Lip Factory box April 2014 unboxing

Lip Factory is a US-based makeup-only monthly beauty box that ships worldwide. For $32 a month - $22 within the US - you get five or six full-sized makeup products. To subscribe, please use the reference number 385650 to get 50 points (which you can redeem against boxes or products later) and hit lipfactoryinc.com. I have been a subscriber since June 2013 and have received some absolute gems in my previous Lip Factory boxes (click here to view them all).
Now for the April 2014 box. The theme is "Lip Factory Welcomes Spring". You've got to love the artwork on all their product cards. I keep them all and use them as bookmarks after a little tweaking. The Easter break meant that my box was just a little later than usual. This month's box has a total value of $55.99.

Here are the contents of my April 2014 spring special Lip Factory Box.

Packaging of the April 2014 Lip Factory Box

They have changed the packaging - the cute little black box is gone! Instead, what you have is the regular external cardboard box and just plain black tissue inside, sealed with a logo-sticker. Boo! I loved the li'l black box! However, this reduces our collective carbon footprint, so I shall endeavour to reconcile myself and store away all the black boxes I have.

Products received in my April 2014 Lip Factory Box

1. Color Club Nail Polish in Peace Out Purple
2. Be A Bombshell Eye Crayon in Black Jack
3. Be A Bombshell Eye Shadow in Beauty Queen
4. Jesse's Girl Kohl Eyeliner in Grape Expectations
5. OFRA Lipstick in Berry S3xy
6. NYX Butter Gloss in Strawberry Parfait

Before we look at each of these, I should tell you I listed the products according to how much I liked them. And, I. Hate. Lipgloss. Please click on the pictures to enlarge them.
If there is a list of things that could drive me maniacally genocidal, lip gloss would probably top that list. Don't ask me why or tell me to "at least try it", long history of mutual dislike there, and it will never be resolved, so any experiments will be futile.
Give me a cotton pad, a Q-tip, a bit of tissue, but never send me lip gloss. I only ever wear lipstick, though I am slowly giving lip stains a chance. For months, Lip Factory's customer service has been amazing, with me receiving something else in lieu of lip gloss, but in March and April, I have received gloss. It looks like they can no longer accommodate my preferences, which is a huge gamechanger for me. Anyway, I'll email them about this once again and see what happens.

Here is a quick look at each product. 

The Color Club Nail Polish in Peace Out Purple is probably my favourite product in this box. It is a very bright neon-purple and is my first polish from the brand. It is just in time - I am doing a neon mani challenge in two weeks' time and this will come in handy then, as I don't have any proper neon polishes. In future, though, this will feature as a nail art-polish rather than a base colour.

You can never have too many black eyeliners/pencils. The Be A Bombshell Eye Crayon in Black Jack is a nicely pigmented, creamy stick that you can use as eyeliner, kohl, or as an eyeshadow - it will smoke out many an eye look well.

Be A Bombshell eyeshadow in Beauty Queen is a stunning medium metallic blue that is dying for a place on my lids. It screams "me" and will feature in at least one eye look soon. I discovered Be A Bombshell Cosmetics through Lip Factory and really like everything from the brand so far.

Jesse's Girl Kohl Eyeliner in Grape Expectations is in keeping with the purple theme of the April 2014 Lip Factory box. It applies smoothly and is a very pretty, non-glittery shade which I will use in an eye look soon.

This is where it all begins to unravel. Next up is the Ofra lipstick in Berry S3xy. I am not a fan of Ofra, though I'll take a lipstick over a gloss any day. The shade is the vampiest, deepest and darkest brownish-maroon I have ever seen in my life; it is much deeper than what you can see in the photograph - the flash has wreaked havoc on the really deep colour. I haven't even bothered to swatch, but will dispose of it soon. Nope, no point at all in giving this a try either. By now, you know what suits you and what you are comfortable with. Since when is this a spring colour? And I have "dusty-pinks, dusty roses, corals, medium peaches and neutrals only" on my beauty profile. I also have "no bubblegum pinks, reds, berries, very pale shades or anything remotely vampy or deep" in there, but this time, my beauty profile seems to have gone for a toss.
Don't get me wrong. Every brand has its fans and its place. But the whole idea of a beauty box is to try new things. Not to get "ole NYX", which is easily available. I paid for NYX in a beauty box? What next? Will we see Cetaphil, a la Glamabox January 2014? Worse, this is a lip gloss, and you know exactly what gloss does for me, unless you skipped a certain paragraph in this post. To be dumped unopened.

Bottom Line(s)
This is an iffy box for me - I really like the nail polish, the Be A Bombshell products and the eyeliner, but the other two products are a bit of a dampener. This month, I find that Lip Factory has not introduced any new brands - every company has been featured time and again. And, for a spring box, that vampy berry lipstick is a travesty.
I have been a huge fan of Lip Factory, but after months of consecutive fabulous boxes, the March and April boxes have not wowed me. March was particularly bad - I was only able to salvage two lip balms from the entire box and the rest of it was dumped/sold/given away before I even photographed the box. This month, too, I have received a lip gloss. I can't keep these, I just cannot.
I am probably jaded or even spoiled after some really standout boxes featuring Manic Panic, ColorU, Medusa, Teeez, 29 Cosmetics, MeMeMe, NCLA, Befine, Bodyography, Michael Marcus, ModelCo and so on, and this is still great when you look at the fare dished out by the domestic boxes here (foil sachets, expired products, perfume vials, really tiny samples, glosses, lack of or disdain for customisation, and far more all-over-the-place brands, though one of them sends out NYX ad nauseam and Ofra as well).
Just a week left to enter my international makeup giveaway.