Makeup is an extraordinary tool that allows me to share my inspirations, my fantasies, and my vision with the world.
Pat McGrath
Every single member of my Artistry and Pat McGrath Labs Brand Teams - making this dream a reality would not be possible without them.
I've always believed that the most extraordinary results occur only when one feels unbound by any notion of constraint or limitation.
I'm the ultimate beauty junkie - that inspiration, obsession, and addiction is one of the main reasons I founded Pat McGrath Labs in 2015. So, when fellow beauty junkies spot me, there's nothing I enjoy more than discovering what they're addicted to. It's so inspiring!
My team can be as big as 50 during the busiest days of Fashion Week. I can travel with up to 75 bags of products and materials. And between shows, I personally travel on motorbike to speed through traffic and get to the next venue.
What sets Labs apart from other brands is the emphasis on the user experience within the products themselves by embracing the technologies that are changing the face of the beauty and the marketplace of the industry. Simply, the Lab is where unadulterated experimentation meets raw glamour: a rule-breaking playground for makeup enthusiasts.
What I love most about makeup is that you can't get attached to one thing, one idea, or one approach - and once you've achieved perfection, you have to wipe it all off and start over the next day.
Makeup is malleable and mercurial: The biggest joy I have every day is the opportunity to create, to play, and to invent with something I've loved forever.
Music permeates everything I do. I love everything from Grace Jones to Nicki Minaj to Underworld to D.J. MikeQ and beyond. Music is integral to my personal inspiration.
I'm such a product junkie - I love trying new products and new shades. For me, it's really exciting to see what new and wonderful products come onto the market.
When I'm home in New York, I wake up early so I can check e-mails and call my London agent, and start my day with a cup of Ristretto cofee from my Nespresso machine.
I walk into the most incredible fashion houses and see the most incredible things - new technology, new ideas, new music. Incredible lighting, new girls.
For fragrance, I apply a custom blend of essential oils and perfumes. I love spritzing Michelle Roques-O'Neil's Restore Therapie Aura Spray, which is an infusion that instantly rebuilds your energy.
From the beginning of my career, I've used makeup as a vehicle to express my vision, my obsessions, inspirations, and addictions. There's nothing more rewarding than seeing young people recreate some of my iconic looks.
Social media has revolutionised how beauty is curated, captured, and consumed.
It's amazing to be an incubator. Many of my muses have gone on to other brands.
I think with beauty there is so much to be done. A pill that will give you everlasting youth. To choose the exact age you want to stay at from a hundred pill bottles? That would be fun.
At the end of summer, I go on a detox because I know I need a clear mind for Fashion Week. You need a lot of energy, and the ability to focus, in preparation for this craziness. I go to the gym, too, just to make sure I have the endurance to keep up with everything.
Both liquid and pencil eyeliner can be used on the top and bottom eyes. I then use eye shadow over the pencil to blend evenly to ensure there's no skipping and patchiness. With pencil as a base, it's easier to get a seamlessly blended effect. If a stronger line is desired, trace over the pencil line with liquid eyeliner.
Something most people don't know about me is that I'm obsessed with technology. With that in mind, the 'material' I'd most like to experiment is the material that has yet to be invented.
I look for anything new and inspiring - in the worlds of makeup but also jewelry and decor. I never know what will inspire me.
There's nothing better than a woman who has aged wonderfully.
For me, a really good mascara is such a must-have, and I rarely leave the house without it! Another must-have of mine is concealer: it really is so versatile and acts as a great pick-me-up during the day.
You can't be lazy in fashion. You're always going to be surprised.
Whether it be a bolder lip, a dewier cheek, a more lush lash, or an exceptionally extravagant eye, no time is better than the present for unleashing your cosmetic creativity.
Sometimes nothing happens at a show for the first two hours, and in the last hour, we have to do all 70 girls. It's an adrenaline rush.
I knew I wasn't going to make money in the beginning, so I found another way to support myself - I was a receptionist. It's quite smart to work that way. Otherwise, you get vicious and desperate, and no one wants to work with you. Build your career slowly; then people start to trust you and pay you well.
For a fast touch-up, mix a lipstick with a little bit of balm to create a stain. You can also use your foundation as a concealer.
I don't think there's ever going to be a time when metallics aren't going to be in. They're so gorgeous, they bring so much dimension to the face, they're easy to wear regardless of age or skin tone, and really, they're just a lot of fun.
Use colors on eyes that contrast with the iris to make eyes appear more vibrant.
The fatter the eyeliner, the easier it is to use. With a pencil, just draw the shape you like and clean up the mistakes with a bit of cleanser.
It takes time to reach the perfect shade and formulations. That's something that's in the science.
Channel your heartbreak into work, then use that extra money to treat yourself to a new handbag.
Anyone who knows or works with me knows I don't believe there's such a thing as a 'mistake.' With that in mind, I celebrate all aspects of makeup and find something beautiful in all 'trends.'
When you put on foundation with a brush, it's a heavy finish - but if you use a brush and then blend, it looks more like a moisturizer and much prettier. Then add concealer - applied with a fine brush - to the problem areas afterward.
I love to look at all those young artists' work and then bring them in, have them work with me at shows.
Thin applications and small amounts in the right places is kind of the way to go with metallics for every day.
My intention when I created Labs was that the people that used our products would be empowered to explore a fearless, daring attitude towards makeup - that's why we always write 'Use Without Caution' on everything we make.
It would be great if perfect skin required less work. That would be the best ever.
My earliest memory was watching my mother do her makeup. She was obsessed with beauty and collected makeup and experimented with it. I think it's a lot of young men and women's experiences, growing up: watching the ritual of what their mothers would do.
You can't do shiny skin for high-definition cameras without it looking awful. HD shows off all of your imperfections. Even selfies require a flawless finish.
I wear very natural makeup, but it's made up out of five foundations to make that perfect skin, and my lipstick might be three different lipsticks mixed together, so it's a kind of obsession in a different way.
My beauty regimen is simple but concise: I exfoliate my face once a week, then cleanse. If my skin needs an extra boost, I use SK-II Facial Treatment Mask and SK-II Eye Mask for about 20 minutes. It's the best thing for a healthy, glowing complexion.
For blue eyes, use warm browns, peaches, and yellows to compliment the eyes. Brown and hazel eyes sparkle in blue and purple shades, which flatters the orange undertone of brown eyes. Green eyes stand out in burgundy and plum shades like CoverGirl Queen Collection Vivid Impact Eyeliner in Cabernet.
I'd go into a department store now and buy everything. It's who I am. I just love cosmetics.
My mother was my first and most important influence. When I was a little girl, she would take me shopping for pigments that flattered dark skin tones, mixing and playing until she'd created her ideal shade.
My makeup routine is a small amount of base, a mascara, nude eye shadow, and a lip balm or a gloss. When I go out at night, I wear a blusher and tons and tons of mascara - very easy, very fresh, very light. I can't sit around doing my own makeup all day - I wish I could.
Before the lipstick goes anywhere near the lips, I like to apply a tiny amount of foundation or concealer to create a really great base. This then makes it easier to guide the bullet of the lipstick along the lip outline.
When I was a child, the world of makeup was so different. There wasn't the wide range of shades available for darker skin tones like there is now.
That's the best pigment, anyways: something that works for everyone because it's just so rich.
