Did you guess secrets? Yes, all three were rife with secrets, but the answer I was looking for was . . . lipstick.
Queen Elizabeth 1
Some say lipstick on a woman can be deadly. Once upon a time, that was absolutely true! As mentioned in DYK Lipsticks’ Glossy Sheen Is Often Derived From Fish Scales?, early lipstick (known as lip rouge) was often made with toxic elements.
Queen Elizabeth I believed lip rouge had magical powers. She thought it not only healed sicknesses but kept evil spirits at bay. Ironically, the lead in her lip rouge slowly poisoned her, and the sicker she became, the more lip rouge she used. Rather than saving her, her lip rouge killed her.
Lipstick is often associated with the phrase, “kiss of death.” The exact origin of this phrase is unknown, though it could be related to toxic lip rouge of the past. Regardless of where it originated, the “femme fatale” phenomenon in 1940s fiction popularized the phrase’s usage.
Did You Know…
- One possible point of origin for the phrase, “kiss of death,” is Judas’ kiss, identifying and betraying Jesus to the soldiers.
- During the Renaissance period, the phrase “bacio della morte,” or “kiss of death,” was first recorded in Italian culture. It referred to Mafia members who kissed their victims before killing them.
- Queen Elizabeth I died with half an inch of lead-poisoned lip rouge on her lips.
- Kiss of Death is a 1947 film noir.
- The phrase, “kiss of death,” jumped into sports and politics in the mid-1900s.
A Serial Killer
Lipstick’s association with death emerged again in mid-1945. From then until early 1946, a serial killer walked the streets of Chicago. On the wall of his second victim’s apartment, he used lipstick to scrawl the message, “For heaven’s sake, catch me before I kill more. I cannot control myself.” Because of this, he was dubbed the “Lipstick Killer.”
In 1946, under immense public and media pressure—and several unsuccessful leads and suspects—police arrested and convicted seventeen-year-old burglar, William George Heirens. Heirens confessed to the murders; however, dubious tactics used to gain his confession, questionable evidence, a seemingly biased investigation, and an ineffective defense by his lawyers have led some people to believe he didn’t do it. (Decide for yourself, click here.)
Did You Know…
- When William Heirens died at age 83, he’d spent 65 years in prison, the longest amount of time of any Illinois prisoner.
- The Bloody Spur, a novel written by Charles Einstein about Heirens, was made into the 1956 film, While the City Sleeps.
- In 2018, the second episode of the Investigation Discovery series A Crime to Remember, focused on The Lipstick Killer case.
The Cold War
The swivel lipstick tube invented by James Bruce Mason, Jr. in 1923 made applying lipstick easy and mess-free. But it also, once again, made lipstick lethal by becoming the perfect place to conceal a deadly weapon.
During the Cold War, covert female KGB operatives carried what appeared to be a harmless tube of lipstick. However, the tube was really a single-shot, 4.5 mm caliber pistol called “The Kiss of Death” or the lipstick pistol. It was designed to be used at close range, firing when the tube was pressed into the victim.
Years ago, I visited the International Spy Museum in Washington, D.C. and saw a lipstick pistol. It had been found in West Berlin at an American checkpoint. (If you’re ever in D.C., the Spy Museum is a fascinating visit. For more information about it, click here and here.)
Did You Know…
- In the 1960s, the lipstick pistol’s classic red shade was joined by other colors, including pale pink, blinding white, and silver.
- A lipstick stun gun with flashlight is currently available for purchase from Amazon. (Click here to see it.)
Final Application
Though no longer toxic, lipstick can still be potentially dangerous for anyone bent on a life of crime. A lipstick smudge can carry the wearer’s saliva DNA. This physical evidence, whether found on a tissue, a cigarette, or a body, could, through forensic lipstick analysis, link a suspect to a crime scene.
So, the next time you apply—or watch someone else apply—lipstick, take a moment to think about its history. Who knew this simple cosmetic meant to increase beauty had such a dark tie with death and crime?