I don’t have to explain to you how makeup artist goddess, Pat McGrath, is the end all be all of makeup artists. When it was revealed that she was finally taking a deep into complexion products through her eponymous makeup line after multitudes of launches of eye and lip products, makeup junkies the world over celebrated with glee and much anticipation.
In the complexion round up, there would be a foundation, a loose powder, and a foundation primer plus two brushes (foundation and powder). Each product could be purchased separately or in two bundles (with or without brushes). The day the new foundation dropped, I received a 20% discount and I bought the bundle of the foundation, primer, and loose powder. So here is my honest opinion on the Pat McGrath complexion products.
SKIN FETISH SUBLIME PERFECTION FOUNDATION
When I ordered this foundation, I went by the categories the foundation and powders are broken into. The five categories are Light, Medium Light, Medium, Medium Deep, and Deep. I went with the Medium Deep category and I chose shade Medium Deep #26. For reference sake, I wear MAC NC 50 foundation. Anyway, I got the Medium Deep loose power and the foundation primer.
When I received the foundation, the shade in the bottle seemed to be spot on as far as my complexion. When I pumped out a bit to feel the texture and the color, I chose right. And speaking of texture, I pumped a full pump of the foundation and the consistency of the foundation is quite thin and one full pump is all you really need. The foundation blended like a dream, but it’s not full coverage. It’s a very, very sheer texture and it was strength that Pat McGrath likes to apply foundation that looks like skin, hence the sheer coverage. If you’re used to or prefer something fuller in coverage, this may not be the foundation for you. When I wore the foundation, I applied it on top of the primer (more on that later) and topped it with the loose powder. The loose powder was actually too dark for me. My makeup looked muddy, so the next time I wore the foundation, I used a Fenty Beauty loose powder.
Wearing the foundation for a good week, I noticed that on the first application, my skin looked great. But as the day wore on, my skin go hella shiny and it usually does, but it was overly shiny to the point of greasy. I’m used to oil breakthrough and have dealt with it forever, but this was too much. And I also noticed that the foundation broke up on my skin. This was all during the summer months and because of that, I put the foundation to the side.
Fast forward to fall, I decided to try the foundation because the weather is cooler and I don’t get as oily as I do in the summer. I wore it to work for a few days and I got the same results. I wore it one Saturday and I liked the results better. So I’m wondering if being in an office with heaters and air conditioners going and just a general office environment, if that had an effect on how the foundation wore. That Saturday I wore it, the foundation actually looked good and didn’t break up on my skin, so I don’t know.
I can say that the excitement wore off for this product. I had such high hopes and I’m still willing to get it another round of trials before I call it quits for good. I hate saying that because I love Pat McGrath and her products are top notch, but I think she should consider tweaking the formula for us real ladies and make it more wearable, especially at $67!
SKIN FETISH SUBLIME PERFECTION PRIMER
This primer is touted as blurring pores and perfecting the skin. It’s a nicely textured hydrating creamy concoction with a faint pearl shot through it. To be honest, I got excited about the primer because I thought it may be an indicator into a skin care line under PML, but the primer is okay and totally not worth $60 and certainly not worth the money because it’s so cheaply packaged. Considering that the foundation is beautifully packaged in this gorgeous glass bottle, the primer would be worthy of many dreamy Instagram shelfie photos. It’s not.
SKIN FETISH SUBLIME PERFECTION POWDER
It’s a powder. What can I say. But it’s a nice powder, but I believe the powder that was designated for the Medium Deep category was too dark for me, so I need to try the Medium because I have a lot of golden undertones in my skin. But for $55, the size is a rip off. For 5g / .17oz, that’s steep! I’ve been using the Fenty Beauty Pro Filt’r Instant Retouch Setting Powder and I love it. For $32, you get much more product for your money (0.98 oz/ 28 g).
THE VERDICT
While I love Pat McGrath and I love her color cosmetics, I’m disappointed in the fact that her complexion products don’t match the quality, we’re used to getting. I believe each product has potential to be better, but it seems that everything was rushed or not well thought out. I really wanted to love each piece, particularly the foundation and the primer, so to anyone who has yet to venture to try PML, I say do it with caution.