History Main / LipstickMark

Lipstick on the collar, a telltale giveaway that he is cheating. This old trope has its roots in the days when most men wore shirts with collars and women wore lipstick that marked easily. The wife, doing her husband's laundry, finds a pink mark on her husbands collar and immediately concludes that he has a mistress. When the husband returns from work, he finds that he has been ExiledToTheCouch or [[DefenestrateAndBerate his belongings thrown outside]]. Most of the time in comedies it's NotWhatItLooksLike. The stain is ketchup, or the lipstick is from his grandmother pecking him on the cheek. See also AffairHair, a related trope.

For the variation not related to infidelity, see CoveredInKisses.

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* In one of ''Manga/ThePrinceOfTennis'' chibi-fillers with the [=TeniPuri=] Family, Ryoma is trying on Shuuko's makeup, and when he hears her coming, hastily wipes it off on Sadaharu's dirty laundry, leading her to conclude the 'obvious'.

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--> ''Man:'' Aha! Lipstick on your collar!
--> ''Woman:'' It's my lipstick! I'm a girl, you idiot!

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-->Daryan: Girls are one thing, Gavin. You made a fool out of me with this band, you know it. I won't say there's been no payoff, but you humiliated me. I was never going to let you do that again. And now I'm like some fucking pathetic housewife, like I'm looking on your collars for fucking lipstick.

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* On ''Series/TheXFactor'', Simon Cowell had a lipstick mark on his cheek- one of Hope had kissed him earlier.

-->'''Danny:''' "I wonder how ''he'' explains lipstick on his collar?"

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--> Lipstick on...''oh!'' Lipstick on my ''collar.'' Yes. Well. The good news is...it isn't ''my'' lipstick.

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* ''Series/HogansHeroes'' had an episode where a woman from the Underground drew lipstick on her hand, then touched it to a German officer's face and collar to make it look like they had been fooling around, enraging the officer's fiancé, Frau Linkmeyer (General Burkhalter's sister).

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* An ImagineSpot in ''PennyAndAggie'' has Aggie's widowed father Nick picturing himself this way (as well as CoveredInKisses and with dishevelled clothing and AffairHair) as he deliberates how to tell her he's in a serious relationship.

* This was a plot for an [[ArchieComics Archie comic]]. BettyAndVeronica notice a lipstick mark on his clothes, and when they realize it isn't theirs, they walk out right then and there. Turns out, the mark was his mom's.

* "Want Ads", sung by Taylor Dayne.
** Honey Cone first sang "Want Ads" which had the line, "Lipstick on his collar, perfume on it too..."

* On ''TheXFactor'', Simon Cowell had a lipstick mark on his cheek- one of Hope had kissed him earlier.
* On ''ThePartridgeFamily''

* This happens in one episode of ''FamilyMatters'', after Eddie tries to sneak back to his room, after a date with a girl, only to be spotted by Carl.
* A NotWhatItLooksLike example from ''TheDickVanDykeShow'': Laura, who is jealous that Rob is working with a glamorous actress, is paranoid about him cheating. Later, [[LikeBrotherAndSister Sally]] kisses Rob on the cheek and wipes it off on his handkerchief. Laura finds the handkerchief and realizes that the lipstick doesn't match hers and becomes enraged, [[MistakenForCheating etc., etc.]]

->''Lipstick on your collar, told a tale on you\\
Lipstick on your collar, said you were untrue''
-->--'''Connie Francis''', "Lipstick on your Collar"

* ''SpidermanTheAnimatedSeries'': Black Cat lifts up an unconscious Spiderman's mask to give him a kiss. Peter Parker doesn't notice it until after a co-worker at the Bugle points it out to him. HilarityEnsues.

* Happens in ''LoisAndClark'' when a woman Superman rescues kisses him in gratitude.

* In the GagDub of ''ShinChan'', Mitzi finds a lipstick mark on Hiro's shirt and starts throttling him. Turns out that the baby, Hima, was playing with the lipstick.

* In one of the ''PrinceOfTennis'' chibi-fillers with the [=TeniPuri=] Family, Ryoma is trying on Shuuko's makeup, and when he hears her coming, hastily wipes it off on Sadaharu's dirty laundry, leading her to conclude the 'obvious'.

* ''FamilyGuy'': Stewie, trying to prevent Lois and Peter from conceiving his brother, attempts this by making lipstick marks on Peter's shirt, but gets caught by Lois and scolded.

* In ''Film/TheSevenYearItch'', the girl kisses Richard and tells him not to wipe off her lipstick. "If she thinks it's cranberry sauce, tell her she's got cherry pits in her head."

* In the long-running ''{{Sazae-San}}'' anime, the lipstick mark on the husband's shirt is actually caused by the preteen daughter playing with Sazae's makeup, then wiping it off on the nearest cloth object.
* ''RanmaOneHalf'':
** Ranma, trying to get Ukyo to dump him, attempts this by [[http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/lipstickmarkroh.jpg making lipstick marks with his girl-body]], but gets caught by Ukyo and scolded.

* In Music/TomWaits' song "Step Right Up", the product being sold (whatever it is) "gets rid of unwanted lipstick on your collar."

* Billie Holiday tells her man to "skip that lipstick" in her song "Don't Explain"
* CabCalloway sang "Poppa's in Bed with his Britches On": "Late this mornin' 'bout half-past ten / Ol' Pops come ballin' in / Lipstick on his face and a knot on his chin / No hat, no shoes, but a belly full'a gin!"

* In TomWaits' song "Step Right Up", the product being sold (whatever it is) "gets rid of unwanted lipstick on your collar."

->''My lipstick''
->''Jumped ship''
-->-'''AniDiFranco'''', "Back Around"

* One episode of "WesternAnimation/TotallySpies" had Jerry promoting the girls and all three of them shower him with kisses leaving lipstick all over his face.

* ''Series/Hogan'sHeroes'' had an episode where a woman from the Underground drew lipstick on her hand, then touched it to a German officer's face and collar to make it look like they had been fooling around, enraging the officer's fiancé, Frau Linkmeyer (General Burkhalter's sister).

* Many Popeye cartoons ended with Olive repeatedly kissing Popeye and leaving lip marks all over his face.

* ''AddictedToLove''. Critic Roger Ebert said this about the film:

* ''Film/TheMatrix Reloaded''. Persephone knows about the Merovingian's philandering by the lipstick a woman left. This despite, in her words, "She wasn't kissing your face, my love."

* Referenced in ''WhatWomenWant'' when the main character is trying to think of ways to advertise lipstick to women.

* A DiscussedTrope in ''TheSevenYearItch''. Richard tells [[MarilynMonroe The Girl]] [[hottip:*: And no, we never actually [[NoNameGiven learn her name.]] that if his wife ever found lipstick on his collar, she'd assume it was cranberry sauce. At the end, she intentionally leaves lipstick on his collar.

* KylieMinogue sings "There's lipstick on his collar" in "One Boy Girl".