Marie Curie and Superdrug have unveiled a poignant photography collection revealing the final lipsticks worn by three women nearing the end of their lives. The series explores how familiar beauty rituals can provide comfort and help people maintain a sense of identity and normality in their final chapter.
Named The Last Lipstick, the series was inspired by Stacy Greene’s influential 1992 photography collection, Lipstick. While Greene explored identity through women’s individual ways of using their lip products, The Last Lipstick reimagines that idea to show how these everyday products can continue to represent dignity and personhood right until the end of life.
The new collection was captured by acclaimed photographer Alexandra Cameron, known for shooting iconic, natural light portraits of public figures. Each photograph captures the unique character of a woman in the final chapter of her life, told through their last lipstick.
The series comes as new polling1 of UK adults who have been bereaved reveals the important role familiar self-care or beauty rituals can play at the end of life. Four in five people (80%) agree that beauty or self-care rituals can help someone facing a terminal illness maintain a sense of dignity and identity, while 76% believe they help people keep a sense of independence in their final moments.
Almost two in five (39%) have personally carried out a beauty ritual or act of self-care for a family member or friend nearing death, including styling their hair (27%), spraying perfume or aftershave (14%) or applying their makeup (12%).
The lipsticks and women featured in the photography collection are:
- Anita – pictured wearing her current favourite vibrant coral lipstick. Anita lives with a rare type of lymphoma. She was told she would never be able to walk again but has proved the doctors wrong. Since leaving the hospital, reclaiming her identity and confidence through makeup has played a big part of her recovery. She has loved makeup and old-fashioned glamour since she was 12.
- Sarah – pictured holding the lipstick of her mum Carol, who died from bowel cancer in June last year. Carol loved her lipstick and her favourite shade was a bold pink shade.
- Pavla – a Marie Curie Healthcare Assistant pictured holding her mum’s lipstick. Her mum Dagmar loved makeup so much that Pavla kept a bag especially for her at her home, so that she didn’t need to bring her whole set on her visits.
The Last Lipstick collection was recently exhibited at the Marie Curie hospice in Newcastle upon Tyne, where Anita regularly visits as part of her treatment.
Alexandra Cameron, the celebrated photographer behind The Last Lipstick collection, said: “Photographing this series has been a powerful experience. Each lipstick represents a woman, but also a lifetime of memories, routines and moments of self-expression. These are not simply lipsticks; they are products that form part of people’s identities and how they choose to show up in the world – right up until the end.”
Stacy Greene, the photographer behind the 1991 Lipstick series, which inspired this photo series, said: “When I created Lipstick, I was interested in the individuality contained within these small objects: the way each one is shaped by the person who uses it and the life they lead. It is wonderful to see that idea revisited through The Last Lipstick. What makes this series so powerful is the reminder that our sense of identity does not disappear at the end of life. The smallest, most familiar rituals can continue to bring comfort, connection and a sense of self right up until those final moments – and these photographs capture that beautifully.”
The project also shines a light on the many small, compassionate acts carried out by Marie Curie teams every day. Alongside managing pain and symptoms, healthcare professionals often help patients continue the routines that make them feel like themselves, from brushing their hair or applying moisturiser to putting on a favourite lipstick.
Pavla Crowley, Marie Curie Healthcare Assistant who features in the collection, said: “After my mum died, I couldn’t bear to get rid of the makeup bag she used to leave at my home when she visited from the Czech Republic, including her favourite lipstick. As a Marie Curie Healthcare Assistant, I see every day how small comforts like lip balm or a touch of colour can help women feel more like themselves at the end of life. For my mum, lipstick was part of who she was, and I see that same importance in so many of the people I care for. Sometimes these little rituals help us hold on to who we are, right until the end.”
Simon Comins, Chief Operating Officer at Superdrug said: “At Superdrug, we believe beauty is about much more than appearance. It can be a source of confidence, comfort and self-expression at every stage of life. We are proud to support Marie Curie in sharing these remarkable stories and shining a light on the importance of something as small as a lipstick.”
The polling revealed that memories attached to beauty rituals can last long after a person has died. Almost a third of people (30%) say they have kept a friend or family member’s self-care or beauty product after their death, rising to over half (53%) of 25-34 year olds, with perfume and lipstick the most held onto items.
For many, these products offer a tangible connection to the person they have lost, with more than two thirds (68%) keeping them because they reminded them of their loved one, while almost half said they brought them comfort (47%) or that they simply could not bear to throw them away (46%).
The Last Lipstick is the latest campaign in Marie Curie and Superdrug’s long-running partnership. The collection spotlights how familiar beauty rituals help to maintain dignity and identity as people near the end of their lives, and was shot by Alexandra Cameron.
