A Sennelier extra soft pastel is composed of high quality pure pigment grounded with a natural transparent binder. The high quality composition of “à l’écu” pastels is the result of a perfect balance between binder and pigment. For gradient shades, increasing amounts of mineral fines are added, ultimately tending towards white. The exceptional brightness is the result of the pigment and of the natural mineral fines discovered by Sennelier in 1905 and that have been used ever since.