The mothership has landed! Pat McGrath Labs is a high end brand with an out of this world aesthetic. Pat McGrath palettes are so coveted in the beauty community it’s almost as if they’re otherworldly. A few month ago, some of the brands six pan palettes were on sale and I was lucky enough to get my hands on one. Let’s see if this Platinum Bronze, $89.00CAD palette lives up to the sky high hype!
Pat McGrath Labs describes MTHRSHP Sublminal Platinum Bronze as “Indulge in a ritualistic rebellion of golden taupes, rich, powerful bronzes and velvet-soaked plums, leaving lids iced in a cool riot of glamour fatale. Mysterious and seductive, the entrancing formulations are alluringly blendable, releasing hypnotic pigments that flawlessly envelop the eyes in unfaltering elegance. Summon the allure of the ultimate enchantress in a captivating collection of colour that lingers with subliminal intrigue“.
Shades
Platinize is a shimmery, grey with metallic shine. Platinize is very shiny. The shadow appeals smoothly and wore for about 6 hours before fading on me.
Smoke and Mirrors is a reddish, dark brown with a pearly shine. Smoke and Mirrors blends out well but easily looks muddy when applied. It was difficult to blend into other shades without everything looking like a mess. This shade had a small amount of fallout and wore for around 7 hours before fading.
Telepathic Taupe is a light gold with a metallic finish. There’s a lot of sparkle in this shade. The shadow has good pigmentation and was easy to smooth out. There was minimal fallout during application. Telepathic Taupe lasted around 7 hours before fading.
Deep Velvet is a warm, matte, brown. Deep Velvet applies darker than it appears in the pan. There was no fallout during application. Deep Velvet blends fairly well and lasts for 7+ hours before fading.
Ritualistic is a metallic, medium purple/brown. This shade was difficult to work with. The pigmentation wasn’t great and the shade looked muddy when applied. There was more fallout with this shade. It wore for about 6 hours before fading.
Sextrovert is a shimmery, golden bronze. This shade did not have the pigmentation I was expecting. I had to pack on colour to get the look I wanted. The metallic finish made my eyelid look textured and wrinkly. This shade wore for around 7 hours.
I was underwhelmed by these shades. I expected amazing shadows but these were simply average. There aren’t bad eyeshadows but I’ve used better. The shimmers are all very metallic and sparkly. That surprised me because they don’t look extremely metallic in the pan. Overall, these shadows worked for me but my mind was not blown.
Packaging
The packaging on this palette is stunning. Platinum Bronze looks very different to all the other palettes I own. It’s so beautiful it could be displayed on a vanity as decor. Opening the palette feels like cracking open a new book. There’s a elastic string wrapped around two clasps holding the palette closed. Opening the palette feels very luxurious, everything about this packaging screams opulence. Another positive packaging features is a large mirror that sits up on its own. Subliminal Platinum Bronze also has substantial weight to it. Using it definitely feels like you’re holding a luxury item.
Despite the fancy outer packaging, this palette has one of my least favourite features – a plastic insert with the shade names. At regular price this palette costs $89.00 CAD, could Pat McGrath really not write the shade names directly on the palette? The insert is perfectly fitted to the palette making it difficult to remove. I have accidentally scratched the shadows with the insert because I can’t remove it easily. When the shadows are this expensive I don’t want any product wasted – especially not because of an unnecessary insert. 
Thoughts
If this palette was in my collection five or six years ago it would have been a staple in my collection. Back in the day I almost exclusively wore dark, grundy eyeshadow and at the time I loved it. Now, I don’t gravitate towards those shades often. With that said, I don’t like most of the looks that I have gotten from this palette. Every look I try comes out looking more or less the same. I don’t get nearly as much use out of this palette as I expected.
Additionally, this palette only has one matte. The other five shades are all shimmers so it’s difficult to create a complete look using this palette alone. I need to swap in other shades to get what I want. Considering the price tag on this palette I feel it should be a stand alone palette but this isn’t the case. If there was even one more matte this palette would be much more balanced.
The shadows themselves perform alright. Pat McGrath Labs is so hyped up on Youtube that I expected amazing, knock your socks off, spectacular shadows. These were fine but not worth triple or double the price of a regular palette. I genuinely don’t see what all the fuss is about. These shadows weren’t anymore pigmented or blendable than other palettes I own. Just because the palette is an astronomical price doesn’t automatically mean it’s better quality.
Overall, the quality of this palette and the fact I don’t enjoy the shades as much as I expected has turned me Pat McGrath Labs. I doubt I would purchase from the brand again unless there was a significant discount. You’re essentially paying extra for extravagant packaging and at the end of the day, that’s not the most important thing.
In conclusion, I like looking at this palette more than I like using it. If a product is going to be this outlandishly expensive I want it to be freakishly good quality. I’m glad I got to test out Pat McGrath Labs for a discounted price but this palette confirms my suspicion that ultra high end makeup simply isn’t worth the extra expense.
Until Next Time,
Kayla
Kayla Collects Palettes 