Inglot Freedom System Rainbow Eye Shadows – 106R, 111R, 118R

Inglot Freedom System Rainbow Eye Shadows – 106R, 111R, 118R

I decided to venture out of drugstore and beauty store makeup and try some eye shadows from Inglot. I’ve heard and read lots of positive things about this European (Poland) cosmetics brand. Their prices are reasonable and they have what’s called a Freedom System which basically means you can buy their empty palettes and lipstick/eye shadow pans separately, and mix and match different product shades to customize your own palette.

For my first foray into Inlgot, I opted for their empty 3-pan eyeshadow palette ($6). The palette itself is really cool. It has a bit of weight to it so it doesn’t feel cheap and flimsy. The clear cover is attached to the main body of the palette by two tiny, but very strong, round magnets. The magnets allow you to swivel the cover open and closed, and with a bit of effort you can completely detach the cover. But you have to really pull on (or push and slide)  the cover to force it off; again, the magnets are quite strong so I wouldn’t worry about the cover falling off by accident.

I had a really difficult time deciding which three eyeshadows I wanted to try from their brand first since they offer quite a huge range a lot of colors but I finally settled on their Rainbow Eyeshadows ($7 each for 2.7 g/0.09 oz). I could’ve chosen their monoshadows ($5 each) but I figured the Rainbow pans would allow me to try out more shades for just slightly more money. The only downside with the Rainbow shadows is that they’re only available in matte shades. Great if you like mattes but I generally prefer satins, shimmers, and metallics. However, my collection is sadly lacking in mattes so I decided to go with the Rainbow shadows anyway. And rather than picking the bright, funky shades which sorely tempted me, I opted for the more boring neutral shades. Sure, they aren’t as exciting but I know that I’ll get more use out of neutrals than bright greens, blues and oranges.

The three Rainbow shadows I chose are: 106R (light beige/tan mix), 111R (light peach mix), and 118R (light pink mix). The finish on all of the shades is matte.

Inglot Freedom System Rainbow Eye Shadows – 106R, 111R, 118R

Inglot Freedom System Rainbow Eye Shadows – 106R, 111R, 118R

Inglot Freedom System Rainbow Eye Shadow – 106R

Inglot Freedom System Rainbow Eye Shadow – 111R

Inglot Freedom System Rainbow Eye Shadow – 118R

Inglot Freedom System Rainbow Eye Shadows – 106R, 111R, 118R

I’ve experimented with the shadows a little bit already and I was rather surprised by the color payoff, or lack thereof. Based on most of the product/brand raves, I expected Inglot shadows to be richly pigmented and bold. For the photos, I actually had to go over the swatches three or four times each to build up the colors enough to show. And on the eyelids, no matter how I apply the shadows (with brushes, sponge tip applicators, or even my fingers to pack on the color) it all ends up looking the same beige. Even that darkest pink shade shows up as a pale beige color on my lids. As for texture and finish, the Inglot shadows are quite good for mattes. I don’t own very many mattes except for a few Bobbi Brown palettes and I like the Inglot shadows more. As you know I’m not a fan of Bobbi Brown shadows; I find them chalky, dry, and lacking in pigmentation. The Inglot Rainbow shadows are slightly more pigmented than the Bobbi Brown shadows I own and apply more smoothly. But, honestly, wet n wild’s Color Icon shadows and those $1 L.A. Colors trios I reviewed awhile ago are at least 10x more pigmented than both the Inglot and Bobbi Brown shadows I have.

Maybe Inglot’s neutrals are lacking in pigmentation compared to their brights. Or perhaps Inglot’s monoshadows are better and I should’ve chosen those instead of the Rainbow shadows. Whatever the reason, I don’t think I’ll be getting any more of their Rainbow shadows, and I’ll probably end up using the ones I have as matte highlighters and blushes instead.