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Monday, August 15, 2016

Espionage Cosmetics: BOOM! Box August 2016

Hey there geekonistas!

I don't know if this happens to anyone else, but when I have a bunch of packages and subscriptions on order, no matter when I ordered them, they all seem to arrive at once! That happened to me this week and it's super fun, but also kinda sad at the same time since I feel like there is so much to look at and unpack that I don't spend as much time enjoying each item. Still, when you have a pile of really awesome packages and you rush to open one particular one first, you have to know that one is pretty special, right? Well, for me this week, that "special" package is definitely my BOOM! Box from Espionage Cosmetics!



In case you are unfamiliar, Espionage Cosmetics is an indie company that creates cruelty free loose pigments and glitters, lip products, bath bombs, accessories, and of course their most famous product - the "Nailed It" line of geek inspired nail wraps! This box comes out bi-monthly and has a variety of prices depending on your payment plan. Paying per box is $30.00 (plus tax and shipping) every other month, while a four month subscription (two boxes) is $56.00 ($28.00 per box), a six month subscription (three boxes) is $81.00 ($27.00 per box) and a year (six boxes) is $150.00 ($25.00 per box). The boxes will include a wide variety of items from clothing and accessories to makeup, collectibles, art and more. Also included is at least one brand new nail wrap design per box.


This month the theme is "Retro Gaming" and I am ohmygod excited for it! Let's check out what came!


So the first item that I pulled out is this super cool art print! It's Super Mario, but done in a Japanese style. I love the lines and colors and it's printed on canvas textured paper - this is definitely one for the wall!


Next up, we got two brand new nail wrap designs, both debuting in this month's BOOM! Box. The first is called "8-Bit Hearts" and is a cute 8-bit heart design and the second is called "Power Up", featuring all kinds of video game symbols like hearts, stars, and rupees. Since my nails are actually not horrifically bad this month, I'll show you what 8-Bit Hearts looks like actually applied!


The wraps themselves on this design are actually clear, so you can put any color you want underneath, or just leave them bare! I chose to do a black accent nail underneath because it looked cool and I wanted you to see the difference.




Oh, man. I don't think there will ever be enough stickers in the world to suit me. These particular ones are pretty awesome, featuring some retro gaming phrases and symbols. Ah, who can ever forget dying of dysentery on ye olde Oregon Trail?


Keeping the nostalgia flowing, we have a notebook made with floppy disks! Does the younger generation even know what a floppy disk is anymore? Anyway, I appreciate both the usefulness and the environmentally friendliness of this item!


Next are three more BOOM! Box debuts, including two products that are new to Espionage altogether! Of course I'm referring to this months eye shadows. One is the usual loose pigment, but two of them are actually pressed shadows! The loose pigment is swatched over a sticky base, but, as pressed pigments are not generally meant to be used over bases, they are swatched on bare skin.


First up is "Console", the first of the pressed powders. This is a matte pale electric blue with excellent pigmentation.The pressed powders are packaged in metal pans inside plastic clamshells - a cinch to remove and stick into a Z-Palette if you should so desire. The shades are a bit powdery so they definitely kick up some excess and create fallout, but the intense pigmentation is totally worth it.


Next is "Pixel" a faintly sparkly but mostly matte medium pink.


And finally, 1-Up, the loose pigment in a medium green with a silver sheen.


The information card suggested mixing Pixel and Console to get a purple color, so I swatched it out to see, and sure enough:


The final item was the only real disappointment in the box. I like the concept but as a jewelry item it felt very cheap - like that metal chain was going to start turning my skin green before it even came in contact with it. I like the triforce charm, which is yellow plastic backed by silver, so I may try to use it somewhere else.


The box included a bunch of cards with suggestions on how to use the eyeshadows included this month, but of course I had to go off my own way. I figured, as long as we are celebrating "retro" gaming, why not time travel with a bright blue eye look?


So, for this look I used Console all over the lid, on top of the NYX white eyeshadow base. I then used 1-Up in the outer corner and up into the crease, blending everything out at the top with Pixel. I then used a navy blue liner in my lower water line and blended it out with 1-Up in the outer corner and Console on the inner. The inner corner highlight is from the Essence "Candies" palette, and the highlight under the browbone is Osteomancy from Notoriously Morbid.


Final Thoughts: As usual, I was more than happy with this month's BOOM! Box. I don't know if I have said it before, but I really like the nail wraps - I find them easy to both apply and remove, and it's nice to have my nails lookin' fancy without needing steady hands or a tupperware bin of supplies - just the nail file that they thoughtfully include in every box. Despite one dud item I definitely got more than my money's worth here and I am so happy to keep subscribing!

What did you think of this month's box? What was your favorite "old school" game? (Mine was Commander Keen!) Let me know in the comments!

Thanks for hanging out!

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