Review and Swatches: Pat McGrath MTHRSHP Subliminal Eye Palettes

Given that this is my second Pat McGrath (PMG) review (on a relatively new blog with few reviews so far), you might all think I’m a Pat McGrath devotee. Now that’s partially true, given my love for her work , but I really think the brand has created some incredibly beautiful products with beautiful finishes that actually stand out.

Today I’m reviewing the only other Pat McGrath products that I have: the MTHRSHP Subliminal Eye Palettes. They are an addition to PMG’s larger Mothership palettes, and they come at a much more affordable price. Now, I love the idea and look of the original Mothership palettes, but I can’t justify spending $125 on a palette where I didn’t love all 12 shades. They are very editorial, and they create gorgeous looks, but I just don’t have that many occasions to wear some of the more multidimensional and colorful shades.

So when the smaller six-pan palettes came out at a much more affordable (and better value!) $55 with two neutral palettes, I was all ears and eyes. The palettes have a total of 12g/.42oz of shadow, so each shade is 2g/.07oz, which is a pretty decent size.

I have both the Platinum Bronze and Bronze Ambition palettes.

Now funny story time….I originally had my eyes set on Platinum Bronze, the cooler toned of the two neutral palettes. I planned to buy it during the Sephora VIB sale back in April, and was worried that it would sell out, so I put it in my cart a few days early and ordered as soon as the sale started. Or so I thought. When I received the palette, I was confused to see that I had received Bronze Ambition, until I looked at my order confirmation, and actually put the wrong palette in my cart. I immediately ordered Platinum Bronze. I had every intention to exchange Bronze Ambition because I have enough warm bronze palettes, and I even kept it sealed. But then as I was waiting for the right palette to arrive, I kept looking at swatches of the Bronze Ambition…got tempted to open it…swatched it….and decided on the spot that I needed to keep it.

And that’s how I now own both, even though I had convinced myself that I really only wanted Platinum Bronze.

On to the actual review – let’s start with the packaging. I’m sure you all have seen a lot of pictures of the stunning artwork on these palettes. I thought they were just the outer boxes, but they are actually part of the palette. The art is part of the lid of the palette, and they open up to reveal the eyeshadows. The material of the packaging is like cardboard, but it feels very very sturdy. There’s also a big mirror on the inside, which I always think is really helpful.

The actual eyeshadows are also amazing. I’ve read a few reviews where they just didn’t seem to work for people or didn’t apply well, but I didn’t experience any of that.

The eyeshadows on all the palettes swatch and apply smoothly, pigmented, and rich. They’re not quite as soft and buttery as, say, Lorac or Urban Decay shimmers, and they seem to havea harder formula. They remind me of the Make Up For Ever shimmers, actually. They require a stiffer brush for me, but apply very richly pigmented. Because of this, I don’t experience much, if any, fall out. Both of the palettes have five shimmer shades and one matte shade. For both palettes, the mattes had a drier texture that doesn’t really swatch as well, but also apply much better with a brush. The shades stay vibrant all day with no more creasing than usual on my oily lids. I have to wear a pretty iron proof eye primer and 99% of shadows still start to crease after a long day, and these are just the same. If you don’t normally experience creasing, I don’t see any reason that you would experience that with these shadows, either.

Because most of the shades are shimmers, I am missing a matte brow bone highlight and a soft transition shade, which I use every day before I start any look. I already have single shades for both that I use every day, but it would have been nice to have everything I needed to create a full look in one palette.

 

Bronze Ambition

Bronze Ambition is the warmer toned of the two neutral palettes. The shades include:

• • • Gilt Trip – a champagne gold
  • • Bronze Struck – a warm bronze
  • • Copperized – a bright metallic copper
  • • Illicit – A dark brown with a mostly matte base and gold shimmer
  • • Thowing Shade – a matte warm brown
  • • Gold Rush – a rich gold shade

As I mentioned, I have quite a few warm and bronzey neutral palettes, and I don’t always find them super flattering on my olive skin, but I find myself reaching for this palette pretty often. The quality is just superior to so many of my palettes, it has a range of light to deep shades for me to create a look, and isn’t too overwhelming, since it only has six shades. I’m so glad that I decided to keep this palette!

 

Platinum Bronze

Platinum Bronze is the cooler toned neutral palette, and the types of tones that I naturally reach for. I wouldn’t say it’s quite an overly cool toned palette, but I would describe the shades as warm toned with a platinum tones, as the title suggests. If you have olive skin, these tones will look stunning on you. The shades include:

• • • • Platinize – a shimmery cool toned champagne
    • • Smoke and Mirrors – a shimmery dark brown
    • • Telepathic Taupe – a cool toned bronze with silver shimmer. My favorite shade of the palette!
    • • Deep Velvet – a matte brown with some plummy undertones
    • • Ritualistic – a metallic plummy taupe shade. It reminds me of a more complex, pigmented, and shimmery MAC satin taupe.
    • • Sextrovert<span style=”font-weight: 400;”> – a shimmery metallic bronze.

This palette is just so stunning and unlike anything I’ve ever owned. There are similar shades to what I already own, but having them all together like this makes this such a beautiful palette for me. I highly recommend this one and would absolutely say to get Platinum Bronze if you only want one palette from the collection.

 

Final Rating:
Packaging: 10/10 (it’d be more like 12/10 if that were possible)
Shades: 8/10
Formula: 9/10
What do you think of these palettes? Will you be getting any of them?

As always, thank you for reading!