I’m back with more from Pat McGrath’s Holiday Collection. When I posted about the Luminous Legends Dawn Divinity 5-pan Palette earlier this month, I decided to leave out the duos. At the time, I wasn’t sure how I felt about their performance and wanted to give them more of a chance before I talked about them. Compared to the eyeshadows in the Dawn Divinity Palette, the texture of the Celestial Jade Duo ($25) and Petallic Passion Duo ($25) is looser and chunkier. However, the shade Twilight Topaz is an exception and feels similar to the duos. I prefer a more traditional smooth metallic texture, and since I don’t use glitter glue or a wet brush for application, I wanted to take my time and give these a fair shot. Now that I’ve had a good opportunity to use them and see how they wear, I wanted to share my thoughts and some swatches.

Top Row – Dawn Divinity shades (left to right): Glowing Desire, Sienna Sunrise, Rose Metallica, Sunlit Nectar, Twilight Topaz

Bottom Row – Duo shades (left to right): Moonlit Glow, Celestial Jade, Petallic Passion, Crystal Blossom

I wanted to swatch these duos next to the Dawn Divinity Palette because I did think there would be some overlap between Rose Metallica (shade 3) from the Dawn Divinity Palette and Petallic Passion. I also thought Glowing Desire (shade 1) from Dawn Divinity and Moonlit Gold from the Celestial Jade Duo would be closer.

I haven’t applied these eyeshadows with brushes because I think they need the warmth and pressure of using them with my finger to mitigate fallout. I am shocked at how well these adhere to the skin, considering their chunkier feel. There aren’t crazy large particles of glitter or mica, but chunky is the best word I can think of to describe it. I always use an eye primer, which also helps eyeshadows adhere to the lids. So anyway, there is a little fallout during application and wear, but it isn’t very noticeable without looking for it. Occasionally, a larger mica particle will fall on my face and catch the light just right. However, that wasn’t a very common occurrence. Other than the minimal fallout, I can tell these shadows stick to the lids well because they are more difficult to remove than other eye shadows I’ve used with the same eye shadow primer. I typically wear makeup for 8 to 10 hours, depending on the day, and I’ve only used this formula with the MAC Prep+Prime 24-Hour Extend Eye Base. Some eye primers are stickier than others, so the fallout could be better or worse based on that.

Comparison Swatch – Rose Metallica vs Petallic Passion

The Pat McGrath Luminous Legends Duos look smoother in the swatches than they feel when you touch them. Hopefully, you can see in the above comparison how Petallic Passion (right swatch) isn’t as smooth as Rose Metallica from the Dawn Divinity 5-pan palette. There are some sparse spots and a thicker section where the eye shadow also didn’t smooth out. They are both beautiful, but they do offer a different experience. I’m not sure why, but the shimmers in the duos have more punch. It is almost like there is something brighter about the mica in them. Again, Twilight Topaz from the Dawn Divinity is also an exception. It also seems punchier in shine than the other shades in Dawn Divinity.

I think these eyeshadows are beautiful, and I appreciate that despite the high shine, they don’t accentuate eyelid texture. When used with eye primer and my fingers, the fallout is minimal, and the wear time is excellent. I had no creasing or fading throughout wear. What I don’t like is how hard they are to remove. The friction of removing them has caused a lot of irritation on my eyelids. Even then, some leftover mica was still on my eyelids the next day. In fairness, I have dry, sensitive, eczema-prone skin. So I use mild cleansers, so it is possible that if your skin can tolerate more, it would be removed easier. But I can only speak to my experience. Overall, I think these are a good value for someone like me who doesn’t really like large palettes. They retail for $25, and I believe the quality and performance for that price are great. Knowing what I know now about this formula, however, I would have been fine if I’d only purchased the Dawn Divinity Palette. Hopefully, this was helpful if you’ve still been wondering about the Luminous Legends Duos from Pat McGrath.

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