Genuine Carmine NR4

Genuine Carmine Naccarat (NR4), made of cochineal. Cochineal comes from a tiny scale insect that lives exclusively on the Nopal Cactus. It is found in Mexico, Peru, Chile and the Canary Islands. These insects live on pads of prickly pear cacti and when brushed off and dried are then ground to produces a powdered dye.

Cochineal was first used in Central America (Mayan and Aztec) before colonization as a textile dye and is still being heavily used as a fabric and yarn dye.

Genuine Carmine is not 100% lightfast, and may fade over time in direct sunlight. Some paint manufacturers use other lightfast pigments to mimic the hue of genuine Carmine.

Pigment: NR4
Granulating: Yes +++
Lightfast: 4-5 (1 is bad, 8 is best)
Staining: no
Transparant: yes