rebelling against low expectations

How interested should Christians be in fashion and makeup?

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CORIANN WRITES: I have never worn makeup or put a lot of thought into how I look. Recently though, I have found myself thinking about beauty and fashion, and being more interested in it than before. Is it okay to pursue these interests if my intent is to be modest and not cover up my natural beauty?


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  • In my opinion, makeup and dressing fashionably isn’t wrong at all. Our heart behind it can be wrong, but that doesn’t make the action itself wrong.
    I like the way the Duggar’s put it: “dress attractively…not to attract.” Same applies to makeup.
    It’s okay to desire to look nice, cute, or fashionable. I personally enjoy the fun of coordinating clothes to look their best!! However, if our motivation behind doing that is to get attention from others, to fit in, to feel like we’re worth something, to cover up our insecurity with who we are, etc. THEN it’s wrong.
    Since I’ve started wearing makeup and when I started caring a bit more about my outfits, I’ve always tried to be mindful of not becoming attached to cute clothes and eyeliner. If I ever feel the “need” for makeup to look beautiful, then I either don’t wear it or put on less than I normally would to remind myself that makeup is not what defines me. God has really helped me circumstantially with this lesson in the last year for which I’m grateful! It’s still easy for me to fall, but He’s always there to catch me. =)
    Makeup is meant to accentuate natural beauty, not to create a whole new face. We need to always remember we’re beautiful without it too. 😉

  • @Megan said some great stuff. I don’t think it’s wrong at all to wear makeup, but coming from a guy I personally don’t like it when girls wear a bunch; but it doesn’t look like your interest is to attract a guy, and that’s a good thing. But I agree with Megan, I enjoy the fashion aspect of clothing as well (though I don’t wear makeup). Really I think it’s a matter of preference and (if you still live at home) what your parents think.
    Again, what Megan said was great, “makeup is meant to accentuate natural beauty, not to create a whole new face.”

  • I believe that wearing makeup is okay as long as you don’t overdo it! For instance, some girls wear makeup when they do not need it at all! When we wear makeup we shouldn’t want to draw attention to things like long eye lashes, thick mascara, eye shadow, etc. We don’t want our faces to exemplify a Jezebel, or a harlot. We don’t want our makeup to make someone else think wrong thoughts about us. If we are wearing makeup because we want to look “better than so and so,” “popular” or even “attractive,” this is wrong. The bible states that we should “do all things decently and in order. (1 Corinthians 14:40)” Of course we don’t want to be sloppy, but we want to be presentable.

    “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.” Romans 12:1

    Is our focus to draw attention to ourselves!? It shouldn’t be. We should want to be followers of the “Proverbs 31 Woman.” In Proverbs 31:30, the bible says, “Favour is deceitful, and beauty is vain: but a woman that feareth the LORD, she shall be praised.” Do we want to be praised for our good looks, or would we rather be praised for having the fear of the Lord? Personally, I would want to be known for having the fear of the Lord! The fear of the Lord talked about in Proverbs 31 I think relates perfectly to Proverbs 9:10 “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom: and the knowledge of the holy is understanding.”

    Back to beauty–so do you see what I’m trying to get at? We can replace our being vain with the fear of the Lord! Remember, it’s not about our beauty, it’s about God’s beauty shining through us. This should be visible by the fruit of our lives. To MAKEUP for our being vain, we should repent and turn our lives around to just being the best Christian we can be and fearing the Lord. =)

    1 Samuel 6:7c “Man looketh on the outward appearance, but the LORD looketh on the heart.” <3

    • Thanks for the lovely, long post! ^^ I can agree with what you’ve said, and good quotes from the Bible.

    • this is the exact that i’ve been wanting to hear because i asked even all of my close friends and sister they said they liked my style more when i dress up more wear make up more and basically just like a jezebel but i’ve been working on best modest and God has been working with me too. it’s really hard i received so much attention when i lost weight, back when i focused sooo much on my physical appearance. but all i want now is fear of the Lord. but stilllllll working hard on being modest

  • @Jenna @Josh @Megan

    Y’all already said some REALLY good stuff, so I’m just gonna put in a little comment.

