Inglot Freedom System 10 Pan Palette Review, Swatches

I did want a basic palette of browns and neutrals, and being short on cash at the moment, I decided to save on basics but splurge later on prettier cosmetics (which you'll see in a month or two ;) ). I've heard raves for Inglot, and some negative feedback on it as well, but I decided to check it out for myself at the Times Square location, and I liked some of them enough to pay for a $50 10-pan palette. (There has been no price increase in the US, which is something that I had been worried about since I do not think it is worth paying $80 for.. you'll see in a moment). But overall, I'm quite pleased with what I got, and I'll just let you see the pictures of it first :)

Okay, so now for my thoughts on it... Well, as I said above, I'm pleased with my palette. They are nicely pigmented and feel smooth to the touch. However, it's not smooth in the sense that many luxury brand eyeshadows are smooth, which makes sense considering these are $5 each when you buy them in a 10 pan palette. When you press on the shadows, perhaps to swatch them or whatever, the surface may feel smooth but the eyeshadow underneath it will feel hard. Whereas with a Le Metier eyeshadow, you will feel a bit of "bounce" or softness under what you are touching. Does that make sense? Or am I just crazy? Well at least to me, that's how you can feel a difference between cheap eyeshadows and quality eyeshadows.

They do give off a nice amount of pigment if you rub the eyeshadow slightly though, and that does appeal to many people. The one shade I regret having gotten is the supposedly matte black. I needed a basic black since I dropped my NYX one (in the toilet) and I thought I swatched a creamy matte black but I'm not very impressed with it now. It doesn't seem as pigmented as I remember the NYX was, and one swatch is a thin blackish gray color. Perhaps I got an old one. I do think that among the low to mid end brands, Inglot makes some of the best eyeshadows and it's worth it for those who can't afford to buy $30 eyeshadow singles but still want many colors to work with.

Overall, I would rather buy, i.e. LMdB or shu or RBR eyeshadows rather than Inglot, but I think this is worth it for what you're paying and I feel good having not spent a ton on neutral shades so I can have fun hauling Rouge Bunny Rouge this summer.

I do apologize for not having the shade numbers to list here, since I forgot to write them down or take note of them but I do know that the last shade of the first row is P434, because I saw a swatch by Pink Sith of that shade and I loved it. I do think part of the fun is going to the store and getting to play around with the shades though, and I'm sure you'll enjoy your palette, whatever you end up choosing.

Edit: After seeing the Pink Sith's swatches and comparing ours, I'm pretty sure that my top row, middle shade is DS460 and that my top row, 4th shade to the right, is P423.

Rouge d'Armani 401 Swatches, Review

Armani's Rouge d'Armani = love. These glide on my lips so smoothly, never emphasize dryness, and have great lasting power. What's not to love? Okay, on to today's color: 401, a very vibrant warm red orange color. I bought this to wear this summer since I've been loving the orange lip trend on others. Case in point, here's Rihanna rocking RdA 401 two years ago:

Here are some pictures of the beauty that is RdA 401... I love the bright red-orange color paired with the sleek black packaging :) 

And comparison pics; left to right: MAC Russian Red, RdA 401, NYC Retro Red
I know the other two lipsticks aren't very close to 401 with the other two being much less warm toned, but I don't have any warm reds to compare, so you'll have to bear with me for the time being ;)

 l-r: MAC Brick l/l, MAC Russian Red, Rouge d'Armani 401, NYC Retro Red in flash

same order as above, natural light

RdA 401 by itself

Brick l/l + RdA 401

A very knowledgeable birdie told me to pair this with brick l/l when I once expressed concern that I wouldn't be able to pull off orange. It's definitely not a color to be afraid of, and if you feel it doesn't quite work for you, it's a very wearable warm red with a lipliner like brick underneath it.

thanks for reading :)