Pat McGrath Donatella, Realness, Valetta LuxeTrance Lipsticks Reviews, Photos, Swatches
Donatella
Pat McGrath Donatella LuxeTrance Lipstick ($38.00 for 0.14 oz.) is a medium, rosy beige with soft, warm undertones and a cream finish. It had rich color payoff in a single stroke, which delivered even, smooth coverage across the lips. There was slight settling along the center of my bottom lip, but it wasn’t noticeable from a normal viewing distance (which is where it matters most!). The texture was smooth, velvety, and comfortable to wear with just enough slip to glide on with ease but not enough for the color to slide around while worn. This shade wore well for five hours and was hydrating while worn–fairly impressive for this type of color.
FURTHER READING: Formula Overview for details on general performance and characteristics (like scent).
Top Dupes
- Tom Ford Beauty Impulse (Left) (LE, ) is darker (95% similar).
- MAC Dandy Apple (LE, $19.00) is warmer (95% similar).
- Hourglass The First Time (P, $34.00) is warmer (90% similar).
- Tarte Pink Lemonade (P, $21.00) is lighter, warmer (95% similar).
- Natasha Denona Beatrice (31NP) (P, $25.00) is lighter (90% similar).
- Tom Ford Beauty La Nudite (P, $60.00) is brighter (90% similar).
- ColourPop Aquarius (P, $7.00) is brighter, warmer, glossier (90% similar).
- Natasha Denona Amorosa (36NP) (P, $25.00) is less glossy (90% similar).
- Tom Ford Beauty Satin Chic (P, $57.00) is lighter, warmer (95% similar).
- NYX Spirit (P, $6.00) is lighter, cooler, less glossy (95% similar).
Formula Overview
$40.00/0.14 oz. - $285.71 Per Ounce
The formula is supposed to have a "intense color payoff" with "comfort" and "rich hydration" that has a "satiny sheen." Of the shades I've tried, they are richly pigmented, long-wearing, incredibly comfortable to wear from start to finish, hydrating, and generally flattering on the lips.
The texture was smooth, velvety, and creamy enough to glide across the lips with ease but never felt slippery or too clingy. Most shades performed exceptionally well, and while pricey, they at least lived up to a lot of the claims. There was no discernible scent or taste.
Browse all of our Pat McGrath LuxeTrance Lipstick swatches.
Ingredients
Looks Using this Product
Donatella
DCDiscontinued. $40.00.
Realness
Pat McGrath Realness LuxeTrance Lipstick ($38.00 for 0.14 oz.) is a medium-dark pink with warmer undertones and a satin finish. The pigmentation was opaque in a single layer, and the lipstick applied evenly and smoothly directly from the tube. It never showed “lines” when I pressed my lips despite being creamy enough to skate across the lips easily. The texture felt smooth, lightweight, and “clung” to lips for excellent wear time but never in a drying way, as the formula was moderately moisturizing over the five and a half hours it lasted for.
FURTHER READING: Formula Overview for details on general performance and characteristics (like scent).
Top Dupes
- Bite Beauty Pepper (DC, $26.00) is darker (95% similar).
- Estee Lauder Rose Tea (P, $32.00) is darker, cooler (95% similar).
- NARS Anita (P, $34.00) is lighter (90% similar).
- Hourglass I Woke Up (P, $34.00) is warmer (90% similar).
- Estee Lauder Inescapable (P, $32.00) is cooler (90% similar).
- MAC Laissez-Faire (P, $24.00) is lighter, cooler (90% similar).
- NARS Intriguing (P, $27.00) is darker, less glossy (90% similar).
- Smashbox Primrose (PiP, $21.00) is lighter, cooler (90% similar).
- Dior Forever Nude Style (300) (P, $45.00) is darker, cooler (90% similar).
- Guerlain Milky Beige (360) (P, $36.00) is cooler (90% similar).
Formula Overview
$40.00/0.14 oz. - $285.71 Per Ounce
The formula is supposed to have a "intense color payoff" with "comfort" and "rich hydration" that has a "satiny sheen." Of the shades I've tried, they are richly pigmented, long-wearing, incredibly comfortable to wear from start to finish, hydrating, and generally flattering on the lips.
The texture was smooth, velvety, and creamy enough to glide across the lips with ease but never felt slippery or too clingy. Most shades performed exceptionally well, and while pricey, they at least lived up to a lot of the claims. There was no discernible scent or taste.
Browse all of our Pat McGrath LuxeTrance Lipstick swatches.
Realness
DCDiscontinued. $40.00.
