What is the ruling on the hadith: “A woman’s perfume is that which shows its color but conceals its scent”? And is it valid to cite this hadith as evidence for the permissibility of women using makeup?

The questioner: Twenty-three.

The Shaykh: Ah, the criterion for a woman’s use of makeup.

The questioner: Regarding the hadith: Is it authentic?

The Shaykh : Yes, .

The questioner: Yes, is it valid to cite this hadith as evidence for the permissibility of using makeup on the grounds that its color is visible but it has no scent?

The Shaykh: If the makeup being applied does not involve imitating the disbelievers, the matter is easy. This is entirely similar to his saying (peace be upon him): . However, if the clothing one intends to wear involves imitating the disbelievers, then it is not permissible. Likewise, the perfume in question is permissible as long as it does not involve imitating the disbelieving women or the open sinners. When we disapprove of the permissibility of makeup, it is not because it is makeup, but because it is a European custom. This is indicated by the fact that those who are obsessed with this makeup are very eager to know the new fashion so that they may adopt it and follow it.

The questioner: Yes.

The Shaykh: From this angle, we disapprove of it, not on the basis of the hadith that a woman’s perfume is that which shows its color but conceals its scent. That is a permissible matter. Therefore, we support this verbal hadith with the practical hadith that came in "Sunan Abu Dawud": “The women who were in post-natal bleeding during the time of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) used to apply ors to their faces.” Ors is a known yellow plant found in the Hijaz and other Arab countries. So, applying it is the makeup used today, but the manner in which it is used is the subject of disapproval and objection.

The questioner: This manner—for example, a woman applying a specific color to every part of her face—is what is disapproved. Otherwise, does she have absolute freedom of use?

The Shaykh: Without a doubt, I cannot mean to dismiss the manner followed by women today, especially since our homes, may Allah (Mighty and Majestic) preserve them, have been kept from committing this type of imitation. But I say, for example, a well-known and good thing is lipstick.

The questioner: Yes.

The Shaykh: Sometimes the lipstick is a deep, intense red that resembles blackness; sometimes it is light, almost resembling the natural color of the flesh, and so on. Sometimes they lengthen the lip, the lip of the mouth; sometimes they shorten it so that the woman’s lips appear small, because a small mouth in a woman is considered desirable in women, unlike in men. So such matters are known... following them. But if, for example, it is just applying to the face without, for example, white, and on both sides red, because this means it all suggests...
The student: Peace be upon you.

The Shaykh: And upon you be peace, it suggests that the aim of these women is to imitate these European women who have come.
The point is: Applying to the face has a verbal and practical basis, as previously explained, but... one should avoid the imitation mentioned earlier.