Inglot: Freedom System Eye Shadow Palette Basics



This is another item that I purchased at Inglot a couple of weeks ago. I thought the Freedom System Eye Shadow Palette was interesting enough to have a post of its own. A review of the eyeshadows I got will be done separately.

With the Freedom System, personalisation is key. As the name suggests, one is free to choose which type of palette to go for and how it should be filled. You get the colours that you want and (hopefully) will use, thus avoiding the situation of owning a palette with pre-determined colours, some of which you will hardly use.

The choice was, to put it mildly, overwhelming. You can choose to have your palette filled with only eyeshadows, with eyeshadows + blush, with only lipcolours, with pressed powder + blush + eyeshadows, etc. The palettes come in various sizes and with various number of pans.

Brochure

After deliberating for a rather long time, I decided to go for a four-pan eyeshadow palette (approx. 3.25” x 3”) – could have gone for three, could have gone for five but at some point, I had to end the indecision. I think the Inglot sales assistants are used to handling indecisive customers day in day out – there are just so many eyeshadow colours to choose from!

Bottom of palette

Two versions of palettes
My Freedom Palette is the version with the glass lid. I understand that there are also Inglot palettes which are the conventional ones – a black compact that opens up and has a large mirror inside. Personally, I think the version with the magnetic glass lid looks more chique but is less handy especially as there is no mirror. I would have gone for the conventional and handier version but unfortunately, this version is not available at the Inglot store in Amsterdam.

How to open the palette
The magnetic version is sturdy and feels pretty heavy in the hand. The lid is made of frosted glass and the palette shuts with magnets, in my case, one magnet in each corner of the palette. I think everyone who has this magnetic palette would agree that the magnets are very strong. The way to open the palette is not to pry it open but, as the sales assistant taught me, to slide the cover open like how you would with a fan.



To keep the separated lid with the palette while using the eyeshadows, you can position it like this:


Stacking
Because of the magnetic system, you can actually stack up a few palettes of the same size, keeping the glass lid for only the top palette. Stacking the palettes up, all with their respective lids on, may be risky as the magnets may not be strong enough to hold the weight. I suppose for makeup artists, it would be handy too to ‘connect’ one palette with another by placing the top palette where the lid is as shown in the photo just above, forming a kind of ‘step’ of two palettes.

Removing the eyeshadow pans
The magnets for the pans are also very strong. Good: chances are very small that your pans will ever drop out. Bad: it is very difficult to get the pans out of the palette, especially since as there are no grooves where you can put your finger in to get the pan out. I know some ladies use a spatula or something of that sort to dig the pans out. I have tried it with my fingernail before but (1) it didn’t work, (2) you risk accidentally digging your nail/spatula into the eyeshadows, and (3) you risk damaging your fingernail.

I discovered this trick quite by accident, the first time I opened the palette when I got home - two pans quite literally jumped out and stuck on to the lid. I doubt you would want to remove the pans from the palette often and if you do, it would probably be because you'd like to replace with refills, you’d like to rearrange the positions of the colours and/or you’d like to see the names/numbers of the product. For me, it was the third reason and here’s how I did it:


Use the magnet of the glass lid to ‘pull’ the pan out. I can’t guarantee that it would work for everyone and with every Inglot palette as I have only tested this with my one and only Inglot palette. It does require some patience and practice.

All you need to do is hold one corner of the glass cover (where the magnet is) as close as possible to the corner of the eyeshadow pan. Be sure to hold it level to avoid accidentally scraping the eyeshadow with the corner of the cover. When you suddenly hear a ‘tuk’, you’ll know that you’ve succeeded in fishing one pan out.



Prices
Obviously, the prices of the Freedom System palettes vary according to the size and type of contents. I noticed that the sales assistant herself didn’t know the prices by heart as there were just too many combinations too remember. She had to check her price list.

