I Finally Took The Plunge and Switched to the The Not So New Anymore MAC Palettes

MAC Cosmetics did an overhaul of their pro palettes a little over a year ago. They finally listened to requests from makeup artists and enthusiasts all over and put clear lids on the palettes so that you can easily see what’s inside. The new palettes also made inserts optional since so many people took them out anyway.  I was super excited to try the new palettes until I saw the price… 18 bucks for the empty palette and another 9 bucks for the inserts. I thought oh no they must be bugging over at MAC if they think that I am paying that price, especially when the old palettes were $15 with the inserts included. I decided to stick with my my old school palettes (which are now discontinued) and that was the end of that.

Fast forward to the present, I’ve been doing a huge overhaul of my makeup collection (more on that later) and trying to condense as much as possible. One biggie was depotting the rest of my single eyeshadows and putting them into palettes, preferably ones that I can see through. With me it’s out of sight, out of mind and if I can’t see it quickly I don’t use it. I’ve come to learn this over the past few years. Anyway, I first took a look at the Z-Palettes as I picked up one at The Makeup Show NYC to make a custom lip palette, but at the full price of $20 for the large palette that’s still on the expensive side… especially for some cardboard. I then took another look at the MAC Palettes and noticed that there was a huge price drop and the Large Palettes as well as the Duo Palettes are now $8 and the inserts a measly $2. With my Pro Discount that is $4.80 for the Palettes and $1.20 for the inserts which is MUCH BETTER than the original price. So I finally decided to make the switch and picked up two Large Palettes for my eyeshadows and a duo palette with a blush insert for my blushes.

The new palettes feel sturdier but are slightly shorter in length and thicker than the old palettes. One thing I really like it that the lids lie flat allowing you to use them next to each other more easily.

I decided to store my eyeshadows without the inserts so that I would have more space as the new Large Palettes can hold 23 eyeshadows as opposed to 15 with the inserts. I know that a lot of people were complaining about the strength of the magnet so for reference, the magnets on the back of the mac pro pans hold really well as well as the ones that I custom cut from a strip of magnetic tape. The eyeshadows that utilized magnets made from the little cards that you get in the mail did not hold as well and needed to be changed.

The Duo Palette does not come with a clear lid but since it is double sided it holds twice as much as the Large Palette (for the same price).

It is double the thickness of the new Large Palette and almost triple the thickness of the old palette.

I picked up the Duo Palette to store my blushes so that I can put my La Femme Blushes in with my depotted/pan MAC blushes. That way I can easily put the entire bunch in my kit and it’s easier to use if I need one of the La Femme Blushes for a look. The  Duo Palette has a clear divider which can be hard to move from side to side but I found the easiest way is to just push on the center hinge to lift it up. I decided to use an insert for my MAC blushes since a few are almost done making them pretty fragile. Without the divider the new palette can only hold 7 MAC Blushes where the old one held 8. I was able to fit my 12 La Femme Blushes on the other side.

I used the new palettes on a job this past weekend and although they are a tad bit heavier they were so much easier to use while I was working, from organization, to set up and ease of use. Glad that I finally made the switch. I’m pretty sure that I will need a few more as I only have space for a few more eyeshadows in one and the other two are full. Doesn’t matter though since they are so cheap inexpensive!

If you are looking for the old style palettes I still have a few available in my Blog Sale.

The product(s) in this post were purchased with my own money.  See my Disclosure page for additional information.