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Is wearing makeup sinful according to Catholic teaching?

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Is wearing makeup is sinful according to Catholic teaching? If so, why? I am not asking about someone who would put makeup to cover some kind of deformity on his face (like when someone gets burned on his face) but about regular cases. **Edit (My conclusion so far).** It would seem to me that Aquinas is saying that wearing makeup can not be devoid of sin. It seems to me that Aquinas in his article separates two questions: 1. Whether the adornment (and here adornment (*ornatus*) means wearing clothes, jewelry or something which is added onto the body and is not like makeup which applies paint on the body as Aquinas says in a replay to the second objection) of women is devoid of mortal sin? With this question, it seems to me, he deals in '*I answer with (Respondeo)*'. 2. Whether applying paint(and here is painting (*fucatio*) something that we would call wearing makeup) on the body can be devoid of sin? With this question, it seems to me, he deals in 'Reply to Objection 2'. I am here interested in question 2 and as far as I can see, Aquinas says in Reply to Objection 2 that it is sinful to wear makeup: > Cyprian is speaking of women painting themselves: this is a kind of > falsification, which cannot be devoid of sin. It seems to me, that the reason that he gives for why wearing makeup can not be devoid of sin is that it is some kind of deceiving. I could try to formalize his argument in this way: 1. It is wrong to deceive others. 2. Wearing makeup is the same as counterfeiting a beauty one has not, therefore wearing makeup includes deceiving others. 3. Therefore, it is wrong to wear makeup. The reason why this argument would not work for wearing clothes is that clothes are to cover the body, while makeup applies paint on the body. Clothes to the body are not the same as makeup to face. Also, this argument would not convict applying products against skin dehydration (or something like that) because those products could be understood as medicine. Also, we could see that the same argument (principle) which I gave is used against those who paint themselves in a way to seem to be of different sex (ie. transgenders). One of the reasons why is it sinful for them to paint themselves that way is because they deceive others. If I am still misunderstanding something please correct me.
Asked by Thom (2063 rep)
May 19, 2019, 09:49 PM
Last activity: Dec 22, 2023, 12:56 AM