Carmine is a red pigment used in lipsticks and blushes, created by boiling and crushing cochineal insects. Because it is a known allergen and not vegan, brands often hide it on ingredient labels under alternative names like Cochineal Extract, Natural Red 4, Crimson Lake, or CI 75470.

The Secret Ingredient in Your Red Lipstick

For decades, the beauty industry has relied on carmine to create vibrant red, pink, and purple cosmetics. It is a cheap, highly pigmented dye. However, as consumers become more educated about both veganism and skin allergies, the demand for carmine-free makeup has skyrocketed.

Rather than reformulate their products, many brands simply use chemical index numbers to hide the ingredient from everyday shoppers.

How to Spot Carmine on an Ingredient Deck

If you are trying to avoid animal byproducts or prevent an allergic flare-up, you must become an expert label reader. Check the bottom of your makeup's ingredient list (usually in the "May Contain" section) for these sneaky aliases:

• CI 75470: The cosmetic color index number for carmine.
• Cochineal Extract: The name of the actual insect it is derived from.
• Natural Red 4: A deceptive name that sounds harmless but refers to the bug dye.
• Crimson Lake or Carmine Lake: Terms used when the dye is mixed with a metal like aluminum.

Once you know the aliases, checking a label takes seconds,but it's still faster to start with a red that was never made from insects in the first place. Fluency's reds get their pigment from beets and radish, not CI 75470.

You Shouldn't Need a Chemistry Degree to Read Your Blush Label 

Fluency is built on the opposite approach from CI numbers and hidden aliases: total transparency. We never use insects, animal byproducts, or disguised ingredient names,, full stop.

Our reds come from beets and radish instead of cochineal. Same vibrancy, same buildability, none of the bugs. It's carmine-free by design, not by marketing claim.

Shop Carmine-Free Reds → Multisticks or Blush Palettes

Not ready to buy? Take the 30-second Shade Finder Quiz to see which carmine-free shade matches your skin tone, no email required.