If you have really pale skin, how do you do bare legs?

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I want to get my legs out with summer dresses and skirts (before I'm too old) but am so put off by how white and blotchy I look. They almost look patchy bluish / purplish, as you can see the veins etc....

I've heard stockings, but really with a sun dress and sandals that doesn't work. Make up as well, but won't that sweat off and leave marks everywhere?

So what works to make you feel more confident at leaving the house with bare legs?

I think ALL fake tan looks terrible on truly pale people. I am blue/white and I have embraced it. If I ensure that I am very well smoothed and moisturized and get them out as they are. If you make sure there's no dead skin and you're full of moisturizer then it looks fine.

You are all making me feel brave enough to embrace the pale! The problem I have with this though is that the rest of me will go a soft light golden colour, but my legs never do, ever. I'm going to look two tone aren't I?

You can have varicose veins removed surgically (I had one removed from my right leg when I was 32) and smaller veins treated by laser and/or injection.

Just looked at my arms...they too are darker than my legs, with more freckles. Wore a skirt, calf length today. Did not feel out of place, no one stared in a bad way, anyway...

I wear rimmel sun shimmer, mixed 50:50 with body lotion. It's just enough to take the glare off.

It doesn't rub or sweat off.

I'm another who just gets them out. Not above the knee though - too cellulitey, threadveiny for that. (bonsoir, I CBA with getting the veins surgically treated - too expensive and I'd probably only grow a crop of new ones.)

Fake tan doesn't "take" on my skin anyway, so I don't bother.

Bonsoir pale people's visible veins are not the same as varicose veins! The veins you can see underneath my skin are not varicose veins, just normal ones.

You can have them zapped.

No you can't Bonsoir! Not your ordinary blue veins! Why the fuck would you? I'd have no blood if my visible veins were "zapped" because I'm like a pale road map!

I just go natural (well fuzz free) and be done with it.

Fake tan usually looks fake especially when home done. Even professional done is usually obvious.

I have to say that I dont notice other peoples legs when out and about. If people are the type to notice and care about what other people's legs look like they are not really the type of person in likely to be concerning myself with tbh, so no real worries there.

I've had small thread veins on my thighs since my teens, I blame riding my bike to school, in a skirt, in all weathers.

Never really bothered me. If I was in the habit of exposing a lots of leg I would use up a ton of sun cream and probably develop more thread veins! I don't think a few thread veins look too bad in the great scheme of things...

Embrace the pale.

E45's Silky Radiance lotion is great for giving legs a shimmery radiance rather than bronzing them.

Yes, I have embraced the pale too. I'm very, very pale. I was once told in the Carribean that I was way too white to cope with the sun and I should stay indoors at all times. I was actually sitting in shade, with hat, factor 50 and a cotton kaftan thing!

Yes, I am a blue/white/pink Celt. Occasionally if I'm lucky I get so freckly they join together and I look orange. From a distance. If you screw your eyes up.

I've always been really self conscious about it, and tried fake tan with limited success. Or covering up and roasting.

But I am on holiday in the sun as I type now. No fake tan. Am wearing shorts, ha! The glare has gone off a bit after a week here.

But you know what, I don't care. I've got bloomin' twins. I'm studying. I am much much more than the colour of my legs. I am here to relax. And if I wanted to worry there is much much more to worry about.

Tbh I think a lot of my paranoia dates back to a (white) south african boss saying once - while looking at me - you know, I think darker skin just looks better. I think he may have been trying to do a 'I may be from SA but I'm not racist' but obviously to me it sounded like 'black skin doesn't show up cellulite and hair and blotchy bits as much and you can carry more weight'.

I kinda agree with him. Darker skin can be more forgiving. You see Indian girls looking gorgeous but with a fairly rounded brown tummy sticking out. But isn't this all a bit...racist? And how sad is it that we fret so much about being darker and spend a fortune on St Tropez, whereas in other cultures they're craving skin whiteners.

We are what we are. And this summer I am finally accepting that. I heard a brilliant saying the other day: 'somewhere someone is down on their knees praying for what you take for granted'. There are a lot of people on this planet who would love to be pale and interesting.

Now, if I keep telling myself that....

Really great post Stinkingbishop Completely agree.

Have a fabulous holiday.

A couple of Summers ago I was having a day out on a very sunny day. I'd spent a while that morning fretting about what to wear as I hadn't fake tanned etc.

Whilst out I saw a woman with very pale skin, dark hair and bright pink lipstick. She had a strappy summer dress on, not short but her legs were out. I admired her for a bit, thinking how great she looked and how lovely the contrast between her dark hair and pale skin tone was, before it dawned on me that I had the exact same colouring. I gave myself a mental slap and vowed from then on to love my skin.

I also went and bought a bright pink lipgloss.

I really like This Works Perfect Legs Skin Miracle. It is a combination of an oil and a very subtle colour with no orange. It just takes off the "glare" and makes legs look smooth. It also works on the appearance of legs with arnica for bruising, vit C etc. Lisa Eldridge recommends it. Expensive but worth it IMO.

I love that very pale look when it is natural to you.

Fake tan always looks fake. Always. People will say 'oh its because it isn't properly applied' but I have seen it expertly applied by excellent salons and make up artists and it still looks wrong.

I think it has a lot to do with the flat cold light in the UK. You always look browner in the evening light so maybe stay inside until then

Otherwise a little fake tan in a moisturiser looks okay but that Full Tropez tan? Never looks right on the very fair of skin.

I'd exfoliate, use really lovely deep mosturising creams on your arms and legs, find a cream with a bit of gleam in it and use that so your skin looks in lovely nick rather than just fake tanned.

I'm not sure how old is too old. I'm not over 40 yet but have had mine hidden because of there whiteness for a decade. Has to change :)

I use decleor gradual tan with a bit of oil Looks natural very light but no good if you want a tan as such

Yes to creams with a bit of gleam, Nivea used to do a lovely one.

i am pale and proud. you can tell from my face thats i am very fair. ..It would be silly to pretend otherwise and fake just looks ridiculous on my pale skin.

i am well over 40and overweight too but I don't care. I have nice vintagey clothes and cool shoes and a funky hair cut.

so just go for it and get your legs out. Just don't wear any pale colours.

For those who rate the Sally Henson Airbrush Legs, do you use the spray or leg makeup? What's the difference?

I dont understand the reluctance to be seen with pale skin
I go to great efforts to keep my skin unblemished by UV light, damned if I'd then go and put fake tan on.

I rarely expose skin to the sun for reasons above but I wear shorts and a vest top in the gym and I don't have the impression that there is anything unacceptable about my pale skin

There's pale skin and there's pale skin covered in broken veins sadly - which is why I use St Moriz. A small amount of colour really does cover the worst of the white/red look.