Pat McGrath Labs is filing for bankruptcy.
Women’s Wear Daily first reported the news, which comes a month after the Black-owned beauty brand, once valued at $1 billion, was struggling at the end of last year and looking at a sale.
It’s been a decade since the influential Jamaican-British makeup artist, Pat McGrath, started her eponymous brand known for its lush, highly pigmented eyeshadow pallets, and creating viral beauty trends like the “porcelain doll” look from Maison Margiela’s spring-summer 2024 show at Paris Haute Couture Week.
A spokesperson told WWD in a statement, “During this process, the company will continue operations in the ordinary course of business while working to restructure its balance sheet and to forge a path to thrive. Pat McGrath Labs remains committed to its community, customers, partners and stakeholders as it continues delivering its signature, high-quality products and culture-defining artistry and innovation.”
According to USA Today, the company listed over $50 million in liabilities after filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on January 22.
In December of 2025, the cosmetics brand announced it was preparing to put itself on the market after some signs of its decline. Sales were slow, and inside the company, there were operational changes, executive shifts, and layoffs. One of its investors, Eurazeo Brands, which initially put $60 million into the company in 2018, sold its stake a few years ago. According to WWD, the stake was estimated to be 5 to 8 percent.
After confirming news of the potential sale, the brand also planned to have an auction to sell the assets of Pat McGrath Labs. The auction, which was supposed to take place on Monday (January 26), has now been canceled following the bankruptcy news.
McGrath built her own reputation decades before building her own brand, working on cosmetics for Giorgio Armani and Procter and Gamble. Pat McGrath Labs launched her into stardom, and she built a passionate following from beauty obsessives to makeup influencers, and has worked with every celebrity you can think of. She has even received a damehood from the late Queen Elizabeth II. The culmination of the company’s success came in 2019, when it reached a $1 billion valuation.
In March of 2025, McGrath took on an additional role as the creative head of Louis Vuitton La Beauté, leading the luxury brand’s cosmetics creative director, a move that raised some questions for the future of her namesake brand. Though the new role has only reaffirmed McGrath’s powerhouse status in the industry, this most recent news has confirmed those fears that the company is no longer growing alongside her.
