Espionage Cosmetics Backer Reward Part 2: Subscription Box Beta!

Hello Lovelies!

   I know I've been absent a little while, so I have something fun AND informative for you today!

   There was some VERY happy mail waiting for me when I got home yesterday. The second half of my backer rewards from the Espionage Cosmetics But Wait, There's MOAR kickstarter campaign, the very FIRST EC subscription box!!  

 

 









   Now, I DO have to clarify a few important things about this.The most important of which is that sadly, no, this subscription service is CURRENTLY not available for purchase. From April through September of this year, EC is doing a beta run of this service, and you could only get in on the boxes for these months if you backed the Kickstarter. Now. That said, I still want to share this box with you, along with my step by step instructions of how *I* apply these nail wraps, and a review. I do this for a few reasons. 1) Even if you didn't get the beta subscription, EC WILL begin selling subscriptions to the general when they go live in January 2016. 2) Included in the boxes are four wraps. Two of them are (I believe?) box exclusives (at least, for a limited time). The OTHER two though are designs that can be bought in store at any time. So my sharing what comes in my boxes will give you a look at those. Finally 3) also in the box is/will be one non-wrap item that they carry. What will it be? It's a surprise each month! And those things will be worth reviewing/talking about as well since those are also available.

     So yeah, you might not be able to get the box yet, but maybe over the next 6 months of seeing what I get in the beta versions, you might find something you want from EC or decide you want to sign up for the boxes when they start in January.

Now on with the goodies!

The two wraps in this box that are available on the EC site are:
League of Justice - $10

These are beautiful shades of gold, orange and blue glitters. They are so pretty. Seriously. I've never had this set before, and generally I don't pick things with orange, but I look forward to wearing these!

Silver & Gold Masks - $10

Ever feel like your nails need to protect your secret identity? Well these nail wraps are PERFECT for that! I spy the "eyes" of some of my favorite super heroes, and the gold and silver gradient is just straight up classy. I think I'll wear these when I go see Avengers: Age of Ultron next month!

The two that are exclusive to this box (for now? Again, I'm not 100% sure, I think EC's initial plan was to have these be just for subscribers for 60-90 days and THEN they'd go live for everyone):

Sakura Blossoms (Kiss Kiss Fall in Love)

These wraps are STUNNING. The mint with the pink blossoms is absolutely PERFECT for spring. They are absolutely what's going on my nails next. I LOVE them!

Finally Mystical Mane (Unicorn to the Core!)

This unicorn was the mascot for the But Wait, There's MOAR campaign. I don't know about you but I think it is super cool and sassy and I just love it. This is the one that I just HAD to put on today! - But we'll get to that in a minute.

First let's look at the last two items in my box:

The top photo is EC's lip serum in Soulless. Described on their site as a "sheer opalescent shade" and that's a perfect description. The bottom two photos show the tiny little mixing pod/pot that was in the box. It came to me empty, but I used it to whip up a color of my own. EC sells a whole line of beautiful pigments that are safe for use anywhere. So I took Miss Reynolds and Reaver Red ($7.50 each) from the Firefly collection and mixed them with my Soulless serum. The result is this PERFECT marsala-ish, reddish,, peach-y, brown-ish, my-lips-but-better color that I am already officially obsessed with.

Seriously. It looks and (more importantly) FEELS amazing. The serum has coconut oil so it's quite moisturizing, and it's not overly sticky. It is also gluten free and vegan friendly - always good things. Now that I have a feel for what their serums are like, I need to get my hands on a few more pods so I can mix up some more of my own colors!

   NOW. On to nail wrap application.

   I've had a lot of people ask me a lot of questions in the couple of years I've been wearing/using nail wraps. Most fall under two categories: application and wear time.
   In my experience, a lot of those complaints about wraps that are "difficult" to apply or don't last are born out of improper application (and care!) of the wraps themselves. What's the smartest thing you can do? READ THE DIRECTIONS! I know this seems simple, guys, but seriously. I have noticed that some steps DO vary from brand to brand. Sometimes you're asked to rub and "warm up" a wrap before application. Sometimes you're supposed to remove the clear plastic protective layer before you apply, sometimes after. And small changes can make ALL the difference when you want your wraps to last as long as possible. Here's how I apply the EC wraps from their recommended directions, with some thoughts and notes that I think might help.

