Alleged vintage black-and-white photographs of a seemingly very content man covered in lipstick kisses have circulated on the internet for years, accompanied by claims that the man was a "lipstick tester."
According to one popular Reddit post sharing the images in March 2025, "the role involved being kissed all day to test the durability and quality of the lipstick."
In the 1950s, there was a job called lipstick tester, where the role involved being kissed all day to test the durability and quality of the lipstick.
byu/Lumpy-Berry-7083 ininterestingasfuck
Similar claims have been made across social media platforms over the years, including an Instagram post (archived) from 2024, a Pinterest post (archived) from 2017 and a Facebook post (archived) from 2016.
The photographs in question are authentic, captured by the legendary photographer Yale Joel. However, they are miscaptioned. According to the Annenberg Space for Photography, Joel "served as a combat photographer during World War II, and several years later became a member of the famous Life magazine photography staff."
Indeed, the photos shared in the claim are from a series shot for an article in the Feb. 15, 1960, edition of Life magazine, titled, "My Coal Tar Valentine."
(Google Books)
One of the photos still available for purchase in Shutterstock's Life magazine collection captions the photo, "Richard Ramsey, worker in cosmetic company covered with relics of lipstick kisses to prove that dyes in lipsticks are harmless."
The article itself features photo captions that read, "Submitting to kisses from fellow workers in cosmetic company, Richard Ramsey proves his faith in product" and "Smack-happy after his ordeal-by-kiss, Ramsey is covered from pate to chin with varying shades of lipstick."
Therefore, it is not accurate to say that the employee's only job was to be kissed all day to test the quality of lipstick. Rather, the photos suggest that this was one instance where that happened for a specific purpose.
We could find no evidence of what Ramsey's job title actually was or what cosmetic company he worked for. That is not to say the role of "lipstick tester" did not exist at all — the cover copy on an issue of Life from Aug. 2, 1928, touts a feature called, "The Softest Job in the World: The Official Tester in a Kiss-Proof Lipstick Factory."
The 1960 Life article is available to read for free on Google Books and addresses then-topical discussions by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) over the potential toxicity of certain dyes being used in cosmetic products such as lipstick.
(Google Books)
The Life article reads in part:
All lipsticks use minute quantities of dyes derived from coal tar. If eaten in large amounts the dyes would injure the kidneys, liver and spleen. Under an archaic law an ingested product containing any toxic material must be banned although the amount is so small as to be harmless. The Food and Drug Administration admits that the amount of dye in lipsticks seems completely harmless but will have to give lipsticks their kiss of death unless the law is changed. The industry claims the amount has been about the same for 40 years and a woman would have to eat 100 lipsticks a day for 90 days to suffer any ill effects.
According to the FDA, the issue became a hot topic in 1950 when "many children became ill from eating an orange Halloween candy containing 1-2% FD&C Orange No. 1, a color additive approved for use in food. That same year, U.S. House Representative James Delaney began holding hearings on the possible carcinogenicity of pesticide residues and food additives."
As a result, the FDA began a reevaluation of color additives, resulting in the Color Additive Amendments of 1960, which "defined 'color additive' and required that only color additives (except coal-tar hair dyes) listed as "suitable and safe" for a given use could be used in foods, drugs, cosmetics, and medical devices."
Whether Joel's photographs of Ramsey actually helped to influence the decision is unknown, but Life has repurposed the images for inclusion in galleries such as "Life's Most Memorable Kisses" in celebration of National Kissing Day, celebrated on July 6.
The Life Facebook page (archived) also used the image to celebrate Valentine's Day in 2020.