The Prophet: On Wearing Makeup

And Almitra said, "Speak to us of wearing makeup." And he leaned towards the women, and looked lovingly upon their upturned faces.

"Some of you paint your faces, and say you would not leave the house without the concealment of makeup. Others of you never augment your natural beauty, and say you need not hide or lie behind such a false facade.

"I say unto both, be not ashamed of your radiance, which is neither diminished nor augmented by the costume of makeup.

"If you would use makeup, apply it in celebration of your beauty, which is God's beauty. When you make a caricature of perfect health, you celebrate the euphoria of the human form.

"Your blush is but an imitation of the flushed cheeks of lively exertion. Your mascara but serves as a way-sign to the radiance of your eyes, those sacred portals where the heart greets the world.

"Be not self-conscious about your urge to adorn your features, but know also that the glory of your form does not subsist in adornment. Let the application of paints be a ceremony of gratitude for what you have, for the poor in spirit will not find themselves made beautiful by makeup.

"Look upon yourself as a mother looks upon her peacefully sleeping child, knowing the true meaning of beauty with gratitude and tenderness. Without this reverence for oneself as spirit born in flesh, one may as well decorate a corpse."


(My amendment to The Prophet by Kahlil Gibran)