International beauty box: My September 2013 Lip Factory Box

If you read my previous post on the Lip Factory Box here, you'll know my June box got lost in the post and the lovely ladies there sent a replacement which arrived in August. I missed out on the July and August boxes as a result and paid for the September box last week. They sent me the tracking info, which said "departed USPS sort facility in Florida" on September 14 - naturally, I didn't expect it for another two weeks and forgot its existence. I got the shock of my life when I received the September box today - five days flat after they posted it! How DID they do that, teleporter? Or did they bring the Concorde out of retirement?
Even the local subscription boxes turn up by the fag end of the month or even in the first week of the following month, while this comes by mid-month, from halfway around the world. To subscribe, all you have to do is visit the Lip Factory website, give them your details and quote my reference number 384919 (you get 50 redeemable points and a bonus).

The September theme was "Beauty Woman: Define your style of beauty". They've changed the outer packaging to a black box with a pair of red lips.

The product info card is a folded leaflet that details the products, which I love. No separate product cards that waste space and paper. No room for fancy personalisation with my name and no "hugs and kisses" from complete strangers and their "crew". Creepy, that (if you haven't figured out which subscription I was taking a dig at, go to the bottom of the page and read all my posts under the "Subscription box" label).

Inside, protected with packing, nestles the Lip Factory Box itself. It is black and glossy. The moment I opened it, I saw this extra bonus note.

Here are the contents of my September 2013 Lip Factory Box:

1. ModelCo Shine Ultra Lip Gloss in Berry Pink
2. Be A... Bombshell Cosmetics Lip Gloss in Sangria
3. Be A... Bombshell Cosmetics Eyeliner in Amethyst
4. J Cat Beauty The Big Eye Pencil in Black
5. Absolute Oil Control Tissues with Green Tea - pack of 50
6. La Fresh Waterproof Makeup Remover Wipes x 2
7. Essence Eyeshadow in Metropolitan 
8. Nabi Jumbo Sharpener
9. ColourU Mega Matte Lipstick in Skinny Dip
10. ColourU Mega Matte Lipstick in Matte Cinammon
11. Manic Panic Mascara in Creature of the Night (Replacement for broken mascara from the June box)

About the lip glosses first - I am not a lip gloss person; can't stand the fiddly things. For one, I have pigmented lips and sheer coverage won't work. For another, I prefer subtle matte or creamy finishes on my lips over shimmer or frost. I tend to bin the things; so these will be passed on to other people. They've bled in the swatches (below). I've sent Lip Factory a request not to send glosses, toners or false lashes - they've said they'll try to accommodate that, and explained that lippies tend to melt within the box in warmer months before they even leave Florida!

The Be A... Bombshell Amethyst eyeliner is a fabulous, a vampy, almost-black violet, and if you smudge it ever so slightly, you get the most stunning deep purple. Hit!
I also love the J Cat Eye Pencil, because you can also use it as a shadow. It smudges decently enough to figure in some smoky looks. Hit!

I use more oil blotting tissue than the number of glasses of water I drink every day (I mean that!), so these are always welcome. I love that this is a pack of 50. Hit!

The La Fresh Waterproof Makeup Remover Wipes (two packs) will also come in handy in my travel kit; I read a review somewhere which said these are actually cloth and not tissue-based, and can therefore be reused. I'll reserve judgement till I actually use the things.

The Essence Eyeshadow is a lovely sparkly brown which makes a good crease colour. Swatched without primer, it is well-pigmented, easy to apply and blend, and fallout-free. It is sent for first-time subscribers. My first-time gift was missing in the replacement June box, so I'm pleased I got this! Hit!

The Nabi Jumbo Sharpener is a surprise bonus. I'm always misplacing sharpeners and can never have enough of them. Hit!

The two ColourU lipsticks are from the August box, but I was unhappy at having missed out two boxes and didn't like one of the colours in my June box, so the lovely ladies at Lip Factory said they'd send me a couple of lippies from the previous boxes to see if I liked these shades. I'm beyond happy with these - not quite my usual dusty pink, but these suit me well enough, last decently (I've been scrubbing away with tissue, a cloth and water and the lippy is still on) and are matte! Super hit!

Lastly, the Manic Panic mascara is to replace the one that broke in transit last time - the wand had broken inside the bottle and all of my tweezers, orange sticks and hair pins couldn't bring Humpty out together again. Thankfully this is intact.

Swatches from left, with flash and in natural light on cloudy day, respectively: Essence Metropolitan shadow, Be A... Bombshell Amethyst thin line, J Cat eye pencil, ColourU lippies - Matte Cinammon and Skinny Dip; Be A... Bombshell Sangria gloss, ModelCo Berry Pink gloss and Be A... Bombshell Amethyst liner again. These are all on bare skin and with a light hand, one swipe each. As you can see, the glosses ran into each other.

Now for the subscription itself - for $32 including international shipping (less if you're in Canada or the US), Lip Factory gives you no samples/sachets, but at least SIX full size products every month. Six. Full Size. Mostly makeup-centric. Lips, eyes and nails are covered very well. So you pay not more than $5.3 per item or INR320 or GBP3.2, which is extremely decent for full-size products from non-drugstore brands. I ended up paying less than $3.2 per item for this box, thanks to some lovely bonuses.
What's brilliant is that I've discovered Manic Panic, ColourU, 29 Cosmetics, Essence and Londontown (among other brands) via Lip Factory. That is the whole point of a subscription service. Hope they include such brands in future, too!
Will I continue with my subscription? Forever! Every quarter, they do a lips-only box, and the next lip-goodies-only box is up in November. Make sure you get yours!
Disclaimer: Yes, I paid for it. Nope, not PR.