The Truth is a lipstick made from beeswax, iron oxides, and, perhaps most interesting, paper from the Washington Post. It’s got a case made by celebrity stylist Mel Ottenberg, and the web page introducing it includes quotes from Eugene Meyer as well as a rundown of the hardware the newspaper has collected over the years in the form of Pulitzer Prizes. A Post spokesperson confirms to Washingtonian that the Truth is a real lipstick.
But as Hunter Schwarz noted in CNN’s Cover/Line newsletter Wednesday, the Truth is not for sale. The “buy” button on the site leads to a donation page for Reporters Without Borders. It’s part of “Commitment,” a line of luxury goods from the fitness giant Equinox that are not for sale. Other items include shoes made with material from the banquettes at the Stonewall Inn and perfume “infused with the actual DNA of Kathrine Switzer, the first woman to run the Boston Marathon.” Equinox plans to auction off some of the items over the course of this year and donate the proceeds to charitable causes. The Truth won’t be among them, an Equinox spokesperson tells Washingtonian, but she says the company plans a donation to Reporters Without Borders itself.
Correction: Acting on information from Equinox’s spokesperson, this post originally said the company had made a donation to Media Matters for America.
Andrew Beaujon joined Washingtonian in late 2014. He was previously with the Poynter Institute, TBD.com, and Washington City Paper. He lives in Del Ray.
