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!