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For those of you that are rocking the ?pale and interesting’ look, get happy because baring your naturally translucent tones is now on trend. In fact, a recent survey by the Loop in Dublin Airport says that 22 per cent of us now want to go au natural when it comes to our skin tones. No longer must we feel the need to hide our pearly skin under shades of fake tan, you can get it out, and quite proudly at that. Even some of our favourite celebrities are now all about the pale. But that doesn’t end the struggle. Similar to trying achieve that ?golden brown’ colour if you’re in the fake tan camp, staying perfectly pale takes a hell of a lot of work, and the struggles we fair-skinned gals go through can seem endless. Here’s the top 8 that kill us the most:
1. Getting constantly told how sick and/or tired you look
You’ve applied enough of your favourite blusher to get what you think is a dewy, flushed glow to your cheeks, only to be met with wide-eyed phrases like “My god, are you sick/really hungover?!” No. This is just our NATURAL SKIN TONE. If you must know, we’re aiming for a look like Megan Fox (yes, we know we look nothing like her), it’s about her skintone. It’s perfectly pale and very wearable. Maybe we’ll just kidnap her makeup artist?
2. Every spot and imperfection is on display
With (as of yet) no truly pale powder-type cover up invented to hide those little imperfections that always seem to show up right before a big night out (using foundation just doesn’t work), this means every blemish and mark is there for the world to see – unless you’ve been blessed with flawless skin. Not only is the slightest mark more noticeable than ever, even the teeniest touch makes the entire area go tomato-red. Not a pretty sight.
3. Flash photography is your enemy
Okay, so we like to look nicely pale (think Catriona Balfe), but not raised-from-the-dead pale. Flash photography does not flatter us, but rather makes us look like we’ve been an extra in the Addams Family movies. We look scary, and this is not the look that we want to achieve. (See photo of Megan Fox above for the overall look we’re aiming for).
4. Finding the right foundation is all kinds of hell on earth
Though quite a few cosmetic companies are at last starting to come around to the idea that some of us are pale by choice, very few actually live up to that promise and are STILL around two shades too dark (with an orange tint to boot). “Ah, but would you not like a bit of colour on your face?” says the well-meaning beauty expert. No, we just want something to match our translucent skin tone exactly. Why is that so difficult to get in Ireland? I mean, we’re Celtic. Pale skin is a part of our culture at this stage and in 2015; it still gives us a major headache. Not cool at all.
5. There are blue veins EVERYWHERE
These blue veins are on your arms, legs and pretty much all over. We hate them and there’s nothing we can do about them. Except suffer in silence.
6. The bombardment of? “Sure, why don’t you just get a tan?” questions every summer.
This fills us with rage. We don’t want a tan. We want to be pale. And we definitely don’t wish we looked like this:
7. The fear of sun holidays
We have to spend an absolute fortune on sun creams (factor 50, thank you very much, which is often really hard to find), but that’s nothing compared to the fear of getting sunburned. We need only look at the sun and we burn to a crisp. It looks horrific and is as painful as you’d expect. We’ll be buying several hats before we set foot on a beach, or doing an Anne Hathaway and using an umbrella to block the impending rays.
ICYMI: How Do You Feel About Irish Skin?
8. Fashion restrictions
There are certain colours that most fair-skinned folk just can’t pull off.? No, it doesn’t matter if they are the colours of the season. They still won’t suit you. Some shades of white, (most) shades of yellow and nude pinks come to mind. Luminious pinks aren’t great either.
Have you experienced any other struggles we’ve left out?