Review: Pat McGrath Labs

Being one of the most sought after makeup brands on social media, I finally tried out some products from Pat McGrath Labs and of course I had to try out the lipsticks and eyeshadows first! Seeing some of Pat McGrath’s products on Instagram enticed me even more - the pigment seemed unreal. I had to try it out for myself!

What I ordered:

Lust 004 Lip Kit, Version: Everything - 6 matte lipsticks, 1 clear vinyl lip gloss, 3 microfine glitters and 1 metallic gold pigment

Eye Ecstasy Collection - 2 eyeshadow palettes in Subversive and Sublime

Starting off with her Lust Lip Kit…can we just take a moment to appreciate this gorgeous packaging! Love the sequins and it makes my job easier when taking product pics for my socials. (Check out my Instagram for more).

The packaging of the lipstick is great - it has a sleek design unlike most lipsticks making them perfect to slip into your handbags. The shades are all labelled on the side of the lipstick which I like but I would’ve preferred a coloured sticker on the bottom so I could easily identify the shades instead of memorising the numbers. However, the 6 lipsticks are split in to 3 categories - Flesh (Nude tones), Venom (Medium tones) and Blood (Darker tones) where each have 2 lipsticks each named Flesh 1, Flesh 2, Blood 1…and so on.

From swatching them, the texture was creamy but still had a matte finish meaning they’re going to be comfortable to wear all day and not dry out your lips. As expected, the pigment is insane too, you really only need one swipe to achieve full opacity from these lipsticks. In terms of the shades, my favourites have to be Flesh 1, Flesh 2, Venom 1 and Blood 1 which is a complete reflection of my current lipstick collection of nude and red shades. I rarely wear darker lips but as the texture of these lipsticks are quite creamy, they could perfectly be mixed with a lighter shade to create an ombre look or your own unique shade - which is probably how I will wear Venom 2 and Blood 2.

The only negative thing I have to say is that they do transfer and aren’t smudge proof when swatched/on bare lips however this can easily be combatted by applying lipliner before application to increase the staying power and dabbing a little translucent powder on your lips after application. This will give your lipstick a firm base to hold on to and lock in your lipstick to increase wear time.

Moving on to the clear vinyl gloss and glitters…I wasn’t the biggest fan of these and think these will be better for those into fun, editorial glams as, realistically, I’m not going to be leaving the house with glittery lips. The gloss is super shiny but also very sticky and uncomfortable to wear - it feels like a wet layer on top of your lips which will easily transfer when you go about your day. Having said that, I can imagine this would look amazing for photoshoots when trying to achieve high pigment, glossy lips.

Like all glitters, the microfine glitters are difficult to work with (as per messy swatches above) but in the right hands, they could look stunning for editiorial glams. I will probably end up using these glitters for eyes rather than lips as the glitter is less chuncy in comparison to others I’ve used in the past. Lastly, there is the metallic gold pigment which I LOVE! Again, unlikely I will use these on my lips but the shade of gold is the perfect bright gold shade. Pairing the strong pigment with it’s fine texture, it will work fabulously on the eyes and I can’t wait to try it out!

Eye Ecstasy Eyeshadow Palettes

Starting off with the packaging, the palettes are small and the outer packaging is made from lightweight plastic - not as luxurious as her other collections but I care more about the actual eyeshadows inside the packaging! Each palette has 5 shades where Sublime has neutral shimmers and Subversive has 5 bold colours as shown below.

The textures are creamy but again, the pigment is just unreal!! I have never used eyeshadows that are so easy to swatch/apply and now I’m wondering why all the other brands haven’t been able to achieve this in all yet. The swatches speak for themselves. The colours are amazing and it’s so easy to create a number of looks just from these two palettes alone. Don’t forget to follow me on Instagram where I will be sharing more of the looks I create.

I prefer applying shimmery eyeshadows like these with my fingers for the optimal colour payoff and when I did, it took less than 10 mins to create my eyeshadow look which using other shadows, would’ve taken me around 20-30 mins. They are just SO easy to use and without a doubt, I would 100% recommend buying these eyeshadows. As these are all shimmery shades, I would recommend using them alongside some matte shades to help blend out your eyeshadow (depending on the look you’re trying to achieve).

FYI - I was actually much happier than I look in this photo.

Overall, I’m truly impressed with the quality of these Pat McGrath makeup products and I now understand why she is nicknamed “The Mother of Makeup”. She has put her all into creating the very best of products and this goes to show the dedication she has for her craft. The whole brand concept of PML, from the packaging to the pigment is so artistic and well thought out. Pat McGrath Labs is that brand that stands out from the crowd and I would definitely recommend trying out her products if you want high-quality, high-pigment and easy to use luxury makeup products. Have you tried any products from Pat McGrath? Let me know in the comments below!

Kavita K xo

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***My views on these products are from my own personal experiences. Please remember that everyone reacts differently to different products – products that work for me may not work well for you. Be sure to do some research before making purchases, especially if you do have allergies to certain ingredients.***