Pat McGrath Flesh 5 & Fever Dream MatteTrance Lipsticks Reviews & Swatches
Flesh 5
Pat McGrath Flesh 5 MatteTrance Lipstick ($38.00 for 0.14 oz.) is a deep, reddened plum with warm undertones and a satin finish. It was intensely pigmented with smooth, opaque color coverage in a single layer. It applied evenly and never tugged or dragged on my lips. The texture was smooth, velvety, and thick without being heavy and didn’t emphasize my lip lines. This shade stayed on well for seven hours and was lightly hydrating over time.
FURTHER READING: Formula Overview for details on general performance and characteristics (like scent).
Top Dupes
- Dior Ultra Crave (843) (P, $37.00) is warmer (95% similar).
- Bobbi Brown Claret (P, $40.00) is lighter (95% similar).
- Urban Decay Trip (DC, $18.00) is lighter (95% similar).
- Sephora Labyrinth City (09) (P, $8.00) is cooler, glossier (95% similar).
- Charlotte Tilbury Dangerous Liaison (P, $34.00) is darker (90% similar).
- MAC Retro (P, $19.00) is more muted (95% similar).
- Fenty Beauty Spanked (P, $18.00) is warmer (95% similar).
- Makeup Geek Plain Jane (P, $12.00) is brighter (95% similar).
- Guerlain #31 (P, $33.00) is lighter (90% similar).
- ColourPop Daydream (P, $6.00) is lighter (90% similar).
Formula Overview
$38.00/0.14 oz. - $271.43 Per Ounce
The formula is supposed to be “richly pigmented” with “”supreme hydration” and “opulent matte opacity.” The consistency was smooth, velvety, and dense without being too firm for one-stroke, glide-on application (I found the original shades to be slightly firmer compared to more newly released shades). They had nearly opaque to opaque coverage in one layer and most were buildable.
They had a subtle sheen--more satin-to-cream in finish--that wore down to a natural matte finish within an hour or two of wear. The formula lasted between four and eight hours on me, and while most weren't drying, they aren't "supreme[ly" hydrating either. They are, however, comfortable to wear over a longer period of time and reapply well. There was no discernible scent or taste to the formula.
Browse all of our Pat McGrath MatteTrance Lipstick swatches.
Ingredients
Flesh 5
PPermanent. $38.00.
Fever Dream
Pat McGrath Fever Dream MatteTrance Lipstick ($38.00 for 0.14 oz.) is a medium-dark coral-red with warm undertones and a satin finish. The pigmentation was opaque in a single layer, while the texture was smooth, velvety and creamy enough to glide on easily without feeling slippery while worn. The lip color wore down to a more matte finish within an hour of wear, and it seemed to smooth out the color, too, as there was a smidgen of product in my deeper lip lines after the initial application (though it wasn’t noticeable from a normal viewing distance). It wore well for six and a half hours and was moisturizing while worn.
FURTHER READING: Formula Overview for details on general performance and characteristics (like scent).
Top Dupes
- Dior Forever Icone (720) (P, $45.00) is lighter (95% similar).
- NYX Sierra (P, $6.00) is more muted, warmer (90% similar).
- Chanel Rouge Paradoxal (840) (P, $45.00) is darker (90% similar).
- Urban Decay Hitch Hike (P, $19.00) is darker, cooler (90% similar).
- Pat McGrath Tropicalia (DC, $40.00) is lighter (90% similar).
- Charlotte Tilbury Walk of Shame (was Walk of No Shame) (P, $37.00) is more muted, warmer (90% similar).
- ColourPop Foolish (P, $10.00) is darker, warmer (85% similar).
- ColourPop Mama (DC, $6.50) is darker, warmer (85% similar).
- Tom Ford Beauty Tantalize (Right) (LE, ) is lighter, brighter, glossier (85% similar).
- Urban Decay Tilt (DC, $22.00) is lighter, brighter (85% similar).
Formula Overview
$38.00/0.14 oz. - $271.43 Per Ounce
The formula is supposed to be “richly pigmented” with “”supreme hydration” and “opulent matte opacity.” The consistency was smooth, velvety, and dense without being too firm for one-stroke, glide-on application (I found the original shades to be slightly firmer compared to more newly released shades). They had nearly opaque to opaque coverage in one layer and most were buildable.
They had a subtle sheen--more satin-to-cream in finish--that wore down to a natural matte finish within an hour or two of wear. The formula lasted between four and eight hours on me, and while most weren't drying, they aren't "supreme[ly" hydrating either. They are, however, comfortable to wear over a longer period of time and reapply well. There was no discernible scent or taste to the formula.
Browse all of our Pat McGrath MatteTrance Lipstick swatches.
This turns brick red on me after a few minutes which is disappointing because I like the muted quality it gives at first… these mattes tend to dry down after a little while but at least they don’t budge.
Oh no! 🙁
These are so beautiful that it makes me a bit sad that I have close dupes of both. ?
Yep, MAC Retro, Chanel Rouge Vie, CP On Repeat, UD Tilt. Anyone else ever get sad because they have dupes? Or am I just being silly? ?
A little silly but I get what you mean – hard to justify if you’re so duped up!
Yes, I very much know that feeling of disappointed when I see that I have dupes of a beautiful new lipstick! And I have dupes of just about everything at this point. (But I have gotten very good at making up ways to justify buying shades I don’t really need.)
Relate. I try to keep to the 2 dupes at>80% rule. My latest excuse is that l/s never looks the same on me as on Christine, so it won’t be that close. Uh, could be closer, but never mind… Some of these Pats are simply irresistible.
This is interesting because I love coming and reading Christine’s reviews and pictures. But for me personally, sometimes the dupes listed for a product look radically different. For example – Fever Dream is a muted warm red-orange peach, while Walk of Shame is a much lighter toned, not as warm, mauve brown !
If you look at swatches, they are very similar on me, which is what I have to go by (what I experience/can see). 🙂 It’s not mauve on me at all…
I agree Christine – I’m sorry if my comment came across in a rude way. I was just commenting that sometimes our skin and undertones seem to affect lipsticks and blushes on me in a different way ! I love your blog !
That’s totally fine! I didn’t take offense, just wanted to explain why I have it listed as a dupe 🙂
Thank you for the reviews of these new MatteTrance. I often take it for granted, but your site has made my purchasing so much easier. At this point I can tell that no matter how good or appealing a product is in the promo photos or sale site, I have looked at your face/skin coloring for so many years and used it as a reference – cross checking with products I own – that I can tell from the swatches when a color, while gorgeous, just won’t look the way I want it to on my face. I have so many lipsticks (and makeup in general) at this point that I’m trying very hard to only purchase real loves in the future and you’re making that a lot easier. Not even youtube video reviews are as reliable for me as your photos. I hope you continue working as long as you want! ……..That was a long preamble to thanking you for saving me money on PMG lip products as they’ve become a real weakness at this point.
I’m thrilled that I’m able to help you keep your stash to just the perfect mix of shades, Z! Even better that you’ve figured out how to cross-reference how it looks on me to how it’ll translate onto you – that’s amazing!!
Oh my, what gorgeous shades these are!
Agreed!
I am so torn by the new release! I don’t need more lipsticks and have dupes for these but the formula is so amazing that I feel like I want to get them. I would like to wait until I am in Seattle just before leaving for Europe but afraid the colors that I am most interested in are going to be sold out in store. I know I could order and get them here in time but it is so hot right now that I am afraid they would be a melted mess by the time they arrived. What to do, what to do?
Mine didn’t melt, and I live in AZ… they went ground from NYC to PHX if that helps!