not quite as outstanding as some previous collections, mind you, but they provided the usual eye candy, and it was definitely Museum-worthy and appropriate for spring. What do you think?
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We're having more fashion fun today! In addition to the Looney Tunes lineup, Paul & Joe released a regular fall collection. This year's theme was "a stroll in the park". Can't say I really see it but the collection does offer a nice array of the usual pretty patterns.




Once I saw the bird on the tube of the lipstick refills I had to get a couple, which I normally don't do!

Just when you thought Paul & Joe couldn't possibly put cats into any other form of makeup, they surprised us with these precious cat-shaped highlighter pieces.

Beautyhabit.com gave me the usual complimentary bag. At this rate I could probably do an entire exhibition just of Paul & Joe bags…not that I'm complaining, of course – I love collectible GWPs.

As with previous offerings, some of the prints appear to be newly designed just for the makeup, and some were borrowed from the latest season's fashion collection.

(images from paulandjoe.com)
Oddly enough, the bird print was borrowed from the spring 2015 collection. Paul & Joe has done this before, however.
(images from vogue.com)
I don't have anything else to add except that Paul & Joe did another nice job with this collection. The holiday 2016 collection looks equally fun. π
What do you think?
It's my opinion that any time a company does a cartoon-themed collection meant for adults, they have to be careful not to veer into kiddie territory. It's tricky when collaborating with, say, the likes of Disney, and sometimes it goes a bit juvenile. But other times brands pull it off well, and Paul & Joe has consistently been able to elevate themes and characters we usually associate with childhood. This is the case with their latest collection, which features Looney Tunes favorites Tweety and Sylvester along with infamous cat and mouse duo Tom and Jerry. While I'm not the biggest fan of either of these – I wasn't really into Looney Tunes as a kid, and if Tom and Jerry were on before school I'd watch them on occasion but definitely wasn't obsessed – I still thought the collection was Museum-worthy because Paul & Joe did another great job making such things seem perfectly acceptable for a grown-up to own. π

Set against Paul & Joe's signature chrysanthemums, Tweety and Sylvester appear a little more refined than how we're used to seeing them while still engaging in their usual hijinks.



Tom and Jerry also partake in their typical shenanigans (Tom luring Jerry with a chunk of cheese), but are also depicted, appropriately enough, playing with makeup.



I love this little detail on the lipstick cap.

The Looney Tunes makeup collection isn't completely out of left field, as it's basically an extension of the Warner Bros. collab from Paul & Joe's Sister line.
(images from paulandjoe.us)
The Looney Tunes collection was even more extensive and included characters other than Sylvester and Tweety.


At first glance I thought the print on this dress was the same as the one on the compact, but if you look closely you can see Daffy Duck and Bugs Bunny.

There was also a men's capsule Looney Tunes collection.

(images from paulandjoe.us)
Anyway, my only complaint was that none of the Tom and Jerry scenes featured the fancy white cat. From what I remember watching as a kid, there was this super glam lady cat that Tom had a crush on. I don't think she had a name but I loved her! I think my obsession with long eyelashes was influenced in part from this very chic kitty.
(image from dreamsofawardrobe.blogspot.com)

This image of her doing her nails, for example, would have been perfect.

(image from youtube.com)
What do you think? Did you pick up anything from this collection?
This will be another quick post since I don't have much to say, other than that Paul & Joe serves up some cuteness for summer yet again.

You know you can't resist the cat lipsticks…

Unfortunately I think the one the left is missing his eyeball! Poor little fella, blind in one eye. Fortunately his whiskers will help with balance and depth perception, right? (Yes, I am concerned about his vision…but I'm trying to remember that it's just a lipstick and the cat isn't actually, you know, alive). And I also have more of these from the fall 2015 collection.

The palettes were predictably adorable. I especially loved the interiors – can't beat dolphins and boat-shaped eye shadows.



