My first makeup brand love was NARS. After reading through countless blogs and reviews, the first items I bought for myself on intentional trips to the makeup counter were an eyeshadow trio (Ramatuelle), a lipstick from their sheer range (Vendanges), and of course, the ever-famous blush in Orgasm. All are still favorites, so I’m patting myself on the back for those awesome purchases.
Fast forward to today, and I’ve flirted with a lot of new products. This blog doesn’t get a lot of NARS love just because I got them prior to starting this blog. From time to time, though, I will get an itch that only NARS can scratch, and a particular instance of this was when the Spring 2013 palettes came out.
Introducing the And God Created the Woman Set! I got suckered in because of the awesome name, but I got it because it’s a beautiful neutral palette with such a great value (you’ll see why).
The Spring Gifting Collection (?) for 2013 has two palettes, if I’m not mistaken. The other palette is called “The Happening,” and it has a pretty nice neutral quad, too, as well as a blush pan in Orgasm, and a bronzer in Laguna. I actually wanted that as well, but I didn’t want another Orgasm blush since I haven’t hit pan on mine yet. So, I got this one instead. Also, as I said, the name is awesome.
The set comes with a six-pan neutral palette, an eye shader brush (no. 3), and a sample size of their Pro-Prime Smudgeproof Eyeshadow base, which is amazing in itself.
The colors and some hopefully accurate descriptions:
- Alhambra — shimmery pale champagne, great for a highlight or a very light wash on the lid
- Belissima — matte neutral-cool taupe
- Kalahari — shimmery pale cool gold with shifts of peach and pink, depending on the light
- Galapagos — matte chocolate brown base shot through with copper and gold flecks
- Coconut Grove — matte neutral brown with a bit of dark grey
- Night Clubbing — matte black base with a smattering of olive and gold fine glitter, and a really unfortunate name
I think all the shades are available in their permanent line, either in duos or as singles, but I don’t have any of these shades yet. So, if you don’t have them either, it’s a nice little neutral sampler pack from NARS.
Swatches, clockwise from top left: Alhambra, Bellisima, Kalahari, Night Clubbing, Coconut Grove, Galapagos
The texture is amazing, as can be expected from NARS eyeshadows. Though Night Clubbing and Galapagos seem to have an overwhelming amount of glitter, bordering on Cullen territory, they are actually quite nice on the eye and catch a little bit of the light here and there.
Ugh, I totally love the name. I’m just lucky that the product is awesome. Imagine if it sucked and I just bought it for the name!
If you’re not familiar with NARS compacts, the texture is a bit like rubberized plastic. It’s really beautiful. When it’s clean.
This is the brush, which is the number 3 brush. It’s quite big. The bristles look like that because I had just cleaned it. It’s an alright brush, nothing special. I prefer my MAC 239, even though it’s a lot smaller. This fits the NARS Palette pans quite nicely, though.
This is the sample size of the primer, next to the full sized primer. NARS’ eye primer is one of my favorites. It is also preferred by Ingrid of Miss Glamorazzi (on YT) and Christine of Temptalia.
For the first look, here is my over-powered face. 😦 It’s the same bunch of pictures I posted for my Pearlmatte Powder review, but I darkened it a bit because it looks so bad next to the other look down below.
I have on Kalahari (lid and browbone), Galapagos (liner) & Coconut Grove (crease).
For this other look, which I wore today, here is my attempt at an attention-hungry cat-eye wing thing.
On my lids (up to the browbone), I have Alhambra. Over the ‘mobile’ lid (under the crease), I have Bellisima, and on the crease, I have Coconut Grove. I think I smudged a bit of Galapagos on the lower lashline, and used Rich Coffee from the Laura Mercier Artist’s Palette for Eyes to line my waterline.
I’ve also included some size comparisons to their other compacts, just so you can see how small it is. I think a great number of people were surprised at the size, but I quite like it a lot. It’s easier to travel with than some of the other palettes I own. I think this would actually be quite useful to bring along if you go on holiday and don’t want to bring a whole traincase with you because, well, who does that?
L-R: NARS Duo in Habanera, NARS Trio in Delphes, NARS And God Created the Woman palette
If you notice, the pans in this palette are smaller than the duos and trios. They remind me of the size of theBalm’s Nude ‘Tude Palette pan sizes. I think they’re a pretty good size.
Here is is with a NARS blush thrown into the mix (the grotty one). They’re actually just all the same size, but you know, the more you know and all that jazz.
VERDICT: Awesome neutral palette, in a variety and size great for traveling. Brush and primer are a plus, and easy to take along. Pro-tip: keep the box, as it has nice sections for all of the components of the set.
How much? $59.
Will I repurchase? It’s limited edition, so I doubt I will be able to still find it when I run out of the shadows. Thankfully, the shades are all available permanently (top three as duos, the bottom three as singles), so I can just pick a favorite.
Where to get? I got mine from Sephora, but it is also available on Space NK.
Softly Sometimes 
My favorite UK blogger just reviewed this, and I wanted it right after watching her video! It’s soooo nice. But way out of my budget right now. 😦
Which! I want to know! Is this Kate/gh0stparties? I think if you’re on the hunt for neutrals, UD’s Naked or Naked 2 or the Naked Basics are all such a good value for what they cost. Anyway, I don’t think these will sell out soon, though. Fingers crossed!
Love it, especially the shade Galapagos. The name is the coolest… Agreed! Lovely looks ❤
I love Galapagos, too! ❤ It's the name of the first Kurt Vonnegut book I read. 🙂 Thank you! ❤
I’m eyeing the “The Happening” palette because I don’t have that bronzer and blush yet. This looks quite nice as well, but right now I’d like to branch away from neutrals.
