A moving photography project highlights how meaningful beauty and self-care routines can be for people approaching the end of life. Created by photographer Alexandra Cameron, The Last Lipstick documents the final shades worn by three women, offering an intimate look at identity, dignity and personal expression.
The series was launched by Marie Curie and Superdrug following a survey of bereaved adults in the UK, which explored the comfort that familiar beauty rituals can provide during the final stages of life. Four in five respondents (80%) said these routines can help someone living with a terminal illness preserve their dignity and sense of identity, while 76% felt they could support a feeling of independence during a person’s final moments.
Nearly two in five people surveyed (39%) said they had performed a beauty or self-care ritual for a dying relative or friend. The gestures included styling their loved one’s hair (27%), applying perfume or aftershave (14%) and helping with makeup (12%).
Pavla Crowley holds her mum’s lipstick
For Pavla Crowley, makeup was central to her mother Dagmar’s personality. Dagmar loved cosmetics so much that she kept a dedicated makeup bag at Pavla’s home, meaning she did not have to carry her entire collection whenever she visited from the Czech Republic.
The 43-year-old 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, from lip balm to a touch of colour, can help women feel like themselves at the end of life. Lipstick was part of who my mum was, and I see that same significance in so many of the people I care for. Sometimes, these simple rituals help us preserve a person’s sense of self right until the end.”
(Image: Marie Curie/ Alexandra Thompson)
