Tanning Beds, Bronzers and Spray-Ons: What's wrong with being PALE!?

[BloodMittens]

Okay, this might be in the wrong place, but I really couldn't think of anywhere else to put this thread, if it's in the wrong place, go ahead and move it and sorry D':

I am an extremely pale girl, only during the summer to I have anything close to a sun-kissed face, and even then, I am white as the marble floors in my kitchen. I can never find a good foundation, I used to have to mix the lightest L'Oreal foundation with white gothic powder from hot topic to even get a cover up that didn't look like I was trying to paint my face tan. (Yes, I am that pale in the winter). My mother and sister have beige skin, so people always asked my mom if I was anemic. Which I'm not.

SEE: Here is my tanned face: No flash

But I have started to notice since working at Victoria's Secret, that every girl I work with points at me and asks me "Why don't you go tanning?" or "Why are you so pale? You look like a ghost! Come tanning with me!" And I always decline. But I do sometimes get girls who tell me I look like I'm straight out of a victorian painting, which makes me feel better. My manager came up to my co-worker today (the same one I wrote a thread about a-while ago about her copying my makeup and just being stupid towards me for no reason) and told her I looked like a cadaver. Then she proceeded to try and spray my arm with a self tanner. Needless to say, I got angry, and here is where this rant is coming from.

Why is it seem like it's taboo to some girls to be pale? I think girls who can pull off being pale and do it are more gorgeous than any tan girl. I feel it's fake to tan in a tanning bed to make yourself darker because you think it's sexier, or you look better. (Like my manager, who also is pale but proceeds to tan every other day and definately looks like a rotten carrot.)

Also, might I get some suggestions for a pale complextion foundation? I have MAC Mineralize foundation in NC15, it works fine right now during the summer, but in the winter I'm going to need something lighter. Any suggestions? And thanks for bearing with my small rant. D:

 

[SqueeKee]

Woo! You GO girl!!

I am not a super pale complected person but I still do not like to tan. If someone else feels the need to do that, then I have nothing against them doing so but for me it's just a personal choice not to.

I do know many girls who look amazing with a tan, but it's just not for me. And I actually tan really well. When I used to tan I always got compliments. But lately I prefer not to. And I refuse to bake myself to fit in.

Seriously, I hate that this tanning trend is making life difficult for naturally pale girls like yourself. A person should be able to fell BEAUTIFUL in their skin no matter what color it is.

 

[ms_sunlight]

I class it as a form of racism, actually. There's nothing wrong with being the colour your genes are telling you to be, whether that's light or dark.

To my British eyes, you're just pale, not even remarkably so and certainly not unhealthy. It's still tough finding foundation though! I've found a powder foundation or mineral foundation is more forgiving than a liquid one when it comes to matching skin.

If you were over here I'd direct you towards the nearest Collection 2000 stand as they do some lovely pale shades, and their 3 in 1 powder makeup is fantastic considering it's incredibly cheap!

 

[SqueeKee]

You know, I was just thinking, this must be how the tanned or darker skinned girls felt in the old days when you wouldn't dare step outside without a bonnet or a parasol and anyone who did so was frowned upon.

 

[StereoXGirl]

I know exactly how you feel! I'm an NW15, and I've had people telling me I'm white as a sheet, etc. I try not to let it get to me because I love how I look.

If you're looking for something lighter than NC15, you might want to try Cinema Secrets "601-18". It's supposed to be a color corrector (to get rid of redness), but it works great as a foundation. It looks natural and can be applied for sheer or opaque coverage depending on your needs. Don't go by the color swatches online, though...they look weird. It really does look like NC15 only a tad lighter in person.

Also, you might want to check out Everyday Minerals. I bought the lightest shades from them thinking it was a no-brainer...and they were actually too pale for me!!! lol!

Hope that helps some.

 

[justdragmedown]

go girl. theres nothing wrong with being pale. Hell Im white for living in FL I go to the beach and lay out sometimes to get color. But just going outside gives you enough color. And I am relly not about to jump on the bandwagon to get skin cancer.

