Back in high school, I had the most unexpected run-in with a random dad in regards to the amount of makeup on my face. I was attending a Christian conference and chatting with a few sisters I had met, when their dad suddenly slipped into our conversation.

After several minutes of casual chatting, he looked and me and politely stated the following:

“You have naturally beautiful features,” he said, ” but the amount of makeup you’re wearing seems to be covering them up. As a dad and a man, I think you would look a lot better than you think with less makeup.”

Slightly shocked and stunned at his bold comment, I thanked him for his “fatherly” advice and quickly formulated an exit plan.

At the time, I thought the volume of my makeup was perfect. I thought this dad was totally off and completely out of touch with modern beauty.

Well, ten years later I’m humbled to report that this random dad was 100% right.

I’m actually embarrassed to show people my high school pictures due to the dark, thick, layers of eye makeup masking my face. My parents tried to tell me that less was more, but I didn’t listen. I always thought more was better.

Like so many young girls, I saw the models on billboards and magazine covers and quickly formulated my opinion of beauty based on them.

Since these models wore dark, heavy makeup, I naturally did the same.

I wanted to look “beautiful” too.

Instead of looking feminine, classy and pretty, my makeup distracted from my natural features and portrayed more of a sexual, flirty and seductive look.

I see young girls today in the same boat.

Is it wrong to wear makeup? I don’t think so. The Bible isn’t opposed to women looking beautiful – it’s opposed to women looking seductive and worldly. I view makeup as a tool. And like any tool, it depends on the user to get the best results out of it.

So how can we, as Christian girls, wear makeup in a God honoring and feminine way?

1. Keep it natural.

Some people view makeup as a bad thing because they say it hides our natural God-given beauty. This opinion is valued, but I happen to cordially disagree. When used in the right way, I believe makeup can enhance our natural God-given beauty, not hide it.

Just like we comb our hair, shave our legs, brush our teeth, and pluck our eyebrows – makeup can help freshen our appearance. There’s nothing “more godly” about displaying the dark circles under my eyes after a night of little sleep.

By applying a natural amount of concealer and foundation, my skin gets an overall appearance boost.

Those untimely pimples and red spots (a result of our fallen bodies) get nicely covered up without changing the natural look of my face.

When applying makeup, choose colors that enhance the natural colors of your face. My eyelashes are a light (light) brown, so I enhance them by applying a dark brown (to soft black) mascara.

I use a thin line of eyeliner to frame the natural shape of my eyelids, I use an eyebrow pencil to slightly darken the natural color of my eyebrows, and I use a natural bronzer to add a little color to my face.

2. Keep it feminine.

God obviously made guys and girls to look different. He intentionally made women to be beautiful and feminine in appearance. When applying makeup, strive to enhance your God-given femininity, not take away from it.

We live in a culture where makeup is often used to create a seductive and sexualized look on women. This should not be our goal. The Bible has a lot to say about worldly women (Proverbs 7, ) and we need to avoid that “look.”

3. Keep it classy

I hate to say it, but too much eye shadow, lipstick, and eyeliner can sometimes look plain trashy. Trying new colors can be fun, but it takes a bit of artistic skill to apply color in a classy and organized way. Since we serve a God of order and organization, we want our faces to reflect that.

We don’t want our faces to distract people from getting to know the “real us” either. We don’t want our eye shadow to be so crazy and colorful that it steals the show. As Christians girls, we want our faces to be welcoming and inviting so we can share the love of Christ with others.

Makeup is a tool and can be used for good or for bad.

It’s up to us to wisely use it in a God honoring way. Obviously the Bible doesn’t give us a makeup tutorial, so it’s up to us to discern and pray about how to honor God best in this area.

For some of you, makeup might not be something you choose to wear, and that’s perfectly alright! For others, you may choose to wear it and that’s perfectly alright too. We need to be careful not to place our own convictions and rules on other people when the Bible doesn’t.

Be wise. Use discernment. Look natural. Reflect a God of order. That’s my advice to you.

Now it’s your turn to share!

• Do you wear makeup? If so, why did you choose to wear it? If not, why did you choose not to wear it?
• What makeup products and brands do you use? I’d love to hear your favorite makeup tips!

Photo Credit: Here