Paul & Joe Manhattan Collection Lipsticks

Over the past couple of days, I've been testing out the three new lipsticks from the Paul & Joe fall makeup collection. Swatching on the hand doesn't always give one the most accurate impression of how a lipstick looks on the lips and I was quite surprised by how the various shades actually looked when applied on the lips. The photo below shows from left to right: #72 SoHo, #73 Uptown Girl and #74 Lower East Side.

#72 Soho is a vibrant orange coral that took some getting used to as I've never worn an orange lipstick before. I was surprised that Paul & Joe would do such a bright shade. I quite liked it but I think you need pristine white teeth to pull it off perfectly.


When swatched, #73 Uptown Girl looked like a sheer pink-toned nude but on the lips, it turned out to be more of a creamy peach pink.


#74 Lower East Side turned out to be the easiest to wear as it's a your-lips-but-better healthy nude shade with a hint of warmth. I liked this the best out of the three shades as it looks the most natural. All three shades felt very comfortable on the lips but they do require touch-ups after a meal.


In the first look with #72 Soho, I am also wearing the Face & Eye Color CS #74 Empire State. The crisscrossing pattern requires either a sponge tip applicator or a fine eyeshadow brush like MAC #228 to pick up the individual colours. Personally, I preferred a sponge tip applicator for applying these shades as it improves the intensity of the shades and also comes in handy for blending.

This was a simple gradational look with the greyish black applied along the upper lashline and the shimmery pale gold applied in the crease, browbone and along the lower lashline.