Laura Mercier Gilded Garden Shimmer Bloc

I've been admiring this Laura Mercier Gilded Garden Shimmer Bloc for too long and it's time to, well, I don't want to say deflower but given how this compact powder looks I guess the word is somewhat appropriate ^.^ I fell for this Gilded Garden the moment I saw it, and I'm not even a fan of Laura Mercier's regular line up of the Shimmer Blocs! In fact, I usually don't even go for these pricey compacts, because honestly, their prices can get very repulsive and when they're that ridiculous, any beauty the compacts may have is quickly lost on me. I guess I have a rigid judgment of worth, and I have a strongly help opinion that while luxury brands can make very beautiful and quality items, a big percentage of that absurd pricing is to prop up their brand names and does not speak so much for the quality of the items. 

That is not to say this Gilden Garden compact is not pricey. It was, though not as pricey as a compact this pretty can get. Is this a bullshit excuse to cover my guilty conscience or what? :P 

All pictures taken indoor with flash, unless otherwise noted.

This is a baked powder but is surprisingly soft and smooth! And although I'm still not interested in the other Shimmer Blocs, this got me curious of their texture and I find myself wondering if they're just as soft and smooth. I haven't actually worn this yet and have only played around with it for the swatches and what not, but as far as I can tell, it's pigmented and is definitely not just a shimmer powder. It's more like a shimmery blush, though when I was swatching the colors, I forgot to do a comprehensive swatch with all 4 colors swirled together. Sorry! When all 4 colors are mixed, the result is a very pretty and shimmery neutral pink. 

- Upper left flower: metallic pearl, low intensity. A cool carnation pink with gold iridescent sheen. This makes a really pretty eye shadow color too!
- Upper right flower: metallic peal, low intensity. A pinky milk chocolate color.
- Background: metallic, translucent pink beige. Makes a great eye shadow base and highlighter too!
- Bottom middle flower: metallic, medium intensity. A bright cool pink with some fuchsia.