 

[macupjunkie]

I always admire how pale girls can always wear any eye colour, lip colour etc and look awesome in it. I am dark for an asian and I can't wear so many colours because they clash with my skintone. Like you I don't understand why the people at your work can't let you be.

 

[katnahat]

I think it's fine for people to be pale if they want. I don't see why anyone cares if someone is pale.

I like to have a tan. I only tan in the summer. I go to the tanning bed once a week for two months and lay out every now and then. I DO look better with a tan. I don't turn orange and it always looks natural. I don't look overly dark, like some do. I agree it looks weird to be "super tanned". I don't think MOST people do it because of a trend. I know I don't care about ANY trend. If it was "in" to be pale I would still go to the tanning bed.

 

[Bexy]

I hear it all the time too. How pale I am, I do not care. I tanned a little when I was younger (more like burned and peeled) I do not think my skin is meant to be Tan. I have used self tanners before also and they look so gross on me. I guess people relate than to healthy, but if you are doing it out in the sun or in a tanning bed I do not see how they can think that way. I say to each their own, tan if you want to be pale if you want. Does not bother me at all.

 

[SimplyElegant]

Yeah it bothers me too. I just say so what, I don't care.

MUFE has a white primer that you can use to mix in with liquid foundation, Maybelline pure makeup has some pretty light shades and Cover FX has the lightest foundations I've ever seen. I'm about NC10 or so in MAC and I'm E10 in that brand and not even the lightest colour. Everything else I've tried has been too dark.

You could try mineral makeup as well. They have some really light shades and if it's too dark for you they have some white powders that you can mix in to make it lighter for you.

I know this won't make you look lighter but if you use translucent powder to set makeup that helps as well. At least it won't make you look darker.

 

[Shelley]

Sorry, I don't have any suggestions for a foundation.

There is nothing wrong with being pale or light skinned. People out there can be so prejudice if you don't have a tan etc. I don't blame you for feeling ticked off at your manager and co-workers.

 

[evilone]

I think there's nothing wrong with being pale or tan. I just think everyone should stick to their natural skin color. I'm asian and relatively dark (naturally, I'm always indoors and I hate the sun, living in the Arizona heat). I think I would look awful if I was lighter. My sister however is pretty fair, and I think she would look pretty bad tanned. My other sister who is also pretty fair uses self-tanner, i think it looks orangey and bad.

 

[Salope]

There's nothing wrong with being pale and it's certainly not taboo. In fact, people have admired "pale" complexions and some celebs are known for their alabaster skin. Nicole Kidmand, Julianne Moore, Marcia Cross to name a few.

The bronzed look is definitely in now and has been for years. I think it may have something to do with the wider ethnic and racial array of models and celebs at the fashion forefront. I can't say I mind that.

I think the key is to be happy with yourself and go with what you've got. If you have pale skin, then play it up and make it work for you. Don't let others make you feel embarassed or ashamed about how you look. We all have our own unique beauty.

 

[Momo]

I think if you're born pale, tan, dark, whatever, there's no reason to be ashamed. However your genes dictate your skin is however you are. There are women in the east who would do anything, bleach, scrub, shade, to get pale skin. It's just up to how rare your skin color is in your area, and how people associate skin color with social class.

In the east it's about whether you work at an intellectual job and can stay inside behind a desk to earn more money, versus whether you toil in the sun. I think here in the west it's about whether you have the time and money to tan and spend on tanning product.

I do believe the thread "pale is the new tan" is dedicated to this same topic. I just hope people can look at it from both sides now. People who are tan or tan easily get just as much flak.

I used to bug this girl about being pale because she would go on and on about being Italian and how italian women are tan... So naturally that was perplexing to me. She really did look better tan like apparently her genes dictated.

 

[han]

i dont see anything wrong with being pale, heck i was on a wanting to be pale kick for a while for fear of future wrinkles and skin cancer/damage untill this summer i want to be active and if that means haveing a tan well so be it, i think alot of light skin girls are beautiful but i wouldnt go as far to say and agree with you that there more so than any tan or darker skin girls.

beauty comes in diffrent colors and sizes.