    Coming from a musician, makeup is like using pedal: If you can see/hear it, you’re putting too much. 😉 My goal when I wear makeup is to accent my natural, God-given beauty— I’m not placing a mask on top of my face, I’m enhancing what I already have. 🙂 I don’t wear makeup on a daily basis, probably once or twice a week ( for church and when I have classes), just because I don’t want to get used to constantly wearing it, if you know what I mean. Once you get your eyes trained to seeing it on your face, you feel naked and ugly without it— and God forbid I’ll ever get to that point!!

    And I love fashion, although it is very difficult to really get into it while remaining modest and not compromising your standards… You just gotta seek the Lord and make sure your heart is working more internally than externally. 🙂 That’s all imma say, the others covered it fabulously. :D:D:D:D

    • I can totally relate to the last bit there – About wanting to be into fashion while still having modest standards. :3 thanks for the reply! ^^

  • I think makeup and nice clothes are totally fine as long as you keep it under control and don’t get obsessed with it 😛

  • I did not wear makeup until about a year ago when I was about 14. Even now I don’t wear cover makeup, only light eye makeup. My mom tells me all of the time not to cover up my natural beauty, just to accentuate it. It is also awesome to hear from some guys on here. A lot of girls wear makeup to make themselves more attractive to guys. To hear that they really don’t prefer it is awesome. Honestly, I have never heard a guy that did. I’m new to The Rebelution and this is my first comment! Yay! 🙂

        • You have to go to your profile and then you must click on the “icon”….. tell me if that helps? Or I can try to explain it better. To get to your profile click on your name. 😉

        • ‘Kay…. click on your little name/profile-picture-that-is-a-blank-person right now, and it will take you to your Disqus page. You then click “Edit Profile”. You’ll then have the option to change avatar(top of the page) and you can upload it from your computer. Hope that helps!

    • Thanks you guys! This website is like my youth group lol! On Monday nights we have Discussion Group where we take a topic or question from our culture and discuss it. We have gone from homosexuality to politics to relationships. No topic is off limits! And we all get to give our opinions in a safe environment and measure them by Gods word 🙂

  • Makeup and fashion are not in themselves wrong but when we put our focus on how we look, it can become an idol to us. Also, there are many girls who place their worth in what they look like. We should never find our worth in anything (or anyone) but we should find our worth in God and what He says about us. Instead of focusing on the outward appearance we should instead focus on our inward beauty. I wear makeup and find nothing wrong with doing so but we have to have our priorities in order. Hope that helps!

  • Personally I have a love of fashion and makeup because it is a form of art and expression. It is not covering up who you are it is away to express who you are without words. However, if you feel that you are not beautiful without makeup or wearing the perfect outfit that is when you are wearing it for the wrong reason.

    It’s great to hear a guys point of view but in the end if you decide how much makeup you where based off guys opinions that is just as bad as wearing it. The main focus should not be what do guys prefer but what do you prefer. We view wearing too much makeup as bad because it’s a cry for attention but then flaunting no makeup for guys is really no better. Decide whether makeup is a way to express yourself go for it. If it is away to gain guys attention than maybe you should hold back.

    God doesn’t care if you wear winged eyeliner with a smokey eye and do some contouring. He cares about what is inside of your heart.

    • I agree. I wasn’t saying “do what the guys want you to do.” I was just saying girls try to do that to get guys attention and it isn’t really doing that either. Sometimes I get worried about my looks and I ask myself “who am I trying to impress?” The answer really is nobody 🙂 If I need to look good to impress them then they are not worth impressing. And honestly, at 15, I don’t feel the need for male attention yet.

      • That is a good question to ask. I often try to make sure that my answer to that isn’t “nobody” though, because, naturally we all want to impress somebody! My answer is God and, yes, my parents. I know my parents make mistakes, but if they’re pleased with what I wear, then I can be pretty sure God is, too.

        • For sure! Yes I guess I should have specified among my peers 😛 I always run my outfit by my parents before wearing it. And I should have said “Who do I NEED to impress?” Which of course would be God and parents, but among my friends, how I dress shouldn’t be what impresses them. I think also as friends we should keep each other accountable as far as modesty goes. A few times when I have seen my friend wearing something immodest, I take them aside and mention it to them. Because they know I love them to pieces, they are pretty receptive to what I have to say 🙂 Thanks for pointing that out Grace!

