about pale skin?

[Thurlow]

I'm down south, so it's going to be baking today. I'm not wearing tights, which is perfectly acceptable in our office.

Now I'm as pale as they come, especially my legs. I just don't tan at all.

I have had TWO comments already today from people - "blimey, you're brave, getting your legs out when they are so white!" Both from colleagues who were wearing dresses with no tights themselves, so it wasn't even a subtle dig at that. One then started a conversation about whether or not I'd considered fake tan.

Why is pale skin seen as so bad? Why shouldn't pale people wear skirts and dresses the same? Why should we go through all the faff and cost of fake tanning?

First world problem, I know, but it's really irritated me not already grumpy with the heat and crappy air conditioning

Sunbeds should be banned, they're dangerous and they age the skin horrendously.

There's about 1/3 of them don't even meet the safety standards that are imposed on them, too.

I'm really pale too and I have my legs out today. however I am here on my own with noone to comment.
As I shave my legs in the shower without my glasses on I have noticed I've missed a chunk....so I am whiter than white with hairy bits too, I may need to sort that before I go to Sainsburys!

So pleased to hear so many positive comments on pale skin! It's great and should definitely not be kept hidden or fake tanned just because you are worried about what others think.
I will certainly be embracing my natural Pale and interesting look.

I'm not so much pale, as blue. I wasn't brave enough to ditch the hosiery this morning.

I'm very fair skinned with freckles. I don't tan and I don't want to either. I never sunbathe . I am very happy being white, pale and do not feel the need to apply fake tan. When I do go out in the sun I wear a 50 factor strength cream.

However, I have friends who fake tan all the year round and on days like today will actively sit in the sun to get a tan. I don't actually think it looks attractive it just shouts damaged skin. I think your skin does look damaged and it is ageing. My friends seem surprised that I don't want a tan and I even had a friend come to visit me the moment I arrived back from a holiday to see if I had a tan she was disappointed as I didn't .

I don't understand what the big deal is I am fair and I like it. I'm sure they're not being judgemental, probably me being over sensitive but I do feel sometimes that they think they are, in some pathetic way, superior to me because they have a suntan. They are always mentioning it. I couldn't care less and take no notice.

I am deathly white to the point of being translucent. A lot of people I know who are pale revise that opinion when comparing their skin colour to mine. I do not tan at all.

I would much rather have darker skin. I think it's so beautiful. I did try fake tan for a bit but I couldn't bear the smell.

It's good to hear positive comments about it, as it's something I remain self-conscious about.

I'm with you. I'm day glo white and feel no shame getting my legs out in a skirt or shorts. I loathe the orange look and it's too hot for tights.

Out of interest and completely OT, what foundation do my fellow dead white MNetters use? I'm coming to the end of my Maybelline Whitestay and it seems really hard to get hold of now. Need something reasonably cheap (under a tenner) that doesn't leave me orange.

I'm using that Rimmel 25-hour foundation (which really does stay put all day) in palest ivory, I think?

I'm sure they're not being judgemental

I have had judgemental comments along the lines of asking me why I "never go outside"... or "Why don't you just sit in the sun?" These are from people I don't know very well who just come out with it from no where.

Obviously I do go outside. I live in the countryside by the sea and I love being on the beach or having a picnic or going for a walk.

It's always the ones who are orange or have used tanning beds who comment. Everyone else is too busy going about their business to give a toss.

I also have Irish parents. That skin is never tanning.

I use maybelline dream matte mousse. It's really good.

When I first joined Pinterest I started a board for pics of women with pale skin. It helped boost my confidence about my own skin colour. Maybe an idea for those of you who still feel self conscious about it.

All skin tones and colours are very beautiful. except fake orange

Bobbi Brown Skin Foundation - Porcelain during the winter and Warm Ivory during the summer.

Some to add to my list there, thanks ladies. I'll try those when I pop into town at the weekend.
The Rimmel 25 hour in light Porcelain looks pretty good on a screen.

...and now notices the request for something cheap. /blush

I've found it difficult to match my skin tone in anything cheap, so I've always gone a little spendy with foundations. Tried Mac Studio Fix Fluid in NW13 before, good colour match but is a little too heavy for me.

Another pale person here. My family have referred to me as 'the vampire' before now. One suggested fake tan, since I can't cook the usual way. Yep, because smearing what looks like baby shit all over me will definitely make me feel good about myself . Really hot weather brings out a lot of freckles on my face though (secret ginger genes), so I look like I've been wearing some piece of clothing from my feet up to my neck, just to tan my face....

A friend who works as a beautician says she regularly is fake tanning some pale skinned Celtic background young girl and then a young Asian girl will call in to the salon to see if they do skin lightening treatments .

I do keep looking at the more expensive brands, but I always talk myself out of spending that much on a foundation.
That said, I might push the boat out a little and try it.

My last foundation was the Maybelline White Stay. I believe it was aimed at lightening black skin (favoured by Beyonce apparently) but because it is so incredibly pale and creamy it was a perfect match for my skin tone. Even better, it was in the 99p store. I bought about 5 bottles at the time but I'm now reaching the end of those and they no longer make it. I suppose the savings I made on the 99p bottles could add up for a Bobby Brown

Oh, and to add: I find it depressing that it's 2015, and we're still having threads about women making comments to other women about appearance. Behind it there is often a sense of competition that seems to be inculcated early, as if somehow the highest prize any of us could hope for is a tiny bit of male attention, and we must all slaughter each other's self-confidence to achieve this.

I used to be like this as a teenager, when I worked in a very visually-obsessed industry. As a grown woman, I spend all my time trying to atone and build supportive relationships with my female friends in which that competition never features. I am finding it to be one of many feminist endeavours that is truly beneficial both to myself (we are all better than this, right?) and hopefully to my friends too.

I can never find a cheap foundation pale enough although a good fix is to add some pure white foundation liquid (Barry M do one) to lighten them up.

May I bring something else to the table? I call it Pork Leg™, that pinky stubbly appearance reminiscent of belly pork. Moles and veins optional for added interest.

I am 63 years old, I have never liked the sun and only once got a red glow and that was because my car broke day on one of the hottest days of the year on the top of a hill where there was no shade. I went to the Isle of Wight for a week with my parents and sister, after two days my sister had terrible sunburn. I went back to school the next week and no-one believed me when I said I had been away on holiday as was as white as always. I had to get a letter from my DM to give to the headmaster because he didn't believe me either. Pale is best I say.

I'm the palest of pale. As in, I don't even have a hint of melanin in my skin. I used to hate it and feel self-conscious, but now I frankly don't care. It suits me, and now that I'm nearly in my 30s the benefits of not worshipping the sun are more obvious in my skin.
So stuff 'em, and rock your skirt. I'm currently wearing denim hot pants (ooer ) and loving it. I don't think I've had any comments made about my skin tone in years - no idea why.

Pale skin is perfectly fashionable these days.
Your friends comments seem to be very old fashioned.

Just Google "pale models" and send them the link!

I think pale skin is gorgeous. Hold your head high & work them!