\u201cIt\u2019s almost surreal to think it\u2019s been 10 years,\u201d makeup artist and mogul Dame Pat McGrath muses when we speak on the cusp of the milestone anniversary of her eponymous beauty brand, Pat McGrath Labs.<\/p>\n
\u201cPassing on the secrets of backstage has always been my goal,\u201d she continues. \u201cWhen we launched the brand in Paris 10 years ago, it was a drop\u2014a limited edition that when it was gone, it was gone. I didn\u2019t at that moment anticipate how the brand would build and grow, but we have been on a forward trajectory ever since.\u201d<\/p>\n
She is, of course, describing the moment during the spring\/summer 2016 shows when she pretty much shut down the Tuileries Garden in Paris with the disruptive launch of Gold 001\u2014a gold eyeshadow pigment that delivered metallic magic in a single swipe.<\/p>\n
I should know,\u00a0I was there, and so I witnessed the hysteria as people tried to get their hands on McGrath\u2019s products. She\u2019d applied the sneaker drop business model to makeup\u2014a first for a beauty launch\u2014and it set the tone for everything else that was to follow.<\/p>\n
Something of a renegade, there have been a lot of firsts from McGrath, like the McGrath Muses, which saw her casting rising talent to help bring products to life\u2014often before they became household names.<\/p>\n
Her hero products are similarly well-known, like the MatteTrance lipsticks in cult shades like Elson and 1995, Lust Gloss, or the Mothership palettes, which have become a beauty collector\u2019s item. \u201cI love being a makeup alchemist. My brand is centred around creating what has never existed before,\u201d McGrath explains.<\/p>\n
Then there are the collaborations: a lip kit with Supreme (arguably the most coveted beauty collab of all time), Bridgerton\u2019s pastel Regency palettes, and the shimmering intergalactic Star Wars spin\u2014all uniquely McGrathian in their drama and detail. Plus, the announcement of McGrath as creative director of makeup for Louis Vuitton La Beaut\u00e9\u2014another beauty passion project that sits neatly alongside her own beloved Labs.<\/p>\n