  • Try to figure out why you’re interested. Are you trying to get attention? Do you want people to think of you a certain way based on how you look? Is it a good use of money? Could it cause others to sin? — envy, and lust seem the biggest threat there. And here’s the big one, does it help, or hurt, the mission of making disciples?

    Of course make up isn’t inherently bad, but you need to know your heart. These questions go for almost anything, just to get you thinking. Hope this helps!

  • I am seeing a lot of comments about girls wearing “too much”makeup or wearing makeup when they “don’t need it” and that being modest and dressing fashionably is hard and not to focus on it.
    1. nobody needs makeup. Everyone is beautiful and if anyone wears makeup because they “need it” then they shouldn’t wear it.
    2. It is not our place to judge who wears too much makeup. Makeup is a preference and the amount you wear doesn’t make you any less Of a Christian. That’s like saying if you use too many colors on a canvas it’s bad. Fashion is art and every artist has different styles.
    3. Working and living at a Christian camp means my standards of modesty are higher both in my daily life and work life than most situations, however it is not difficult to put together a killer outfit while being modest.
    4. There is nothing wrong for having a passion for fashion and beauty. There is so much good you can do with it. For instance getting a job in the fashion industry you can help change the standard of beauty and help preach that everyone is beautiful no matter what size or race you are.

  • It’s like the others are saying: It’s (mostly) about your motive. You’re allowed to look nice and to want to look decent but it mustn’t become the focus.
    Perhaps if there were more Christians in the fashion industry, clothes and makeup and all that would be more modest (guys and girls there!) and God-honouring and we wouldn’t feel so awkward about the issue…?

  • I can relate to you in that I hardly ever (if ever) thought about fashion or make up until I was 12 or 13 years old. I’d say it’s ok to think about that kind of stuff when you’re dressing, but you have to make sure that you know why you’re thinking about it… for instance, I often think about how I look because I want my clothes to reflect my love and respect for God and my parents. For about 5 or 6 years, I have rarely, if ever had my parents ask/tell me to change my clothes because when I’m dressing I think about what is appropriate for the occasion and how they would want me to dress for it. Personally I don’t use makeup, though my parents would probably be ok with it if I only use it in moderation and with their approval. My dad says that he’s heard some preachers say things like “if the barn needs painting, paint it”, but he believes that most or all girls don’t need makeup. I am agreed with him. Most makeup is bad for your skin, anyway, so if you don’t need it… it doesn’t make sense to use it. Yes it’s ok to think about your appearance and want to look good, in fact, Christians are supposed to think about our appearances and want to look good for God, besides it’s in our nature to want to look good (we’re people, right?). We just need to be careful that we’re not constantly thinking about it for man. When we try to dress so man will think we’re pretty, we base our self worth on man’s fallible standards, not God’s unconditional love. Every girl (and boy) is valuable, but my value is not based on what man thinks of me, but on what God has done for me. My value is not in HOW I dress, but WHO I am in Christ. Always remember that when you are putting on makeup or getting dressed for something. Reminding myself of that truth has often helped me when I felt ugly or wanted to dress in something different. Just some thoughts, and sorry about my rambling… I’m really tired.

    • I struggle to find what my true reasons are for thinking about it, I guess that would be my best starting place. 🙂 Thanks for the reply, I couldn’t agree with you more!

    • I totally agree! ☺I think that honoring your parent’s standards in the way you dress/wear makeup is huge. A lot of girls get into huge arguments with their parents over stuff like that.

  • I AM SO EXCITED!! THIS IS THE QUESTION I HAVE BEEN WAITING FOR ALL YEAR!!!! YAY! Ok, just so you know me, I am a fashion freak and amateur makeup artist.
    Going on what others said, it’s about your priorities. If you spend five minutes on your morning devotions and fifteen minutes getting your ‘look’ together, your priorities are wrong. so I’m going to touch on both subjects separately.

    Fashion: By all means look cute! But if you’re constantly out shopping or spending hours putting the right t-shirt and jeans together, you’re obsessed. Be okay about occasionally going to the store in your sweats and a messy bun that’s truly a messy bun. Also, be modest. Don’t wear anything you wouldn’t wear if you were on a lunch date with Jesus.

