espionage cosmetics – Page 5

Nerd Makeup Box August 2015

By Sheetar 17 September 2015 14 September 2015

Did I mention how behind I am with.. everything?! Yes, this box arrived in August, and I’m only posting about it now. *hangs head in blogger shame* But, here I am, and here’s this box! This is my third Nerd Makeup box as part of the beta testing for the public launch that will open up towards the end of the year. I was lucky enough to nab a spot in the extended beta testing and have not been disappointed!

Mineral Pigment – $7.50 – This is GORGEOUS and something unique that I don’t already have. They call it a pigment because the usage isn’t limited to just being an eyeshadow, it’s safe for use on eyes, cheeks, nails, hair, or lips. I’m probably most likely to use this as an eyeshadow though and it’s a really wonderful brick red/brown color that I can see being perfect for a crease color. I tend to go really outrageous with my nails, but with makeup, I’m definitely more of a natural/basic sort of person which isn’t entirely in line with what Espionage Cosmetics does. They have some incredible artistry using their pigments, bold and wild makeup, but this is a color I can see still working for day-to-day use which is perfect for me.
Nail File – $.50 – You can never ever have too many. I’m positively sure of it.
Smashing Nail Wrap – $10 – You can’t go wrong with purple and green radioactive glitter. Perfect for hulking out!
Patchwork Nail Wrap – $10 – This is one I picked up during the Kickstarter Campaign version 2.0, so I don’t mind seeing it again! It’s a bright neon in a stitched up pattern.
Steampunk 2.0 Nail Wrap – $10 – It has some sparkly glitter accents on some images of gears, screws, and brass plates. Fun and industrial looking.
Eagle Nebula Nail Wrap – $10 – Glow in the Dark and science nerdery, featuring images of the Eagle Nebula. This is so nerdy, I almost cannot contain myself.

Total value comes out to $48! The box costs $25 plus $4.11 in shipping in handling, so the value more than covers the cost. The whole purpose of beta testing is to find bugs and offer suggestions, but so far the only thing I can think of is to have a half-box or allow for every-other-month shipments. Having four nail wraps covers almost 8 weeks of nail coverage since the wraps seem to last around two weeks. If I get four wraps every four weeks, it would end up being a surplus, so it would actually be nice to see two nail wraps (just the two new ones) and a makeup item for say, $15-$18. It’s a little too much for me to have four nail wraps when I may use one a month or maybe two at most – my regular nail polish has been getting lonely, feeling sad and neglected. Or at least, I imagine them feeling that way next to these awesome nail wraps. I love getting the new designs and the old favorites though and would definitely sign up again if they offer a smaller box option!

Subscription Boxes

Nerd Makeup Box July 2015

By Sheetar 15 July 2015 9 July 2015

This is now my second Nerd Makeup box as part of Beta testing from the Kickstarter Campaign. I had initally only signed up for one month as part of the campaign, but they had a call out for extra testers after the first month and I was happily selected to be part of the super special group of testers. The box costs $25 plus $4.11 shipping and handling for a grand total of $29.11. The value of the nail wraps alone totally makes up for the cost of the box and everything else is a bonus!

Nerd Manicure Humidor – $7.50 – I already have one from the original kickstarter campaign, but hey, another one can’t hurt! I already know this is an awesome product to keep around and the card that came along in the box gave some great tips on how to use it. I had just been stuffing my extra nail wraps into the humidor, but it’s a better idea to put them back in the original sleeve and then in the humidor to keep them from sticking. It’s basically a waterproof, airproof bag to keep the extra wraps fresh before using them up. Works great!
Nail File – $.50 – Who can’t use an extra nail file?! Always happy to have more of these since they tend to go rogue, sprouting legs and wandering off to the nail file disco, getting all wild and crazy with the other nail files, never to be seen again. Or so I imagine anyway.
Batty Nail Wrap – $10.00 – Clear and Glows in the Dark! NEAT! I almost want to save this for October, but I sort of want to use it NOW because it’s awesome! I’m thinking maybe a coat or two of RED nail polish underneath would be pretty wicked.
Pirates, Ahoy! Nail Wrap – $10 – Glitter and Glows in the Dark. A super neat glow in the dark feature on top of the glitter compass on the treasure map design. I may have to bust these out for the renaissance faire pirate day.
For Science! Nail Wrap – $10 – One of the original designs in Glitter. The design has a really fun story behind it, and they’re colorful and interesting even if you don’t know the story.
Metal Man Nail Wrap – $10 – Another original design in Glitter. Pays tribute to the man in metal himself, Iron Man. Love the transition between red and gold, and these will be a slightly more normal wrap, but they’re still glittery and made of awesome.

Overall value is $48 for the box which is more than the cost, so that works out for me! Plus, fun nail wraps to keep up with my ~~addiction~~ habit. 🙂

Crowdfunding

Kickstarted – Espionage Cosmetics

By Sheetar 15 April 2015 15 December 2015

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.