Fire Mountain's "Mica Polished Pigments"?

I'm an admitted craft supply addict. If it has something to do with a craft I'm interested in-- and especially if it's also sparkly, shiny or otherwise "fancy"-- I want it. I don't necessarily run out and buy it, but it's definitely on my radar. (g)

So, of course I was intrigued when I saw a new product in the Fire Mountain Gems catalog, some time ago. "Mica Polished Pigments" look like they're similar to Pearl-Ex Powdered Pigments, but I haven't read any reviews of them, so I'm just speculating.

The colors of the Polished Pigments in the catalog are more vivid than those on the website... I think it's because the ones on the website have the lids on (most of them), so you can't really see the colors as well. I like some of the colors they offer, but they're not exactly cheap-- (according to my catalog) $20.51 for a set of four 10-gram jars. (You do get a better price if you buy more than 14 items at one time-- about $15.70-- and if you buy 200+ items, the price goes down to $11.66. I wish I had a group of local beaders to "go in with" on bead orders. I don't think I'll ever buy that much at once by myself, so I'll never be able to take advantage of the bulk purchase price.)

Well, it's still fun to look, and I am curious if anyone's tried them and has compared them to Pearl-Ex or Powdered Pearls.

Speaking of Powdered Pearls-- I was sad to read several months ago that the creator of Powdered Pearls, Sandy Lemons, passed away in July of last year. According to this page, her daughter and son-in-law were planning to continue the business (Lemon Tree... Etcetera). I wonder if that's still in the works, as at least one on-line shop I visit still has most of the Powdered Pearls listed as "out of stock", and I can't locate the business' webpage. I would certainly understand if they had a change of heart, but it was an excellent product, and I'm sorry to see it disappearing.