In the Netherlands, the prices of the (filled) eyeshadow palettes are as follows:
These refer to the rectangular eyeshadow pans. At time of publication of this post, Inglot Amsterdam does not stock eyeshadows in the round pans.

2-pan €14
3-pan €20
4-pan €26
5-pan €32
10-pan €60

Lipcolour palette (round pans)
5-pan €27

It is of course possible to buy the eyeshadow refills separately and the price is in the region of €6 per rectangular pan (exact price would depend on the type of eyeshadow).

These magnetic palettes can also be purchased empty. The prices of the empty eyeshadow palettes are:
Again, these are with the rectangular eyeshadow pans.

2-pan €4
3-pan €5
4-pan €6
5-pan €7
10-pan €10
20-pan €15

Note: These prices were obtained based on my conversations with the sale assistants. Please check with the Inglot store personnel for more details.

My four-pan eyeshadow palette cost €26 but I paid €23.40 for it. At the moment, customers who sign up to be on Inglot Netherlands’ mailing list get 10% off on their most expensive item on the bill. I believe this is a one-off offer.


These palettes are nice to have but I don’t see myself carrying this around in my handbag. Sturdy it may be but it’s just heavy and it's a real pity that it doesn't have a mirror.

Stay tuned for the review on the eyeshadows.


More information:
Some info on Inglot Amsterdam
Inglot website

19 comments:

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

Great post! I didn't know that they did 4 pan palettes.

At some point, either when Inglot start taking online orders or I go to the one and only Inglot shop in the country, I'll pick some up.

Shivani said...

Thank you smuch Anne, for sharing this fabulous trick with us. Inglot pans are such a pain in the backside to take out of the palette. I fought a long, hard battle. I love Inglot, but I wish it was more accessible in Canada.

Inge (PolishSis) said...

Wow, this is a great system! I never buy palettes because I ususally only like half of the colors. I'm excited to see your review on these colors ( the greens look awesome! )

Adis said...

Cool beans! I was wondering how to get the pans out since there were no grooves. Thanks for the tip :D! Will come in handy when I buy one :).
But doesn't sliding the lid cause the case to become scratched? (I'm asking because of severe OCD tendencies to keep everything in possession in as mint a condition as possible :x.)

Witoxicity said...

@Student's Guide To Nail Polish
Thanks, Lena. In a way, I see my four-pan palette as the odd one as it is squarish in shape and the rest are longish. Oh well..... Anyway, I'm quite surprised that Inglot hasn't expanded with more stores in the UK and also that it hasn't started an online shop. Surely they realise that not everyone can easily make that trip all the way to Westfield! :)

@Adorable On Your Vanity
You're most welcome, Shivani! I hope that trick will work for you and if it doesn't, you could try it with other (strong) magnets that you happen to have at home. Who knows, maybe the latter would work even better as there won't be any issue with the corner of the lid getting in the way. :)

@PolishSis
Oh, you're so right there, Inge! You would either end up with a palette that is half-appreciated or you just don't buy that palette at all. Neither is ideal. Yes, yes, review on the eyeshadow is coming up soon! Btw, the greens may look nice here but wait till you go to the store and see all the other colours yourself. They will all be calling to you. ;)

@Adis
As mentioned to Shivani (above), if the trick with the cover magnets doesn't work, try using an ordinary strong magnet.

I understand your concerns about the possible scratches. I'm quite like you too. :) Well, you don't exactly need to slide the lid all that much really. You only need to slide/rotate the whole lid a few degrees, enough to detach all the four magnets and after that, you can just lift the lid away from the palette. The lid, btw, feels like glass (hmm, perhaps I should add this in my post) but it could jolly well be just frosted Lucite. I can't confirm. :)

lavender said...

Wow. Great packaging indeed. Thanks for sharing. Will you be doing an EOTD soon? Inglot just arrived in Msia too at Sunway Pyramid.

Vonvon said...

