This is going to be a bit bizarre of a post for some of you, but if you’re super pale like me, or a Winter person.. then you’re going to understand where I’m coming from with this.
To start, you may or may not notice the fact that the UK at the moment is in the midst of the longest heatwave EVER. Which for the majority of people is amazing, but for me, not so much. I’m a self-proclaimed Winter lover. Not because I hate the sunshine, BBQs, Summer fun or anything like that (I love that stuff), but because I love bundling up in layers, wearing my Autumn/Winter boots, the gorgeous food and hot drinks that come with Winter, everything it so prettily decorated and of course, I can’t leave Christmas out of that list. Oh I forgot Christmas movies.. nevermind, the list could go on forever.
What can I say, I’m a bit of a romantic when it comes to Winter! Why I prefer the colder seasons is not only because of the above list, but also because of one other thing. I’m as pale as a sheet of paper. No, I’m being serious. I basically reflect sunlight.
Don’t believe me? Here’s Exhibit A:
And being this pale in Summer results in being told the same thing over and over again. The most infamous of these sayings being:
· “Get out in the sun!!”
· “OMG you’re SOOOO pale”
· “Why don’t you just sit out in it and get a tan”
· “She must be a vampire”
· “Have you thought about a spray tan?”
· “Just sit in the sun for 5 minutes, it won’t kill you”
(If you’re as pale as me then you may have heard a lot of these.)
And, guess what? I’m happy with my skin tone, I don’t tan anyway, I only burn and somehow end up paler than before. It’s taken a long time for me to realise that I don’t need to change it because everyone thinks I should be more tanned. Or that tanned skin is the typical skin tone showed in pretty much every women’s magazine, especially when advertising ‘bikini bodies’. Brief side note – more skin tones need to be shown in advertising and magazines etc. because all skin tones are beautiful and no one should feel like their skin is not as good as someone else’s (I could also say the same about body types..). But I won’t go on about that right now (not in this post anyway).
One thing I’m constantly struck with in Summer is trying to find clothes that I’m comfortable in, I’m a bit of a disaster in the heat, I just can’t function. I hate feeling clammy and sweaty, as does everyone, and I’m constantly in fear of my legs sticking to chairs and having it feel like my skin has been waxed off every time I stand up. And I won’t even go on about sweat patches.
Another thing us pale skinned people have to deal with is the constant going bright red when you’ve literally only walked up a flight of stairs; I look as if I’ve ran a bloody marathon, and people always think I’m really unfit or worn out when in reality I’m totally fine. Or you get this whilst you’re out and about and aren’t sure if your face is sunburnt or if your skin has decided it wants to emulate a tomato.
Which brings me on to the biggest reason I for why I prefer Winter to Summer, sunburn. I can’t actually remember a Summer where I haven’t been severely sunburnt and got sun stroke whilst wear factor 50+ sun cream. And I know what you’re going to say, “you got to re-apply!!”; trust me I know. I practically bathe in the stuff at least every 30 minutes, sit in the shade and still burn.
A lot of people tell me that I’ll tan as I get older, whether or not I will, we’ll just have to wait and see. Being super pale is one of those things that I hated when I was younger, I tried multiple fake tans, including one at the start of May this year only to result in looking like a tangerine and feeling dirty because I’m not used to seeing anything other than white on me. For people using fake tan I applaud you because it always looks natural on you, and I don’t know how you do it! Fake tan + me just doesn’t end well. Nowadays I’ve come to realise that my skin is one of the things that makes me, me. And although every now and again I still long for a darker skin tone, I just don’t think it’ll suit me and if I were to decide I wanted to be more tanned, I’d be too scared to go and get a spray tan for the fear I’ll look like Ross from that episode on Friends..
Whether or not you’re a fellow pale skinned person or someone of any skin tone, what I would love for you to take away from this is that no matter what someone says about your skin tone, it’s beautiful and you shouldn’t feel like it needs to change to fit in with other people’s ideals.
That’s if from my today, I hope you’re enjoying your Summer and staying safe in this heatwave!
As for me, I’m just going to go back to sitting in front of my fan where I can shop for all the new Autumn/Winter collections!
Have fun in the sun, or shade.. everyone!! Love,
The Weight Of My Worlds 