Pat McGrath V Natasha Denona bronze eyeshadow palette: Which one is the best?

We put these high-end palettes head to head to see which of them truly delivers to give your eye look serious impact

Natasha launched her ‘bronze’ palette in summer 2020, while Pat Mcgrath’s has been around since 2018 (iStockphoto/The Independent)

When it comes to luxury make-up, it doesn't get more decadent than Pat McGrath’s opulent "mothership" eyeshadow palettes, which house 10 pans of shadow in a super-glossy and heavy casing with a cardboard outer package featuring artwork worthy of a gallery review.

And now hot on the heels of the “mother of make-up” as Mcgrath is often called, is fellow make-up artist Natasha Denona, who’s pretty much constant stream of releases always gets the beauty world in something of a fluster.

If you’re not too familiar with either brand: Pat McGrath is a British make-up artist who kick-started her career touring in Japan with Soul II Soul, working on singer Caron Wheeler’s make-up. 

She moved on to doing catwalk shows and has since been called fashion’s most influential make-up artist by Vogue. Her collections have become more well known in the UK since the launch of the Pat McGrath Labs in Selfridges in the spring of 2019.

Natasha Denona hails from Croatia and has been a make-up artist for more than 20 years, covering red carpet looks and fashion shoots. She’s created her own eyeshadow formula that’s designed to be both super-wearable and blendable and they really are the centrepiece of her collections.

It’s definitely a natural progression for both to use their tricks of the trade to produce palettes for the masses: both of the brand’s collections also include a range of lipsticks, highlighters, foundation and more.

In case you’ve been thinking of grabbing a palette from either (or both), we’ve decided to put their bronzy eyeshadow offerings head to head. We know there’s  a price difference: Pat Mcgrath’s “bronze seduction” is a hefty £115, while Natasha’s “bronze” is £55, and you get more product in it. 

But we’ve pitted these two together because of their similar warmed-toned colours and formulas, plus, both brands fall on the luxury side of the scale, so make for good comparison. We should point out that Pat Mcgrath’s “mothership” palettes are the weightiest we know of too, so it could be that more money has gone on packaging, upping the final sale price.

We’ve spent plenty of time testing both of these palettes, reviewing the packaging, eyeshadow formulas, blendability and longevity, to find out which came out on top.

You can trust our independent reviews. We may earn commission from some of the retailers, but we never allow this to influence selections, which are formed from real-world testing and expert advice. This revenue helps to fund journalism across The Independent.

Pat McGrath’s bronze seduction palette: £115, Selfridges

Pat McGrath’s ‘mothership’ palettes are among the most opulent eyeshadows out there (Pat McGrath)

How much product do you get? 13.2g

Colours: 10, in a range of matte, glitter and duo-chrome formulas

Wear: It lasts all day (up to 10 hours) with no primer needed, though we’d recommend you wear one if you have oilier skin

It’s hard not to audibly gasp when you open this palette: glitters and duo-chromes galore with deep warm browns and an “xtreme aubergine” to ensure you can really get a dramatic eye.  

This palette comes in a very heavy black case, with a high quality bevelled mirror, all housed in the brand’s signature “mothership” covering. The eyeshadow names are included on a separate see-through chart.

All shades blend effortlessly, as you’d expect from a Pat Mcgrath palette, and while there is some (probably inevitable) fallout from the glitter shades it’s not nearly as much as you’d get from less expensive brands.

Don’t be fooled into thinking this palette is exclusive to dramatic eye looks. Sure, you can get an amazing carnival eye with the glitters, or go all-out smokey with the dark brown mattes, but you can also create everyday looks with the lighter matte browns and one of the gilt golds, too.

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Natasha Denona bronze eyeshadow palette: £55, Harrods

If you’re a fan of warm-toned shimmers, this could be the palette for you (Natasha Denona)

How much product do you get? 19.25g

Colours: 15, in a range of matte, shimmer and duo-chrome formulas

Wear: This lasts on us all day (up to 10 hours), no primer needed

This bronze palette was Natasha Denona’s summer offering for 2020, since then the brand has released a number of other palettes including “glam”, a cool toned compact, and a mini “zendo” palette for Christmas, with just five shades including a berry, warm silver and golds.

It comes in a glossy orange-gold case covered by a shiny outer cardboard packaging, with an excellent mirror, and is fairly weighty.

If you love your warm bronze shades, then this palette is definitely worth a look-in. And if you’re not familiar with the brand’s formula, it’s creamy and bendable. We found the shimmers are best applied with a fingertip rather than a brush.

One thing we would say about this palette is that there are a few rather similar golds: each eyeshadow colour is quite small and we might have preferred bigger pans with fewer “samey” shades (you don’t notice much difference between each one on the lid).

Like Pat Mcgrath’s “bronze seduction” palette, this includes a really nice dark shade called “deep dive” for those of you who like to define with a deeper colour. It’s got an almost creamy consistency, and also works well when used all over the lid with one of the sparklier shades on top.

If you’re torn between this and Pat Mcgrath’s palette, you might want to take a look at Natasha Denona’s “sunset” palette too, (£111, Selfridges). It’s on the pricier side than this one, but includes some more vibrant tones like a nice matte red and surprisingly wearable yellow.

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The verdict: Pat McGrath vs Natasha Denona bronze palettes

We love both of these palettes, and if you’re a make-up fan, there’s a fair chance you’ll want to add the two of them to your collection. 

Pat Mcgrath’s “bronze seduction” palette does have a little more in the way of variety. The red blitz flame shade is like no colour we’ve seen before: a warm, pinky red with rich orange in it too, and for that alone we’re glad we got this.  

But for more affordable but equally lush eyes, with slightly less tone choice, Natasha Denona’s “bronze” palette won’t disappoint if you like a warm shimmery eye.  

We have noticed that Natasha Denona’s eyeshadows can get a little flaky if moved around too much, and for this reason they don’t travel too well. Then again, Pat Mcgrath’s is also one you’ll probably want to leave on the dressing table rather taking on holiday with you, mainly because of its sheer weight.

The eyeshadow formulas in both palettes are buttery and pigmented. If you’ve got any other palettes from either brand, we can tell you there’s no dip in quality with these.

But if we had to choose between the two, we think Pat Mcgrath’s palette has a broader range of colours and allows you to really elevate your eye look for any occasion. And we just can’t talk enough about that red shade.

For more make-up inspiration, read our review of the best smudge-proof eyeliners and our pick of must-have cream blushers