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The tried-and-tested buys include a blush, lipstick and eyeshadow palette
Taylor Swift’s highly-anticipated album Midnights launched last Friday (21 October), and includes 13 songs charting middle of the night memories and sleepless thoughts.
The poignant selection of pop songs touches on heartfelt topics and tangible sadness, with a backdrop of catchy beats Swift is known and loved for.
We’ve been listening on a loop, and her second music video for “Bejewelled” landed on our screens on 25 October. Swift’s glittering make-up had us hooked – while we can’t emulate her singing, we were keen to attempt to achieve her look, and were happy to discover the Pat McGrath Labs products she wore include some of our favourites.
Reflecting the midnight theme, several looks were created by professional make-up artist Dame Pat McGrath, with one standout style comprising a smokey eye and Swift’s signature bright lipstick. We’d also say this is perfect for the upcoming party season.
Three products in particular from the line-up are part of our daily make-up arsenal: Pat McGrath Labs divine blush, liquilust: legendary wear matte lipstick and the recently launched Mothership X: moonlit seduction palette.
Read on for the lowdown on each product’s shade, texture, formula and finish, and where to buy them.
Our tester has been using these products regularly – for more than six months when it comes to the divine blush and liquilust: legendary wear matte lipstick, and for two months for the mothership X: moonlit seduction palette’s (basically since it was launched). Read on for our full review.
This stunning eyeshadow palette in presented in a keepsake cardboard box that depicts a face framed with floral, feather, and star imagery – it looks like a piece of art. The robust black palette with gold Pat McGrath Labs branding contains an integral application mirror and feels suitably hard-wearing. Upon opening it up, we uncovered 10 beautiful shades, from earthy brown and plum colours to shimmering silver and pink, and all-out glittery gold and purple. Since it landed in our make-up bag, our tester has put every single shade to regular use.
Although the £115 price tag is undeniably spenny, we’ve found these powders stay put for hours on end and the generously sized shades will last for ages. With this, we’ve created a light sweep of shimmery eyeshadow, a pop of metallic glitter, and an intense smokey-eye, à la Miss Swift. Meanwhile, the darker matte shades lend themselves well to softly lining our eyes and we like to smudge them into the lash line.
From our experience, Pat McGrath Labs really is the holy grail of long-wearing, buildable textures in flattering shades to suit all skin tones and eye colours. We’d definitely snap this up as an extra-special Christmas present for ourselves.
We reviewed a similar palette in our guide to the best Pat McGrath Labs products, where our tester noted the “richly pigmented” and “dense colour pay-offs”, while also highlighting: “It transfers to the skin so beautifully, as soon as you try this, we suspect you won’t go back.”
In keeping with all other Pat McGrath Labs goodies we’ve used, the packaging and presentation of this is gorgeous. We can’t help but rave about the raised bloom finish, which looks and feels chic to use.
We first sampled the divine blush collection as part of a review piece, ahead of Pat McGrath’s first blush range that launched last year. Our reviewer said: “the divine blush range delivers richly pigmented cheek colour which glides smoothly onto skin before staying put,” and this verdict has stood the test of time, as we still use it daily.
The mauve pink blush can deliver a subtle wash of colour onto cheeks or be built up for a brighter flush. We’re big fans of the demi-matte finish too, which serves up a hint of dewiness.
A little bit of product goes a long way, and this compact has been a trusty part of our daily make-up routine for months.
This liquid lipstick provides a long-wearing matte finish and has been our go-to for over a year now. Whether we’re looking tired or need a quick make-up lift, it never fails to deliver.
The wand is perfectly shaped for a precise, mess-free application and although it delivers an opaque matte effect, the formula doesn’t cling or bleed from lip lines. After applying two coats, the colour doesn’t transfer even when eating or drinking. Instead, it gently fades throughout the day.
Our reviewer named liquilust best for staying power in our round-up of the best Pat McGrath Labs products, describing it as “indisputable”.
The Elson 4 shade is synonymous with Swift colour, and it has a flattering blue undertone that packs a vibrant punch. We’ve found the shade works well when worn with a neutral or smokey eye.
This is the one product we grab to take our face from daytime to party in less than a minute.
This trio is both beautiful and brilliant for lips, cheeks and eyes. We loved the mothership X: moonlit seduction palette for its versatility and sparkle, the shadows blend well and are long-wearing.
Meanwhile, divine blush in divine rose is a flattering mauve shade that adds the perfect amount of demi-matte flush to cheeks.
Finally, the liquilust: legendary wear matte lipstick is a brightening lip colour that doesn’t budge and is easy to apply.
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