National Lipstick Day 2025: Strange, And Surprising Adventures Of The World’s Favourite Beauty Ritual

Tuesday, July 29, 2025, 12:42

Lipstick has coloured more than just lips over the centuries, it's tinted history, law, art, and more. On National Lipstick Day, let's skip the usual beauty talk and dip into the truly unexpected. From ancient courtrooms to art studios, here are some of the weirdest, most wonderful stories where lipstick stole the show.

Photo Credit: Freepik

Back in Time: Lipstick Laws And Bronze Age Glam

Long before bullet tubes and glossy swipes, lipstick already had a story. Archaeologists recently discovered what might be the world's oldest lipstick-a tiny carved vial from Bronze Age Iran. It held a red mineral paste made from iron-rich rock, wax, and even shimmer particles. That's not far off from some of today's natural formulas, minus the marketing.

Fast-forward to Ancient Greece, where lipstick was legally reserved for sex workers. Seriously. Red lips were mandatory for prostitutes, and if they dared step outside without it, they could be fined for pretending to be "respectable."

In Medieval England, lipstick wasn't just frowned upon-it was feared. Women who wore makeup were thought to be channeling dark forces. By the 1700s, using lipstick, high heels or false teeth to "trick" a man into marriage could, in theory, get the marriage annulled. Some even saw it as a kind of witchcraft. So yeah, that red swipe? It wasn't always seen as harmless.

The Curious Case Of The Lipstick Curler

In the 1940s, someone decided the world needed a lipstick stamp. Enter "Glamour Lips," a lip-shaped metal gadget that looked like a tiny eyelash curler. You'd coat it in lipstick, align it with your mouth, and press-voilà! Perfectly outlined lips without lifting a pencil. Decades later, beauty collectors revived the tool, and TikTok got a new obsession. Spoiler: it actually kind of works, though it's not for the faint of heart.

Lipstick As Sculpture: The Stacy Greene Series

In the early '90s, photographer Stacy Greene started collecting and photographing used lipsticks-not the shiny kind, but the ones ground down by years of use. Each lipstick had a name and a personality. Some were sharp and slanted, others stubby and soft. When the photos resurfaced recently, people connected with them in weirdly emotional ways. "I'm a Linda kind of girl," one person commented, choosing their lipstick shape like it was a star sign. Turns out, your lipstick isn't just a tool, it might be a mirror.

Painting With Kisses

Houston-based artist Natalie Irish doesn't use brushes. She uses her lips. Literally. She applies lipstick, kisses a canvas over and over again, and the result? Uncannily detailed portraits of icons like Marilyn Monroe and Jimi Hendrix. Every mark is a kiss. Every shade, a layer. Her art is a mashup of beauty, identity, and raw effort-and it gives lipstick a whole new kind of permanence.

Buffalo Sauce Balm? Guy Fieri Says Yes

This one's almost too wild to believe. For National Lipstick Day 2025-which also happens to fall on National Chicken Wing Day, Guy Fieri teamed up with Revlon to create a limited-edition lipstick balm called Flavortown. Inspired by his signature buffalo wing sauce (yes, really), the balm came in a bold coral shade and smelled like vanilla. No, it didn't taste like wings. But it did come with flame and sauce-themed stickers. It sold out in days and probably made more headlines than any lipstick in recent memory.

Colour, Character, And A Bit Of Chaos

Lipstick has always been more than a finishing touch. It's been a marker of status, a source of rebellion, a tool of expression, and even a touch of comedy. From ancient tombs to makeup kits stamped with flames, these stories remind us that lipstick is loaded-with history, personality, and the occasional splash of hot sauce.