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Pale or Tan?

Miss_Vawny

New in Town
Messages
2
Location
London, UK
He he!

I also have very fair skin. I am so pale that whenever I dont wear foundation, on the rare occasions, people ask me if I'm ill all day! I used to cover myself in fake tan, but now I think I look better pale and interesting. But like monicacaroline I wish I had a little colour on my legs. Hardly likely to happen with my factor 50 sunscreen though!
 

GWD

One Too Many
Messages
1,642
Location
Evergreen, Co
I saw the title of this post and thought it was about beer. :eusa_doh:

From this mans point of view I perfer pale now that I'm older, I've seen the results of women chasing a tan their whole life and it's not pretty later in life. Here in California I've seen many older women with skin that looks like old wrinkled up leather.

But I have to admit I find tan lines insanly sexy, almost to the fetish level. (Prolly Too Much Information) :rolleyes:
 

Smuterella

One Too Many
Messages
1,776
Location
London
Maguire said:
grossly overweight, very thin, or very ugly, or look unsavory,

but its all subjective isn't it. your taste will be quite different to many.

personally I think Jennifer Connolly looks prim and rather sharp but I can see how some people might find her attractive.

back on topic - I was just looking at some vintage film snaps and noticed that Diana Dors (overweight, unsavoury?...who knows, I think she was gorgeous) was very tanned.
 

Audrey Horne

Practically Family
Messages
595
Location
Orange, CA
Let's just agree that we have different preferences shall we? I accept that some choices that I make regarding my appearance make me more attractive to some and less attractive to others. For example, living in Orange County, California most people cannot imagine why I would choose to remain so pale. I've even been teased for it numerous times by coworkers and acquaintances. As we have seen on this thread, there are people who find a pale look more attractive. My pale look is more about health concerns because my skin is naturally so fair that I burn easily, but I can appreciate the aesthetic that goes along with it.
 

Miss Neecerie

I'll Lock Up
Messages
6,616
Location
The land of Sinatra, Hoboken
Folks,

This thread is about -tans- Not about who one will date or not date.

Its that simple. If people keep persisting in coming in here and expressing the 'oh dear god I could never date...'...I will delete their posts and recommend they go join a dating forum, since thats clearly the -only- thing they can relate anything to in their life.


Any further -personal- attacks of any nature, by -any- party....will not be tolerated. If someone posts something you find offensive, what you need to do is not argue with them, but contact one of the bartenders, and let us handle it. Engaging with offenders, merely furthers a 'fighting words' atmosphere.....


Got it?
 

olive bleu

One Too Many
Messages
1,667
Location
Nova Scotia
I often have the feeling that i am repeating myself around here, and i could have sworn that i alreday posted in this thread, but for the life of me, i can't find it now.....

as a teen in the late 70's early 80's, i was a sunbathing maniac. Now,i grew up in the middle of the North Atlantic, so granted, there wasn't that much sun to be had :) ...i NEVER used sunscreen, and in fact i used to smear Butter on my body because a friend told me it would give me a nice golden tan..well of COURSE it would..i was frying myself!!

Anyway those days are over and i avoid the sun whenever i can now.I was always teased about my pale skin when i was younger, but now i am not taking any chances. Luckily i still have good skin,and am praying that i don't just wake up some morning and find i've turned into a prune. :)
 

cherry lips

Call Me a Cab
Messages
2,949
Location
sweden
50's ad
tumblr_lhpwu33WWb1qa70eyo1_500.png

http://jeanpatchett.tumblr.com/
I think it's interesting that they chose a darker foundation to match Jean's raven-haired side.
 

cherry lips

Call Me a Cab
Messages
2,949
Location
sweden
I might add that my views have changed since I last posted in this thread. I've had problems with acne since my teens and have always loved the sun for helping my bad skin and giving me a more even skintone. I have yet to find a high factor sunscreen for my face that isn't thick and greasy and doesn't make me break out even more... at least not in my humble price range. I live in Sweden so even if I've been a sun goddess for years I'm hoping the rays weren't that strong, but I'm not sure. I've come to the conclusion that the most important thing is for me to be happy. So I've thrown away all ideals of having a different shaped body, or a different shade of skin; it's like wishing you had violet eyes. I've always loved the sun and the sea, it's good for my depressive nature. This summer I'm going to Italy for a week. I'll bring a parasol or a hat, and put sun screen on where it's needed, but my number one concern is to enjoy myself. I have a feeling that what makes you happy when you're 50 isn't your skin. The secret to youth, happiness, and lust for life is a little deeper than that. I for one believe in having young lovers, living like you might die soon, not taking things too seriously, and never doing what's expected of you. In short, having fun!
 
