Pat McGrath Labs Mothership Collection

Pat McGrath backstage with Kendall Jenner at New York Fashion Week in February 2016. Source: Glamour

PatMcGrath has always been an inspiration for me and the only runway make-up artist which I admire the most as we share the same ethos of experimenting with colours and constantly pursuing the "unusual".

She is unafraid of pushing boundaries within means, and embodies the spirit of Unlikely You, constantly evolving, unafraid of mixing, experimenting and dabbling with the known and unknown.

Since the early nineties, the brains behind her own label PatMcGrath Labs has been influencing top fashion designers like John Galliano and Alexander McQueen from backstage to the forefront with the power of her creativity and artistry - transforming otherwise boring black and white or classic runway pieces into fascinating and bizarre works of art.


Pat McGrath for Christian Dior Fall 2002 Couture show with her trademark glitter and bold statement makeup artistry on supermodels Fernanda Tavares, Mini Andén and Anastassia Khozzisova back when the master of creative fashion genius John Galliano was at helm. Source: Vogue.com

Red lacquered, patent shine lips and over-exaggerated high-arch eyebrows in a myriad of psychedelic rainbow colors by Pat McGrath for Christian Dior Fall 2003. Source: Vogue.com

Pat inspires me and many others with her no-holds barred, freestyle way of using her fingers instead of professional brushes to magically transform supermodels' faces from plain canvasses into beautiful artworks. 

Till this very day, I go between professional make-up brushes and using my fingers to create the perfect looks for day or night. Although make-up brushes are precision tools for make-up artists and beauty lovers, they can never be replaced with the technique of using fingers especially when blending products into the skin or picking up the maximum amount of color pigments comes into question.

Pat McGrath Labs new release - Mothership trio. Source: Pat McGrath Labs via Revelist.com

In her latest makeup collection release due for September 16 at midnight, Eastern time, Pat McGrath's Mothership eyeshadow palettes will be the first of her permanent collection alongside with MatteTrance, LuxeTrance lipsticks, PermaGel Ultra Glide eye pencils, PermaGel Ultra Lip Pencils and a Dark Star mascara.

Mothership I Subliminal palette first-look review

Plenty of neutral, earth tone shades with a few iridescent-looking shades. Verdict: boring shades, basics


Mothership II Sublime palette first-look review

Earthy browns, copper tone shades with a pop of metallic gold, iridescent purple and white and metallic dark green.  Verdict: fairly interesting, daily-wear shades with some basic party and night make-up looks


Mothership III Subversive palette first-look review

Dark tones in mainly blues and purples.  Basic shades of monochrome and base colors to suit every skin tone. Verdict: The most exciting palette of them all in terms of variety of colours, still very dark and subdued shades such as deep purple, prussian blue and gold, no doubt the purported shiny foil effect of the eyeshadow.

We are thrilled that Pat has finally found the right time to launch her very own permanent line and cannot wait for it to expand in its extraordinary ways.

Here's why we think PatMcGrath's Mothership eyeshadow palettes pack a punch or not. You decide.

A closer look at the Pat McGrath permanent collection eyeshadow palettes from @Patmcgrathreal's instagram account. The shades look a lot brighter under heavy spotlight.

1) Potential high-performance pieces

At 125USD a pop, these eyeshadow palettes are pretty heavy investment pieces. 

We are not sure how the formula works so we can't comment on the performance yet. It looks amazing in videos but we're not so sure in terms of staying power, product fall-out, ease of application, actual color saturation amongst other consideration factors.

There are pretty basic colours made more interesting with a few really shiny/ glittery/ metallized ones in each palette. This is a common tactic of introducing an eye-popping shade or two in an otherwise neutral palette.

2) Collaboration with indie/ underground graphic art designers, photographers and make-up artist

Pat McGrath permanent collection permagel lip pencil packaging is to die for with retro "Tension Tie" envelope string and button closure design invented in New York in the 1880s. Source: @Patmcgrathreal's instagram

With a brand name like PatMcGrath, the maven could easily choose any famous photograph like Glen Luchford who was commissioned for Gucci's  Pre-fall 2017 campaign or a mainstream graphic design artist with half a million followers on Instagram.

However, but that would not bring out the true rawness and soul of creativity in the one big personality that she is.

We hope the graphic designers, illustrators, make-up and conceptual artists will be given full credit and recognition not just on Pat McGrath's instagram account but on her website, contracts and other publicity channels.

The surreal, one-of-a-kind artwork and design on Pat McGrath's beauty packaging for her latest unlimited make-up collection is from the following talented people.

List of Design artists:

Lily Duk, independent fashion illustrator from Amsterdam

Enzo Donatelly, burlesque and fetish graphic designer from Santiago, Chile

Alexandra Fragga, NYC Makeup artist (MUA)

iroillustrations, self taught illustrator from Japan

Sheila, luv4artistry, professional Makeup artist based in Las Vegas

artaksiniya, a modern self-taught graphic artist, ex journalist turned fashion illustrator, fine art, textile design and animation whose clients include: Gucci, Lane Crawford and Totokaelo

Desiree Mattsson, photographer with works published in VS mag, Numero, Vogue and Vanity Fair

Astrid Vos, Fashion, beauty and design enthusiast who attended an Art Academy in Arnhem, Amsterdam. Worked as a stylist at fashion shows and graphic artist for advertising companies