Yes, I'm pale. No, I don't care.



Hello. This is me. I'm pale. I always have been. Like, extremely pale. I mean, on some parts of my body you can SEE through to the blue veins beneath my paper thin skin. Yeah, gross. I've never been tanned, not even close, for the whole of my (nearly) 24 years on this earth. It used to bother me - people telling me I look ill, and that I 
'need to get out in the sun' as if that will do my pale as shit skin any good. But eventually I began to like the look. I even dyed my hair black, despite people telling me on a DAILY basis that black hair makes me look paler and that it doesn't suit me and I should have lighter hair blah blah blah - I don't care. I LIKE IT. 


"Are you a goth?"

No. I'm not a goth. A goth wannabe, maybe. Nineties goth, that is. I want dark brown lipstick and fishnet tops and knee high Dr. Martens, always. But no, my pale skin doesn't mean I'm a goth.

"Did you know having a tan makes you look thinner?"

Yeah, I did, and thank you for not only saying I look pale; but that it's making me look fat.

"Why don't you just get yourself under a tanning bed?"

Because I'd rather be pale than have skin cancer.

"Fake tan?"

No. Not interested. Don't get me wrong, it looks great on people who do it properly. But most of the time it looks gross and smells gross and tbh I'm just lazy.


"Why are you putting on factor 50? Let your skin see some sun!"


I'LL TELL YOU WHY. Because, yes, those of the pale persuasion are likely to burn. I for one, burn very easily. Sometimes in winter. I fullyyyy recommend the Kiehls Ultra Light Daily Moisturizer SPF 50 for the face because it's super light as it says and provides full protection without the worry of breaking out. Well, for me anyway.


The one problem I have with being pale is finding makeup (mostly foundation) that actually matches the shade of my face. Even those labelled as 'porcelain' often have an orangey warm tone to them which do my face no favours, let me tell you.

The trick here is to buy as high-end a foundation you can afford. I know, pain in the arse, but these normally have a much wider variety of shades and you're bound to find one that matches, no matter how pale. My fave is the Nars Tinted Moisturiser which I use in the shade 'Finland' which is almost a perfect match for me.
Fair enough, some people really don't like their naturally porcelain skin (are you mad?) and there are products out there made specifically to help build a natural tan, which is great. I am no help to you however, as I haven't even attempted to try any of these said products because frankly, that all seems a bit too much maintenance for me. It's already enough I have to pluck my damn eyebrows twice a week (pale skin, dark hair, YEAH.)

One of the most common misconceptions is that with pale skin, you should avoid dark hair and dark make up. Um, hello, have you met me. I genuinely think I look LESS washed out than when I had light ginger hair. One tip though; lots of make up/anything brightly coloured shows up a lot easier on pale skin, which means it can be hard to look 'natural' when using lots of products. I usually avoid wearing bronzer and blusher at the same time, often just sticking to foundation and concealer - if not, I can look really 'cakey' and like I'm wearing too much make up. My fave make up look to go for is a neutral eye (usually a browny bronze eyeshadow with a bit of mascara) and a bold lip - often purple but a deep red is also fab when you fancy wacking out that classic 'movie star' look. A dark lipstick will help to bring out the natural colour of your skin, which lets face it, is kinda great. Less is definitely more when it comes to pale skin.

When it comes to clothes, the one thing I would say is AVOID YELLOW. If you're pale and can carry off a buttery yellow dress, I envy you. Because believe me, I really do look ill when wearing yellow. Gross.

There are no rules, really. I wear a lot of dark clothes (mainly black) - in fact, I can't think of a single brightly coloured item in my wardrobe. It's just about balance. And giving anyone who tells you to go get a freakin' tan, the middle finger.

2 comments:

  1. YES go you!! I enjoy being pale too, because i am lazy but also just because I like being pale! And completely agree with the sun bed one I won't ever go under one of those ever! And completely agree with the foundation! Glad to see you back lady! x

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  2. Yess Girl ♥

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