60 JOURNAL OF THE SOCIETY Most colorists in the cosmetic trade have trouble obtaining the same color in successive batches of a product. Two lots made with iden- tical ingredients and used in identi- cal proportions may yet vary in final color. This variation is especially probable when mixed colorants are employed that are largely insoluble in the vehicles used--for one reason, because of differences in the degree of dispersion of the colorant in each batch. For example, suppose a red and an orange pigment were used in a lipstick base, if in one run 95% of the red pigment and 90% of the orange pigment were dispersed, and' in the succeeding run 88% of the OF COSMETIC CHEMISTS red pigment and 95% of the orange pigment were dispersed the two batches would not appear alike in color even though the same weighed amounts of pigment were used. Similar effects are possible in cake powder mixtures. The wettability, texture and oil absorption of the colorant and oth,er ingredients are additional influencing factors. With soluble dyes the final color effect is influenced by the solubility, concen- tration, and capillarity features of the colorant. Color matching is very definitely an art, and the man who does color matching of cosmetics must be a highly skilled artisan.