| What is it? | A highly potent red-pink pigment that is derived from the cochineal beetle. |
| Appearance | You can purchase it as a brightly coloured fine powder or pre-dispersed in castor oil as a liquid dye. |
| Texture | Fine powder. |
| Scent | Nothing noticeable. |
| pH stability | Not great—it will discolour in extreme pH situations, so it’s not useful for soaps. Check this out for more info. |
| Solubility | Water, but the powder version is so fine that it can also be easily dispersed in oils and used in lipsticks and the like. |
| Why do we use it in formulations? | Its incredible colour is unmatched in hue and potency in the natural world. Swoon! |
| Do you need it? | If you want to make cosmetics and you like bright reds, purples, corals, and pinks, you need either carmine or a similarly hued FD&C red. |
| Refined or unrefined? | Refined—some readers have purchased a version much closer to beetle form, and I have no idea how you’d work with that! |
| Strengths | Incredible colour and potency. |
| Weaknesses | Not vegan, and it’s fairly pricey (though so potent that it works out fairly well in the end). |
| Alternatives & Substitutions | There are many lake dyes that are similar in hue to carmine. The potency is also quite similar, and you likely won’t notice any difference. Be sure to watch the maximum allowable lip concentration + solubility of each dye and make sure that is compatible with the formulation you are following.
You can also use red iron oxide in most places where you aren’t counting on the carmine to dissolve in water, but that will only work if you don’t actually care about the colour of the final product as they are very different colours. So, SO different! Carmine is a bright, cool pink-red, while red iron oxide is a brickish brown-red. A colour blend for purple that uses carmine will be brown if you use red iron oxide. Ditto for a colour blend for any sort of bright coral. Red iron oxide is really muddy and, well, not the same colour. At all. I’ve made several videos that show the differences between carmine and the things people usually ask me about using as alternatives—watch ’em! That way you’ll get to see carmine and the other pigments in action and get a better understanding of what I’m talking about. The most relevant ones are the Scottish Rose Salve (carmine vs. red iron oxide) and the Snow White Lip Stain videos. |
| How to Work with It | I love it in tinted lip balms, lipsticks, lip glosses, powdered cosmetics, and lip stain. In short, it’s amazing anywhere you want a bright red/pink, clear purple, or eye-catching coral hue. |
| Storage & Shelf Life | Stored somewhere cool, dark, and dry, carmine will last indefinitely. The stuff that has been pre-dispersed in castor oil will go off whenever the castor oil goes rancid, which will likely be in the 1 to 2 year range. |
| Tips, Tricks, and Quirks | Carmine has been used as a pigment by the Aztecs, and was brought to Europe in the 16th century. You’ve also likely eaten carmine—it’s often one of the “natural colours” used in foods. |
| Recommended starter amount | 10g (0.35oz) |
| Where to Buy it | In the USA, TKB Trading is a fantastic choice. In Canada, the UK, and the EU, The Aroma Shoppe is a good option. They ship out of The Netherlands, but the stuff I ordered arrived (in Canada) quickly, and shipping was cheaper than it would’ve been if I’d ordered from within Canada. The price also cannot be beat! |
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