MAC Cosmetics is kicking off its Memorial Day Sale today, so it felt like a great opportunity to bring you a volume 2 for MAC’s Forgotten Bestsellers. I enjoy writing these posts because I get to talk about older products that are good enough to still sell well for the brand. To keep it simple, I use the brand website’s best seller list rather than separate retailers. You can check out the first MAC Forgotten Bestsellers that I posted in 2022 by clicking here. I have also done this for NARS, Bobbi Brown, Clinique, Maybelline, and Laura Mercier, if you’d like to check those out.

DISCLAIMER: This post will also be the first post in a long time to include affiliate links. Long story, short, I removed all of my affiliate links a couple of years ago, but they will be returning. I am still an unsponsored blog and do not receive payment in exchange for any blog posts. I will continue purchasing all my products and sharing my honest opinions. While there is nothing wrong with sponsored content, I value the perspective I get from spending my own money on an item. If you click on an affiliate link AND make a purchase, I will receive a small sales commission. There is no additional cost for you, and the purchase price remains the same. If you see two asterisks (**), it is an affiliate link. I greatly appreciate your support if you decide to use my affiliate links to shop.

**The Memorial Day sale on MAC’s website starts Friday, May 23, and ends May 27, 2025. As usual, there are some sale exclusions, so double-check the website for the terms and conditions.

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**Connect In Color Eye Shadow Palettes, $56 for 12-pan & **$34 for 6-pan

Technically, the best-selling versions of these palettes are the Embedded in Burgundy (6-pan) and Unfiltered Nudes (12-pan) versions. I apologize if this causes frustration, especially with the 6-pan I will showcase (Nude Board), because it is only available at airport duty-free locations and, I believe, overseas. Its name also seems to differ (Intimate Nudes) on the MAC UK website, but the shade names are the same as mine. I purchased mine at the Las Vegas Airport. However, since the formulas are pretty consistent across the palettes, I decided to just feature the versions that I already own. I have swatched all of the 12-pan and 6-pan versions that are currently available in the permanent range, and I really don’t think there is much variation between the palettes. There is variation from shade to shade, which can be typical of any palette, even among the same finish.

My biggest complaint is that What’s the Pointilism (bottom row, 1st shade) and Flame-Boyant (bottom row, 3rd shade) are a little weak in pigment and build slowly, but they work. The mattes blend easily, the shimmers haven’t given me any trouble with fallout, and they work with fingers or a brush. I’ve used this palette with my usual eye primers (MAC Prep and Prime 24HR, Urban Decay Primer Potion, and Milani), and it has performed well with all of them. It has also gotten along with both natural and synthetic brushes.

Update October 2, 2025: For what it’s worth, I prefer the singles eyeshadows over the Connect In Colour formula. The Connect In Colour palettes don’t list talc as an ingredient, so that could be the problem. Also, today (October 2, 2025), MAC released a new **Dazzle Collection, which rebranded some of their eyeshadow formulas. This release does have some of the older Dazzleshadow and Dazzleshadow Extreme shades, but the formula is different. The new formula doesn’t have talc in the ingredient list. I’d bet that the older single eyeshadows that still have talc won’t be far behind this reformulation.

**The Future Flame version of the Connect in Colour 12-pan palettes has been marked down to $42 for a while, so it may be excluded from the Memorial Day sale. 30% off full price would make it cheaper than its current marked-down price, so it would be better for the brand to take it off sale and give the 30% off. But we’ll see how things happen when the sale starts.

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	$ Sale Price $ 56.00 Regular Price
MAC – Connect In Colour Eye Shadow Palette: Unfiltered Nudes

**The Unfiltered Nudes 12-pan Eyeshadow Palette has the closest color scheme to the Nude Board 6-pan Eyeshadow Palette. They are both neutral palettes with a little warm and a little cool tone mixed in. Of course, the Unfiltered Nudes offers more variety.

MAC Eye shadows are notorious for swatching poorly, so I’d encourage you to test them on the eyes before writing them off. The eyeshadows in the Connect In Colour range do feel a little less dry than MAC’s older formula. However, the MAC formula is still drier and harder pressed in the pan compared to other brands, and that can make swatches perform differently. That being said, I think that MAC eyeshadows are flattering and kind to eyelid texture, and I always feel like I get a fuss-free, polished look. The formula is also easy to blend and build.

Update October 2, 2025: For what it’s worth, I prefer the singles eyeshadows over the Connect In Colour formula. The Connect In Colour palettes don’t list talc as an ingredient, so that could be the problem. Also, today (October 2, 2025), MAC released a new **Dazzle Collection, which rebranded some of their eyeshadow formulas. This release does have some of the older Dazzleshadow and Dazzleshadow Extreme shades, but the formula is different. The new formula doesn’t have talc in the ingredient list. I’d bet that the older single eyeshadows that still have talc won’t be far behind this reformulation.

