As I was driving in my uber-cute Yaris today, I was thinking: Geepers, I didn't put any eyeliner on! With a gasp and a giggle, I realized I hadn't put any makeup on. Not a single dash of eyeshadow or a puff of face powder. Nothing. I shocked myself.
When I started observing Shabbos, I'll admit -- eyeliner was one of the things I couldn't give up. Despite the melacha (prohibition) of tzovaya (coloring) and possibly schita (squeezing) and memarevach (smoothing or smearing), I just couldn't walk away from it. When the conversion hit, I learned to give up face powder, blush, eyeshadow, the works. Even eyeliner went bye-bye on Shabbos.
Want the halachos of eye makeup? (For the halachos of all makeup.)
There are four areas of the eye to which women apply cosmetics to highlight and enhance the appearance of the eye: the eyebrow, eyelid, eyeline, and eyelash. Applying eye makeup in the form of cosmetic creams, regular non-Shabbos powders, cake (powder that one mixes with water), pencils, and liquid eyeliners, is strictly forbidden on Shabbos.
Besides the normal conditions of Shabbos makeup, according to some opinions, eye makeup poses additional concerns regarding blending colors (tzovaya). The following are halachic guidelines when using eye makeup.HOWEVER!
Women typically use cosmetic pencil/liquid eyeliner on these areas. As indicated previously, these may not be used on Shabbos. However, there are Shabbos makeup powdered eyeliners available that are not long-lasting and may be used according to Rav Moshe zt"l, under the conditions listed above (section IV).
Unfortunately, those powders cost a million dollars and aren't worth it. (If you're interested, check out ShainDee Cosmetics -- they have just about everything and are certified kosher l'Shabbos.) A lot of posters in The Tzniut Project mentioned getting gussied up for Shabbos, which is great on Friday night but then you have the problem of cleaning all of that makeup off before you go to sleep. Can it be done? Within the bounds of what's good and right for Shabbos? That's a question I don't have the answer to.
Thus, I've learned to live without it. And the fact that it's spread to weekdays has me, well, marveling at my own ability to embrace the way I look and love it.
Question: What's the one thing that you've been unable to or struggled to give up on Shabbos despite the melachos? Feel free to answer anonymously, but I'm talking anything from a cigarette (quit! it's a bad habit that's going to kill you!) to your favorite lipstick to that vintage wind-up watch you love.
