This week was a GIGANTIC week for mail! My Beauty Box 5 came in on Monday and my Topbox Murale box, my Flare Mani/Pedi box AND my BzzAgent box all came in on Thursday. Phew. Combine that with an internet outage at my house and I'm completely behind on reviews! So here we have April 2014's Beauty Box 5 Review.

This month's theme? Shades of Beauty! Read along with my relatively shade-free review of the products I received this month.

This month I received:

• BH Cosmetics, California Collection Eyeshadow Palette - Deluxe sample
• Nicka K New York Hydro Lipstick in Begonia - Full size
• Blum Naturals All Purpose Cleansing Wipes - Full size
• Bonne Bell Lip Definer Apple Cider - Full Size
• Jergens Natural Glow Moisturizer - Foil samples

Upon first glance I was a bit 'meh' about this box, but a few days in and I'm much more excited (I find this happens with Beauty Box 5). I think that's the charm about BB5 though, it's all about hidden gems, and products you'd never give a second thought end up surprising you :)

The Nicka K lipstick in Begonia is a very shimmery berry colour that normally I would steer clear of, but I've been wearing it every day since I received it! I was interested to see that the lipstick is paraben free and the reason it's so moisturizing and not drying might be because it's formulated with Jojoba Oil. It's long lasting for such a moisturizing lipstick, and while it does transfer, it's not that bad. This is my favourite product in the box by far. This lipstick is valued at $4.99 USD.

The BH Cosmetics California Collection palette is small, but it looks like a cute kit I could put in my portable make-up kit. The colours are very eye-popping, especially the purple, but the gold and bronze could be used in a day-look rather easily. The full California Collection palettes are valued at $18.95 USD.

I was pleasantly surprised to see Blum Naturals All Purpose Cleansing Wipesin this box. It reminded me of a Lysol container and it took a little while to get the wipes to come out of the lid, but it is a soft, natural cleansing wipe that is much gentler than others on the market. I really liked that the citrus scent was fairly mild. I'm not sure this is safe around the eye area, but I used it to clear my wrist of swatches and it does a nice job and my skin wasn't irritated at all. This portable, 30 sheet container is valued at $2.49 USD.

The two products I wasn't too thrilled with were the Bonne Bell lipliner and the Jergens foils.

For the Bonne Bell, I feel like that is a brand that is a phase for teenagers to experiment with makeup. I haven't bought any of their products in years and don't intend to ever again. The lip liner is waxy and while it does match the lipstick, I doubt I'd use it. This also appears to be a discontinued product as the Lip Definer line is no longer available on the Bonne Bell website or their store. It's valued at $3.99 USD.

With the Jergens foils, I'm simply not a fan of self-tanners. I'll give it a try but I prefer non-tinted moisturizer. The value of the full-sized product is $10 USD.

So there you have it, despite two duds, this box was actually a fairly good deal. Once again Beauty Box 5 impresses me. I've continued my subscription with them, so expect to see another review next month!

Beauty Box 5 is a monthly subscription box that sends 5 samples per month for the cost of $12 per box if you buy individually, $10 per box if you buy quarterly, or $8 per box if you get a year subscription. They also send exclusive promotions and sales offers to members. I'm a fan of BB5 because while the products aren't exactly high-end, they send a variety of products that are harder to get in Canada, they are usually generous samples and shipping is free! To get your very own Beauty Box 5 Subscription, use my referral link here.