Red Kiss: Lipstick Chemistry or Colored with Crushed Bugs

Red Kiss #35

For sometime now, Eric has been telling me that lipstick is made with cochineal, the bug cultivated by Zapotecs in the Oaxaca valley, and prized as a natural colorant for cotton, wool, Colonial frescoes and lip stain.   Today, I was playing around with my Estee Lauder Signature Lipstick #35 Rich Red and thought, gee, I wonder what is really in this stuff?  Of course, there is no ingredients list on that shiny golden container.  Where would they put it?  A Google search brought no immediate answers.  I get on the Live Chat to Estee Lauder and Chatter Melissa tells me she can’t answer the question and refers me to a phone number: 1-866-378-3301 and email consumercare-us@gcc.esteelauder.com

I call, asking a simple question and wanting a simple answer: What are the ingredients for Lipstick #35 Rich Red?   What is your concern? the young female voice greets me.  I don’t have a concern, I say. What exactly are you looking for? she says.  (She seems to be anticipating a problem.)  I just want to know what makes up the red color in this lipstick.  She says she will need to look at a product catalog and get back to me.  I am on hold.   After what seems to be several minutes, she gets back on and tells me that the lipstick is colored with carmine, plus a bunch of other things I don’t understand or recognize.  But what the heck.  I like this lipstick.

Bingo.  Carmine is the commercial name for cochineal.  So, whatever else is in that lipstick, I do know that it is colored with crushed bugs.

Okay, now in the interests of consumer health, I received an e-mail from the above consumercare group and their reply lists the ingredients below.  Would any chemists like to weigh-in with an analysis.  If you look way down there toward the bottom, you’ll see lonely, little carmine.  Who knows what the other stuff is?

Signature Lipstick #35 Rich Red by Estee Lauder:   INGREDIENTS: TRIDECYL TRIMELLITATE [] CAPRYLIC/CAPRIC/MYRISTIC/STEARIC TRIGLYCERIDE [] DIPENTAERYTHRITYL TETRABEHENATE/POLYHYDROXYSTEARATE [] POLYETHYLENE [] BIS-DIGLYCERYL POLYACYLADIPATE-2 [] BARIUM SULFATE [] OZOKERITE [] BUTYROSPERMUM PARKII (SHEA BUTTER) [] VP/EICOSENE COPOLYMER [] CAPRYLIC/CAPRIC TRIGLYCERIDE [] TOCOPHERYL ACETATE [] CALCIUM ALUMINUM BOROSILICATE [] OLEA EUROPAEA (OLIVE) FRUIT EXTRACT [] TRITICUM VULGARE (WHEAT BRAN) EXTRACT [] HORDEUM VULGARE (BARLEY) EXTRACT\EXTRAIT D’ORGE [] TRITICUM VULGARE (WHEAT) GERM EXTRACT [] METHYL GLUCOSE SESQUISTEARATE [] ASTROCARYUM MURUMURU SEED BUTTER [] OCTYLDODECYL NEOPENTANOATE [] POLYMETHYL METHACRYLATE [] CHOLESTEROL [] MICROCRYSTALLINE WAX\CERA MICROCRISTALLINA\CIRE MICROCRISTALLINE [] GLYCERYL BEHENATE/EICOSADIOATE [] SORBITAN ISOSTEARATE [] DI-PPG-3-MYRISTYL ETHER ADIPATE [] LAURYL PCA [] BEHENIC ACID [] HYDROXYSTEARIC ACID [] PVP/HEXADECENE COPOLYMER [] LINOLEIC ACID [] SQUALANE [] TIN OXIDE [] POTASSIUM SULFATE [] VANILLIN [] SYNTHETIC FLUORPHLOGOPITE [] FRAGRANCE (PARFUM) [] POLYETHYLENE TEREPHTHALATE [] SILICA [] CALCIUM SODIUM BOROSILICATE [] ACRYLATES COPOLYMER [] [+/- MICA [] TITANIUM DIOXIDE (CI 77891) [] YELLOW 6 LAKE (CI 15985) [] RED 7 LAKE (CI 15850) [] COPPER POWDER (CI 77400) [] IRON OXIDES (CI 77491, CI 77492, CI 77499) [] MANGANESE VIOLET (CI 77742) [] RED 6 (CI 15850) [] YELLOW 5 LAKE (CI 19140) [] RED 22 LAKE (CI 45380) [] RED 30 LAKE (CI 73360) [] CARMINE (CI 75470) [] BISMUTH OXYCHLORIDE (CI 77163) [] RED 33 LAKE (CI 17200) [] RED 28 LAKE (CI 45410) [] YELLOW 10 LAKE (CI 47005) [] BRONZE POWDER (CI 77400) [] BLUE 1 LAKE (CI 42090)]