Pigment pigment derived from a parasitic insect found in Central and South America—attained great status and value in Europe. Produced from harvested, dried, and crushed cochineal insects, carmine could be—and still is—used in fabric dye, food dye, body paint, or—in its solid lake form—almost any kind of paint or cosmetic. According to Diana Magaloni, the Florentine Codex contains a variety of illustrations with multiple variations of the red pigments. Specifically in the case of "achiotl (light red)," technical analysis of the paint reveals multiple layers of the pigment although the layers of the pigment is not visible to the naked eye.
Alumina effect pigment Alumina effect pigment An alumina effect pigment is a pearlescent pigment based on alumina (aluminium oxide). In the first step of the production process, AlO (Aluminium oxide) flakes with a very smooth surface are formed. The flakes are produced using a crystal growth process. They are formed in the corundum structure (α-AlO). The desired flake shape is achieved by controlled crystal growth in the axial and equatorial directions. The color purity and transparency of the effect pigments obtained by coating the AlO flakes with metal oxides can be attributed to the synthesis procedure yielding single-crystalline thin flakes The coating of