The world was none the wiser, but Pat McGrath Labs’ latest two products—both out as of August 14—secretly debuted on the runway, in a music video, on a British Vogue cover and at the Super Bowl before the general public even knew they existed.
This is a key strategy of legendary makeup artist Pat McGrath, she tells me. The products held up “flawlessly,” she says, at events like the Schiaparelli Haute Couture show, on Addison Rae in Sombr’s new “12 to 12” music video, on Bella Hadid’s British Vogue cover and on SZA at the Super Bowl, for example.
“I never release anything I haven’t tested on real faces in real time—red carpets, runways, flashbulbs, all-night affairs,” McGrath says. “The spray and powder worked in every condition. Seamless wear, luminous blur, no touchups needed. They proved they belong on every stage and in every kit.”
Pat McGrath Labs' new products, which launched on August 14.
Bryan Edwards
Testing the products on real people before they go mass market is “the whole reason I started Pat McGrath Labs,” she tells me. “I wanted to make products that solved challenges I faced as a backstage makeup artist on shows and shoots. You’re working in extreme conditions—bright lights, heat, humidity—and you need the products to perform. And fast! They need to be easy and quick to use. So, when I’m exploring a new product, I’m truly testing them in those conditions—and with everyone in my community—because they have to solve an unmet need.”
“Her heart and soul is in every aspect of it”
McGrath—one of the most celebrated makeup artists globally and known worldwide for her porcelain glass skin makeup look—founded Pat McGrath Labs 10 years ago in 2015; it quickly grew to a $1 billion valuation. In May, Louis Vuitton announced that its beauty brand La Beauté Louis Vuitton will launch this fall with McGrath at the helm as creative director, further cementing her place in the industry.
“She is such an active force in every component of what she’s selling,” designer Marc Jacobs previously told Allure of McGrath and Pat McGrath Labs. “There are people who have a name on a cosmetic line who probably have never experienced the formulas. They’ve never sat down and made a red bluer or more yellow and, hey, more power to them. But Pat is a makeup artist and this is her collection and her heart and soul is in every aspect of it.”
Pat McGrath attends the 2025 Met Gala celebrating "Superfine: Tailoring Black Style" at the Metropolitan Museum of Art on May 5, 2025 in New York City. (Photo by Mike Coppola/MG25/Getty Images for The Met Museum/Vogue)
Getty Images for The Met Museum/Vogue
Of McGrath’s now iconic nickname, “We’ve all called her Mother for so long, I can’t even remember when that started,” Jacobs said.
Robin Givhan, senior critic-at-large at The Washington Post, told Allure of McGrath’s approach as a makeup artist, “I always got the impression that she wasn’t aiming for quote-unquote ‘beautiful.’”
“I felt like she was aiming to elicit a fuller, richer range of emotions than what had been the norm with beauty,” she added.
“Now it’s something we can’t live without”
Pat McGrath Labs’ two newest products are its Skin Fetish: Sublime Perfection Longwear Setting Spray and its Skin Fetish: Sublime Perfection Blurring Under-Eye Powder in shades peach and amber.
Pat McGrath Labs' new setting spray.
Bryan Edwards
The setting spray, the brand tells me, is designed to deliver a “soft-focus, blurring effect” that “enhances radiance and keeps your look fresh.” Calling it a “finishing touch for your makeup,” the $38 product is infused with antioxidants to help preserve color integrity and is formulated to resist heat, humidity and smudging. Though the brand tells me it lasts for over 16 hours, it can also “be reapplied throughout the day for an instant boost.”
“What makes this product special is the fusion of hydration and performance,” McGrath tells me. “It blurs and perfects while resisting heat, humidity and life.”
“I can’t say enough good things about this product,” she continues, adding that it “is MAJOR [signature emphasis hers] and now it’s something we can’t live without.”
McGrath tests all products out in real life before launching them to the public.
Nico Ramirez
The setting spray, McGrath explains, was the final step to ensure that the blurred, soft-focused skin that McGrath as a makeup artist has become known for “lasts from prep to finish and beyond,” she says.
“What was missing was a skin-loving way to lock it all in,” she adds.
“Every new launch has to honor the legacy of what came before”
The Blurring Under-Eye Powder comes in seven shades, with two new shades, peach and amber, made to smooth texture, blur fine lines and pores and illuminate medium to deep complexions. The brand tells me that peach works best with Pat McGrath Labs’ concealer shades 20 to 29, and amber works best with concealer shades 29 to 36.
The Blurring Under Eye-Powder, which retails for $35, is a hero product, McGrath says, calling it “an icon that inspired the whole ritual.”
Pat McGrath Labs' new amber shade.
Courtesy of Pat McGrath Labs
“It’s been No. 1 for a reason,” she says, adding that “it always delivers. I like to call it my bite-sized blur—you can take it on the go.”
Peach, McGrath tells me, is perfect for neutralizing blue or purple tones and serves as an instant brightener; amber “melts beautifully” into deeper skin tones, she continues.
“These shades make the ritual more personalized, more precise and even more inclusive,” McGrath says.
Pat McGrath Labs' new peach shade.
Courtesy of Pat McGrath Labs
Of the two new products, both available now on patmcgrath.com, McGrath says, “Every new launch has to honor the legacy of what came before, and this one does with brilliance.”