(Paul & Joe Pressed Powder in 03)
Like the Paul & Joe Loose Powder and Light Cream Foundation, I bought this at half price during the winter sale in London.
As I have mentioned previously, Paul & Joe’s foundations are known for being sheer and ultra-natural. This item is no exception.
03 is a translucent pale beige that goes on relatively sheer. The powder is sooth and fine, and it has a fair amount of shimmer. Even though the shimmer is very fine, I feel that it works a lot better for me as a highlighter than as an overall finishing powder. Since my face develops shine quite easily, a shimmery pressed powder can make shine look even more obvious. But for people with drier skin or for those who want extra luminosity, this shimmery (and by no means glittery) pressed powder could work well as a finishing powder.
Apart from using it as a subtle highlighter, I also like to dust a bit of it in the eye area to add a touch of luminosity.
Compared with the Loose Powder, the Pressed Powder is slightly more opaque and has a little more shimmer.
What is a little different about the kind of shimmer used in Paul & Joe’s base makeup items is that it is a pale gold shimmer of various subtle (but visible) tones (very pale pink, peach, green, blue,…). I have come across Paul & Joe counter leaflets that describe this shimmer as “nine-color gold powder”. Recently the Paul & Joe English website has named it “Secret D’Or“, which consists of “select varieties of champagne gold frost, each with different, subtle overtones and light reflective properties”.
I tried to capture the multi-color shimmer on camera:
(Please click on the image to see a much larger version.)
This kind of multi-color shimmer is quite subtle but is still visible up-close. Overall it does create a relatively natural luminosity that is in tune with the ultra-natural essence of Paul & Joe’s base makeup range. (Obviously many other brands feature something similar, but Paul & Joe uses this multi-color shimmer uniformly in their base makeup items, from primers to loose powder, in various amounts.)
However, for me, a downside of this pressed powder is that it is not particularly good at diffusing the appearance of pores. As a finishing powder for the whole face, I’d prefer something more matte and with a better pore coverage.
(At the moment, the Pressed Powder has almost been completely phased out (hence the discount) and is replaced by Pressed Powder N. I have tested the new version at the counter, and it seems that it is not drastically different. The powder is still relatively sheer, and the multi-color shimmer is still there.)
Related Posts:
Loving Japanese Brands – Paul & Joe
(my personal take on Paul & Joe)
Paul & Joe Foundation Primer N
(one of my favorite primers)
Sofina Raycious Pressed Powder
(more matter and with better pore coverage)
{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }
hey i just came across your blog as I was searching for Paul & Joe cosmetics, I’m so glad I stumbled into your blog. I enjoyed the way you review products and it is so helpful for me as a consumer! :) Keep up!!!! thanks for all the feedbacks and product reviews.
Hi Askmewhats,
Thank you for visiting my blog!
Thank you as well for the kind words. I will definitely try to keep it up.
I see that you like Paul & Joe as well. Love your recent haul (and the bag)!
Thank you for leaving your comment. Hope to hear from you again! :)
hi. im searching for paul and joe pressed powder.
i just want to ask how much you bought it? isit really good?
Hi Sophia Shufei,
I bought this for half of the original price, and I paid 10.50 GBP for it.
This product has been discontinued, and the current pressed powder from Paul & Joe is Pressed Powder N. Please refer to my post for my thoughts on the previous version.
Thank you for your questions.