Lip Factory March 2014

Box: Lip Factory 

Cost: $22 (includes shipping)

How it Works:

 Lip Factory is a monthly makeup subscription box, and contrary to what you might think, it isn't just lip products! Each month they send around 5-6 items, and the products themselves don't tend to vary from box to box, but the colors will based on your profile. Every 3 months they release an "All Lips" box with only lip products. 

Shipping Schedule: 

Shipping begins approximately on the 10th 

Returns: 

No returns accepted

Cancellation: 

Through email or ceasing Paypal payments.

My Experience

This is sadly my last Lip Factory! I tried it for three months, and deliberately waited until the "All About the Lips" March box before making my decision of whether I would continue with it or not. I just feel like there are other boxes I want to explore for now, but this is a pretty good one, and I know I will drool over other peoples un-boxings in the months to come.

I would like to note that apparently some people receive a "Welcome" gift in their first box, but I never did. This seems to be a sporadic thing, and not at all consistent among subscribers. I didn't ask their CS about it since this was my last month, but you might want to if you are just beginning your subscription.

My profile: 

Eyes: Blue

Hair: Dark Brown

Which best describes you? Keep it Neutral

Complexion: Light

Jesse's Girl Vitamin E Treatment ($3.00 - Full Size!)

&

Ellovi - Lip Butter ($5.00 - Full Size!)

Bluuugh. So boring. I would have been fine with just one lip balm, because it is a decent item that I will use, but TWO? Lip Factory, go home. You're drunk. 

The description for the Jesse's Girl lip balm calls it a "lipstick", but in my opinion there would have to be some pigment present in order to try calling it that. So I'm calling BS on that one, Jesse's Girl. Just call it a dang "Vitamin E" stick and move on. I have a stick of lip balm at several strategic places (work desk, purse, bed stand, vanity, etc), so I will use these. But I don't have to like it.

The Ellovi Lip Butter has a strange smell and I can't pin it down. It's not totally pleasant though. The ingredients are all natural which is great, and I will enjoy trying it out if only for that reason.

Jesse's Girl - Lip Liner in Naked ($1.99 - Full Size!)

This was an ok item for me because I have been wanting to experiment with using lip liners. This one is a bit dark for me, and I found the name to be a misnomer since I would expect "Naked" to be a nude color. But it will get some use, and I like the little built in sharpener.

Cargo Cosmetics - Lip Quad in South Beach ($24.00 - Full Size!)

YAWN. These glosses are a nice formula, but they are in a tin meaning that I can't travel with them since I would need a brush to use them. It's just easier to use a tube gloss. And these glosses are just barely pigmented. See those swatches? That isn't just a picture of my hand in a moment of shine-time. No, it's a picture all four glosses swatched! They don't look much different on your lips.The little indentation in the top pink color is from me hitting it when opening the packaging, so as you can see they are creamy as opposed to hard in texture.

Mirenesse - Lip Bomb in #16 ( #34.90 - Full Size!)

Oh boy. This thing is just a goop-tastic mess.The top picture shows the true color (more nude) but in certain lights it can turn more pink like in the bottom picture. The formula is just terrible. It's crazy thick and you have to use a super thin layer to avoid your lips sticking together. There is so much shine to it that this particular color looks a bit off. But then I feel like adding a ton of shine to a nude lip color is defeating the purpose a bit. There is no way I would ever pay full price for this product considering it's only positive point is the packaging.

Total Value: $68.89

Final Thoughts

This box was a pretty big fail for me. It was really just boring, which is the exact opposite of what these boxes usually are, especially the All About the Lips boxes! Such a bad note to end my Lip Factory subscription on, but I may be back one day if Ipsy stops fulfilling that makeup-sub-box sized hole in my life.

All that being said, all the items in this box were full size! So if I had been excited about the items, this would have been an incredible box! 

Lip Factory - February 2014

Box: Lip Factory 

Cost: $22 (includes shipping)

How it Works:

 Lip Factory is a monthly makeup subscription box, and contrary to what you might think, it isn't just lip products! Each month they send around 5-6 items, and the products themselves don't tend to vary from box to box, but the colors will based on your profile. Every 3 months they release an "All Lips" box with only lip products. 

Shipping Schedule: 

Shipping begins approximately on the 10th 

Returns: 

No returns accepted

Cancellation: 

Through email or ceasing Paypal payments.

My Experience

When I first opened this box, I was highly unenthusiastic. My biggest gripe were the colors, and when I emailed their customer service they said I should go into my profile and add specific preferences in the "Comments" area. How I didn't see that when I first made my profile, I don't know. Super helpful customer service!

My profile: 

Eyes: Blue

Hair: Dark Brown

Which best describes you? Keep it Neutral

Complexion: Light

Teeez Cosmetics - Desert Metals Mascara in Midnight Sky

Dud item Number 1! I do not use mascara at all. My lashes are very dark and long as it is, and when I use mascara it just doesn't work out well for me or the mascara. This was black, and beautifully packaged, as have been all the Teeez products I have gotten through Lip Factory. Trade pile!

Flash on Left - Natural Light on Right

LASplash - Chubby Twist in Pink Orchid

When I first saw the color of this lip pencil, I was so disappointed. Bright pinks are just not the colors I reach for when looking for lip shades. And this color is Very Paink (as we pronounce this particular shade in the South). But when I calmed down, I tried it out just for the hell of it... AND I LOVED IT! Seriously, why have I not been wearing hot pink on my lips my entire life? It goes really well with my coloring (which still confuses me to no end), and I would have never known if not for this sub box, so good job Lip Factory! 

