The Woes of Having Pale Skin

Pale skin is something that in recent years has been celebrated more within the beauty industry. With so many new products and shades being released to cater for the needs of the fair, and also more emphasis and encouragement to be happy in your own skin, it's difficult to see why it can cause issues. But believe me, there are some things that I still find it hard to get my head around.

[Picture via Pinterest, edited with PicMonkey]

As someone who is extremely pale myself (think Light Porcelain Foundation), I've found a few problematic areas to add to my collection since I have been blogging, so here is a list of my woes and wobbles of having pale skin:

1. Magazine Testers

Have you ever been really excited to try new magazine testers? Yeah, me too. Only when I go to try out the sachet of a brand new BB Cream or foundation, it tends to be in the shade 'Natural' in every copy of the magazine. Whilst this is the best generalisation for the majority of readers, it sits like mud on my pasty face, and usually results in me never getting to properly try the formula. Such a shame, and one of my biggest pet hates!

2. Makeup Shades

Whilst brands have been expanding their ranges to include the whiter shades (thank goodness!) they aren't available everywhere. As I am always the palest in every single brand for all products (even the MAC foundations with all of their colours) I have to go for the lightest. However drugstores don't tend to sell these shades, and beauty counters never seem to have them in their stock either. I think Tesco was the only place that I could find the Rimmel Wake Me Up in Light Porcelain, and that was just by sheer chance. Why make the colours if you won't sell them?!

It's the same with contour palettes - there are great ones for the darker areas, but the highlight never seems to be pale enough for my dainty skin. Nightmare!

3. The Perfect Nude Lipstick

Although nude lips is one of my favourite makeup looks, finding the right one for my skintone was an absolute mare, and it was actually my sister who found the perfect one in the end. The Kylie Jenner lip was all the range, and perfect dupes were plastered all over the blogosphere and instagram...but it was so difficult to find colours that matched us ghosts of the world! Why won't anyone help usss?!

4. Flash Photography

I never use flash photography on my blog, but when you're out with your pals do you really want to be the one who's shining white in the picture? Nope, me neither. But it goes without saying that the flash will bounce right off of your face and straight back into the camera. No matter how much bronzer I use, fake tan can be the only help for me on a night out, and it's such a hassle!

5. Summer

It seems like a general all rounder, but as much as I love the warmth and freshness of the season, my skin hates it. It's one thing cracking out the pasty sausages when skirt season comes around, but its another when you have to cover them straight back up for having frazzled in half an hour of the English sun. No amount of suncream is ever enough, and I always need to wear a hat to ward off sunstroke. How can you love and hate a season so much at the same time? I just want to be a bronzed babe!

These are all things that grind my gears about having pale skin. Although it is beautiful and I love it, it's so difficult to find the right matches and certain things that fit all!

Do any of you have these issues with pale skin? I'd love to know!

Alice x

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