“I had to deal with manufacturers that would make it a ground powder, then I had to find a Rav — it took a long time,” she said. “I got in touch with Rabbi Dovid Weinberger of Shaarei Tefilah. He checks the makeup and decides which color is permissible for Shabbat. Those are kept in the line for Shabbos Brushups.” She eventually combined her FIT art training with her Touro business degree to create her own company, Shabbos Brushups.

Based on a list of detailed requirements and conditions, she received approval for the Shabbat makeup line from Rabbi Weinberger and has now also received a haskama (halachik approval) for the makeup from Rabbi Ovadia Yosef, Maran Harishon leziyon, the vaad hakashrut Badatz Bait Yosef in Israel. It will now be distributed throughout Israel, she said.

“Rabbi Weinberger was totally for it to begin with,” she stressed, explaining that he said that Shabbos makeup was important for mikveh (ritual bath) purposes. If a women has to tovel (immerse in a mikveh for family purity) on Friday night, she can’t have makeup on, and without makeup, “she won’t feel comfortable going through Shabbos. This way women can apply makeup on Shabbos,” continued Chait. “For themselves and their husbands, women should feel beautiful for Shabbos.”

One of her handouts lists guidelines for using makeup on Shabbat, approved by Rabbi Dovid Weinberger. It notes that this brand conforms to the halachic guidelines of Rav Moshe Feinstein zt”l as well as other poskim, but concedes that other poskim do not permit use of any cosmetics on Shabbat or Yom Tov. Chait encourages women to consult with their own rabbis on this halachic matter.

She advises women who do not want to use the powdered Shabbat makeup on Shabbat but want to have makeup on for Shabbat to use the longer lasting makeup available and apply it before Shabbat, using setting powder, priming the skin before applications, sprays to keep it on and gel mascara.