Calcined Talc
Is also extensively used as a toilet powder, and is sold under various names; it is not so unctuous as the ordinary kind.
Rouge and Red Paints.
These preparations are in demand, not only for theatrical use, but by private individuals. Various shades of color are made, to suit the complexions of the blonde and brunette. One of the best kind is that termed
Bloom of Roses.
| Strong liquid ammonia, | 1/2 oz. |
| Finest carmine, | 1/4 oz. |
| Rose-water, | 1 pint. |
| Esprit de rose (triple), | 1/2 oz. |
Place the carmine into a pint bottle, and pour on it the ammonia; allow them to remain together, with occasional agitation, for two days; then add the rose-water and esprit, and well mix. Place the bottle in a quiet situation for a week; any precipitate of impurities from the carmine will subside; the supernatant "Bloom of Roses" is then to be bottled for sale. If the carmine was perfectly pure there would be no precipitate; nearly all the carmine purchased from the makers is more or less sophisticated, its enormous price being a premium to its adulteration.
Carmine cannot be manufactured profitably on a small scale for commercial purposes; four or five manufacturers supply the whole of Europe! M. Titard, Rue Grenier St. Lazare, Paris, produces, without doubt, the finest article; singular enough, however, the principal operative in the establishment is an old Englishman.
"The preparation of the finest carmine is still a mystery, because, on the one hand, its consumption being very limited, few persons are engaged in its manufacture, and, upon the other, the raw material being costly, extensive experiments on it cannot be conveniently made."—Dr. Ure.
In the Encyclopédie Roret will be found no less than a dozen recipes for preparing carmine; the number of formulæ will convince the most superficial reader that the true form is yet withheld.