There's A Reason Why So Many Flight Attendants Used To Wear Red Lipstick (And It Wasn't Just For Fashion)

When it comes to air travel, looking polished and staying stylish on a long-haul, red-eye flight can be challenging. Comfort tends to win the coin toss at 35,000 feet, so cozy clothing, unfussy hair, and minimal makeup for flying high it is. But for the flight attendants tasked with pampering questionably groomed passengers, being put-together has long been part of the job. Along with being immaculately coiffed and uniformed, some female cabin crew members were historically required to wear makeup — a practice dating back to the glamorous "golden age of travel" in the 50s and 60s. For years, flight attendants flashed passengers with predominantly red-lipped smiles. Going crimson, however, wasn't a fashion choice. It was a safety measure because red lips are apparently easier to read in an emergency.

This red revelation comes from former flight attendant Heather Poole, who spent two decades working in the skies. Speaking with Reader's Digest, she divulged that wearing makeup was a non-negotiable throughout her career. "It had to be worn at all times," she said. "Lipstick was serious business." Red lipstick, in particular, was the most serious business of all. A flight instructor once explained to her that in times of crisis, red lips were easiest for passengers to read. Additionally, red also conveyed authority in the cabin, reinforcing flight attendants' roles during critical situations.

Today, that requirement has largely faded. While donning red lipstick certainly isn't the worst part of a flight attendant's job, most contemporary cabin crews are no longer bound by antiquated appearance rules. Flight attendant Sydney Anisitine even told the outlet that she'd never heard of the red lipstick rule and wasn't aware of any colleagues who had. "These days, if you see someone wearing a bright lip, it's just a style choice," she noted.

Setting emergencies aside, one of the biggest misconceptions about flight attendants is that all are still required to pile on cosmetics, but that simply isn't true. Some airlines have dropped their mandatory makeup rule, while others, like Emirates Airlines, are known for their maximalist beauty standards. And yes, that includes wearing red lipstick. In fact, female flight attendants at the Dubai-based airline are required to wear an "Emirates red" lipstick and lip liner as part of the uniform.

Beauty standards at Emirates are so paramount to the job that flight attendants are trained by experts on how to flawlessly groom hair, prep skin, and apply makeup at the sprawling Emirates Beauty Hub in Dubai. Here, female flight attendants are meticulously instructed in achieving a beautiful, long-lasting scarlet pout. The secret? "Make sure lips are hydrated before starting and go in with liner first," Emirates Beauty Hub makeup artist Marine Boutboul revealed to Conde Nast Traveler.

Emirates enjoys partnerships with Dior and Davines, though flight attendants who share their makeup routines online appear free to use a range of products and brands. On TikTok, one Emirates flight attendant glosses up with 3CE's Lazy Pop Lip Stain in "Coolest," in a video that's clearly labeled as a "paid partnership." Over on YouTube, flight attendant Rhony Claire demonstrated layering products from MAC Cosmetics. "But for an overall rule, for the 'Emirates red' it should be a blue-based lipstick," she informs viewers itching to get the look. Flight attendants have always shared great tips on how to survive long flights, but today's savvy cabin crews are turning their iconic, in-flight looks into online followings — and, in some cases, second careers as beauty influencers.