1. Remove from packaging

2. Hold individual nail sizes flush to the nails to determine which sizes will go to which nails.

*This is while they're still covered in their protective clear plastic & attached to their paper backing.

3. This is personal preference, but I then like to set all of my wraps out in the order of fingers on my hand, so that when I'm ready to apply, all I have to do is pick it up and get going. Basically, I do ALL my sizing at once. 

*Those top two are the extras I won't use this time, but I will put in my nail wrap humidor to maybe be accents sometime soon.

4. I start with the pinkies and work my way to the thumbs. HOWEVER, I skip the index fingers and do them last as I find it helps for me. I know a lot of people who prefer to do their thumbs last. This is just a personal preference thing.

5. Remove the clear plastic

*You'll have to forgive my desk/office equipment in the background from here on out. I meant to try to crop it out, but now I'm feeling lazy haha.

6. Peel the wrap from the paper backing

7. Gently place the wrap on the nail, with the rounded edge as flush with the cuticle as possible. At this point, if you are very delicate and don't press down, you can adjust your placement until you get it where you want it.

8. When you're happy with the placement, start rubbing the wrap onto the nail. I'm not very gentle about this. It's best if you rub from cuticle to tip, and center to sides to make sure there are no air bubbles hiding under the wrap. Bubbles = wraps that pull up long before you want them to.

9. Trim as much excess as you can/are comfortable with. You can use nail clippers, cuticle scissors, whatever you like best. I just use my plain old office scissors, because it's easy. 

*I also find, that the more you trim, the easier the filing process will be when you move on to the next step.

10. At this point, I like to GENTLY rub at the tip of the nail, and pull down a little on the wrap until it JUST folds over and touches the skin of my finger. I forgot to get a photo of this. Sorry.

11. File the rest of the excess wrap from the nail. I think this works best if you hold the file (I actually prefer a rough emory board) vertically so that it's perpendicular to the nail and then ONLY file in a downward motion. This way, you're not peeling any of the edges up as you clean up your tips.

*This is a terrible photo. Don't hold your file like I'm doing here. I just wanted y'all to be able to see both the wrap and the emory board in the photo. But yeah, don't go sideways, that WILL pull on the edge and make your wraps not last as long.

12. As I said, I like to work from pinky to thumb (skipping the index). I ALSO like to go back and forth, so basically I do pinky, pinky, ring, ring, middle middle...you get it. And....VOILA!

NAILS ARE DONE! And made of Awesome! 

Now, there ARE some things you can do to try to get as much wear as possible out of your wraps. 

• Top coat. I know many people like to put a layer over the whole nail. That doesn't work for me. You should try it at least once though. It might work for you. What DOES work for me is a thin layer of top coat on the free edge of my nails.
• Don't let them get TOO wet. I'm not saying don't shower, or don't wash your hands. Ew. You should totally do those things. At least as often as you normally would. BUT, if you're swimming, or taking long baths, or chilling in a hot tub or whatever, try your hardest not to let your hands just SOAK in the water. That will cause them to start pulling up more easily.
• Be smart. Don't expect your wraps to last forever if you do a lot of things with your hands. Or better, be aware of your wraps. You spent money on them. You spent time applying them. You should take care of them. And little things can make a big difference. Like gardening? Wear some gloves. Gotta hand wash those dishes? Same thing. Opening cans or letters, etc? I use spoons to open cans (not so much soda cans, but pet food cans, canned food, & things like that) & a letter opener. On your computer or smart phone a lot? I know this sounds crazy, but you don't have to use your nails to type, the pads of your fingers work really well!
• And for the love of Pete. Once they're on, leave them alone! Don't pick at them or fidget with them. That's just a sure-fire way to make them chip & peel faster.

I hope you found this fun/interesting/informative. I hope one or all of my little tips helps you out. I also sincerely hope you check out Espionage Cosmetics. I love them. I'm not sponsored by them in any way whatsoever. But as I've said before they are a company that I care about, and I believe in. I can't wait for next month's box!!