Bismuth oxychloride is a white Lustorus powder, It is an inorganic white pigment commonly used in foundations, blushes and other color cosmetics. Bismuth oxychloride usually comes in two forms: diamond and pearl finishes. The diamond is shimmery and the pearl is more matte.
Bismuth is the least toxic of its periodic table neighbors like lead, tin, antimony and polonium. Bismuth in itself is not safe for use in cosmetics, and must be refined and combined with other elements to produce bismuth oxychloride.
Bismuth occurs naturally, but in very small amounts. Most of the bismuth produced in the USA is as a by-product from refining lead, tin, copper, silver and gold ores.
Once the bismuth has been harvested, it is further refined through several processes to remove dangerous elements like lead. Then it is chlorinated, which gives us bismuth chloride (BiCl3). It still poses a severe risk at this point, smelling of hydrochloric acid. When bismuth chloride is combined with water, it starts to decompose and part of the chlorine is replaced by oxygen from the water. This process is called hydrolysis. The remaining compound is bismuth, chlorine and oxygen = Bismuth oxychloride.