    Makeup: don’t overdue. If you can’t be okay about going without makeup at home or out, you’re obsessed. Makeup is fun and cute to do. I’m not exceptionally gorgeous, so I sometimes need some mascara and eyeliner to help me out. 🙂 Don’t go heavy!! Oh, please don’t wear a ‘makeup mask’!! It’s not attractive. I hate it when I see girls who look like they are wearing a mask. Teenagers naturally have beautiful skin and eyes. If you have acne, don’t cover it with concealer or anything. it only clogs up your pores and makes it worse. Something that can help is Apple Cider Vinegar (do a test on your hand first. I’m allergic to it and my face swelled up, so just be safe) another thing that I love is Jajoba oil. Just dab it on after your shower or before you go to bed.
    Something my mom did when I first started wearing makeup was to only allow me to wear it two days a week. I don’t have that limitation now, but I don’t wear makeup every day. If I feel like I’m getting obsessed about it, I stop for a few days than gradually go back onto it.
    As young women, we have every right to be beautiful and have to fun getting there. But, you cannot allow it to control your life! Be yourself, enhance yourself with some lipstick and an infinity scarf, but let Jesus be the light in your eyes! He is truly where we get our self-worth!
    I’m glad you asked this, Coriann!

    • First of all, I love your enthusiasm! 😀 I agree on all the points you’ve made. Thanks for the reply, your answer gave me yet another helpful insight! ^^

    • Good points but I’d just like to point out that you shouldn’t cheapen yourself by saying you aren’t beautiful! God made you gorgeous and exactly how He wanted you to be 🙂

    • Literally was about to post the same thing Laini! Like Veggie Tales says “God made you special and He loves you very much!” OK, I need to stop commenting lol!!!

    • Wow! I totally agree with everything Liana said!!! It’s important for people to be your friends because the really like you – not because your the fashion model in your youth group. And keeping God first in everything is SO important. I’m new to the website and am SO excited that they have this talk up and there are other teens that have the share my view point!!!!!

  • I personally agree with Liana but it all depends on your convictions. I personally don’t ware makeup because I believe your are beautiful he way God made you. But talk to God and your parents. Maybe even your dad cause he may have a say? They appreciate it when you do, trust me.

  • I think it all depends on your priorities. How much time do you spend on makeup/clothing, versus time with God (reading your Bible, praying, etc)? We’re supposed to look presentable, because we’re witnesses to Christ wherever we are. We can wear makeup, and spend some time picking out clothing, but try not to be obsessed over it.

  • Wow, there’s some good stuff on this thread. Way to go, girls! I really don’t need to even write this comment, but here goes anyway 😀

    I think that it all depends on where your heart is. Is your goal to please people, or to please Jesus? And please don’t read this as a “Haylie has everything figured out” comment. I have to ask myself where my heart is constantly.

    All that being said, I personally see no problem with wearing make-up, as long as it doesn’t take over your natural features, or take over your view of true beauty and worth. Makeup is meant to accentuate natural beauty. I do wear makeup probably 5 days out of the week, but I keep it pretty natural… nothing too drastic for me 😉 And as others have said, getting your parents thoughts on makeup is pretty important.

    As far as fashion, I know it’s so much fun to play with colors, patterns, and textures. I love putting together cute, tasteful outfits, and actually enjoy the challenge of trying to dress modestly in a not so modest era of existence. And that’s fine as long as we aren’t devoting so much time to it that it becomes an idol (anything that we treat as more important than God) in our lives. So, thanks for asking this question, Coriann! Hope this helps you <3

  • You guys have some really great points here!

    Personally, I love fashion and makeup. I see makeup as a kind of art, and fashion as a kind of expression. Of course, neither should be overdone – sometimes, too much defeats the purpose.

    I wear makeup probably 3 days a week, for church, events, etc. Sometimes, I just feel like putting some on because I enjoy.
    However, I’ve created a policy for myself: If I’m feeling “ugly” one day, I’ll choose not to wear makeup that day (unless I’m dressing up to go out). I don’t want my reliance on makeup to be my standard for beauty. I have plenty of friends that wear makeup every day, and others that have never touched it in their lives. It doesn’t mean they’re any less beautiful!

    As for fashion, I love to dress up, and to dress attractively. I don’t want to purposefully look sloppy – and I can be totally modest while looking cute. I think that it makes a good impression on others, too – that I prioritize my appearance because I care about my image, I care that people see me as professional, and I want people to take me seriously. This doesn’t mean I’m obsessed with how I look, but that I am conscientious of it.

