The Calisha range is made up of a selection of pigments including oil-dispersible (OD) pearls, inorganic oxides and organic lake pigments - all said to have unique qualities that allow for a more enhanced cosmetics performance.

Global head of home and personal care at Ciba, Catherine Ehrenberger, stated, "Our OD pearl pigments, created by a unique Ciba process, provide opportunities for new formulation approaches and offer a wide range of transparency and coverage so that today's colour cosmetics can meet the demands of today's consumer".

Hoping to make in-roads into the colour cosmetics market with the launch of the range, the company has stated that the innovative products offer the consumer a brighter, longer-lasting colour with enhanced emollience.

OD pearl pigments are said to be beneficial to the overall performance due to their ability to disperse quickly in the oil phase of formulation, therefore reducing dusting, in-turn minimizing cross-contamination of the colours.

The pearls can then be compressed easily into powders, enhancing the deposition of colour on the skin - with the company introducing three effect pigment lines into the collection.

The first, the Romance collection, consists of soft colours that offer coverage and opacity, with the Contemporary collection offering a warmer colour range that uses a larger particle size in order to give a more covered effect.

However, it is the Art Deco collection that uses the largest OD pearl pigments, designed to give off a bold and colourful finish that has a sparkling effect, giving an 'evening' look.

"The larger particle OD peals allow light to pass through, lending less opacity and creating a more pronounced visual 'pop' on the skin" a spokesperson said.

The Ciba colour collection will be on display at the forthcoming In-Cosmetics 2007, held in Paris in April.