I know what you mean. I didn’t realize I had so much neutrals. ;_;
Is the second look from today’s (or yesterday’s) FOTD? I love it. I think you consistently make very smart picks when trying out new brands or expanding your collection.
I used to work on NARScosmetics.com (though a fan of the brand prior) and I basically wanted everything they had. And had to look at it every day. Some of my purchases came from having stared at the product so long before launch that on launch day, I would just buy the product to test that the site was working and then…not cancel the order.
It’s from today/Sunday! Thank ya. 🙂 I think I have a buying problem, but I can’t figure out if I am a hoarder (as of now, I don’t think so) or if it’s the effect of being an “Internet person” who is newly introduced to makeup, and being saturated in blog news and swatches and FOTDs and vlogs. I mean, I can kind of get the information I need about a product or a brand and figure out online shop systems pretty easily, so IDK. Wow, that was long. I just meant to say “thank you I appreciate it because it makes me feel good that I spend my money somewhat wisely; at least in someone’s eyes.”
ALSO AGH. It all makes sense now! I was so surprised you got Outremer! It’s a beautiful shade, but not really something a “casual consumer” gets. Hee, that’s awesome, though. If I had to work for a makeup brand, one of my top picks would be NARS. Did you get anything from the Andy Warhol collection? I’m currently trying to resist the new Satin Lip Pencils, but there are so many pretty shades!
Hahaha it might be the latter! I think if you were a hoarder there would be no rhyme or reason to your purchases. I really had to take a step back with which beauty blogs I read, because they were instilling such a burning need in me to buy all the things. So now I live vicariously through people like you, and it’s great because the quality of your purchases justifies them, even if they may be a lot. What I like about your blog though is it feels inclusive, rather than persuasive. Instead of being like “I got these things they’re AWSUM so you should too,” you’re more, “I got a package! Let’s unbox it and go through it together.” Which definitely helps with the temptation to buy. If that made any sense!
I did not get anything from Andy Warhol 😦 . I’m torn on the Satin Lip Pencils – the colors are beautiful, but I have some velvet gloss pencils and it’s really dismaying how much product gets shaved off on each sharpen. Maybe it won’t be as bad with a more solid/less melty formula like the Satin Lip? Right now the product waste is a dealbreaker for me, especially at $25 (more for us, probably!). I will just try not to read the reviews and cuddle my Pure Matte Lipsticks to my chest if my resolve wavers. At least those are twist ups!
So true, I stopped reading some of them who just post so much and who post primarily reviews. That’s why I like yours so much, because you don’t limit yourself to accumulating products and reviewing them! You actually look for ways to use them, even in ways they aren’t intended to be used. 😀
LOL I just got a lipgloss. I swatched the sets and they weren’t really for me. I have the matte lip pencils huhu. I wish they did twist-ups instead, although I’m kind of relieved that I don’t have to feel like I “need” to get those Satin ones. At least not right now/right away.
Want. This. Badly. Oh NARS has the best names. Alhambra, Galapagos– I think I buy NARS partly for the names. Good thing the product lives up to them :p
I know, except for Night Clubbing, lol. That’s an unfortunate one. I don’t like their “risque” names either; especially Deep Throat though I find Orgasm the right kind/amount of cheeky.
Cheeky is a good word! It can be fun to talk about those two blushes, though Deep Throat is pushing it a bit (see what I mean @_@). I’m really in love with the name Alhambra because of Eric Gamalinda’s Las Ruinas del Corazon too. WAH. Names aside, the colors also look gorgeous – a really convenient and portable palette for everyday on the go. How would you compare it to Naked 1 though? Do you think the colors are very similar, or are they a nice complement? #enabler
It’s definitely comparable, but not really the same. The two matte shades in Naked (Naked & Buck) are on the lighter, warmer side, while the ones in this NARS one are more grey, taupe-y, cool brown tones. I don’t think you necessarily need it, but it’s nice to have, IMHO.
Thanks for that! That’s a really useful comparison 😀 P.S. your fist is still my wallpaper @.@ your photos are so pretty pa!
Glad it helped! 🙂
LOL I should work for PR & marketing beauty products :))
Thanks for the great review. I’ve been contemplating buying this palette for the longest time. I actually had all the single shadows in my Sephora wishlist… sooo happy I didn’t purchase any of them now that I can get them all together. Love your blog too btw!
Thank you! I think this palette would be great to “test run” some of the shades. That way, when you run out, you know which ones to get more of, if any.
Thank you so much. 🙂
I love your blog! Even with the excellent comments above, though, I think you owe me $59…. as this palette may have just made its way through sephora’s online check out…. 🙂
Ack! I would say sorry, but I’m not LOL as it really is an awesome palette. I hope it gets to you soon and that you enjoy it 😀 Thanks for the kind words!
I saw vivianadoesmakeup review this and I drooled. I’m planning to buy first ever high-end neutral palette and this is one of my options. I know this isn’t really the most economical one to pick but it’s just so darn beautiful. Sigh… Oh and is it available already at the local Nars counters? Thanks!
Hi Sabs! I don’t think the local NARS counters will be carrying this. They already do currently have The Happening, if you’re also interested in that. If you can’t let this product go, you can have a look at Space NK because they deliver internationally.
P.S. You could check NARS counters, but before the items came out, the SA showed me a sheet of the products they were expecting, and this was sadly not one of them. I think it’s supposed to be a Sephora exclusive, but it’s available on Space NK as well.
l know I don’t need it, but I want it LOL, Nice Review 🙂
LOL that sounds like my constant internal monologue. Thank you!
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