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	$ Sale Price $ 34.00 Regular Price
MAC – Connect In Colour Eye Shadow Palette: Embedded in Burgundy

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**MACximal Sleek Satin Lipstick, $25

I haven’t always been the biggest fan of MAC lip formulas, but their color selection has always kept me purchasing from the brand anyway. While I like the MACximal Sleek Satin formula, the brand’s old satin formula performed better for me. The pigmentation is excellent, and the Sleek Satins are comfortable, but they move into the corners of my mouth as I wear them. The weird part is that it doesn’t look like it’s fading very much throughout wear, so where is that pigment in the corners coming from? 🤷🏽‍♀️ I haven’t heard the same complaint from other reviewers, so it seems to be my problem. I haven’t noticed it looking crazy from a distance, so that has been a plus.

Click here for my full review of the MACximal Sleek Satin formula with some Revlon, L’oreal, and NARS swatch comparisons.

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	$ Sale Price $ 25.00 Regular Price
MAC – XIMAL SLEEK SATIN LIPSTICK

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**Skinfinish Sunstruck Matte Bronzer, $35

While I’m not shocked to see this make their best sellers list, I am surprised that I no longer hear any complaints about how terrible this formula smells. I originally posted about the MAC Skinfinish Sunstruck Bronzer in March 2023. At that time, there was a lot of speculation about the safety of using the bronzer formula due to how bad it smelled. I have sensitive skin, so I never took the chance to try it on my face. However, I’ve heard nothing but good things from people about the MAC Skinfinish Sunstruck Bronzer formula since.

I often check the testers when I go to Ulta, Department Stores, and the Cosmetics Company Store, and they all still smell bad. My personal reservations aside, this is a best seller, and again, I hear a lot of people are loving this formula. My friend Lili also has dry skin and reviewed this formula on her blog, so if you want more details on performance, check her post out by clicking here.

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	$ Sale Price $ 35.00 Regular Price
MAC – SKINFINISH SUNSTRUCK MATTE BRONZER

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**Studio Fix Every-Wear All-Over Face Pen, $40

I reviewed the MAC Studio Fix Every-Wear All-Over Face Pen almost a year ago. It is somewhat of a concealer/foundation hybrid that worked better for my dry skin type as a foundation than it did as an under-eye concealer. Size-wise, think of this as a concealer rather than foundation. If you use it as a foundation, the 12 mL size won’t give you much mileage compared to the typical foundation’s standard 30 mL size. It is blurring, and I can build it up to full coverage, but it looks worse over dryness and texture when I do. I think this is long-wearing and blurring, so I understand why it would be a bestseller. Especially during the summer, I get along better with it. It just doesn’t work well for me most of the time. If I’m going to wear a matte finish, it is typically Estee Lauder Double Wear.

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	$ Sale Price $ 40.00 Regular Price
MAC – Studio Fix Every-Wear All-Over Face Pen

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**Pro Longwear Concealer, $31

MAC Pro Longwear Concealer used to be my number 1 concealer. Yes, even with my dry skin, this concealer used to be the only one that I would use. But that all changed when I discovered the Dior Forever Skin Correct Concealer (the original fragrance-free formula). Despite being dry, I loved the high coverage, long wear, and self-setting ability of the Pro Longwear Concealer. Unfortunately, as I got older, I got drier and moved to drier climates. I moved from the south to the Midwest, and then from the Midwest to New England. So the aspects of this concealer that make it great no longer work for me. I know this for sure, because I recently revisited this concealer. It is still a top performer, but too dry for me, and I should’ve known better.

As you may have heard me mention, most days I wear makeup for about 10 hours. This starts to look dry around hour 4, but is still passable. At around 8 hours, however, the concealer cracks and separates. My dry skin steals what little moisture the concealer may have, which is to be expected. There are other matte concealers that I can’t wear for that long without cracking (Huda Beauty, One Size). It also doesn’t leave me feeling dry the next day, so it still performs better than many matte formulas. So it’s still good, just not good for me.

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	$ Sale Price $ 31.00 Regular Price
MAC – Pro Longwear Concealer

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What is your favorite underrated MAC product? If you don’t use MAC, what’s your favorite underrated product from any brand?

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If you’d like to check out more of my content, here are some places to start. 

• Blush Index
• Brands A-Z
• Bronzer & Highlighter Index
• Brush Index
• Concealer Ranking
• Eyeshadow Index
• Foundation Round-Up
• Lipstick Index
• Makeup Storage and Organization Ideas
• My Favorite Makeup
• Powder Round-Up

Disclaimer:  I purchased all products featured with my own money.  This site receives a minimal commission from participating in the WordAds program and using affiliate links (marked with **).  For my full disclosure policy, click here.