Lips symbolize love in ways roses and doves can’t compare.
Responsible for much more than food intake and speech, lips are a tactile, sensory organ. Perhaps that’s why a lipsologist—someone who can tell a lot about you by looking at your lip prints—is such a curiosity.
A face-to-face encounter with a certified lipsologist is far more entertaining than, say, an appointment with a cardiologist, ophthalmologist, or proctologist. Throw on a little lipstick—be you female or male—smack those lips on a piece of paper a few times, and a lipsologist can read your lips without you saying a word.
Jilly Eddy of Lakebay, Wash., is the lipsology guru who gave this unexpected twist to a kiss.
“Lip prints are sweet and sentimental,” she says. “They offer an opportunity to look at yourself in a different way.”
Eddy suggests lipsology brings joy that’s especially personal. She describes her own thin lips, a sign she’s very detail oriented.
“With my thin lips, I could be a research person, which is exactly what I did. I kept looking for affirmation that I’m not nuts, so I kept researching,” she says.
Early on, she discovered a book of celebrity lip prints that inspired her to collect lip prints of family and friends. The daughter of a hand analyst who gave readings of the whole hand (not simply the palm), Eddy was inspired by her mother’s work but knew she wanted to follow her own path.
After coining the term lipsology in 1996, Eddy’s career lip locked. Still, she recalls passing up a chance to appear on The Tonight Show starring Johnny Carson because she didn’t feel she had enough lip savvy yet. This missed opportunity would ultimately be her catalyst.
She began entertaining at bachelorette parties, fundraisers, and local events sponsored by Nordstrom, Microsoft, Washington Athletic Club, Rainier Club, Columbia Tower Club, Palace Ballroom, and lots more. By 2015, she was jetted on a promotional lipstick tour for Yves Saint Laurent to high-end makeup counters all over the country. Eddy also appeared on Evening Magazine at the Screen Actors Guild Awards in Hollywood.
She’s the supreme collector of lip prints.“I have binders and binders. I stopped counting at 10,000. It’s so hard for me to throw away a lip print,” she says.
Eddy wrote a couple books about her lip shtick, too. Her first was a training manual for those who want to become certified.There are now 10 certified lipsologists (including Eddy) at lipsology.com, with many more coming up. All participate in what Eddy says is akin to a year-long college course.
Her second book, the e-book Lipsology: The Art and Science of Reading Lip Prints, took her 20 years to write. She never lost sight of her goal—show others how to use lipsology in their own lives.
“It’s knowledge to be shared,” says Eddy. At 76, after reading more than 25,000 lip prints over a span of 35 years, she’s no longer working as an entertainer, yet takes great pride in the fact that lipsology lives on.
Unlike fingerprints, lip prints can change as a result of health and other factors, according to Jilly Eddy. Here are a few short lip-smacked insights garnered from her book, Lipsology: The Art and Science of Reading Lip Prints.
Angel Wings—Feathery protrusions at the corners belong to people who do kind, unexpected things for others and make them smile. They radiate love and can be male or female, young or old.
Cupid’s Bow on Upper Lip—A V-shaped indentation doesn’t always print that way, although in the extreme shape it resembles the mythological god of love’s bow used to shoot love arrows. It’s about making a positive impression, efforts to achieve goals, and can change with one’s desires.
Gourmet Lip Split—A V-shaped indentation on the inner edge of the lower lip’s centercan reveal food preferences, sense of humor, and romantic or sentimental values.
Hug Pucker on Upper Lip—Located on the center inside edge, the name is associated with people showing affection with hugs and puckering up for kisses. A big one of these can reveal how much affection is wanted or needed. Eddy says it could be beneficial to stop and give a big hug to a person with a lip like this.
Annie Culver developed a knack for unearthing oddball characters and improbable events as a staff writer for various newspapers. In the early 90s, she went to work for websites where she wrote sassy essays aimed at women. In recent years, she morphed into a writer for several universities in the Northwest. She retired in 2016, yet still enjoys freelancing.