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Miss Golightly

Call Me a Cab
Messages
2,312
Location
Dublin, Ireland
I love being pale - even though I would tan eventually after some sun exposure - I wear SPF 30 every day and am so careful when on holidays - or even in Dublin on a sunny day!
 

beth

Familiar Face
Messages
72
Location
Houston
I'm much like you Cherry Lips.
I like pale skin. I don't find tanning beds appealing and don't see why people feel the /need/ to be tan. But at the same time, I tan fairly easily. I like being outside, and going to the beach. I'll put on sunscreen to protect my skin, but I know I will still tan. I'm not going to let that stop me from enjoying myself.
 

cherry lips

Call Me a Cab
Messages
2,949
Location
sweden
English rose Elizabeth Taylor was fair as snow and a so-called winter, but could still tan (and did!):

Pale:
0323-elizabeth-taylor-cleopatra_bd.jpg


Tan:
elizabeth+TAYLOR.jpg


article-1151575-03902B04000005DC-838_468x602.jpg


My skin can burn and get red, but it can also tan, so I guess I'm an in-between.
 
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cherry lips

Call Me a Cab
Messages
2,949
Location
sweden
Another thought, for all of you who prefere pale on yourselves, do you prefere it on your partners as well? I like boys whether they're tan or pale, each has a certain charm. Contrasts are pretty: I love a dark-haired boy with pale skin or a blond boy with bronze skin. Yummy!
 

AdrianLvsRocky

One of the Regulars
Messages
238
Location
Wales, UK
I'm a lovely milk bottle white! I used to loath it but have grown to like it a lot more now. My husband is quite dark skinned and makes me look even pastier!

My preference for skin colour on others is their natural colour. Your skin colour is unique and it seems a shame to fake it. I especially dislike badly done, orangey fake tan.

Seems a bit two faced of me to go on about natural beauty though as I'm a bottle red head! :)
 

Tatum

Practically Family
Messages
959
Location
Sunshine State
I'm pretty fair, but I tan easily, and living in Florida and owning a boat, I usually do in the summer. I wish I could stay pale all year and still go outside and play, but no amount of sunscreen will do that.
 

Drappa

One Too Many
Messages
1,141
Location
Hampshire, UK
I'm actually not that bothered by either. I have olive but pale skin in the winter, but tan steadily in the summer and wear a moisturiser with SPF every day. When I was a child and on holiday with my parents they used to slather the sunscreen on and then discovered that I hardly ever burn. I tan slowly and thankfully don't burn. I just make sure I have at least two foundations for summer and winter and embrace both.
I do wish my legs tanned quicker, because they are usually out much later than my face and arms and I feel a bit silly with white legs and a tanned face. :)
I think the only time I went tanning was just before my wedding, because it was a cold and dreary summer and my dress was ivory, so I didn't want to look washed out. In my early 20's I used to lie out in the sun for hours with no sunscreen, but I wouldn't do that anymore.
 

sheeplady

I'll Lock Up
Bartender
Messages
4,479
Location
Shenandoah Valley, Virginia, USA
Well, I am pale. I will always be pale; I have lots of freckles, so all my melanin is in those. I could sit outside in the sun for 24 hours a day for years, and I will never look "tan." It is impossible.

I do lightly tan through sun screen, but tan for me is other's normal dead of winter flesh tone, with more and darker freckles. If I don't wear sunscreen outside in the spring and summer, I burn. I have to reapply any 50 SPF or above sunscreen every two hours or less- that is how easily I burn. I've been burnt badly through clothing, so I am careful. I love my freckles, so this is the price I pay!

There was a time when I was a teenager that I wanted darker skin, and when I get burnt or have to run inside to reapply sunscreen and miss some of the fun I still wish I didn't burn as bad. But then I thought about all the compliments I've gotten in my life about my freckles (and I've gotten far many more compliments than negatives), I decided that pale skin wasn't so bad. I just need to be careful about burning.

My husband is also pale but his winter skin tone is still three times darker than mine. He tans to a greater extent than me, and rarely burns. I have always gone for paler guys with dark hair, but that is weak preference.
 

LinaSofia

A-List Customer
Messages
475
Location
Brighton, UK
I'm like you Berlin, I don't have a choice about it, I'm just super pale! I was always really jealous of my mum and brother because they have olive skin and tan really easily, but I took after my dad who is blond and really fair-skinned! My partner is really dark and olive skinned so next to him I look like a ghost :) but I've come to terms with this and even wish I was even paler! I wish I had that even toned milky white skin! Unfortunately I'm a bit pink-hued and covered in freckles in the summer!
 

wahine

Practically Family
Messages
535
Location
Lower Saxony, Germany
I like fair skin and avoid the sun as much as possible. Since I was a teenager, I don't get a tan easily and the older I get, the more I think my skin's a sissy when it comes to sun (allergic to sun!).

Well, anyway: the other day my auntie brought me a nice sixties skirt in black, violet and green shades. I put it on in the bathroom and came back.
My aunt went: "Oh, did you put on a pair of matching light green tights? How nice!"
But I had nothing on my legs! My nude, greenish legs!
So maybe I should get SOME sun on my legs - I mean, fair skin's nice, but green?! Ouch! :eek:
 

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