← All confessions · First Time 2026-09-28

Not Lipstick

Her first toy looked exactly like a lipstick. At brunch, her friend asked to borrow some.

How it started

I deliberately chose a discreet first toy: small, sleek and shaped exactly like a lipstick, in a gold case. It lived in my handbag, because why not. One Sunday at brunch, my friend turned to me and asked if she could borrow my lipstick. Without thinking, I reached into my bag, pulled out the gold tube and was about to hand it over when I realised which gold tube it was. I screamed. Actually screamed, loudly, in a crowded café. She waited, hand outstretched, as I froze. I could feel my face going redder than any lipstick I've ever owned. The waiter arrived at exactly that moment to ask about refills.

Then it happened

Everyone turned to stare. My friend nearly fell off her chair. I said I'd seen a wasp. She still asks why I screamed, and why I now carry two different coloured lipsticks. I have never explained. Later that afternoon I went straight to the shop and bought a little velvet pouch in a completely different colour. My friend got a brand-new lipstick for her birthday, a real one, with a note saying 'all yours'.

The morning after

The café staff still remember the screaming customer. Her friend tells the 'wasp' story at every girls' night, increasingly suspicious about the details. She has bought three more lipsticks since, all in loud, unmistakable colours.