 

[empericalbeauty]

I agree with the racism bit. Its funny how everything changes, isnt it? Everyone wants to be bronzed. Even those who have low tolerance for people of color want to have some color. I applaud you for embracing your skin tone.

 

[Lauren]

I agree that it's okay to be pale. I'm pretty pale myself and I don't really feel the need to risk skin cancer just to look like everyone else. Pale is beautiful too!

 

[SierraWren]

Growing up in L.A, a warm weather, "beach" climate, I was teased throughout middle school about being "too pale." Teased is too mild a word--taunted or tortured are closer. But my father has recurring skin cancer and I was always warned not to get too much sun, as cancer was in my genes. (By the time I was in my early 20's,I'll admit vanity became part of it too: my mother has 2 sisters, both equally naturally quite pale, from old photos, but one tanned all the time and the other avoided much sun, and now they look about 15 years apart, the tan one looks much older, though she is actually the younger of the two. Naturally very pale people who tan don't tend to age as well as they could.)Even today, people I hardly know tell me to "get some sun" or ask if I'm anemic, or why I don't go get a tan--slightly hostile comments if you consider they are from virtual strangers. And I don't understand it: what it is about a naturally pale person that makes others feel they have the right to be rude,opionated and intrusive about the shade of their skin. It is a form of appearance discrimination,I feel,where people deemed (though only in regards to skin color) more conventionally "attractive", are allowed to treat those whose looks they consider beneath theirs, and so feel somehow justified or "allowed" to treat these others poorly.

That said, I personally prefer the way that I look tan.I've only been tan once in my life, when I was 18, but I've never felt prettier or as accepted--or as approved of,by others-- than that brief summer. But I think the 2 are completely connected--that is, if I didn't feel a weird,invasive disapproval most of my life for being tan, then I would feel just as attractive without one.

Maybe deep down, it has a little bit to do with human fear and unease with people who do not conform--such as the rudeness with which tan people can treat pale ones. It's like, Everyone else tans, WE do, and you're not joining us--what's the matter with YOU, that you reject the things we revere? This might explain a little of your coworkers rudeness.Also,as sometimes people(women I know)go tanning "together",whether to the beach or salons,it is seen as a somewhat social activity too, and if you are not tan, then you (or I,or anyone pale)might be seen as potentially rejecting their peers/coworkers socially--as distinctly standing out, not "joining in." Or--something.All I do know is, they have,of course, no right to talk to you that way.(I used to,for years, justify my natural coloring by saying my father had skin cancer, which was stupid, since there is no need to justify ANYTHING about one's appearance) You might want to just say that you prefer the way YOU look pale,though you think tans look nice on some others, and see where they go from there...Hopefully, they will be mature enough to be able to "move on"--Every shade of skin is equally beautiful and natural, so it's absurd people even get stuck in such blindness to begin with.

 

[SqueeKee]

Originally Posted by SierraWren /img/forum/go_quote.gif Also,as sometimes people(women I know)go tanning "together",whether to the beach or salons,it is seen as a somewhat social activity too, and if you are not tan, then you (or I,or anyone pale)might be seen as potentially rejecting their peers/coworkers socially--as distinctly standing out, not "joining in." Very well put!!
It is a growing trend nowadays. Not for everyone, sure, but for ALOT of people, it's a "clique" thing, a social activity, as you said.

What baffles me is that you'll see the nicest people being rude to paler people, as if it's no big thing at all. It's become so accepted to put down paleness that people do not see it for what it truly is - a form of racism!

 

[LisaLu]

I think you are beautiful! I used tanning beds & tanned way back when & I so now regret it. It caused sun damage on my neck & chest that I am now spending $$$ on to remove. I am now pale & when I get comments I just say the sun doesn't like me (it is not my friend) people can be SO rude! Wait til some of them are in their 40s/50s & have faces that looks like a catcher's mitt..