    As long as neither become idols (or we dress to get attention, or for affirmation), I think that makeup and fashion are wonderful tools to enhance our appearance and enjoy while we’re at it.

    • I like your philosophy about “feeling ugly” and then choosing not to wear makeup. It’s also my desire to not be equating beauty with makeup or my own self-worth.

      I wear a little bit of makeup (usually just nude eye shadow and mascara) nearly every day, but that’s mostly just because I like to look nice and my school has a uniform… so aside from crazy hairstyles, makeup is about the only thing I can use to look nice. Ha ha!

  • I feel like ‘fashion and makeup’ is one of those issues Paul was talking abut when he said in 1 Corinthians, “Be careful, however, that the exercise of your rights does not become a stumbling block to the weak.”

    He’s talking about people eating meat sacrificed to idols–not a sin in itself, but some people still feel sinful doing so. Yes, technically we can eat the sacrificed meat… but there are still people that aren’t at a point in their faith where they can eat it without finding it a stumbling block.

    I think it’s the same with appearances. Those of us who know and believe that we are fearfully and wonderfully made, that it doesn’t matter how we look, and that beauty of the heart is more important than beauty of the body–we know that looking nice on the outside is great, but that it isn’t everything.

    It’s a different story for people who aren’t Christians or who are weak in their self-esteem or faith, though. For them, wearing makeup and dressing nicely becomes a priority that rivals God. If that’s the case–if you can’t worship God because you’re too preoccupied with your appearance–then it might be best for you to pray, get right with God, and avoid that temptation.

    And for those who don’t find fashion as much of a temptation, we need to be aware, like Paul said, so that we don’t cause someone to be tempted. That’s a bit vague–what I’m saying is that, as long as we’re not using our appearance to distract people from God (here’s where the whole modesty thing comes in!), we’re probably in the clear. We want to make God’s kingdom inviting, and part of that means not dressing like we don’t care–as Christ-followers we should try to make God look as great as possible–but as long as it doesn’t rival God or distract anyone from Him, I fully encourage believers to take a little bit of time to look nice!

  • From a 16 year old homeschooled guy’s point of view. I do not believe makeup is profitable, and you should not try to glorify yourself but glorify God. Although I am not saying you should try to look nice. While I make sure I smell good I don’t try to overdo it and impress girls I make sure I look decent for my job and for my church and other activities outside of the house. But take this from a home-school kid don’t worry about how you look in the house unless people are coming over 0.- hope this helps. In Christ Alone.

  • I used to be so dependant on makeup. I never left the house without it. I’d pile on the blackest black mascara and eyeliner. I wanted that sexy tough girl look. I was getting so heavy with the eye makeup that my parents finally took it away and I wasn’t allowed to wear it at all. At first I couldn’t stand it. I thought I was hideous. After a while I got used to the way I looked without it and it didn’t bother me as much anymore. Eventually I got my mascara back, but you know what? I’m not obsessed with having to wear it. If I don’t have time to put it on before church, it’s not a big deal. Sometimes I go days without any makeup at all. I still think I look better with mascara, but it’s really just not very important to me anymore. So I’m glad that I wasn’t allowed to wear any for a while. It actually really helped me!!!

  • Some thing my dad used to say (one of the only things I would ever quote him on) is that “makeup doesn’t make an ugly girl pretty, it just makes a pretty girl prettier.” Makeup and fashion should be used to improve and enhance your appearance, not cover over all of your natural beauty (and yes, you are naturally beautiful, no matter who you are!!!) I wear makeup and enjoy it. I love picking out fun clothes. I always make sure that they are modest and I never do my makeup in a seductive or overpowering manner.

  • I personally am not super into makeup and clothes. If I have time, I put on moisturizer and mascara; otherwise, I don’t really care. I’m just not really a girly-girl, I guess! I think having a healthy interest in fashion and makeup is perfectly fine as long as it doesn’t take over your life and come before God. Also, this can be a platform through which you inspire others to make Godly choices. My two cents. 🙂

  • I think that makeup is fine every once in a wile but it shodent take over your life.
    (This is Courtney’s little sister Ellie)

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