Inglot Freedom System Eyeshadows | Peach Heaven | Swatches + Review

We are so close to spring here in the midwest. I'm choosing to ignore the 30-degree weather we've been having this past week. I like to stay positive about this sort of thing.

With spring approaching, I can't help but be drawn to bright and vivid colors. How about I just jump right in and show you this too-lovely-for-words palette. Swatches follow.

Clockwise, starting from upper left: 15 Shine, 407 Pearl, 341 Matte, 312 Matte.

Swatches with flash, left to right: 341 Matte, 312 Matte, 407 Pearl, 15 Shine

Swatches without flash, left to right: 341 Matte, 312 Matte, 407 Pearl, 15 Shine

My brief thoughts on each of the shades.

341 Matte: a soft peach-beige in a matte finish. I have NC-20 skin, use MAC Paint Pot in Painterly. I use this color as a crease shade but it is difficult to see and a stand-alone eyeshadow on my skin.

312 Matte: a orange-peach in a matte finish. I picked this shade to act as a inner corner highlight but this shade appears very subtle on my eyelids. I wish I had picked up 397 Pearl for this purpose.

407 Pearl: orange-coral with peachy gold sheen in a pearl finish. This shade leans more gold on my eyelids.

15 Shine: is a fiery orange in a gold frost finish, though it’s not incredibly bright. My favorite shade of the four as it works well in the crease and adds definition.
These shadows are easy to work with. I use my Shiseido eyeshadow brushes to blend the
colors onto my eyelids that have been prepped with MAC Paint Pot in Painterly and Laura Mercier
Translucent Loose Setting Powder. There is little to no fallout if you are gentle with the shadows and the colors themselves are easy to blend and build upon. Another plus, the Freedom System case with a magnetic lid is chic and appeals to the minimalist in me. It just feels so solid in my hands and very well built. Overall, if you have a light to light-medium skin tone, I think these colors would look fantastic on you.

This palette was my first adventure with Inglot and I can't wait to try their other makeup products. If you have any suggestions, please let me know.

A little piece about Inglot from the NY Times:

Inglot is known for its broad range of colors and for creating new ways for cosmetics to be packaged and applied, including using painterlike palettes for eye shadow. Its shops are typically in shopping malls and large department stores. 

Inglot makes its own products, instead of outsourcing manufacturing as some companies do... 

Geurlain Advanced White P.E.A.R.L. Drop Essence | Overpowering fragrance with irritating ingredients

I am constantly on the lookout for new and innovative products that address hyperpigmentation. With higher melanin content in my East Asian skin, dark spots after acne or irritation and uneven splotches of color from sun damage, hyperpigmentation is one of my major skin concerns.

When I saw Geurlain’s Blanc de Perle skincare line, I was intrigued by their proprietary P.E.A.R.L. complex, which, according to their study, demonstrated results after only 2 months (significant lightening of existing dark spots and significant reduction in emerging dark spots). Taking this information with a grain of salt, I purchased the Drop Essence knowing that I could seamlessly incorporate this product after applying La Prarie White Caviar Spot Essence on individual trouble spots and before using LUSH Vanishing Cream.

The product is packaged in a beautifully made glass bottle that is protected from ingredient-degrading sunlight with a white coating. The product can be dispensed using the dropper that is integrated in to the screw cap. Unfortunately, as soon as I opened the bottle, I cringed at the overpowering powdery, floral scent. I don't mind the Guerlain fragrance in general. I use the Météorites powder to finish my makeup. However, with the skincare products I use, I prefer not to have irritating ingredients in them, in this case fragrance and alcohol.

Here's the ingredient list:
Aqua (Water), Dimethicone, Pentylene Glycol, Polymethylsilsesquioxane, Propanediol, Tromethamine, Ascorbyl Glucoside, Glycerin, Polyglycerin-3, Butylene Gycol, Polyglyceryl-10 Isostearate, Alcohol, Lactic Acid, Phenoxyethanol, Sodium Citrate, Parfum (Fragrance), Acrylates/C10-30 Alkyl Acrylate Crosspolymer, Xanthan Gum, Ophiopogon Japonicus Root Extract, Lecithin, Faex (Yeast Extract), Alcaligenes Polysaccharides, Hydrolyzed prunus domestica, Citric Acid, Benzyl salicylate, Helianthus Annuus (Sunflower) Seed Extract, Sophora Angustifolia Root Extract, Geraniol, Hydrolyzed Conchiolin Protein, Sanguisorba Officinalis Root Extract

In terms of application, the product comes out as a medium to light liquid with a milky hue. It absorbs quickly into the skin leaving a coating of light-reflectiveness and a texture that is slightly tacky. The product played well with the rest of my skincare products and routine. Unfortunately, that bothersome smell I was talking about earlier took over an hour to go away (or for me to not notice it).

 

Essence applied to the back of hand

Overall, if you love the Guerlain fragrance and like the idea of wearing the perfume on your face as part of a skincare routine, this product is for you. I can't speak to the effectiveness of this product but, as with most items geared towards hyperpigmentation, lactic acid and salicylates will, over time, help to even out your skin tone. I find that patience and stamina to maintain your beauty regimen time and time again is the key to getting rid of those pesky dark spots.