My first INGLOT experience (incl. eyeshadow review)

Just the other day I wrote a post about my latest shopping spree. During my trip I went to an INGLOT store for the first time of my life. INGLOT is a Polish make up brand which I had heard from through several beauty bloggers on youtube and on Dutch websites. Most people were very enthusiastic about the brand as the quality is good and the price isn’t too high. I was curious to find out for myself and this is my experience.

Source: weheartit.com

First of all, you should know that I do not live very close to the INGLOT store. I had to travel roughly one hour to get there. I went to the store located at the Van Baerlestraat in Amsterdam. I had planned on going shopping in Amsterdam anyway so I thought I might as well travel a bit further to go to INGLOT.

When I arrived I was immediately approached by one of the make up artists. I usually hate this, as when I don’t know a brand I’d much rather just browse around and swatch a thing here and there. This girl however, completely surprised me She asked me where I was from first of all as if she expected people to come in who weren’t from around there. She quickly told me about the concept and then told me: feel free to browse around, the entire store is a tester and just call me if you need anything. Well, that’s a first and a big plus!

After walking around for a while feeling completely overwhelmed by what they had on offer the girl came back to ask me what I thought of the products and looked at some of the swatches on my hand. She then walked me through all the different tables in the store, showcased some products and picked up a few things with the words: if it doesn’t become too busy (the store was really quiet) we’ll just try them all and you can see what you like. Woah! Another first, as plenty of beauty counters are only aimed at trying to sell as much to you as quickly as possible and even when the store is nearly dead they tend to usher you out as quickly as they can.

The girl who helped me was nothing like the make up artists I’ve encountered at beauty stores around the globe. She really took her time and took into account my personal wishes. She didn’t try to pressure me into buying anything, nor did she try to get me to use products I wasn’t comfortable with. Instead she made some really good suggestions and I felt she really listened to what I had to say and what I wanted. When I said I already had a ton of peachy colored blushes, she just picked one up and said: just so we can give you a pop of color after trying a foundation and when time came to pick my products she immediately set aside the peachy blush because she remembered I already have a few and I wouldn’t want to buy another one.

I went to the store wanting to buy a 5 eyeshadow palette from the Freedom System and that’s what I left with too. With the freedom system you can customize your own palettes which comes in handy as you won’t be stuck with colors you won’t use. I wanted some pretty colors and since I already own a ton of neutrals and I always go for safe I told the girl I wanted to try something different and boy, did she come up with something different! She had me try two different eye looks, both of which I’d never thought would look good on me with very unexpected colors that looked fabulous! In the end I left with an eyeshadow palette that has some perfect, yet not so standard neutral colors and two eyepopping,  bright colors that I never thought I could or would wear.

To show you what I mean here’s the palette and some swatches:

The actual palette. Clean and simple looking. Very sturdy too and I think it’s very handy that you can see the colors through the plastic cover.

You have to slide the top off. The cover is attached with magnets. The palettes are stackable too as the magnet is strong enough to hold together several palettes.

The actual colors. Voilá! Aren’t these awesome? 2 dark shimmery basics in brown and grey, a shimmery popping purple color, a matte turquoise color and a matte taupe. Exactly what I needed.

The dark brown and the dark grey. It’s really hard to capture the beauty of these colors. If you look at the colors in the picture above this one you’ll see that these aren’t just a straight up brown or a straight up grey. In fact the brown one has a very pretty plum/ aubergine mixed into it. The grey has some purple/ blue mixed into it as well. This way both colors can be combined with the two brights and the overall lid color in the palette.

The purple (with shimmer and a hint of blue, see the swatch below) and the matte turquoise color. Aren’t they pretty and very very out there? Both go very well with the dark grey and can really lift up an eye look. The purple goes effortlessly with the brown as well. The turquoise will be harder to combine with the brown, but it’s not impossible as the color is very buildable. The matte taupe color is just a great basic overall lid color.

Swatches. Look at how pigmented these colors are! Even the brights have great color pay off. The only reason why the top of the purple seems to be invisible is because of the light reflecting of the shine of the shadow. Here you can also clearly see that the three shimmery colors have something more going on than you might first expect.

Needless to say this was the best experience I have ever had at a make up store and I also complimented the girl when I left. I ended up staying for nearly 2 hours even though I just walked in the door and I bought a fabulous product that is nothing but satisfactory. I’m a fan!

Q: How about you? Are you familiar with INGLOT? Would you like to try it?