M.A.C Pro Palette Large/Duo: Photos and Review

***This palette is currently on sale for $8 USD/ $10USD.

I am a huge fan of eyeshadow palettes and often purchase a couple every year during the post-holiday sales. However, the problem with palettes is that the appeal of the fancy packaging slowly fades over time and all that's left are pretty eyeshadows I rarely reach for because they are all stashed away in a bulky and clumsy palette.
When I first started blogging, I did a DIY eyeshadow palette using small metal tampon tins. The idea is great for travelling but I couldn't fit many eyeshadows in there so I decided to invest in an actual palette. Believe me when I say I did a lot of research before I decided on the MAC one, because as you may know, there are many options out there:

1. Make Up For Ever Magneted Palette:
This appears to be the sleekest yet largest of all the empty palettes on the market, unfortunately, its availability is very limited. You can only find it on a few online stores and special Make Up For Ever stores.
2. Uni Palette:
The design of this one is undeniably cute but it holds very few shadows and has a hefty price tag ($29 plus shipping).
3. Z Palette:
This one appears to be the most popular one but I just can't justify purchasing cardboard palettes with tacky designs for $20 plus shipping.
4. MAC Palettes:
MAC palettes are the only ones widely available in stores. They offer various sizes and you have the option of purchasing inserts fitted for MAC shadows.

Anyways, let's move on to the review:

I bought the "Large/Duo" Palette ($30), it is ~18cm long, 11cm wide, and 2.5cm thick.

The design is very simple and classic, the outside is made of a "velvety" matte plastic material (similar to NARS packaging) that easily picks up smudges and fingerprints, so that's definitely a downside. It has a magnetic closure that feels very secure.

As you can see from the above picture, you can store shadows on both sides of the palette and they are separated by a clear plastic flap that you can flip around depending which side you want to access.
The inside of the palette is magnetic in that it will stick to a magnet but the inside itself is not a magnet, which means that you need to attach magnet strips to the bottom of all your shadows.

I bought a roll of magnetic strip with adhesives from Michael's for $4 and stuck some to all of my depotted shadows.
Overall, I do like the palette, I like that fits a lot of shadows (I managed to fit about five palettes worth of shadows in mine). What I don't like is how thick the palette is. I guess the design allows you to store dome shaped powder products in there but it's not much use to me. I also really wished the inside of the palettes were magnetic in that it will directly attract the shadows. Lastly, I don't think the palette is travel friendly because unless you get some super strong magnets, the shadows will probably flop around if the palette is not handled with care.
I think $30CAD/$25USD is overpriced for what it is, but compared to the price of other palettes out on the market, it's not too bad at all.
Anyways, I hope this post was helpful, do you depot your shadows? If so, where do you store them?

***This palette is currently on sale for $8 USD/ $10USD.