IslamQA: Makeup is permissible in Islam (with conditions)

I want to know if makeup is permissible? If you apply as natural and light as possible?

According to Dr. Ali Gomaa (Egypt’s Grand Mufti from 2003 to 2013), makeup is permissible as long as it is not overdone.

From a scientific perspective there are two ways of applying makeup. One of them is to enhance one’s appearance. This type of makeup cannot be easily noticed and is designed to enhance a woman’s natural appearance. This is permissible.

The second type of makeup is designed to attract men’s sexual interest, this type is immodest and can be considered prohibited. According to the book Conflicts of Fitness: Islam, America, and Evolutionary Psychology:

It turns out that when a woman becomes sexually aroused, certain physiologic changes take place. Among these changes are dilation of the pupils and the blood vessels in the cheeks and lips.

The book goes on to discuss how through applying makeup that recreates the impression of those physiologic changes (thick eye shadow, bright red lipstick, making the cheeks appear blushed), one creates the impression of being sexually aroused, and this attracts men’s sexual interest. The second type of makeup is immodest, similar to wearing a tight dress. It advertises a woman’s sexuality, for this reason modest women, whether Muslim or not, avoid it. There is not a clear line separating the one type of makeup from the other, it is up to her to decide whether she has put on too much makeup or not, similar to deciding on whether a dress is too tight.