An Argument Against Makeup

  • Thread starter Thread starter XJ9
  • Start date Start date
Status
Not open for further replies.
X

XJ9

Guest
Looking for some thoughts on this.

Some argue that wearing makeup is a sin because it is an attempt to improve upon God’s creation.

In other words, God made us as we are. So, applying make up to make ourselves “look better” implies that we can do better than God. That is, God didn’t do a good enough job.

This isn’t my personal stance. I was just presented with the argument and wanted to see what others thought. Is it sound?
 
I see where you are going but I think it’s the wrong conclusion. Too much makeup can be vanity which is a sin but a light to moderate amount is meant to complement the beauty that God gives you with the materials that He created for our use.

We are Catholic not Puritans. That’s not meant to be a hurtful statement, just a reality of the differences between faiths.
 
I think from a moral standpoint there are about 1,000,000 more important things to worry about in this day and age than if somebody enjoys wearing a little makeup.

The reality is that unless you’re an actor wearing some extreme makeup to look decades older or like a historical character or a lion or something, you’re not going to look all that different from how God made you with makeup on. You’re going to look like yourself with some temporary color slapped on your face. To me it’s about the same as wearing a fashionable dress or a colorful scarf - God didn’t make you with those things on you either, they’re just a costume you wear to go around in public socially.
 
Cosmetics and makeup are different. The original intent for makeup, or female beauty enhancement, was to imitate a fertile female or a state of arousal. The main sign of fertility is youth. So, much of the female enhancements are aimed at looking young. For example, younger women have lighter hair. So that enhancement in extreme is expressed in our culture as" blonds have more fun".To look most fertile is the reason there is a woman that only exists on magazine covers.

As far as face makeup goes there are two sides for wearing it these days. The one side is doing it for the same reasons as the original reason. The other side is doing it more for a dignified social appearance. Then there is everything in between. Originally it was to enhance the arousal state of a woman and must have been powerful magic in the beginning. Mascara imitates an enlarged pupil which is a signal to a man of the obvious. The rise in blood circulation is seen in the lips and fingernail. The lips become more sensitive and red. Lipstick and fingernail polish imitate those things. Blush imitates…well blush…😅 I’m selling tomatoes if anyone wants to throw them at me now.
 
On the flip side if we tumbled out of bed and went straight to mass that would surely also raise eyebrows. There is an expectation to improve on our natural selves by looking presentable.
 
I believe it was Johnette Benkovich who said (and I am para phrasing here) for some wearing makeup is an act of charity.
 
(Based on what the CCC says, how does the use of make-up become a sin? Does seeking medical help imply we can do better than God? I think it’s a twisted logic that the use of make-up implies that we can do better)

What is Mortal and Venial Sin?

The Catechism of the Catholic Church provides:

[1855] Mortal Sin destroys charity in the heart of man by a grave violation of God’s law; it turns man away from God… by preferring an inferior good to him. Venial sin allows charity to subsist, though it offends and wounds it.
[1861] Mortal sin… results in… the privation of sanctifying grace, that is, of the state of grace. If it is not redeemed by repentance and God’s forgiveness, it causes exclusion from Christ’s kingdom and the eternal death of hell…
[1862] One commits venial sin when, in a less serious matter, he does not observe the standard prescribed by the moral law, or when he disobeys the moral law in a grave matter, but without full knowledge or complete consent.
[1863] Venial sin weakens charity… and… merits temporal punishment. Deliberate and unrepented venial sin disposes us little by little to commit mortal sin. However, venial sin does not break the covenant with God. With God’s grace, it is humanly reparable. “Venial sin does not deprive the sinner of sanctifying grace, friendship with God, charity, and consequently, eternal happiness.”
 
Last edited:
Makeup is morally neutral. It’s the intentions behind it that is sketchy (like are you trying to seduce someone, are you doing it out of vanity etc).

Even wearing heavy makeup is not a sin. Wearing neon green eyeshadow is not a sin. Contouring isn’t as well.

