Pat McGrath

The Mothership eyeshadow palettes are the brand's signature, and the consensus is that quality is consistently excellent with richly pigmented, easy-to-blend shadows in weighty black-and-gold packaging. Whether they are worth the price depends on what you value: you are paying for the craft and the prestige as much as the formula. If editorial-level color and luxury feel matter to you, they deliver.

Part of it is the Pat McGrath name itself, the reputation of someone Vogue has called the most influential make-up artist in the world. The rest is the craft: luxury packaging, complex multichrome shades, and a finish meant for the kind of editorial looks she builds on runways. You are buying an artist's eye, not just pigment in a pan.

Dame Patricia Ann McGrath, born in 1970 in Northampton, England, is a British make-up artist widely called the most influential in the world. She is the first make-up artist to be made a Dame Commander of the British Empire, and in 2019 she appeared on Time's list of the 100 most influential people. Pat McGrath Labs is her own line, founded in 2015.

McGrath launched Pat McGrath Labs in 2015, and by 2019 it had become a billion-dollar company and the biggest-selling beauty line at Selfridges. That rise built on decades of runway and editorial work that made her name first. The brand grew straight out of her standing as an artist.

According to Vogue, McGrath is known for adventurous, innovative techniques, including famously using her hands rather than brushes. She works with bold color and experiments with materials from feathers to gold leaf to ornaments, producing a huge range of looks. That experimental spirit is exactly what her own product line tries to put in your hands.

Much of McGrath's inspiration comes from natural skin, so her makeup lines focus on luminous, glowing complexions. As she has put it, flawless, luminous skin has always been a constant in her work, achieved through custom mixes that range from fresh "baby skin" to a supercharged power-glow. That radiance is the throughline across the line.

The signature sequin packaging traces directly to McGrath's love of sequins, a recurring element in many of her runway looks. The heavy, jeweled feel is not an afterthought; it is an extension of her aesthetic. It is part of why the products feel like collectibles as much as cosmetics.

In the 1980s McGrath moved to London and worked with designers like Alexander McQueen and John Galliano, and in the early 1990s alongside Edward Enninful at i-D magazine. In 1999 Giorgio Armani hired her to help create a cosmetics range, and from 2004 she was Global Cosmetics Creative Design Director at Procter & Gamble. That deep industry pedigree underpins her own line.

In March 2025 Louis Vuitton tapped McGrath as creative director for its new beauty venture, La Beauté Louis Vuitton, with an official title of Creative Director of Cosmetics. The line, developed over five years, launched on August 29, 2025. It followed her longstanding work with the house's Nicolas Ghesquière since his 2014 debut there.

McGrath was named a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in 2014 and a Dame Commander (DBE) in 2021, both for services to fashion and beauty. She also won the Isabella Blow Award for Fashion Creator in 2017 and the London Design Medal in 2024. She has regularly ranked in the top 10 of the Powerlist of influential Black British people.

Pat McGrath Labs has been carried at prestige retailers, and by 2019 it was the biggest-selling beauty line at Selfridges. As with any luxury cosmetics line, buying from the official channel or an authorized prestige retailer is the safest way to be sure you are getting genuine product. Check current stockists before purchasing.