Ultramarines (CI 77007): Where Blue Pigment Is Allowed

That deep cobalt-blue eyeshadow or the soap swirl that looks like a summer sky almost certainly owes its color to ultramarines. It's one of the oldest pigments humans have used, originally ground from lapis lazuli, now made synthetically for cosmetics. On an ingredient list you'll see it as Ultramarines, and its color index number is CI 77007.

What it actually is

Ultramarines are a family of sodium aluminum sulfosilicate pigments. The "family" part matters because the exact shade, from violet-blue to greenish-blue to pink, comes from tweaking the sulfur content and firing process, not from different chemicals entirely. All of them share the same CI number, 77007, when filed as a cosmetic colorant. That single CI number covers a wider color range than people expect the first time they look it up.

Like most inorganic pigments, ultramarines don't have a single tidy CAS number the way a small organic molecule does. Suppliers sometimes list a CAS number tied to the general "ultramarine blue" substance, but treat it as a reference point rather than gospel, and always confirm with your supplier's documentation which one they're citing.

Where it shows up

You'll find ultramarines in:

• Eyeshadows and eyeliners (this is where restrictions get specific)
• Soap and bath products, for that classic swirl or ombre effect
• Bath bombs and bath salts
• Makeup primers and some setting powders
• Nail polish, occasionally, though mica-based pearls are more common there

It's popular because it's stable, doesn't fade in light the way some organic dyes do, and gives a genuinely rich blue that's hard to replicate otherwise.

The eye-area question

This is where ultramarines trip people up. Many jurisdictions treat colorants differently depending on whether the finished product is intended for use near the eye. A pigment that's perfectly fine in a body wash may carry additional purity requirements, or in some cases restrictions, when it's going into an eyeshadow or eyeliner formula. The logic is straightforward: eye tissue is more sensitive and any contamination in the pigment (heavy metals are the usual concern with mineral colorants) has less margin for error.

This doesn't mean ultramarines are banned near the eyes. It means the compliance bar is higher, and you need to know your product's intended use before you can say the colorant is cleared. A swirled soap bar and a cobalt eyeshadow are not the same filing question even though both use CI 77007.

What this means for a notification

When you're mapping your formula to INCI names for a filing, colorants deserve extra attention for three reasons:

1. Trade name confusion. A supplier might call their pigment "Ultra Blue 4" or something equally unhelpful. That name never goes on a filing. You need the INCI (Ultramarines) and the CI number (77007).
2. Concentration ranges. Colorants are often used at low percentages, but some markets still want a range disclosed rather than a single figure, especially if you reformulate shades often.
3. Intended use matters more than for most ingredients. As above, whether the product touches the eye area changes what "compliant" looks like.

Here's a quick reference for how ultramarines typically get documented:

Detail	Typical entry
INCI name	Ultramarines
CI number	77007
Common color range	Blue, violet-blue, pink, green
Typical use level	Low percentage, varies by desired shade intensity
Extra scrutiny	Eye-area products

A practical note for soap and color makers

If you're a small-batch maker doing swirled cold-process soap, ultramarines are usually low-risk from a compliance standpoint, since bar soap isn't an eye-area product. Where people get caught out is when they start expanding a color line into eye products, like a mineral eyeshadow side business, and assume the same sourcing and paperwork will carry over. It won't automatically. Check with your colorant supplier for eye-area suitability documentation before you reuse a soap-grade pigment in a face product.

Cosmetic Comply's ingredient matching flags colorants like this automatically, mapping trade names to CI numbers and noting when a product's intended use (eye area versus general skin) changes what needs to be checked, so it doesn't get missed between formula tweaks.