Wojciech Inglot, the founder and owner of Inglot Cosmetics, has passed away

On 23 February 2013 Wojciech Inglot, the founder and owner of Inglot cosmetics, passed away at the age of 58.

I learned about the brand in my early secondary school years when I was getting my first lipsticks or nail polishes. I didn't think much about the quality of the products so I gladly replaced them with drugstore cosmetics from the Western world which started flooding in through the open borders after the collapse of the communist regime.

For years I didn't pay any attention to Inglot, which in the meanwhile moved from cheap stalls in the open-air markets and local drugstores in provincial towns to elegant shopping mall boutiques, until I read some enthusiastic reviews on Temptalia and other websites. 'Is it the same Inglot we're talking about?', I thought.

I visited one of their stores and was pleasantly surprised at what I saw. Gorgeous products, elegantly displayed in a very pro-looking shop. In spite of the fact that the brand definitely had moved upmarket, they kept the same low price tags while upgrading the quality substantially. That visit initiated my ever-growing collection of eyeshadows conveniently packed in the Freedom System palettes.

I really admired and respected Wojciech Inglot for doing the impossible. Having completed his chemistry studies he returned to his hometown of Przemysl, which lies in the god-forsaken far south-eastern corner of Poland and opened his company there. I'm pretty sure that a couple of years ago he employed some skillful marketing directors, who'd been to the Western world, possibly educated there, who helped to transform a low-end company into a world famous cult brand. Unlike many of his contemporary entrepreneurs in Poland, he never sold his business and remained its owner until his death, which proves his enormous manager's skills and the ability to adapt to changeable market and political situation in the times of transformation.

He never moved his production to China or Taiwan, giving jobs to many people in the unemployment-stricken area of south-eastern Poland. 95% of cosmetics are made in the Przemysl area and the remaining 5% in the European Union countries. This proves that you you don't need to move your production to Asia to make good quality and cheap products.

Wojciech Inglot was not only a renowned businessman in Poland, a laureate of a number of business awards, but also performed a number of public functions, he was the Chairman of the Municipal Council in Przemysl and an honorary consul of Ukraine in Przemysl.

He not only created a high-quality brand which makes women all over the world beautiful and happy but he also was a visionnary who proved that nothing is impossible.