'makeup-averse' is a modern English compound combining the noun 'makeup' and the adjective 'averse'. 'makeup' originates from English, specifically from the phrasal verb 'make up' (used in the sense 'to apply cosmetics'), where 'make' meant 'to form' and 'up' was a particle; 'averse' originates from Latin, specifically from 'aversus' (from 'avertĕre'), where 'vertere' meant 'to turn'.

'makeup' developed from the verbal phrase 'make up' into a noun referring to cosmetics in the 19th century, while 'averse' entered English via Latin 'aversus' (through Old French/Latin influence) and became the adjective 'averse' in Modern English; the compound 'makeup-averse' is a recent (late 20th–21st century) formation combining these elements.

Initially the parts referred separately to 'applying cosmetics' ('makeup') and 'turning away/being opposed' ('averse'); over time the compound came to mean specifically 'having an aversion to wearing cosmetics'.