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Vermilion is red crystalline mercuric sulphide. Is was orange-red in color and was used on this lips. Vermilion was long lasting, and the most popular fusus of the time. However, it actually ate into the skin and could only be used for as long as the flesh actually remained. Other alternatives to vermilion were less permanent, and typically made by mixing cochineal ( a red dye made derived from a plant-eating insect), milk of green figs, white from a hard-boiled egg, alum, and gum arabic. |
