REVIEW: Estee Lauder Modern Mercury Pure Color Illuminating Powder Gelee

Thanks to the Muse, I got a mad lemming for this Estee Lauder Pure Color Illuminating Powder Gelee in Modern Mercury.  The compact is typical for Estee Lauder's current line, pretty but a little dated in feel.  Also, maybe I am uncoordinated but the compact is a little tricky to open for me (not that I feel bad; Christine from Temptalia has to use her nails for Milani Baked Eyeshadows and I never had a problem getting those compacts open... I mean, it seems to be a common issue!). 

Swatched heavily, one-stroke with applicator, random Dior Aurora (thought they were similar, except Aurora looks matte next to Modern Mercury!)

I tried it today as a highlighter over a tinted moisturizer I am despising (Fusion Beauty Tinted Moisturizer - evens skin tone slightly and has the usual paltry SPF 15, but leaves me feeling and looking greasy quite quickly and offers ZERO coverage for my spots, of which I currently have a billion... I think even if you have perfect skin you ought to stay away!).  I used it also as an eye shadow a la the Muse.  As eyeshadow I put it over my TFSI and it's going strong even now.  It looks like it might be a dupe for MAC All That Glitters, as this girl's photos show, though in some light it looks champagne and others more rose-gold.  Either way, Estee Lauder's marketing for the Modern Mercury collection suggests that the products are supposed to have that adapting quality and it's really quite pretty. 

Cha Cha Tint adding a flush, Modern Mercury looking champagne on eyes.

Promising after 1 hour...

Spots are all so visible it's mortifying! And yet I'm posting it here, haha.

Looks like a soft rose-gold glow from this angle, but...

Highlighted PORES! Only a few hours later... Cha Cha Tint lasted but sunk into my pores.  As eyeshadow (with Clinique Black Honey Gel Liner), EL PC MM Powder Gelee is still going strong.

As a highlighter, I found this faded with my appearance of the greasies, but I think that might be due to this godawful tinted moisturizer.  Unfortunately, the tinted moisturizer has also skewed my perceptions of Benefit's new Cha Cha Tint, which I also had intended to review today.  I'll use it with a tried-and-true base tomorrow and withhold my review until then (though I can already tell you the Cha Cha tint doesn't show up on pigmented lips).

The smell of the Powder Gelee is a little strange, like potato chips obscured by flour.  The texture is certainly more of a powder than a gel, but the consistency does seem to suggest a "dampness." 
The included sponge applicator is the rare useful tool (rare for included applicators to be useful, that is, i.e. those Kat Von D applicators are garbage).  It allowed for a nice color wash across my eye area and precise application to my cheekbones.  A regular blush brush or eyeshadow brush did not play well with the powder, however.

In an attempt to thwart the pore-maginifying aspects of cheek highlighters I applied Benefit's Porefessional primer to my most lunar-like regions, but alas I believe the tinted moisturizer ruined this effort as well.  The pretty rose-gold sheen to my cheekbones has faded in little over an hour and left behind magnified pores in its wake.  It could be EL's fault, because I never have this issue with Benefit's Girl Meets Pearl...

I can confirm the Muse's suspicion that the powder-gelee appeared to regenerate slightly after use; it's as if it repositioned itself.  However, while pretty in the pan and on eyes, I think ultimately this is just a novelty product and I wouldn't purchase it again.