People always comment on how pale I look, always, especially after they find out that I’m mainly Greek and Italian; two ethnic groups that aren’t known for being pale. Now that summer is here, I’m mentally preparing myself for the amount of sunscreen and aloe vera gel that I’m going to have to buy over the next 3 months.
Growing up pale wasn’t fun and towards the end of middle school, I began to go to tanning beds and attempt to use self-tanner, although I always looked like an Oompa Loompa afterwards. Tanning beds were awful (and expensive) because no matter the amount of time I would spend in there, I’d come out burned.
I travelled to Greece when I was 14 and when I first arrived there I was as pale, if not paler, than Edward Cullen. When I left, however, I was red all over with sun poisoning blisters covering my right thigh. That experience made me realize that being tan is so not worth the pain I have to go through to get my skin to an acceptable shade of bronze.
Since my decision of deciding to embrace my pale skin, I’ve run into a lot of obstacles that I’m sure a lot of the other ivory skinned beauties in the world go through.
1. Makeup. Enough said.
The struggle of finding an acceptable foundation,concealer and powder is quite possibly
the bane of my existence. Everything I try is too dark, even the shades that
contain ‘ivory’ or ‘porcelain’ in the name. I found this wonderful foundation
by Maybelline that used for a while but
after a few months of using it, it started to make my skin itchy and red, almost
as if there was an allergic reaction happening. I think I’ve found the holy
grail of foundations for me, though. I currently use L’Oreal Paris’ Infallible
Pro-Matte foundation in shade 101 Classic Ivory. For concealer, I’ve found that
NYX’s HD Concealer in shade CW01 Porcelain is absolutely amazing and for a
finishing powder I use another NYX product which is HD Finishing Powder in
shade HDFP01 Translucent. Yes, translucent, because any powder with even a hint
of color makes my make-up routine useless.
2. Preparing to go outside is like preparing for war.
In the summer, before I even think of stepping foot outside, I slather myself in sunscreen. Even my lip balm has SPF because I’m that paranoid. If I could wear long sleeves and sweatpants all summer long without suffering from a heatstroke? Believe me, I would jump at the chance. Swimming is one of my all-time favorite things to do and I would spend hours in the pool if it weren’t for the fact that 1) I have to get out every hour to apply more sunscreen and 2) the water in a pool or ocean reflects sunlight so you’re getting direct sunlight hitting your skin as well as reflected sunlight from the water.
3. Yes, I know it’s summer. Yes, I know I’m still pale.
I made my decision a long time ago. I prefer being pale over being tanning because the weeks of peeling and whimpering while my parents apply aloe vera gel to my burnt back are simply not worth it. So please, for the sake of my sanity and the sake of you not getting punched in the face, shut up.
I’ve come to accept the fact that I belong in the Victorian era when being pale was acceptable without people hurling a million comments at you about being pasty. Pale skin for my generation is usually associated with being unattractive but my ideology is if me being pale is concerns and bothers you so much, you obviously need to reevaluate your priorities. While you’re having fun in the sun, I’ll be under a beach umbrella, perfectly content with my choices.