Nice shades you have chosen there. Glad you got it first and did a small demo on how to remove the pan from the palette. Now I know. :) So when i get mine, I wouldn't be so noob about it. ;) Besides, nowadays, I just don't seem to have the patience for anything, not that I am such a patient person to begin. Imagine I would DIG the eyeshadow out and ruin it.... hmmm....

Waiting for your review on the eyeshadows.

Adis said...

Haha, good to know you don't have to slide too much :o. Really wouldn't like scratches on such a pretty system and it really looks pretty :o. Actually too pretty to take outside to be honest XD. I'd just leave it on my desk and get the boring normal palette for travelling (the lack of mirror is inconvenient :p).
Lol, you could find out by quickly tapping on the uncoated side. Glass should give a clearer sound as opposed to Lucite :).

Anonymous said...

You picked some pretty colors my dear! Interesting system with the magnets, it looks very sturdy. Pity there's no mirror...can be handy when on the move. "KTee"xx

Anutka said...

Some very pretty shades there!
It is funny that they just pop out. I remember seeing a tutorial from someone that would take them out of big sets and transfer them into pocket sized ones.
Not necessary with this as it is already pocket sized, but just made me think if that :)

sugar sugar said...

I also have a freedom palette from Inglot and am very happy with it. Great review Anne! And thanks for sharing the tip on how to get the pans out quickly. ;)

Anonymous said...

Cool elegant looking palette with beautiful colors.

It's way better this way. You can buy the ones you like, otherwise it's such a waste.

Stacking them up is a great idea, but what to do with all the covers? Maybe they should sell coverless ones too!

Great tip on how to remove the pans!

Take care, Nicole x

Witoxicity said...

@lavender
Oh, it's great that you now also have access to Inglot. Fantastic! Yup, I will be doing a couple of eye looks with this. First, the review! :)

@Vonvon
Oh, the days pass so quickly, don't they? We all just don't have enough time and patience. I always wish there were 48 hours in a day. :D You know, if those two pans hadn't 'jumped' out by accident, I think I would still be digging at the pans with my nails. Haha! :P

@Adis
I agree, this ain't a palette to be trashed around in the bag. Btw, it sounds like Lucite to me. :)

@KTee
Thanks, KTee. Yes, it's really sturdy, this one. Oh, it was very difficult to choose just four colours. I wanted more but had to restrain myself! :D

@Anutka
Thank you, Anutka. The size for this one is indeed handy. :)

@sugar sugar
You're welcome and yes, I do remember your post on your new palette. :)

@Nicole
I think that stacking thing would be useful for makeup artists. For us non-professionals, we'd be content with individual palettes with their respective lids. Have a good week ahead, Nicole. :)

Anonymous said...

Woah! Neat trick Witoxicity! Love the neutral colours. The packaging looks so nice too. I love the glass lid- it looks elegant and you can see the colours inside.

Witoxicity said...

@Natalie
Thanks, Natalie. Yeah, the design of the palette is indeed cool. It's not terribly practical but at least it looks very classy. :)

MarciaF (Beauty Info Zone) said...

Great and very helpful review. I'll be at the IMATS show in LA in a month and my goal is to buy Inglot. You've helped me with your tutorial.

Witoxicity said...

@MarciaF
Thanks, Marcia. I'm very pleased that you find this post helpful. :) Oh, IMATS! That's so exciting - so much to see, so much to buy, temptations everywhere you look! I believe that the prices of these palettes/eyeshadows would be cheaper at the show, so gosh, I don't know how you would be able to hold back! ;D

dempss01 said...

I still need to buy some Inglot shadows. Perhaps it can be a treat for me when I finish my study. Handy to know that trick about getting the pans out. I'm sure many people have benefitted from reading that! :)

Witoxicity said...

@dempss01
I hope that trick works on all palettes. And as for getting yourself some Inglot shadows, I think that would be quite soon, seeing that you're finishing your thesis! I have a feeling you might go for a ten-pan (or twenty?) palette as a huge reward for your hard work. :D