Pat McGrath: Beauty Is Everything

Visionary make-up artist, founder of an eponymous range and now Vogue beauty editor-at-large: Pat McGrath presents her glittering manifesto, in images and words, in this piece first published in Vogue's December 2017 issue.

ocial media has revolutionised how beauty is curated, captured and consumed. When Pat McGrath Labs was born two years ago, it encapsulated my obsessions, inspirations and addictions. My intention in creating it was to thank my make-up-obsessed followers with the most divine gold pigment ever formulated. When I discovered it, I knew I couldn't wait the two years most brands need to do a full production run.



The idea of a product "drop" came from musicians, and what was happening in fashion with streetwear brands. Ninety days later, I dropped Gold 001 and it was insane: 200,000 people tried to buy 1,000 units and it was all gone in six seconds. This new approach to beauty - a one-to-one dialogue between creator and consumer - would not have been possible without social media and it marked a new age in the industry. This collection has been 25 years in the making and is about the freedom of make-up - liberating men and women to use their beauty without caution.

Desiree Mattsson

The images that I have created for my debut issue as beauty editor-at-large for British Vogue represent the same spirit as my brand. This is the era of digitally empowered make-up, and social media's fingerprints are all over them. I met the photographer, Desiree Mattsson, along with the nail artist, Sarah Nguyen, on Instagram. (As Nicki Minaj once wisely said, it went "down in the DM".)

On the other hand, our extraordinary hairstylist, Eugene Souleiman, has been one of my most valued collaborators and friends since my earliest days in the industry. To bring both sides of my professional life - the old and the new - together over one long day and night with the Vogue beauty team in New York City during Fashion Week makes these images even more special.

Desiree Mattsson

This is make-up as fearless fantasy, the ultimate in ephemeral cosmetic couture: the golden eye armour that took three hours to create from tiny metal stars, gold-wire lashes and so much more; the bejewelled lip, constructed from three different sizes of crystals delicately placed on our exquisite model Leomie's mesmerising mouth. I hope these major, if painstaking, creations inspire people to take chances with how they express themselves through the medium of make-up. Whether it be a bolder lip, a dewier cheek, a more lush lash or an exceptionally extravagant eye, no time is better than the present for unleashing your cosmetic creativity. These images are the core of what I believe beauty is now There are no boundaries. It is time to say "Why not?" to everything. Just play, and see what happens. Freedom is at your fingertips.
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