We live in an age when almost all women wear some form of cosmetics on a regular basis. Perhaps this is because it is relatively inexpensive and abundant (as opposed to days of yore), or maybe we’re just that much more given to vanity and want to ward off looking or feeling old.
The Scriptures teach that a woman should be modest in her demeanor: “Charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain, but a woman that fears the Lord is to be praised.” (Proverbs 31:30)
“...women should adorn themselves modestly and sensibly in seemly apparel, not with braided hair or gold or pearls or costly attire but by good deeds, as befits women who profess religion.” (1st Timothy 2:9-10)
The Scriptures did so primarily because it was common practice for prostitutes to wear make-up – and an overabundance of make-up at that!
One of my favorite quotes related to this subject comes from Raymond Chandler’s detective novel, High Window, in which Philip Marlow quips: “From thirty feet away she looked like a lot of class. From ten feet away she looked like something made up to be seen from thirty feet away!”
Therefore, in answer to your question, my advice would be this: if you can forgo wearing make-up, forgo it. Yet if you cannot, then at least keep in mind the rule that “less is more,” and that we should practice moderation and balance in all things. In other words, if you are going to wear make-up, apply it as if you were going to the opera, as opposed to being in the opera!
