In 2015, Pat McGrath launched Gold 001, a do-it-yourself gold lip make-up kit - consisting of pigment, scraper and mixing liquid - that was shown at Prada's spring 2016 RTW, followed by Lust 004, a red glitter lip kit, Skinfetish 003, a highlight kit and Dark Star 006, a smoky eye kit.
The ease of replicating bold and glamorous makeup seen on runways enthralled many, and now, the entire spectrum of makeup products is available for continuous purchase.
Prada Spring 2016 RTW
Gold 001
Lust 004
Aside from the fact that you can try your hand at backstage makeup, this series of kits is also really nice to receive, as they are packaged in polybags and sequins in the colour of each product concept. It's a cool packaging that gives the buyer a fancy experience without much effort. However, the sequins stick to the product case due to static electricity, so you need to remove them after opening. The bag was so full of sequins that it was a hassle to throw them away, but the newer kits seem to have about half the sequins.
They've also collaborated with Supreme, Bridgeton, and Star Wars. Star Wars products are still available, so it's worth picking up if you're a fan of that series. Just looking at the names of the shadows in the collaboration - ROUGE REBELLION / SUMGGLER'S SPICE / EXTRAGALATIC GOLD / FALCON NOIR - you get the feeling that someone who is a true fan has put a lot of thought into it, unlike most collaborations that are just repackaged.
Bold shades, intense pigmentation, boldly composed palettes and high staying power. The coarse-grained duochrome shadows are gorgeous. The matte shadows are also good, but you'll have to buy the pearl shadows in this brand. The pearl shadows are not without their powdery qualities, but it's not too bad and if you have a primer or concealer, it's not a problem. The highlighters are very good quality too. It's also good that they don't do seasonal marketing, because they just put out products in their own style, unlike most shade cosmetics that say "I'm going to put out this shade this season". However, not all products are ongoing, but it doesn't feel like a disadvantage because they keep coming up with new plans and releasing products. Even if you decide not to buy the limited edition because it's too obscure, it's a brand that keeps you waiting for the news in anticipation of the next new product.
However, I feel that products are designed for white people or people of colour with thick lines. Northeast Asian faces don't have a strong T-zone, so they can't use the palette as much as they can, so it's less dramatic or too bold for their face shape.
And the official photo doesn't capture the colour properly.
Of course, since the actual colour of the product is so brilliant, it's okay that it's not the colour I thought it would be(it's pretty). But the product photo of a deep coral blush is almost brown in official product photos(ex: Divine Blush Duo: Paradise glow). Can you get a sense of the colour? Since there are no stores in South Korea, I can't test it before I buy. So I have to Google it, but there are very few Asian reviews, so it's hard to rely on other people's reviews. Some Asian YouTubers post regularly, but even Asians have different skin tones, and it's hard to tell from the title of a YouTube cosmetics review if they're reviewing a product in the colour you're looking for. The timestamps are not set properly, so you have to keep pressing the timeline to check. There are many times when you spend time and still don't get the information you want.
+ex. Flesh 3 matte lipstick looks like a deep rose colour on Google, but on my face, it was just really dark brown. When I apply Flesh 5, it looks like the Flesh 3 swatch on Google. Flesh 5 is said to be a mahogany rose colour, but it has a slight purple undertone. I couldn't use it with the eyeshadow I was planning to match it with.
I don't recommend this product to anyone who hasn't tried it before unless they already have an extensive collection of shades and brushes. It's a million light years away from K-beauty sensibilities, so it's too expensive to use as a social life cover-up. To a certain extent, there are a lot of new products in South Korea's online P2P marketplaces.
But the colours are so gorgeous. Usually, the actual pigmentation of tinted products is not as good as the swatches or the colour combinations are boring. Still, Pat McGrath's products have a way of making you want to wear makeup because the colours are so gorgeous. I've tried a lot of brands of matte lipstick and none of them are as drying or itchy as this one. I love red lipstick, but I have to reapply it after eating because it looks empty, but I don't have to do that with FatmacGrass Matte Trans. It's not absolutely indelible, but it's hard to tell unless you're looking at yourself in the mirror. Speaking of which, would you please repeat the McGrath Muse from the now-discontinued Luxetrance series, all the current reds are either too cool or too bright for me...
Recommendations - I'm only recommending shadows because there are so many variables when it comes to lipsticks
A classic bronze palette with duo chrome opal pearl and coppery red pearl shadows. If you were to buy just one thing here, I'd recommend this one, it's great for trying things out. It's a classic combination, so it's harder to mess up with this one. It reminds me of Urban Decay's Naked series when it was all the rage.
A glittery smoky palette for autumn-winter. Really recommended if you like red makeup. I said above that I couldn't get the colour of these, but this one is actually a warmer tone. Xtreme Nocturne is not as dark as I thought. I bought VR Sextasy based on the colour alone and I'm happy with it. It's great for combining with other shadows. The only downside is that the glitters tend to fly off without a base.
This series came out this autumn. There are 4 shades: BRONZE ECSTASY, a brown smoky, BORDEAUX BLISS, a burgundy smoky, SUNSET ROMANCE, a pink-brown, and LUNAR NIGHTSHADE, a blue-purple. The photo shows Bordeaux Bliss. It's only $25 and the size isn't that big, so it's a great way to try it out. It's about 4g, which is half the size of the 4-5 pan shadows you usually get. If I had to recommend one product, it would be SUNSET ROMANCE. I know a lot of reviewers say NOT WORTH IT, SAVE YOUR MONEY, but if you're new to Pat McGrath or want to try a colour or smokey that you haven't used before, this is a great option.
Where to Buy
It's launched on Sephora, but it's not in Sephora in Korea. I don't know what it's like in other countries, but I recommend buying it directly because of the freebies and sales. They have frequent sales, so it's worth it to stay under the $200 duty-free limit for direct shipments in South Korea. Direct shipping used to be quite expensive, but as they've grown, they now offer free shipping to South Korea. You can also get it by air for around 25,000 won($20). If you sign up for an email, they'll give you a 15% code to use, but it's easier to think of it as a first-purchase discount code.
But they do a lot of 30% off. It's a good idea to have an idea of what you want to buy, so when you get an email about a sale, you can go in and buy it. If you spend more than $100, you get a free gift, so it's recommended to buy during the sale. If you go to the EXCLUSIVE OFFER tab or the EYE KIT, FACE KIT, LIP KIT tab, some products are sold in bundles, and the price is cheaper than buying separately. If you like the composition, you can use it well, because everything is discounted without excluding sale excluded products during the discount period like in Korea.
The $100 gift is a clear gloss and mini mascara set, but sometimes they give out other product miniatures or full-size products at events.
Honestly, I can't even use up the tonal cosmetics within the expiration date after opening, but the retail price of department stores is too high, so it's much better to buy it here. If you're tired of the brown-gold-pink-combination K-beauty that's always there, this is the place to go.
Comments
Post a Comment