It’s hard for a designer to get the world’s attention at fashion week. But a year ago, the Maison Margiela show went viral thanks, in large part, to Pat McGrath’s makeup, which made models’ skin look like it was made of glass.
The show was theatrical. Creative director John Galliano conjured a dark, ethereal universe apparently inspired by the Belle Époque of the late 1800s, when women had tightly cinched corsets, and voluminous dresses with padding that accentuated their busts and hips.
But the models didn’t look human. They looked like like otherworldly creatures, with pale skin, small lips, flushed cheeks, and a glossy sheen that made the skin look translucent. “It began with a conversation with John [Galliano] about the Seine in Paris, under moonlight,” McGrath recalls. “We envisioned porcelain dolls coming to life, merging ethereal beauty with a sense of wonder. We wanted to create something that had never been seen before.”
In the days after the show, TikTok and Instagram exploded as people tried to recreate the look using everything from vaseline to oil. McGrath even entered the fray, sharing exactly how she created the look with special effects water-based glue, followed by gel masks. Over the last year, she’s been working on a product that makes it easy to create the look at home. She releases Skin Fetish: Glass 001 Artistry Mask this Thursday exclusively through her brand, Pat McGrath Labs.
McGrath has actually been tinkering with trying to create this makeup for about four years. The final product comes in a tube and consists of ingredients like glycerin, rose-flower water, and allantoin. You apply it across the entire face like a peel-off mask. The key is to ensure that it is applied evenly, and in three or four layers. “I like to apply the mask in thin, even layers across clean dry skin with a taper brush with soft bristles,” McGrath says. “Let it fully dry before adding the next [layer]—you can use a hairdryer on a cool setting or a fan to speed things up.”
The final look is stunning, much like the models in the Galliano show. But it is a difficult look to pull off every day, since the the mask can crack if you talk or even smile too broadly. But McGrath says that you can customize the product. “You can even just put it on certain high points of your face,” she says. “Once the mask sets, it forms a smooth, peel-off film that reveals hydrated, glowing skin.”
Yes, the look is dramatic. But McGrath says that’s the whole point. It’s meant to give everybody the opportunity to create a unique look and express themselves in creative new ways. And given the enthusiastic response to the show, McGrath believes that there are may people who would enjoy wearing this look to a party or a date. “It’s a love letter to those who embrace bold beauty,” she says. “It’s about merging runway-level innovation with real-world usability.”
In many ways, this product epitomizes McGrath’s entire brand. The British makeup artist first became a fixture in the fashion world in the 1980s, creating looks for designers like Anna Sui and Versace. Then the business world came knocking. Giorgio Armani and later, Procter & Gamble hired her to create cosmetics. In 2015, she launched her own brand, Pat McGrath Labs, which quickly exploded.
McGrath says that her brand is designed to bring the secrets of makeup artists to everyday people. She and her team spend a lot of time coming up with formulas that make it quick and easy to create looks that might otherwise take hours backstage. “I took a three-hour process and distilled it into an effortless 10-minute process you can do at home to achieve the same look,” she says.
Importantly, this mask is actually good for your skin. And this is also key to McGrath’s strategy. “It expands our focus on skin-first innovation,” she says. “[We’re] merging skincare benefits with transformative artistry.”
