ROT′TEN STONE. See Tripoli.
ROUGE. Syn. Toilet rouge; Rouge vegetal, Rouge d’Espagne, Fr. Prep. Wash safflower (any quantity) until the water comes off colourless; dry and pulverise it, and digest the powder in a weak solution of crystallised carbonate of soda; then place some fine cotton-wool at the bottom of a porcelain or glass vessel, pour the filtered tinctorial solution on this, and throw down the colouring matter, by gradually adding lemon juice or white-wine vinegar, until it ceases to produce a precipitate; next wash the prepared cotton in pure cold water, and dissolve out the colour with a fresh solution of soda; to the new
solution add a quantity of finely powdered talc or French chalk, proportionate to the intended quality of rouge; mix well, and precipitate with lemon juice, as before; lastly, collect the powder, dry it with great care, with as little heat as possible, and triturate it with a very small quantity of oil of olives, to render it smooth and adhesive.
Obs. According to the best authorities, this is the only article which will brighten a lady’s complexion without injuring the skin. The relative fineness and proportion of talc employed determines the quality of the rouge. It is applied by means of a camel-hair pencil, a small ‘powder puff,’ or a hare’s foot. It is also employed under the form of ‘pommade’ and ‘crepons.’ The last of these consist of pieces of white woollen crape, upon which the colouring matter of the carthamus has been precipitated, instead of upon the talc, noticed above.
The following articles also pass under the name of rouge, and are used for the purposes named after each:—
Rouge, Brown-red. Jeweller’s rouge.
Rouge, Chinese Card. This is said to be a ‘carthamate of soda,’ it is colourless when applied, but, being decomposed by the acid secretions of the skin, acquires a most beautiful rose-like tint. (O’Shaughnessy.)
Rouge, Jeweller’s. Sesquioxide of iron prepared by calcination. Used to polish gold, &c.
Rouge, Liquid. The red liquid left from the preparation of carmine; or a solution of carmine in weak carbonate of potash water, or of pure rouge in alcohol acidulated with acetic acid.
Rouge, Indienne. The terra persica, or Indian red; imported from Ormuz.