The sheer blood-red anyone can wear. Inspired by a forbidden beauty ritual.
Medieval has been discontinued along with the wider Lipstick Queen range. Remaining stock surfaces occasionally on eBay and Poshmark, sometimes commanding prices well above the original $20–$25 retail. The matte plum tube is distinctive and easy to identify when hunting secondhand. We recommend the alternatives below for ongoing use.
Medieval was Lipstick Queen's original bestseller — the product that put the brand on the map. Inspired by the legend that in medieval times, wearing red lips was considered a sin, so women rubbed lemons on their mouths instead to raise a natural blood-red stain, Poppy King set out to recreate that forbidden flush. The result was purely Vitamin E and pigment: a sheer, silky tint that gives every lip a wash of cool-toned red without requiring precision, commitment, or courage.
Unlike conventional red lipsticks, Medieval was universally flattering precisely because it was so sheer. It worked with your natural lip colour rather than replacing it. Fair lips got a cherry stain; deeper lips got a berry warmth; everyone looked like they had just eaten something wonderful. It lived in handbags, desk drawers, and pockets for years — and when the brand discontinued, the mourning was genuine.
Poppy King has always been drawn to the intersection of beauty and history, and Medieval is perhaps the purest expression of that impulse. The product's origin story — that in the Middle Ages, wearing red lips was considered a sin reserved for witches and women of ill repute, so those who wanted colour would bite or rub lemons against their lips to stain them blood-red from the natural acidity — is the kind of story that makes a lipstick feel like more than cosmetics.
King took that legend and translated it into a formula: a single sheer red tint, stripped back to the essentials of Vitamin E and pigment, that could recreate the bitten-lip effect without the citrus sting. The concept was as simple as the name was evocative. Medieval launched in the early years of Lipstick Queen and immediately became the brand's signature product, the one that appeared in magazine roundups, beauty editor kits, and the handbags of women who swore they never wore lipstick.
It was sold in a matte plum metal tube — a striking departure from the gilded packaging of other luxury lip products of the era — and came in its distinctive box printed with a medieval-era painting on one side and an ornate red and gold pattern on the others. The packaging alone made Medieval feel like something from a different century.
The official description of Medieval — "purely Vitamin E and pigment" — was more editorial than literally accurate, but it captured the essential truth of the formula: it was stripped back, light, and skin-first in a way that almost no other lip colour was at the time. The base was Ricinus Communis (Castor) Seed Oil, which gave Medieval its characteristic gel-like slip and the slightly glossy finish that set it apart from traditional lipstick textures.
The emollient blend — Shea Butter, Mango Seed Butter, Meadowfoam Seed Oil, Sunflower Seed Oil, and Hydrogenated Olive Oil — kept lips comfortable and soft without making the formula feel greasy or slippery. Candelilla Wax and Beeswax gave the bullet its structure while remaining light enough to leave behind the barely-there sensation wearers loved. Tocopheryl Acetate (Vitamin E) served both as an antioxidant and the product's marketing centrepiece.
The pigment was carefully calibrated: enough to produce a noticeable sheer red on the lips, but not so much that the formula became opaque or required precision application. It could be applied in a single swipe for a barely-there flush, layered for a deeper stain, or blotted for an almost invisible tint. That buildability, combined with the cool-toned neutral nature of the red, was what made it suit such a wide range of skin tones and confidence levels.
Medieval's balm-like formula is forgiving enough to apply directly from the bullet without a brush or mirror. A single swipe across bare, lightly moisturised lips gives you the classic sheer flush. No precision required — the sheerness is the point.
Multiple layers intensify the colour toward a blood-red stain. Apply, let each coat settle for 30 seconds, then add another. Three coats gives a surprisingly deep, saturated red that still looks skin-natural rather than painted on.
For the medieval-era effect that inspired the product — a barely-there lip stain with no glossy residue — apply generously, press lips together for 30 seconds, then blot firmly with a tissue. The pigment stains the lips; the oils come away. The result lasts for hours.
As listed on the 0.12 oz formulation:
Ricinus Communis (Castor) Seed Oil, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Vegetable Oil (Olus/Huile Vegetale), Euphorbia Cerifera (Candelilla) Wax, Beeswax (Cera Alba), Ethylhexyl Methoxycinnamate, Ozokerite, Butyrospermum Parkii (Shea) Butter, Tocopheryl Acetate (Vitamin E), Hydrogenated Vegetable Oil, Helianthus Annuus (Sunflower) Seed Oil, Limnanthes Alba (Meadowfoam) Seed Oil, Mangifera Indica (Mango) Seed Butter, Hydrogenated Olive Oil, Benzophenone-3, Isopropylparaben, Isobutylparaben, Butylparaben, Red 7 Lake (CI 15850), Red 33 Lake (CI 17200), Yellow 5 Lake (CI 19140), Iron Oxides (CI 77491, CI 77492, CI 77499).
Highlighted ingredients are key actives. The formula is unscented and free of fragrance. Castor Seed Oil is the primary base — responsible for the gel-like, slip-forward texture. The three-pigment blend (Red 7, Red 33, Yellow 5) produces the cool-toned blood-red colour that reads differently on each wearer depending on their natural lip tone.
Three products that deliver the spirit of Medieval — the same sheer, universally flattering red and the same effortless wear — at different price points and finishes.
The closest match reported by devoted Medieval fans. Red Juniper shares the same cool-toned sheer red DNA — a buildable stain that adapts to each wearer rather than sitting on top of the lips. The Lip Chic formula is slightly pinker than Medieval but delivers the same "your lips after a glass of Burgundy" quality that made Medieval so beloved. Enriched with plant-based emollients for a comfortable, non-drying wear.
Frequently recommended as the most accessible alternative to Medieval. Turbo is a sheer red-raspberry that delivers a similar bitten-lip flush with a balmy, moisturising formula very close in character to Medieval's castor-oil base. The Afterglow formula is softer and more conditioning than Medieval, making it ideal for those who loved Medieval primarily for its comfort and ease of use. Apply directly for everyday wear.
A crayon-format sheer red that shares Medieval's no-fuss application and wearable red pay-off. Robust Rouge is a warm-leaning sheer red — slightly warmer in undertone than Medieval's cooler blood-red, but close enough in feel and effect to satisfy fans looking for that effortless pop of colour without commitment. The moisturising Chubby Stick formula is highly rated for comfort, particularly for those with drier lips who found Medieval occasionally drying.
"This is the only lipstick I use every day. I've gifted it to all my girlfriends."
Medieval is what I think of when I think of the perfect lipstick. I put it on without a mirror, without thinking about it. It just looks right, every single time — with every outfit, every level of makeup, every skin tone I've seen it on. I've bought it for my mother, my sister, my colleagues. Every single one of them became a convert. Nothing else does what this does.
"You know the colour you get on your lips after eating a cherry popsicle? This looks exactly like that."
I spent six years putting off buying this because of the price. When I finally caved I was furious with myself for waiting. It is the sheer red I have been looking for my whole life. Natural, fresh, completely effortless. I've been on my fourth tube and I ration each one like it's a limited edition. Because now, apparently, it is.
"Some call it a glorified lip balm. Yes. Exactly. What a lip balm it is."
I go back and forth on whether Medieval deserves to be called a lipstick or a tinted treatment. In the end I don't care — it applies so smoothly and feels so luxurious that the classification is irrelevant. The red is very subtle on me but I always get asked what I'm wearing. That's the whole point. It looks like nothing and does everything. I'm gutted it's gone.