Once a strict part of airline grooming standards, the bold lipstick shade still makes appearances in the skies—and it's not just for fashion

Here’s Why So Many Flight Attendants Wear Red Lipstick

I fly in a giant hooded sweatsuit, so I basically look like a sentient sleeping bag. Most of my fellow travelers hover in the same fashion orbit, somewhere between “rolling out of bed” and “I might have a meeting later.” So I usually blend right in—until I step onto the plane and am greeted by the flight attendants. Every hair is in place, uniforms are crisp enough to slice a croissant, and sometimes they’re even wearing a swipe of bold red lipstick that looks like it could survive both a transatlantic flight and the apocalypse.
And I always think: How? And also: Why?
Well, it turns out that crimson pout isn’t just for glam. Red lipstick may actually serve a surprising safety function, according to Heather Poole, a former flight attendant who spent 20 years flying for a major U.S. airline, in her book Cruising Attitude: Tales of Crashpads, Crew Drama, and Crazy Passengers at 35,000 Feet.
To get to the bottom of this flight-attendant mystery, I spoke with two current flight attendants about what the red lip really means, whether it’s required and how it fits into the high-flying world of in-flight style. The seat belt light is on, so buckle up—the answer is more interesting than you might think.
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Why do flight attendants often wear red lipstick?
According to Poole, flight attendants wear red lipstick “so passengers can read your lips during an emergency.” That’s … intense. She adds: “I wasn’t sure if the instructor was serious.”
It was hard to tell then, and it’s still hard to tell now. But even if it wasn’t an FAA directive, it was very much an industry vibe 20 years ago, when Poole was in training. “It had to be worn at all times. Lipstick was serious business,” she writes. (Which, strangely, isn’t the only time I’ve heard of MAC Ruby Woo saving a life.)
Is this still a thing?
Times have changed, says Sydney Anisitine, a veteran flight attendant who has worked for every major U.S. airline. “I’ve never been told this, nor have I heard of any other flight attendant wearing lipstick for this reason,” she says. “These days, if you see someone wearing a bright lip, it’s just a style choice.”
Veteran flight attendant and travel writer Kristine Eksteine-Nizka agrees. “The most frequent reason for flight attendants to wear a bright lipstick is for the ‘typical’ flight-attendant look,” she says. “In some airlines, such as the Emirates, the red lipstick is part of the uniform look. Emirates has a specific makeup look that the flight attendants need to adhere to—they even have makeup training for their girls.”
How might it help in an emergency?
Let’s be honest: If the plane is going down, most of us are relying on divine intervention and whatever’s in the seatback pocket. But flight attendants are in charge of evacuating everyone, so they need to have more of a plan—and perhaps that includes a bold lip.
The theory behind the red lipstick is that in a loud, chaotic emergency, you might not hear a flight attendant’s instructions—but you could see their lips moving. A vivid red lip can help with nonverbal communication, which is crucial when you’re trying to herd a plane full of panicked humans toward an inflatable slide.
Plus, there’s a psychological component: Red lipstick conveys authority. It basically says, “I am in control of this situation.”
Is there a history of flight attendants wearing red lipstick?
Most airlines have dress codes for their flight attendants, but back in the golden age of air travel (think the 1950s and 1960s), the rules were a lot stricter. The now-defunct Pan Am, for example, famously hired only young, conventionally attractive women to be “stewardesses” and enforced an ultra-specific look—from weight requirements to, yes, lipstick shades.
According to a viral social media post, Anne Sweeney, a Pan Am crew member in 1964, once told a newspaper: “Revlon ruled our makeup, and we were required to wear Persian Melon lipstick and matching nail polish. (Surprise! Charles [Revlon] was on the Board of Directors!) I looked like a corpse in Persian Melon, but had to get written permission from the grooming instructor to wear a different shade.”
We couldn’t track down the original source of the quote, but it is a great story. Especially when you learn that Persian Melon is a very ’60s bright pink—not exactly a universally flattering tone.
Today, rules like that have mostly gone the way of in-flight cigars and piano lounges. Airlines now tend to emphasize comfort, practicality and inclusivity over rigid beauty standards, according to Anisitine. Still, Nizka adds, the red lip lives on—as a wink to history, a nod to authority and maybe, just maybe, a subtle survival tool.
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Sources:
- Cruising Attitude: Tales of Crashpads, Crew Drama, and Crazy Passengers at 35,000 Feet by Heather Poole
- Sydney Anisitine, longtime flight attendant; in-person interview, May 13, 2025
- Kristine Eksteine-Nizka, veteran flight attendant and co-founder of Love Your Italy; email interview, May 10, 2025