Porcelain glass skin© Pat McGrath Labs / Maison Margiela Spring 2024

How Pat McGrath achieved the porcelain glass skin effect for Maison Margiela Artisanal Collection 2024

The expert used a hyper-shiny glaze that imitates the glass’s smooth and reflective quality


Senior Writer
JANUARY 30, 2024 6:30 PM EST

In 2022, Glazed Donut skin was all over social media, taking the matte look out of fashion and welcoming the dew to make skin look fresh, radiant, and glowing. Now, the “Krispy Kreme donut” effect has moved to makeup thanks to legendary makeup artist Pat McGrath, who collaborated with Creative Director John Galliano and his mesmerizing Maison Margiela Artisanal Collection 2024.

Dubbed porcelain glass skin, the latest beauty trend taking the makeup world by storm is gaining momentum in the West after being popularized in Korea over the past few years. Porcelain glass skin is all about having a complexion that looks as smooth and clear as porcelain, with a glass-like finish.

© Agencies

Porcelain glass skin is all about having a complexion that looks as smooth and clear as porcelain, with a glass like finish.

Not to confuse with the porcelain glass skincare routine, which involves cleansing your face twice a day, using a gentle exfoliator once or twice a week, and applying a hydrating serum or essence, Pat McGrath’s technique involves a lot of makeup and Kryolan Liquid Glass, a professional makeup product used to create a “latex” perfect to be “painted on top of the skin.” Kryolan Liquid Glass is “a viscous preparation with a low alcohol content which evens out skin details and dries to an extremely glossy finish.”

While John Galliano’s collection experiments “with silhouette, texture, and innovative couture techniques, in which the collection takes us on a moody, moonlit walk along the Seine in Paris,” the makeup for the show plays with a modern take on porcelain glass skin.

To achieve the looks featured on the show, the makeup expert bleached the model’s brows and replaced them by painting pencil-thin arches drawn on using neutral-toned shadows.

The makeup look features various painterly eye designs in a beautiful range of hues, including jewel tones, pastels, and moody charcoals. A creamy blush is applied to the center of the cheeks for a doll-like flush, while the lips are adorned with unconventional shades of bloody red and black, topped with a clear gloss to create a surreal pout. Lastly, the skin is coated with the aforementioned hyper-shiny glaze that imitates the glass’s smooth and reflective quality, completing the models‘ incredible transformation.

Watch the step-by-step video below