pat mcgrath labs midnight voyage mini eyeshadow palette (review)

Pat McGrath is one of those brands that is well known and beloved. It is also one of those brands that is a little too pricey for me. I always hear wonderful things about the products...but it is hard to take the leap on such expensive items. That is why I have tried only a few different things from the brand. Like a set of mini lipsticks and Bridgerton inspired products that were gifted to me. Well, this past Christmas, the Pat McGrath Labs Midnight Voyage Eye Shadow Palette was given to me. Like the mini lipstick set, this came in a sealed gold bag. There were no sequins inside though! Just the mini palette. And when I say mini, I mean mini. This is significantly smaller than the palm of my hand. That means it would be wonderful for travel or to store in your purse. But it also means that this ultra small palette costs $38 CDN and it contains a fraction of the product other brands offer for a comparable price. Is it worth it? Is the quality superior? Here is everything you need to know. 

The packaging for the Pat McGrath Labs Midnight Voyage Mini Eyeshadow Palette is beautiful. It has a fabulous gold etched design on the front with the Pat McGrath Labs logo in the center. The gorgeous lilac colour and the gold details makes this palette look ultra chic. However, the packaging is nothing out of the ordinary in terms of the materials or quality. This is a small plastic palette with a mirror inside. It doesn't feel overly luxurious, though it certainly does look lovely on the outside.

On the inside, there is a wonderful colour story. I love that there is a combination of matte and shimmer shades. There is a beautiful brown for the crease, a light golden shimmer for the inner corner, a deep purple for the outer corner, and some colourful shimmers to mix it up. That sparkly purple was definitely the most intriguing of the six shadows. Though there are not eyeshadow shade names inside, those are printed on the back of the palette, which is a nice detail. On the top row, there is Skinshow Divine Glow, Entrapment, and Sunset Bronze. On the bottom row, there is Xtreme Aubergine, Eleganza, and Night Creature. So...how do these shadows actually perform? Is the palette worth the $38 CDN price? Not so much.

The Midnight Voyage Mini Eyeshadow Palette is an interesting one. The shadows swatch beautifully but apply in a meh kind of way. Whether a brush is used with a primer or my fingers are used to apply the product, the intensity just is not quite there. These shadows perform like many others on the market, but considering the brand and the price, okay-ish performance is not enough. I love the colour story and I love that this palette is super compact for travel. I love the variety of finishes and the overall shade selection. All that being said, it's hard to know whether I would actually take this mini eyeshadow palette with me on my travels, because when I am away from home, I need quick and easy to use products that work. Though most of the shadows perform okay-ish, the purple shade does not. Definitely a letdown since that was the most interesting shade.

As you can see from the makeup look above, it is possible to create a beautiful look using the Pat McGrath Labs Midnight Voyage Mini Eyeshadow Palette. It just shouldn't take that much work to make a high-end product perform well. I expect that an eyeshadow from the dollar store or even the drugstore might require a little more care and attention, but not one from such a respected high-end beauty brand. The palette is usable and compact, but it does not stand out from others on the market. For the price, this should perform a whole lot better. Though it was wonderful to receive this mini palette as a Christmas gift, it is disappointing that the quality is just not there. I expected so much more from Pat McGrath. 

Have you tried the Midnight Voyage Mini Eyeshadow Palette? What do you think of Pat McGrath Labs products?