Valetta
Pat McGrath Valetta LuxeTrance Lipstick ($38.00 for 0.14 oz.) is a light-medium pink-coral with warm undertones and a natural sheen. It had good color payoff that covered the lips fairly well, but this shade seemed to pull away more at my lip lines and had very slight streaking along the edges of my lips. I don’t think either of those flaws were too noticeable in person. I also found that it applied and appeared lighter on my lips than initially swatched on my arm (whereas most of the shades in the line are similar swatched on the skin and on lips, often going slightly darker on the lips). The consistency was creamy and had more slip than most of the LuxeTrance shades I’ve tried. It was comfortable to wear, lasted for four and a half hours, and was hydrating over time.
FURTHER READING: Formula Overview for details on general performance and characteristics (like scent).
Top Dupes
- Guerlain Cashew Brown (819) (P, $36.00) is darker (95% similar).
- Revlon Your Go To (P, $10.99) is darker (90% similar).
- MAC Viva Glam II (P, $19.00) is darker, more muted, cooler (90% similar).
- Tom Ford Beauty Hudson (LE, $36.00) is lighter, glossier (90% similar).
- NARS Vanessa (P, $34.00) is darker, warmer (90% similar).
- Tom Ford Beauty Heavenly Creature (P, $55.00) is lighter, less glossy (90% similar).
- Tom Ford Beauty Addison (P, $36.00) is more muted (95% similar).
- Bobbi Brown Blush (P, $28.00) is warmer (90% similar).
- Tom Ford Beauty Pink Dusk (P, $57.00) is darker, cooler (95% similar).
- Pat McGrath Sextrology (DC, $40.00) is darker, cooler (90% similar).
Formula Overview
$40.00/0.14 oz. - $285.71 Per Ounce
The formula is supposed to have a "intense color payoff" with "comfort" and "rich hydration" that has a "satiny sheen." Of the shades I've tried, they are richly pigmented, long-wearing, incredibly comfortable to wear from start to finish, hydrating, and generally flattering on the lips.
The texture was smooth, velvety, and creamy enough to glide across the lips with ease but never felt slippery or too clingy. Most shades performed exceptionally well, and while pricey, they at least lived up to a lot of the claims. There was no discernible scent or taste.
Browse all of our Pat McGrath LuxeTrance Lipstick swatches.
Ingredients
I suspect that the only shade here that wouldn’t look totally weird on me without employing various tweaks would be Realness. Which, btw, is a beauty of a darker nude for us medium tone folks! ?
Sadly, I love Donatella on you, but I’ve got a feeling that it would look pretty bad on me! ?
These shades are pretty similar and appear to be quite lighter on the lips. Not sure I like these colours.
These all look great on you! I need to check out these colors in person at Sephora.
Donatella Versace used to be such a babe – bronzed, platinum blonde goddess with precisely that lip color (if a bit more shiny). Pat is being very loyal to name that shade Donatella as those who make the connection will likely shudder now.
I am not an Amber Valetta watcher but that shade seems to be aptly named.
I like Realness, but I also have one of the Bite dupes on my list atm so I’m passing on this one.
Have all of these, love all of these. I’m not a nude lipstick person but Donatella is one of the few nudes I think is flattering on me (I’m on the paler, cooler side of the spectrum).
Realness is great. I don’t know what’s up with the disparity between Valletta and the other two! I have not experienced that at all. I’d say Sextrology is the outlier for me, it feels a little bit thinner than the other shades but still in the A category. I’m surprised it got a B+ considering so many of the weaker Tom Ford shade extensions have been getting As and A-s. I was extraordinarily unimpressed with the new shades, and I thought that the formula was all over the place. On the other hand, the LuxeTrance lipsticks just blew me away and have been super consistent regardless of shade! The new Tom Ford nudes have a noticeably thinner feel to them, with a semi-sheer milky sort of finish that is just so different to his earlier shades. It’s interesting how experience suffers!
Differs, not suffers!
I ordered Realness during the Sephora sale but it hasn’t arrived yet. Now I see why I was drawn to it: I have quite a few of the dupes and love these types of colors – neutral but not colorless. Now I am not sure if I’ll be keeping it after all.
Even though I have a zillion lippies and they are my jam, I am impressed with her lipsticks. I particularly like the matte formula, but they all are really nice. I have Donatella in this formula and 1995 in the mattetrance. Both really nice standouts even for a lippie girl.
Ahh. I’m eyeing Donatella but I’m worried that it might not work with my medium skin tone. (MAC NC35). Any thoughts on this? Do you think it could work for me? I also have pigmented lips– on the darker side.
Donatella might skew lighter and cooler on your skin tone – I’m about NC20 for reference! I think it’ll show up truer to the tube since it’s quite opaque and has a thicker consistency overall, though.
Why must these be so good!