Tuesday, March 15, 2011

A Guide to Inglot:
Eye Shadow Finishes & Online Ordering.

For those of you that haven't heard, there's a hot "new" (OK, they're not really new, they've been around for over 25 years, just not here...) brand making waves in the industry: Polish import Inglot. They're becoming quite popular for their incredibly pigmented eye shadows, particular in the form of their create-your-own-palette "Freedom System". Available in tons of different configurations and product combinations, the Freedom System allows you to create your own custom palettes, combining your choice of shades, finishes, and in some cases, even products.

Certainly, CYO palettes are not a new idea- MAC, Makeup For Ever and Stila all offer such options- but at a price. Inglot's point of difference could well be the value: For a filled 10-pan palette, the US retail price is only $50! While no one is arguing that $50 is a good chunk of change, consider that 10 pans and a palette to fit them would cost you $124 at MAC, and a MUFE palette that size would run over $200! Factor in the size of the shadows (at 2.7g they're almost double the size of MAC's) and the reason for the hype becomes apparent.

Humorously, I haven't actually tried Inglot yet, so I genuinely can't say if all of the hype is worth it. I do know that there are a lot of you out there lemming for it, so I wanted to let you in on some information that I've collected.

First, let's start with eyeshadow shades. Inglot doesn't name shades, they number them. To make matters even more confusing, they describe their finishes with odd letter annotations like "AMC" and "DS". I suppose this wouldn't bother me- if the finishes were described anywhere on Inglot's website. Kind of an e-commerce fail, but a couple quick phone calls cleared things up. Here's a quick rundown:
  • Matte: As you'd expect, matte shades have a dull finish, without any shimmer or sparkle.
  • Pearl: Another fairly standard term, these shades have a satiny to slightly shimmery frost finish, but are devoid of separate particles of glitter.
  • DS: Stands for Double Sparkle, these are satin (semi-matte) based shades with an added dose of fine glitter, though most of the people I've spoken to that own these say the base reads as a matte.
  • AMC: Stands for "advanced makeup component", This collection is perspiration resistant, contains vitamin E, and is talc-free. From what I could gather, the majority of AMC shades are a matte base with glitter, with the exception of #63, which is completely matte without shimmer or glitter
  • AMC Shine: Same as AMC above, but more finely milled so these have a bit more sheen to them. According to the breakdown I was given, shades 24-36, 39, 41, and 43-49 compare to MAC's Veluxe Pearl finish, which is a soft metallic finish overlaid with pearl. In other words, shimmery, frosty or metallic, but not glittery. Other shades in the line have a high-frost to glittery finish.
Hopefully this will help some of you out. The information I posted here is not from my own observation, mind you, but from conversations I had with the employees of 3 separate Inglot stores- if anyone finds certain shades in the range vary from these classifications, please post those exceptions below!

Also, for all of the pros out there, know that Inglot does offer a 20% professional discount. Call your nearest store for details, or email gsp@inglotusa.com. While the current Inglot online shopping system doesn't allow pro discounts, I was told by all of the Inglot reps that I spoke to that this will be changing in the future. For now, those that have a pro card can request an email form to send in their order, and this method does allow professional discounts to be used! Also, since shipping factors in, make sure you order from the store closest to you for the lowest possible shipping prices.

Finally, I want to quickly address the issue of the price increase that many of you may have heard about. A few months ago, it was rumored that Inglot would be significantly raising it's prices; some info suggested 10-pan palettes would be going from $50 to $80! The date of the price change came and went, and then information started coming out that the price increase would not he happening until May. Accounts have varied, and even store employees don't seem to have the full story. The latest news, from several popular YouTube gurus is that they were personally told by Inglot's Vice President that the price increase would not effect US prices. It appears there's no way to know for sure, but I sure hope that's true!

Of course, Inglot carries much more than just the shadows I discussed in this post- have you tried the brand yet? I plan on placing an order in the relatively near future, so you can look forward to more Inglot here!

9 comments:

The Student's Guide To Nail Polish said...

But they might increase non-US prices? :(

We only have one Inglot shop in the whole country as it is...

The Makeup Pixie said...

there are more than 1 store in the US....

LAS VEGAS
The Forum Shops at Caesars
Town Square

MIAMI
Aventura Mall


NEWPORT BEACH, CALIFORNIA
Fashion Island

NEW JERSEY
Westfield Garden State Plaza


NEW YORK
1592 Broadway
Chelsea Market Building

Monika @ RocailleWrites said...

From my experience, the Pearl finish is the most like MAC's Veluxe Pearl in terms of smoothness and pigmentation. The only AMC Shine shadow I have is a champagne gold with silver glitter, which is not very apparent once on the lid.

