Not wearing make up is honest. I am honest about my face and my looks. Make up is a lie, “I am making it up”. If **I **am wearing make up every day then **I **may be imitating Eve rather than Mary and trying to tempt a man or men in general.
(Bold mine) Perhaps you, yourself, “may be imitating Eve rather than Mary and trying to tempt a man or men in general”. This may be something you struggle with and if it is, then I think that is probably wise for you, on a personal level, to do whatever you can to avoid that. That may mean not wearing makeup for you, especially since you have confidence in your natural beauty, at least from what you wrote in post #47.
My face is white tinged with pink a bit like an alstromeria flower. I can’t just colour my face in. My face is subtle. It has variations in hues and texture which I cannot imitate.
From what you elegantly described, it sounds like you have a beautiful complexion and you are very fortunate that God has gifted you with that beauty and that you are very aware of this gift. But I believe to make the same assumption of all other women may be putting too much of what you think of yourself onto others.
In the same post, you also mention that makeup takes away from your beauty:
Make up makes me look gaudy and takes away some of my face’s natural beauty. When I wear it, parts of my face are not enriched by sunlight or air. Make up takes away my natural colour and makes my face feel greasy or dry.
How you worded the above appears that you also do not believe in wearing makeup because it makes you look not as beautiful as you believe yourself to be. You also mention that it is “the opposite of beauty treatment”. So, it would make sense for you not to wear makeup because it would make you look less attractive. Actually, one could say that it may be a bit vain, then, for one who has that outlook to not wear makeup and actually would be a better sign of humility to wear the makeup because it will make them feel less attractive. I will stress that I am not saying that of you as I do not know you, but I can see how the above quotes could very easily be construed in that fashion.
I shouldn’t be lying on my face on a daily basis. **If I wear make up it should be obvious and only as part of fancy dress **or a play in which everybody knows that I am playing a part.
What I don’t understand about this is that if one is so adamently against wearing make up for moral reasons, how can one justify wearing it for any reason? It’s speaking out of two sides of the mouth. If a person strongly feels that way, then in my mind she should follow through in all aspects of life so that she doesn’t paint herself as a hypocrite to herself. Also, when one enhances one’s beauty with other means such as clothing, jewelry, hairstyle and the like, it can also be misused and abused in a vain way just like makeup can be misused.
Point is, moderation is key in all things. One can easily abuse and twist anything so that it becomes sinful by one’s personal failings and weaknesses. It’s up to each individual to be aware of his/her failures and do what is necessary to prevent it. But what might be a huge sin or temptation to one may not be to another, especially with what is being discussed in this thread.
Not wearing make up is more like Mary who does not try to incite lust in other people.
There is nothing wrong for a person to feel like this on a personal level OR if a person knows another well enough to see that wearing makeup for that person or for oneself would be meant to incite lust. But to paint a broad brush on all women is assuming too much.
Make up is still venial sin but could lead to more unfaithful relationships if I’m not already in one.
It’s not the makeup, but the individual’s intent and how the makeup is applied. If a woman truly feels that she, herself, would be doing it for the wrong reasons, then I would grant that it could very much be a “venial sin”. But if a person does it for none of those reasons and if another can’t even tell the difference between her wearing makeup and not, then I can’t see how that could be construed as a sin.
Again, most women do not wear makeup for other men. They do it for themselves. In fact, most men I know don’t like makeup - especially heavily made-up women.
I once got slapped with a warning from the mods and that was quite a shock. It was very upsetting to me. What I said was not bad and was taken the wrong way by the mods. However, after several hours of reflection and prayer I started understanding how it was that the mods took it the way they did and began to see it from their point of view. I chalked it up to a teaching moment and moved on. I made it a point to pay more attention to what I wrote.
She is one of the ladies I know who has never really worn make-up. Before or after her marriage. There really are a lot of men out there that do not like their ladies in make-up.