A pearlescent pigment, wherein the pigment is an inorganic material and the color of a homogeneous coating of the pigment, measured over a black background has a CIELAB hue angle, h.sub.ab, from about 40 to about 320 degrees, wherein L* is from about 35 to about 80, and the chroma value is less than 5. A substrate is coated with iron oxide by oxidizing an iron salt to form a pigment. The pigment may be made by a process of coating iron oxide on a substrate by oxidizing an iron salt. During the coating of the iron oxide, the pH of the mixture is increased. The coating formed has a Fe(III)/Fe(II) ratio of greater than 2. The pigments may be used in a variety of applications including coating, ink, plastic, and cosmetic compositions.