10 x Pat McGrath Subliminal Mothership Eyeshadow Palette Look Ideas
Pat McGrath Subliminal Mothership Eyeshadow Palette ($125.00 for 0.47 oz.) contains a mix of cooler/more neutral-toned neutrals along with a pops of intense blue, coppery-brown that shifts from peach to pink, and an iridescent pink. Of the Mothership palettes, this was one that I personally felt was harder to combine cohesively as I regularly wanted some other shade when working with it. I do, however, love using the pops of color/shimmer in the palette on the lower lash line or all-over the lid paired with the more neutral-toned shades in the palette. For maximum intensity, you’ll want to use the more shimmery shades (like Astral White, Pale Gold, and VR Violet) with a dampened brush.
About This Series
Each look idea is centered around a “quad” of four shades with the expectation that one might bring in the appropriate brow bone or additional transitional shade based on skin tone. I know that I tend to use more like five or six shades in a typical look, but I think that four is a happy medium to give a good idea of the “core” color scheme of a look while giving you the ability to lighten/darken as desired. I have listed the colors in this order: inner lid, middle of lid, outer lid/crease, and crease/above crease.
You might see combinations that seem slightly repeated but placement will vary (e.g. a halo placement where the lightest and more shimmery shade is placed on the center) as placement can also create a different effect/look! You might also want to consider incorporating your favorite matte/shimmer shades (as applicable) to increase the versatility of certain palettes. Consider these ideas a jumping off point!
Pat McGrath Mothership Palette
Subliminal 1.0
- Pat McGrath Astral White — A Cool Pink with a Metallic finish.
- Pat McGrath Lilac Dusk — A Warm Lavender with a Sparkle finish.
- Pat McGrath Blitz Blue — A Cool Blue with a Metallic finish.
- Pat McGrath Substance — A Warm Taupe with a Frost finish.
Pat McGrath Mothership Palette
Subliminal 2.0
- Pat McGrath VR Violet — A Warm Duochrome with a Sparkle finish.
- Pat McGrath Substance — A Warm Taupe with a Frost finish.
- Pat McGrath Xtreme Black — A Neutral Black with a Matte finish.
- Pat McGrath Lilac Dusk — A Warm Lavender with a Sparkle finish.
Pat McGrath Mothership Palette
Subliminal 3.0
- Pat McGrath Astral White — A Cool Pink with a Metallic finish.
- Pat McGrath VR Violet — A Warm Duochrome with a Sparkle finish.
- Pat McGrath Blitz Blue — A Cool Blue with a Metallic finish.
- Pat McGrath Xtreme Black — A Neutral Black with a Matte finish.
Pat McGrath Mothership Palette
Subliminal 4.0
- Pat McGrath Skinshow Nude — A Warm Beige with a Frost finish.
- Pat McGrath Pale Gold 002 — A Warm Gold with a Metallic finish.
- Pat McGrath Substance — A Warm Taupe with a Frost finish.
- Pat McGrath Depth — A Warm Brown with a Matte finish.
Pat McGrath Mothership Palette
Subliminal 5.0
- Pat McGrath Pale Gold 002 — A Warm Gold with a Metallic finish.
- Pat McGrath Astral White — A Cool Pink with a Metallic finish.
- Pat McGrath VR Violet — A Warm Duochrome with a Sparkle finish.
- Pat McGrath Substance — A Warm Taupe with a Frost finish.
Pat McGrath Mothership Palette
Subliminal 6.0
- Pat McGrath Ultimate Taupe — A Warm Taupe with a Matte finish.
- Pat McGrath VR Violet — A Warm Duochrome with a Sparkle finish.
- Pat McGrath Substance — A Warm Taupe with a Frost finish.
- Pat McGrath Depth — A Warm Brown with a Matte finish.
Pat McGrath Mothership Palette
Subliminal 7.0
- Pat McGrath Skinshow Nude — A Warm Beige with a Frost finish.
- Pat McGrath Lilac Dusk — A Warm Lavender with a Sparkle finish.
- Pat McGrath Substance — A Warm Taupe with a Frost finish.
- Pat McGrath Ultimate Taupe — A Warm Taupe with a Matte finish.
Pat McGrath Mothership Palette
Subliminal 8.0
- Pat McGrath Pale Gold 002 — A Warm Gold with a Metallic finish.
- Pat McGrath VR Violet — A Warm Duochrome with a Sparkle finish.
- Pat McGrath Blitz Blue — A Cool Blue with a Metallic finish.
- Pat McGrath Xtreme Black — A Neutral Black with a Matte finish.
Pat McGrath Mothership Palette
Subliminal 9.0
- Pat McGrath Astral White — A Cool Pink with a Metallic finish.
- Pat McGrath Lilac Dusk — A Warm Lavender with a Sparkle finish.
- Pat McGrath VR Violet — A Warm Duochrome with a Sparkle finish.
- Pat McGrath Depth — A Warm Brown with a Matte finish.
Pat McGrath Mothership Palette
Subliminal 10.0
- Pat McGrath Blitz Blue — A Cool Blue with a Metallic finish.
- Pat McGrath Pale Gold 002 — A Warm Gold with a Metallic finish.
- Pat McGrath VR Violet — A Warm Duochrome with a Sparkle finish.
- Pat McGrath Depth — A Warm Brown with a Matte finish.
Pat McGrath Subliminal Look | Look Details
Pat McGrath Subliminal Look | Look Details
These looks are really helpful! And definitely convincing me that I need to get this palette…
I like how you are creating quads out of palettes.
Such a helpful feature that you’re doing with these larger palettes, to show the many various combos one could put together in order to fully utilize the entire palette!
I love this new feature. I have many larger palettes that just seem to sit there as I seem to only make the same 2 looks over and over again. I appreciate the work that you have been doing structuring these quad combos for people like myself who struggle to see what could really look nice together in a look. Thank you, very much.
Love this idea! It’s also tempting me to buy this palette lol.
This is wonderful Christine! Thank you for putting these together.
I love this palette. A splurge from recent Big S sale. I find this palette very flexible.. but definitely fall into the trap of using the same combos over and over again.. Last week I did a halo eye with the warmer brown, depth, as outer anchor and the blitz blue as a highlight with ultimate taupe (perfect crease colour for my tastes) in crease. It was more dramatic than I typically wear, but it worked perfectly with MAC cosmic force mineralize blush. The blush is very similar to ultimate taupe
These colour combinations are versatile and help us to use a bigger palette more thoroughly. Thank you Christine.
thank you for doing these Christine! i can’t wait to see your combos for decadence!
I am guilty of not using this palette enough, and your post made me realize it was because I always try to incorporate the “fancy” shades in the palette whenever I opened it up and ended up with similar looks every time. But it’s so hard to see VR Violet and its magnificent blue glitters and not use it lol.
Great idea Christine! Very creative. I’d like to get a Pat McG palette but none of the color combos appeal to me.
I almost bought this for the packaging.
This is so helpful and definitely takes the guess work out for me in coming up with different looks! I splurged and purchased the bundle deal as a gift to myself for Mother’s Day. I took advantage of the 20% off sale on the Pat McGrath site. The decadent palette was already sold out (the one I really wanted most); but I plan on getting it during the next Sephora VIB sale.
Ahhh!!! So glad I thought to search if you had done the others as I would have missed this one, my favorite, even though the looks are more subtle. thanks so very much Christine! Again, a great idea and service! Be blessed!