Orange people. Is it a mistake or do they think it's nice?

[Ormirian]

Because I am confused.

If you are, like me, a pallid-skinned, Northern European person, prones to freckles and with quietly dull-coloured hair, your natural skin colour isn't orange. And IME a lot of people are like me. So why do so many seem to think it looks nice? Along with aggresively blond hair?

It is a mistake surely? They mistook tangerine poster paint for fake tan? Yes?

Some years ago when I worked on a beauty counter a very fake tanned lady came in and asked if I could find her a foundation to match her (Deep Ochre) skin tone. It was all I could do to stop myself telling her that we didn't do anything in that colour and that maybe she'd have more luck in Homebase.

I think you stop "seeing" it after a while. I went through a sunbed-mad patch about 10 years ago - I thought I looked healthy & glowing. Photos from that era in fact show an oompa-loompa!

I have a friend who ticks all these categories, bleach blonde hair, plumped lips, orange, plastic tits, eye-liner, acrylics etc. She's not got classically beautiful bone-structure and without it all she'd be quite ordinary looking. It's not that she looks particularly stunning now, but I suppose she looks like a recognised "type" and superficially men think she's gorgeous. She's lovely mind, I just wish she'd be "herself". :)

I think I find it quite alarming that the archetype of beauty has become so weird recently. And such hard work!

AND they all shave their minges.

So identikit orange Barbies in every way.

I think that is the point though AlpinePony a lot of these 'fake' people are not classically beautiful in any area (hair, nails, bone structure) and that is precisely why they feel the need to create a new form of beauty for themselves. I've long held the theory that if everyone had to stop faking things (hair colour, skin colour, nails etc) there would only be one of two beautiful people and it might not include any of the current so called beauties.

How the hell do you put on three pairs of fake eyelashes. sweetkitty please ask your niece otherwise I might be forced to try it out (curiosty killed the cat and all that)

Staple gun?

So help me, I was watching Snog Marry Avoid last night and there was a lassie on there who coated herself in make-up then sprayed her face with hairspray to keep it on. Why not just use primer and maybe something with more staying power?

She looked unbelievably pretty when 'made-under', but she was some kind of nightclub performance dancer so the fake look probably worked for her, fake toenails and all.

It's the democratisation of beauty innit. If you go natural then one or two in the group of friends will always be the pretty ones, and people like me will be obviously the mingers. But if you go for the full-on fake look then everyone can achieve the same standard as long as they're prepared to put the time and money in.

I'm also with the pale and interesting camp.

It's hard for me not to walk down the street and not ask 'you been drinking the fake tan?' to various people.

They'll look back at the photos and cringe.

Deep tans in Britain look a bit odd annyway, especially if it wasn't there the night before.

I have a 'tanning salon' near me/. The outside is painted orange and the girls who sit outside it smoking match it perfectly!!! They're all stunning too, or would be if they were a normal human colour.

Hmmm I don't know. I am really really pale and slightly covet the "glow" of Les Oranges. As well as that, they tend to have long (ok, fake) hair, nice nails, perfectly applied (if too heavy) makeup; they stand out where I fade into the background. Yes I look more natural, but MUCH less "polished" and that aspect of the look, I am somewhat desirous of...

Speaking as someone who goes a deep mahogany just by opening the bloody curtains, I can't understand the desire to get a fake tan.

My neighbour recently got married. She's got classically pale skin and "mousy" (must be a better word for it!) hair. She didn't succumb to the fake tan, wore hardly any make up and she just looked stunning.

I am v pale redhead and forever being told ooh put some fake tan on you'll look much healthier
No thanks, I'll stick to my non sun damaged porcelain look. Don't start me on the beauty counter that tried to convince me that orange foundation was a good look. Thank god for Illamasqua!

I am an ex sun bed addict too (I mean really, I found pregnancy very hard due to the lack of tanning and used to obsess over that warm feeling and lift after a sun bed)

In old photos I was deep orange/leathery brown. I spent most of that time comparing with other orange people and thinking I was too pale!

I am in the pale camp too. I recently went in to a pub loo and there was a bum cheek outline on the seat in fake tan! The mind boggles.

it's a classic case where less is more, but people get a little bit of a tan, loads of complements and think that more tan = more complements in a linear relationship.

it's the same for people who freak-diet.. they lose a little bit of weight and get complemented because they look good and somehow think that the more they lose, the more they'll be complemented.. until they waste away.

or is it compliment - always struggle with those two words

They definitely don't realise how bad it looks, I really think they think it looks good. One of playground mums (chavvy one) got a 'fake bake' a couple of years ago & all her friends were commenting on how 'natural' it looked, she was orange , really fake looking.

I had a fake tan 'mistake' once (wanted to have light 'natural' tan look) and ended up streaky & orange. I had to call in sick to work, was so embarassed!
Have only ever tried the moisturisers with light tan in since then.