I got part of the article from Reddit. If anyone is having trouble reading the initial post like I did, try tapping on the image then select preview image...only then could I enlarge significantly. What Happened to Pat McGrath Labs? The brand founded by the legendary makeup artist nearly a decade ago is struggling. Once valued at over $1 billion, the line is worth a fraction of that today. Multiple rounds of layoffs, and signs of behind-the-scenes turmoil raise questions about what went wrong and how the business can get back on track. If Pat McGrath is makeup’s mother, then she recently taught her children a valuable lesson about delayed gratification. The Maison Margiela couture show on Jan. 25, 2024, held beneath the Pont Alexandre III and inspired by Brassaï’s photographs of Paris, was a feast of textures — John Galliano’s dusty, gauzy and wooly silhouettes, of course, but also the models’ otherworldly skin, which reflected a pearlescent, plasticine sheen crafted by McGrath. Plenty of McGrath’s looks had gone viral pre- and post-Instagram, like her era-defining i-D covers of the 1990s or the African-inspired masks she crafted in jewels for Givenchy in 2013. All of them paled in comparison to the response to the Margiela show. Google searches for McGrath spiked, and speculation mounted about an upcoming product launch that would allow anyone to replicate what was quickly becoming known as McGrath’s “glass skin.” This was news to the team at McGrath’s brand, which hadn’t been working on one. After the show, a team scrambled to put together an online masterclass with McGrath breaking down the look in February. But they were scooped by the makeup artist and beauty historian Erin Parsons, who posted a TikTok on the following Sunday explaining the theatrical trick (a drugstore peel-off face mask administered via airbrush). According to three former employees, McGrath was annoyed about Parsons’ video, not least because Parsons had once worked as her first assistant. Still, five days passed before she appeared live on TikTok and Instagram to share her no-longer-secret technique. “I’ve never seen a makeup look go so viral,” she told the tens of thousands who had gathered to watch. The tens of thousands, in turn, wondered when they might be able to try it for themselves. But it would be another year almost to the day before those wishes would be granted. Skin Fetish: Glass 001 Artistry Mask went on sale on Pat McGrath Labs’ website on Jan. 30 of this year, promising not only to replicate the Margiela show look, but to provide skincare benefits as well. It arrived to a chorus of “THANK YOU MOTHER” and “GIVE IT TO ME!!” from McGrath’s children on Instagram. (In a turn of phrase borrowed from the queer ballroom scene, her friends took to calling her Mother in the 1990s; now her fans do too). But some in her flock couldn’t help but wonder why they were being asked to buy a $38 version of a peel-off mask, its perfect sheen prone to bubbling if the wearer opens their mouth. And most importantly, what took so long? The episode is the latest example of the difficulty Pat McGrath Labs has had translating its founder’s artistic genius into commercial success. The brand set the template for the current makeup artist-driven beauty moment, securing a wall at Sephora and a $1 billion valuation with an investment from French firm Eurazeo within three years of its 2015 launch. Maintaining that momentum proved difficult almost from the moment Pat McGrath Labs received its unicorn valuation. A permanent collection designed for the brand’s Sephora entrance, heavy on the eyes and complexion, developed a cult following, but produced few hits, particularly as the minimal “clean girl” trend took hold early in the pandemic. McGrath’s famously private persona also started to feel of another era in a time when brand founders are constantly interacting with fans online. Since the pandemic, her line has struggled to compete with a host of celebrity and influencer-fronted brands, including makeup artist offerings such as Charlotte Tilbury and Bobbi Brown’s Jones Road. Both regularly make themselves available for social posts and customer meet and greets. McGrath declined through a spokesperson to comment for this story. Eurazeo quietly exited the brand in 2021. The same year, Sienna Investment Managers, the alternative investment arm of Belgian holding firm GBL, purchased a 14.4 percent stake for €168 million ($183 million), valuing the company at €1.2 billion. One year later, it wrote down that investment by 88 percent, and in 2024 estimated its stake was worth €21.5 million, implying a total company valuation of €149 million, according to GBL’s annual reports. Whereas Eurazeo executives touted Pat McGrath Labs in interviews as forming the foundation of a global beauty empire, GBL has never spoken about its investment publicly, referring to it in documents as an unnamed “cosmetics company.” Meanwhile, the brand’s door count at Sephora has fallen steadily since 2019, and when Ulta Beauty picked up the line in 2023, it did so in just 200 of its 1,400 North American stores, Puck News reported. Some fans have recently spotted Pat McGrath Labs products at discount retailers like Ross Dress for Less. According to a Pat McGrath Labs spokesperson, the brand is carried in over 700 retail doors worldwide. In 2024, the company held three rounds of layoffs. Last month, senior executive Rabih Hamdan announced his departure after less than a year at the company in a letter to staff that suggested turbulence behind the scenes. "The environment that I had stepped into was not exactly what was depicted to me (and in all fairness I think no one really had the proper grip of the full situation),” wrote Hamdan, who joined the company from the Italian mass cosmetics label Kiko Milano. Though Hamdan identified himself as CEO of Pat McGrath Labs on his LinkedIn page, the brand spokesperson said “Pat McGrath is and has always been the only CEO of Pat McGrath Labs.” In order to secure its future, Pat McGrath Labs will need to do much more than recalibrate its launch strategy; it will also need to meaningfully address a fractured company culture. The Business of Beauty spoke with eight former employees and collaborators who described an at times chaotic working atmosphere where verbal — and allegedly in at least one instance, physical — altercations were common, campaign planning was erratic, secrecy was everything and McGrath was always right, no matter the cost. “It really is the Wild West,” said one former employee, an industry veteran. “And no one has any checks or balances.”

I'm working on advent calendars this month to get ready for Christmas at our house @jas012 ! How about you? Anything fun you've done to start?

@WinglessOne @danielledanielle @PrettyPaint @Titian06 @curlychiquita Hi all - thank you for flagging your concerns about Community navigation, especially as it impacts the mobile web version of Community. As you can imagine, digital 'real estate' can be tough to come by during the busy holiday season, and so we periodically share the love (and our space) with other features to help shoppers navigate to what's most timely -- including our Holiday Gift Guide and in-store services. We totally understand the confusion this can cause when things aren't where you expect them to be, especially when it makes the features you love (like Community) harder to find when they were once just a quick tap away. Since Gallery is also part of Community, we're hoping that by at least preserving a Gallery link to under your 'Me' profile menu, you can still navigate to the Forum this way (acknowledging it's a few additional taps compared to before), or by going directly to Community through community.sephora.com, like @WinglessOne mentioned. We appreciate you continuing to hang in there despite ongoing login issues you're experiencing, and for coming to each other's aid by sharing tips and tricks to accessing Community. We will be sure to share your feedback and concerns with our UX and tech partners -- we hear you!

@miss8 https://community.sephora.com/t5/Trending-at-Sephora/An-Update-about-our-Sephora-Beauty-Insider-Community-Ambassador/m-p/7125022#M133626

@chlorinne , #OMG I Just Got My 1st One & It Is Addicting 😈

@KatieBT , I Would Totally #GiveItAllAway 😋 #AllOfIt 💰

@missjeanie I've seen many of her videos...she's the only influencer I've done that with.

@AlexBT , Great Title 😂

Looking cool!

@greeneyedgirl107 , #Finally 🙌 #TheySaidItCouldNotBeAchieved 🎖