Interestingly, the prints for the second and third palettes are taken from the resort 2015 collection. I'm not sure why they used it, but I guess it made for a good summer collection and they had already borrowed things from both their spring 2016 and 2015 collections.



Finally, there was this face powder, adorned with illustrations of vintage bathing beauties and playing card motifs in a cheerful yellow, white and red pattern.

This was also taken from last year's resort collection.

Beautyhabit was giving out this clutch as a gift-with-purchase. You might remember this print from the summer 2014 blotting sheets. This is easily one of my favorite Paul & Joe prints so I was very pleased to get my grubby little paws on it.

So what do you think? Not their most inspired but as usual, it delivers a burst of summer fun with some delightful prints. I have a feeling, however, that their fall collections are going to take the cake. π
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Paul & Joe's spring 2016 collection is sheer prettiness. This year the company borrowed a page from children's books and created two adorable pop-up palettes. We've seen these before with Urban Decay and Too-Faced, but Paul & Joe did a great job as well, especially since one of the lipstick cases is tangentially related to children's books (more on that later.)
It doesn't get any springier than this palette – dragonflies, butterflies, flowery vines, fruit, bunnies, and even snails are all portrayed in one extraordinarily idyllic scene. And of course, cats!



I didn't like the design on this palette as much, but it's still pretty. That weird tiled-looking background doesn't seem to go with the butterflies.



We all know how much I love free swag.

And I always appreciate their attention to detail. Even the plastic cover for the eye shadow and blush has a butterfly!

The palettes are cute and I commend Paul & Joe for doing something a little different, but the lipstick cases are what most intrigued me.

I couldn't resist picking up a refill since it has a butterfly on it.

The butterfly print was borrowed from the line's 2016 resort collection and also appeared in several pieces of Paul & Joe's collaboration with lingerie brand Cosabella.

(images from vogue.com and paulandjoe.com)
The cat print is from the Paul & Joe Sister spring 2016 collection.

(image from paulandjoe.com)
But my favorite was the jungle print, which appeared on many pieces in the resort 2016 collection.

How cute is this romper?!
(images from vogue.com and paulandjoe.com)
I grew even more enamored after reading that it's an original print by illustrator Dahlov Ipcar. I had never heard of her but she does a lot of children's books and just really beautiful illustrations in general. She's still working at 98 (a fellow Scorpio, cool) and is actually on Facebook! Meanwhile, I can't even get my dad to learn how to email and he's significantly younger…anyway, I do find it strange that I wasn't familiar with her work, given my love of reading as a kid and my love of design as an adult, but I'm sure glad I found it now.
The print borrowed by Paul & Joe is from a 1981 book called Lost and Found: A Hidden Animal Book.

I don't want to make this post all about Ipcar because it would take forever, but I do feel the need to share just a few more pieces. I clearly need this book to put under the Christmas tree since we have kind of a woodland theme going.


But I saved my favorite for last. Mer-farmer!! That's right, Ipcar illustrated a 1961 book called Deep Sea Farm featuring a very hard-working undersea farmer. Needless to say, this book (along with the Christmas tree one) is on its way to me.


(images from pinterest.com)
If you ask me, Ipcar deserves a whole museum retrospective (and a makeup collection!) in addition to a fashion tie-in. Even though she's had a couple exhibitions, I would love to see an incredibly comprehensive show overflowing with her whimsical illustrations…and I think I might keel over from awesomeness if a makeup company ever put her work on their packaging. Paul & Joe's lipstick case with Ipcar's print was amazing, but I'm envisioning a much more extensive collection. If that merman farmer ever showed up on a palette my head might explode. π
Getting back to Paul & Joe, I think they did a nice job with their spring collection. Yes I still miss the little stories behind each one, but I do enjoy pop-up palettes and thought they tied in well with the fact that the company borrowed a print from a children's book illustrator. As always, Paul & Joe excels at walking the fine line between playful and juvenile.
What do you think?