Connect in Colour Eyeshadow

MAC describes their latest formula as "one-swipe, pure pigment payoff" with a "lightweight, silky-smooth texture" that has eight-hour wear (well, at least they're realistic!). They actually state that the formula has "up to 25% higher pigment load." Can't say that seemed true in practice, though.

The new formula is thinner, more powdery or drier, and less pigmented than prior MAC formulas, which have been inconsistent at best in the last few years. The matte shades were semi-opaque to opaque, typically buildable, and fairly blendable, while the shimmers were drier with poor adhesion, fallout, and were particularly prone to fading.

In the past, sometimes MAC's formula didn't swatch as well as it performed, often being a particularly buildable and blendable formula without being powdery, but I did not find performance to be better than swatches and it was often a little worse. In a time when so many brands are pushing metallics to the next level in terms of intensity, it is interesting to see MAC's shimmers worsen over time -- and they don't seem like they're actually trying to go for a more satin-like sheen, they're just... weak metallics.

Some of the mattes lasted as long as eight hours on me, while some were closer to six to seven hours. Most of the shimmers lasted six hours on me with a couple lasting longer and shorter.