For most people, makeup is either seen as another step in their grooming routine or simply a fun thing. it has increasingly become a hobby for women to play with these colors. You can see palettes with weird and unusual colors, and even rainbow highlighters.

Beautifying ourselves has been present for a long long time (we can see it even in the Bible).

The whole ‘God made you as you are’ also invites some tricky questions. Did God personally pick out the shape of our eyes and how our toenails look? Or did He allow biology to do its thing. I personally believe in the latter, but if one believes in the former…well then, did God create deformities on purpose then? Or isn’t that just a result of the Original Sin, which is what theology tells us?

The Church, I believe, does not have any rules against plastic surgery (last I checked, it’s okay to go for it if it causes you a lot of distress or something like that. But one’s intention needs to be looked at). I doubt it will ever have rules against something that can be washed off.
 
ConfusedLucy said:
On the flip side if we tumbled out of bed and went straight to mass that would surely also raise eyebrows.
Click to expand...
I do this all the time. When the Mass is at 6:45 am, you’re not going to see me looking model-perfect.
I’m mostly interested in just getting myself to Mass, not how I look. Wash my face and go.

If anyone is raising an eyebrow, I’m unaware, and don’t care.
 
Last edited:
To be fair some of us are more naturally presentable than others
 
Bruh…it’s colored dust and paste. Let sleeping dogs lie on this one.
 
Last edited:
I like applying it and the skill it takes.
I don’t think it can change too much without looking like a mask in real life. Improved faces photos are also based that it’s a photo from a specific angle with a specific light. Same goes for videos. In real life you get all different kind of lights, different angles, different weather, and if it is too heavy it shows. Skin texture can’t be hid only color improved.
It’s definitely not cosmetic surgery and it does not change the creation at all, only the way others see it.
 
Nothing wrong with tasteful makeup. Overdone makeup can be distasteful. Sinful - no.
One can find sin in anything if they look and disect everything long enough. How about wearing deodorant and perfume and shaving underarms? Some of these things are almost a necessity if you want to smell clean and be appealing to people.
 
Who are these people who argue that makeup is a sin?

Do these people not comb and cut their hair? Bathe and wear deodorant? Are they walking around with beards that are 2 feet long?
 
My sisters are going through this kind of deal right now. They are just starting to use makeup. [Side note: I think it is odd that they are doing it and they look weird but I’m not their target audience. I’m learning that brothers never can understand their sisters when they grow up.]

But anyway, one argument for makeup is that Judith wore it in the Bible. And God didn’t strike her down.

Also, the argument is that makeup makes you look more beautiful than God made you. Well, if that is the case, as folks have said, we should stop wearing nice clothes, combing our hair, curling it, wearing nice shoes, and getting braces.

Sackcloth people. Time to go back to the basics.
 
I don’t think critiquing people one way or another is a good thing, because this is what I read here sometimes:

People who wear makeup are vain.
People who don’t are lazy.

You can’t win. Be happy in God’s love.❤️
 
Yes, the bottom line is that there are a whole lot of things that fall in the category of “personal taste” not “sin”, because the vast majority of the time, people who are doing or not doing whatever it is do not have any sort of sinful motivation.

Makeup, eating junk food, video games etc. all fall in this category. Doing these things in moderation, when you don’t have a problem with overdependence on them or using them with a sinful motive, aren’t sinful or even morally suspect. People may choose to do them or not, based on personal taste. Having different tastes doesn’t mean that one person is morally right and the other isn’t.

There are enough genuine sins that we suffer from that we don’t need to go around trying to find new reasons to point fingers at others.
 
Tis_Bearself said:
Doing these things in moderation, when you don’t have a problem with overdependence on them or using them with a sinful motive, aren’t sinful or even morally suspect.
Click to expand...
The thing is, many Christians make the mistake of saying ‘makeup is fine, as long as it’s not too much’. Like I’ve said earlier, you could be wearing drag makeup (which has been the recent trend with younger women now, I’m not even exaggerating) and not sin. Maybe a sin against the beauty industry, lol.

But yeah, it’s the intentions and the person that affects the morality of wearing makeup. A contour stick is no more sinful than a tinted chapstick
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top