Pat McGrath – Divine Blush Collection Review

It’s no secret that a ton of Pat McGrath lovers were waiting on the edges of their seats for her to release blushes, and she finally answered that call. However, in addition to the blushes, she also released a highlighter, eyeshadow quad, and lipstick and re-released an existing shade of the Lust Gloss. I picked up the Divine Blush Collection Essentials Kit, which includes the products listed above, and I’d love to talk about my experience with these products.

PACKAGING

All of the products came packaged in a beautiful lavender packaging covered in a floral motif with gold edging and lettering. The paperboard was obviously high quality, being thicker and sturdier and even having some texture to it. It’s the kind of packaging you feel bad putting in the recycling bin even when you have nothing else to do with it.

The components themselves are equally as luxe. All except the lipstick and lipgloss come in a black lacquered compact that feels at least slightly weighted, with the eyeshadow quad being the heaviest. The eyeshadow quad has a very secure magnetic closure but that is not too difficult too open. The blush and highlighter both have a snap closure, where you press in a tab located at the center of the bottom half and then lift up the top half. The lipstick comes in a black lacquered bullet that snaps closed at Pat’s signature lip detail. The lip gloss comes in plastic tube with a black lacquered cap. The eyeshadow quad and the lip gloss also contain the hieroglyphic-esque logo.

Other than the details on the backs of the compacts, the blush and highlighter look exactly the same. It’s not something that necessary bothers me since the backs do look distinctly different between the two products, but I could see this being an annoyance if you have multiple shades of the blush, as there would only be one tiny word on the back to differentiate them from the outside.

Some of the compacts – namely, the eyeshadow quad and blush – also have cheeky messages on the back labels that you can see in the below photos. It’s a little much for me, though I admittedly did get a little kick out of it and ultimately made the packaging that much more memorable – so maybe it’s a successful pitch? Take it for what you will.

PRODUCTS

Venus in Fleurs Luxe Quad: Voyeuristic Vixen

This eyeshadow quad has a rosy bronze color story, containing 2 shimmering metallic shades, one duochrome shade, and one matte. Moonlight Liaison will give a smooth, highlighted pop. Rose Fire Nectar, while marketed as a duochrome, is nearly a multichrome, flashing from bright rose to gold to almost a greenish shade, making it look antiqued at some angles. It’s still a very smooth texture but does give an almost sheer, glittery effect, which absolutely amps up a look. After Dusk is a velvety reddish brown matte with a somewhat plummy undertone. Twilight Bronze has a bronzey base with gold and pink sparkles throughout.

All of the shades were really smooth and pigmented yet buildable. The shadows’ textures and blendability lend themselves to giving either a softer daytime look or nighttime glam look easily and quite quickly, making it look like you put in much more effort than you actually did – and who doesn’t want that?

It’s the first color story that finally got me to purchase her eyeshadow formula, and I’m so glad I did. It’s really a joy to work with, and the effects you can get are really special. I once heard someone say, “Pat McGrath just shines differently” and it’s true – so true that the Mothership V Bronze Seduction palette I’ve been lusting after for so long made its way into my cart during the brand’s summer sale.

Skin Fetish: Divine Blush

Next is the blush! The powder has a rose motif with a kind of sunburst effect coming out of it. I could take it or leave it – I don’t mind the design and can certainly appreciate the thought that went into it, though I know others are simply not a fan.

There are two finishes to choose from within the lineup, demi-matte or satin with pearl. I purchased the shade Fleurtatious, which is a neutral beigey pink demi-matte. It’s exactly the type of color I was hoping for for with my skintone – a soft natural flush that would give definition and color without being a shade I could ever go overboard with. This will absolutely become a go-to for me, and as the seasons change, I could see myself picking up something like Paradise Venus.

The formula itself is incredibly smooth, delivering a soft, satiny look to the cheeks. It’s not at all powdery, leaving no kickup in the pan, but picked up relatively easily with a brush. It has enough pigment without being too much, and once on the face, it seemed to blend itself.

Skin Fetish: Divine Glow Highlighter

The Divine Glow Highlighter is a product I was really excited to try but hadn’t yet had the opportunity to since the Divine Rose shade was simply far too dark for me. The promo photos of the new Golden Nectar shade gave me hope that this might work, but alas, this peachy gold is still much too dark for me to use as a highlighter. I have used it as a kind of blush topper/”blush-lighter” moment, which was really pretty, but given the specific tone of this product, isn’t something I would find myself doing often.

That being said, the formula is stunning. It’s so smooth and didn’t emphasize any texture or pores on me, giving just a beautiful glow. It also blended effortlessly. If the brand ever releases a shade light enough to actually highlight my skin, I’ll be all over it.

MatteTrance Lipstick

The MatteTrance Lipstick is a smooth and richly pigmented formula that as the name suggests, it is a matte finish. While I didn’t find it to be drying, the formula was a little bit heavier than I was expecting and could emphasize uneven textures. Additionally, it was a little too slippery of a finish, such that I constantly felt like it was going to slide outside of my lip lines, even though it never actually did. For these reasons, it’s a higher maintenance formula that I’m really not a huge fan of and probably wouldn’t purchase again unless there was a color that really called to me.

It could be the shade influencing my opinion, as Dream Lover isn’t a great match for me. It’s a warm, peachy-leaning-coral shade that I don’t find the most flattering on myself and will probably be leaving my collection soon.

Lust: Gloss (Glitter)

This gloss. THIS GLOSS. Few formulas have made my lips feel as plush and look as full as this one. Seriously, as soon as the applicator touched my lips, I was in love. I cannot emphasize enough how smooth this texture is – which is saying something, given that the shade Earth Angel actually falls into the glitter category. It’s thick enough to stay put for a while without being heavy or uncomfortable whatsoever, while also managing to not be sticky or stringy. It also doesn’t emphasize texture. For those sensitive to fragrance, it does have a vanilla scent to it that isn’t offensive and that I can’t smell once it’s on my lips but do continue to taste.

Even the applicator is nice to use. It has a perfect slanted and tapered shape that allows you to get wide coverage on the center of your lips but also into tighter corners with the tip. It holds enough product to cover your lips in 1-2 dips into the tube, depending on how much gloss you want, but never over-deposits.

Earth Angel has a champagne base with a similar pink-to-golden copper flip as Rose Fire Nectar in the eyeshadow quad. The flip is stunning and shows up on your lips as being dimensional and sparkly but not glittery. It’s really beautiful in person.

FINAL THOUGHTS

Purchasing the Divine Blush Collection Essentials Kit gave me the opportunity to try a variety of Pat McGrath’s formulas that I’d been curious about at a discounted price, especially since there was an additional discount available during the collection’s launch. Honestly, the only formula I didn’t love was the MatteTrance Lipstick, though I can still appreciate why some people do enjoy it. I could see myself purchasing more of all of the other formulas if the shades were right – and actually have already purchased one eyeshadow palette as mentioned above, as well as a gloss in the shimmer finish. It’s clear to me that the PMG formulas do have elevated technology and thought put into them (as they should, for the price), and I really enjoy the full experience of using them, from packaging to application to finished look.

What do you think about Pat McGrath’s products? Have you tried the long-awaited blushes? Are there any other formulas of hers that you absolutely adore? Please let me know in the comments!