Also, the eyeshadow numbering seems to be different from the one in Poland (and I bought all of my Inglot products there); my shadows have 3-digit numbers.

My Polish beauty blog sources tell me that despite the fact that Inglot shadows have more volume, they seem to run out faster than MAC.

As for the US/UK price increase, it does seem quite outrageous to me, given that on my last visit to Warsaw in December 2010, a single round eyeshadow pan was still 10PLN (3.5 USD) and a 3-pan palette was about 35 PLN (12 USD), which is still a lot more inexpensive than in other countries. I do believe it's also more among this price line in Ukraine.

I have some swatches of my favorite shades on my blog for those who are interested! Hope that helps :)

Dyna said...

you post the most helpful blog posts ever :D

LisaOrestea said...

I have tried a few items from this brand. I LOVE their loose pigments. They are easilly better than MAC and much better value too.

I also found that unlike other pigments - there was little to no fallout with the Inglot colours I tried (I can't remember the shade numbers though and I don't have them to hand at the moment :()

I have a purple gel liner too which I adore.

I would love to try their other products but it isn't easy to get hold of in the UK :(

Ana said...

As I said, we don't have MAC, UD, MUFE etc. around here...

And then, last, hm, February, I was walking through town with a friend and ZAP! went my neck - what is this new store with such vivid colours, all pro-looking, with a name I've never heard of?

AND YELLOW EYESHADOW.
AND A RED ONE.
AND SUCH COLOURFUL GEL LINERS, NOT THE USUAL BLACK, BROWN, AUBERGINE, NAVY.

OH. MY.

I googled it and nothing.
I was like a kid in a candy store in there, I liked what I saw, but I didn't know how it compared to the hyped brands.

And then it hit the US, the gurus started raving, I found out how it compared and... that there'll be a price increase.

Musing on Beauty said...

Although it's evident that I need more eyeshadows like I need a hole in the head, I'm feeling tempted to try them :-s Ya know, for the fun of creating my palette (which would probably consist in shimmery neutrals that I already have in 26 different brands)

Unknown said...

Student, Rocaille & Ana,
I agree that the rumors about the price increases are unsettling, as is the apparent lack of communication from the company on the issue. However, brands can't be expected to address every internet rumor about their products, so if that's all this price increase business is, perhaps that's why we haven't heard anything official from Inglot.

I was, for some reason, under the impression that the price increase in the UK had already taken place. Not sure why I thought that, but perhaps it's just as it was here- we heard it was happening, then it just didn't...

I have fired off a few emails to Inglot, so hopefully I will have something concrete to share with you soon!

In the mean time, I'd say try it if you're interested and don't get too discouraged- even if the price increase happens, and it happens at such an extreme margin, the shadows will still beat the price of brands like MAC, MUFE, Illamasqua, etc...

Oh, and Rocaille,
From what I can piece together from browsing swatches and forums on line, it seems like the Inglot shade system changed back in 2009, as did the format of the freedom system. There are still a lot of 3 digit numbers, some seem to correspond to the new shade, some definitely do not. The finish names also changes (old finishes used names like "matrix" and "S7"???) Maybe some markets didn't change over, but seeing that Poland is home base, you'd think they'd implement changes first. And wow! $12 for a 3-pan is 40% less than the US price! Going back to Warsaw anytime soon? ;)

LisaOrestea,
Good to know about the pigments- when I was swatch hunting I found some really nice shades, but I'm kind of on a pigment buying hold! I already have tons, and honestly I prefer pressed shadows, so I just don't use loose pigments often enough to justify purchasing more.

I am definitely going to grab at least one of the gel liners- they have some incredible colors!

Musing,
I'm right there with you- first, it is near impossible to begin with to buy makeup sight-unseen. Then, consider the fact that I've been a makeup artist for 15 years- I really can't say there are any colors I *need* at this point that I don't already have...but still, I must try!

Monika @ RocailleWrites said...

Hi Jessica,

That's really interesting! I know that Matrix is another line of eyeshadow trios (like three different coordinated shades in a single pan the size of Stila eyeshadow)with different finishes, and they also have other eyeshadow lines, like Vertigo, which I think are similar shadows to the Freedom System line, only in different packaging with a sponge-tip applicator serving as a lid.

In fact, I'm going to Warsaw mid-May for exams at Uni, and I could absolutely bring back some goodies if you're interested (I'll be shopping there anyway!). Email me at rocaillewrites[at]gmail[dot]com and we'll figure something out :)

Monika x

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