Kickstarted – Espionage Cosmetics

I thought it might be time to start reviewing Kickstarter rewards/projects on ye olde blog since I’ve funded a bunch of them recently and have so far been pretty pleased with the experience!  I know it’s a risk, but it’s a wonderful way to support local or awesome businesses and get a little something in return.

The first one is Espionage Cosmetics’ Nailed It! But Wait… There’s MOAR! campaign.  Their first campaign helped them expand their line and hire new employees (job creators!), and this new campaign was an extension of the first campaign with new nail wraps, fun designs and rewards.  I missed the first one and had never tried a nail wrap, but loved the designs and couldn’t wait to jump in.

My Pledge: Zoe Washburne, $150 level (I initially pledged at a lower level and upped my pledge last minute as more rewards were unlocked)

The Goods: Goodie bag (bag, sticker, pin, humidor), t-shirt, 12 u-pick wraps, 1 random wrap, 5 Baker Street Wraps, 5 Lunar Phase wraps, digital wallpaper, add-on access, 1 month Nerd Makeup Box.  (Image at top shows all but the Nerd Makeup Box)

Review: SUPER happy with how they handled everything.  Communication was timely, the use of Backer Kit to manage selections made things REALLY easy and I never had a problem once during the process.  Everything arrived in a shiny silver padded envelope, packed with a sweet thank you card signed by the team members which was a nice personal touch.  There were regular updates on instagram and email about the shipping process so I knew when to expect everything.  The last part, the Nerd Makeup Box, arrived just this past week and now I’m wishing I had signed up for more months.

This is already an established business with a solid customer base, so I wasn’t worried about the project not getting funded or items not arriving as promised.  If anything, the value of the rewards far exceeded the cost, so I’m VERY happy with that (each nail wrap is $10-$12 on their website, so the nail wraps more than cover my pledge).  The nail wraps are thicker than I had expected and pretty easy to apply.  They peel off easy enough when you’re done with them (I can get a little over a week of wear on a wrap before they start to chip/wear off, but I’m a colossal klutz), and seem to do no damage to my nails.  Each wrap set has 14 individual wraps to fit all sorts of nail shapes and sizes.  The extra can be saved in the humidor (basically a waterproof, air proof bag) to be used later for accent nails or for an eclectic mix and match.

The last bit of the rewards, like I mentioned above, was the Nerd Makeup box, a new initiative launched with this Kickstarter campaign.  This is a special trial before they go live to the public, so it was really fun to be included in this Beta test.  They go into detail about the cost of the subscription for later months, but you always get four nail wraps which will ALWAYS cover the cost of the box regardless.  The first box included these lovelies, my favorite of which is the cherry blossom one since we’re finally starting to see spring around here.  Also included is a lip serum and mixing palate with instructions on how to mix your lip serum with mineral eye shadow to create fun colors.

Final Verdict:  A+++++++++ would kickstart again.  The company is amazing, they’re organized, run by women, and support and encourage fandom and nerdery of all sorts.  While my kickstarter rewards will undoubtedly last me a long time, I  can guarantee  they’ve gained a new loyal customer as a result of the kickstarter campaign.