NARS The Happening is a limited edition spring palette that caught my eye because it has both eye and cheek products in a slim compact with a large mirror. It was one of the few products I was determined to get, but it was unavailable in every Nordstrom I visited. Luckily it was in stock on Amazon, from the merchant bluemercury. Blue Mercury shops are everywhere, and customer feedback was A-ok, so I placed the order. It sold at retail price, US $65, which was great because other merchants are now selling it upwards of $80-100.

It comes in the usual classy but fingerprint-attracting matte rubber NARS packaging. The size is actually perfect for tossing into a purse or makeup pouch. It's smaller but a wee bit thicker than the Sleek eye palette.


Ingredients: lots of talc all up in this joint. You get 1 g each of eyeshadow, and 4.3 g each of the blush and the bronzer.

• Orgasm blush - the ubiquitous NARS blush, peachy pink with fine gold shimmer. I've not swatched other palettes but this Orgasm is reportedly true to the original, unlike the Orgasm in the Fourplay palette for example. Gives a very pretty, subtle glow.
• Laguna bronzer - another NARS favorite, brown bronzer with some gold microshimmer.
• Night Star - very light beige with lots of glitter. I tried this as a lid wash but it doesn't really show up as such. It serves better as a shimmery highlighter.
• Gstaad (shtaud or guh 'shtaud) - shimmery taupe brown shade that is exclusive to this palette. This has a better, smoother formula with less fallout than the other two shimmer shades.
• Kuala Lumpur - a purply berry shade with large glitters that can produce terrible fallout. I like the color but not the formula.
• Coconut Grove - a matte dark brown that is absolutely silky, perfect for the outer V.

Neutral eyes are what I do best. (Just kidding, they're the ONLY thing I can do hrrr.) Gstaad on the lid, Coconut Grove on the crease and outer V.

The lighting is kind of harsh here in the mountains but here are Orgasm and Laguna. As you can probably tell, this is the first time I have used a bronzer. I  have a natural darkish stripe running from my tragus to the edge of my cheek (naksss ~*natural*~ contour daw??), so I've never done this in my life.

I think LORAC has spoiled me in terms of eyeshadow formula. With the the exception of Coconut Grove, these NARS shadows have disappointed me in their pigmentation. It's mostly glitter; you have to layer the shade on. Strange that the lone matte in this palette performs better than any of the shimmers.

Nonetheless, this really great for travel, being that I can just bring a base, lip color, and this palette and I'm set for the entire trip. Which is exactly what I've done above. Plus, the packaging is robust enough that I feel it can withstand being knocked around in my purse my traveling. The eyeshadows make for a great neutral eye, with Kuala Lumpur giving a pop of color if so desired. I love how glowy Orgasm is, and I can totally wear Gstaad + Coconut Grove on a daily basis. NARS The Happening Eye and Cheek Palette is limited edition Spring 2013 but I believe Blue Mercury still has it in stock at the retail price of US $65.