You may notice something vaguely familiar about this review. If not, check my Lip Monthly post for August and see if anything jumps out at you! Lip Monthly repeated an August item in September's box, a trend I hope they do not plan to continue.
To start with, I've had an awful time straightening out a billing issue with Lip Monthly. Wouldn't you think their credit card charges would appear under their own name? Well, they don't. To make a very long story short, their charges appear with the description "SPICY SUB" on credit card statements. Spicy Subscriptions is an adult subscription box to which I don't subscribe. Fearing that my identity may have been stolen, I spent a week making phone calls and sending e-mails to both Spicy Subscriptions and Lip Monthly, both of whom denied any knowledge of the problem. Finally, a customer service person at Lip Monthly told me that the company that designs their site also designs the site for Spicy Subscriptions. Somehow that connection results in an incorrect billing description for Lip Monthly subscribers.
I'm putting that information right up top so that you will be aware of the billing issue if you decide to subscribe to Lip Monthly. Hopefully, they will straighten it out soon but it was quite alarming that they didn't seem to be aware of (or at least were not admitting to) what is obviously a huge problem. How they could NOT know about this problem after five months of being in business is beyond me. Even worse would be if they DID know about it and were doing nothing to proactively communicate the issue and its solution to their subscribers.
Now that that unpleasantness is out of the way, let's see what is in September's Lip Monthly box. See anything familiar?
Yep, it's exactly the same cosmetic bag that we received in August. It's an o.k. bag but I sure hope it's not their intention to send the same bag every month.
Their very brief information card lists all the products and their retail prices but really doesn't give any information about them. All of these products can be purchased in their on-line store.
The first item I noticed was this very pretty shell pink nail polish from a company called Julie. This is smaller than the normal half ounce size but since I never finish full size bottles anyway, that's not a problem for me. I like to see Lip Monthly including one or two non-lip products in each box. Retail $3.99
Then we have a lip balm by Eco Lips in the odd scent combination of Vanilla and Hemp. Hemp seems to be invading every corner of the beauty business right now and I'm not really sure why it's needed in a lip balm. (Never underestimate a really good weed salesman!) I'd describe the scent of this as "grassy vanilla". Retail $3.49
There is a chubby light coral retractable lip crayon from Cherimoya. This is a matte color with moisturizing properties. It's a good match to the nail polish. Retail $3.99
And of course, OF COURSE, there is a Pur-Lisse moisturizer sample. As I've said before, I think it must be a law to include one of these in every beauty subscription box. It's a good product but come on beauty box companies....a little more originality please! Estimated retail value $1.00
The last product is an eyeliner by Cherimoya in the shade Latte 24. This is waterproof and can also be used as a lip liner. It has a built-in sharpener, a feature I always appreciate. Retail $3.99
The retail prices I've shown may be slightly off because I'm not sure if the nail polish is full size or not and I just guessed at the value of the Pur-Lisse sample. Still, it looks like there is about $16.46 in value here....more than the price paid but definitely not impressive.
If you want to try Lip Monthly, the cost is $10 per month. For a monthly subscription, the code FALL5 will get your first box for $5.00. If you sign up for four months, use code FALL299 to get your first box for just $2.99. Coupon code FALL12 will get you two months for free on a twelve month subscription. Plans automatically renew and you can cancel at any time.
Lip Monthly is providing a pretty good mix of products each month and at $10, it is certainly inexpensive. So far, they are primarily sending drug store quality (or lower) products. You get your money's worth and then some. I sense that this company is having some learning curve problems so my plan is to ride out my current four month subscription then cancel and keep an eye on them for a while. I am hoping they will get their billing issues resolved and improve the caliber of products they are able to send. They have a good concept but the lack of billing transparency is a deal breaker for me.
If you've received a Lip Monthly box, what do you think? Please share your thoughts below.
Thanks for reading,
Cheryl
Disclaimer: Views and opinions expressed in this blog are
strictly my own. Product discussed in this post was purchased with my own
money. Post may contain referral or affiliate links.
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