Flash on Left - Natural Light on Right

Teeez Cosmetics - Eve's Ready to Wear Lipstick in Awesome Orchid

Again, I was not happy with this color at first, but once I wore it I couldn't take it off! It is really close to the same color as the lip pencil above, just in lipstick form. The pencil goes on very matte, so I like layering this lipstick on top to give it a bit of shine without having to use a gloss.

Eyelashi - Handtied Eyelashes in Sweet

Oh, eyelashes... Like I said before, I already have some pretty full lashes on my own, so using these things always feels like overkill. I already have a few pairs that I whip out on occasion, but the packaging of these is so incredibly adorable! Look at that cute little box they come in! They are also made out of natural fibers. Too bad they don't come with glue too.

Starlooks - Loose Pan Eye Shadow in Frosting

Not that there is anything wrong with this eye shadow, it just isn't very exciting. I also don't like dealing with loose pans, and I don't have a free spot in my Z-Palette right now. Not to mention currently having a few of this exact shade in there. I'll use it. But I won't jump up and down about it.

Final Thoughts

When I first opened this box, it was such a disappointment. But after I fell in absolute love with the lip sticks, I was a bit happier. Still, there were two items that I will be trading, and one that will go in my pile to be used at some unknown point in the future. If I hadn't loved the lipsticks, this box would have been a hell of a fail. This is the most begrudging "thumbs up" I hope to ever give a sub box.

Review: 29 Grape Seed Age Protecting

Sample Envelope

Subscription Box: Lip Factory

Company: 29 Cosmetics

Product: Samples from their skin care collection which can be seen here.

The sample packaging

This seemed like a bit of a strange sample to get from Lip Factory. They generally stick to just makeup, and low to mid-range companies at that. This is a tiny sample from a skin care line that hails from the grape-country along Hwy 29 (hence the name) and uses "grape extract" in all of their products, along with a mix of other organic and non-organic ingredients.

Below I wanted to give a better idea of the size of the samples themselves so I added the quarter for comparison. Really, skin care companies need to realize that if we can't get multiple uses out of a sample in order to tell if it works, we aren't any more likely to buy it than if we hadn't gotten a sample at all. 

From left to right: Cream Cleanser, Serum Extract, Eye Emulsion, Night Moisture.

I tried these out over the course of a day that I didn't wear makeup so I could really see their effect on my skin. The common theme of these samples were the smells. And not in a positive way.

The Cream Cleanser ($16.19/oz) was similar to other cream cleansers I have used and wasn't anything to get excited about. The smell however reminded me very strongly of mothballs. Specifically that smell mothballs give to a closet full of clothes. So yeah, I was rubbing old-closet smell on my face, and I wasn't happy about it. At least it was a cleanser, so I got to wash it off, unlike...

The Serum Extract ($163.55/oz!), which I used directly after cleansing since that seemed to be the right thing to do. There weren't really any good directions for these samples in the literature, so that might have been incorrect, but if you don't give me instructions and I use the product incorrectly that is their fault. This stuff made my face feel extremely oily. And the smell was quite reminiscent of a dusty room. One of those rooms you walk into in an old house and your footsteps create puffs. That kind of dust. Again, wasn't too thrilled to be patting on dust flavored cream.

The Serum Extract made my face oily enough that after a few hours I skipped ahead and washed my face for the night. Afterwards I used the Eye Emulsion ($140.19/oz!). This was the one product I was ok with. The texture was exactly how I like eye serums: not too oily, not too thick, and not watery. This was also the only sample with enough product to have used twice, but it wasn't resealable so... There wasn't a weird smell with this one, which was a nice change of pace, but then I got to... 

The Night Moisture ($55/oz) which I used in place of my usual moisturizer. Like the Cream Cleanser, it was alright, but not spectacular. It's smell was actually pleasant once it had absorbed into my skin for a little while. Right out of the packet it was strange... A lot like the "dusty" smell of the Serum Extract, but with a touch of something sweet. I like to imagine some passive-aggressive employee at the company getting tired of the bad smells they are around all day and sneaking something pleasant into this one.

Final Thoughts

All in all I cannot believe that these products cost as much as they do considering how they smell. I don't like a ton of perfumes in my facial routine, but these on the whole just did not smell good at all. Since I didn't have much to use I can't reliably comment on how they work, but I don't know that I would have been able to continue using them long enough to really test due to the smells. Maybe that's why they send out the small samples.

Lip Factory January 2014

Box: Lip Factory 

Cost: $22 (includes shipping)

Shipping Schedule: Shipping begins approximately on the 10th 

Returns: No returns accepted

Cancellation: Through email or ceasing Paypal payments.

Lip Factory doesn't tend to have a "theme", but they do claim to follow the preferences you indicate in your profile. These are just a few very basic questions like hair/eye color and complexion. Each month the products themselves don't vary from box to box, but the colors will based on your profile. 

My profile: 

Eyes: Blue

Hair: Dark Brown

Which best describes you? Keep it Neutral

Complexion: Light

My January Lip Factory

29 Cosmetics Skincare Sample ($4)

Review HERE, but the short version is that I wasn't impressed by either the size, effectiveness, or, most importantly, the smell of these products.

Teeez Mysterious Crystal Eyeliner in Lovely Lapis Lazuli ($19)

Bodyography Electric Lip Slide in Skintimacy ($19)

Be a Bombshell The One Stick in Girl Crush ($16)

Teeez Island Palette Eyeshadow in Sweet Sins (16.00)

L-R:  Sweet Sins, Lovely Lapis Lazuli, Girl Crush, Skintimacy

Overall I love the shades that were sent to me this month, and I really feel that my preferences were listened to. This is a great box if you are looking to round out your makeup collection with a few key, full

size items every month.