Loving Pale Skin

Mar 3, 2015

Margu M.

I have very pale skin and would like to know if there's anyone here with products, tips and tricks they'd like to share related to skin care, makeup, hair or whatever for super pale skin (or redheads), and embracing it rather than trying to alter it with tan or bronzer. I currently use Urban Decay liquid foundation in 1.0, it's too dark but I can make it look believable with enough blending and highlighting because I love the formula. My perfect match is Tarte's BB Tinted Primer in fair, but it doesn't really have any coverage, lol.

Mar 3, 2015

Kailey L.

For me, I just embrace the vampire life haha I pretty much never expose myself to direct sunlight, and always use spf since us pal gals damage more easily. And I find if I'm wearing foundation, which I usually do, I have to wear more blush than most people do so I don't look too washed out.

Mar 4, 2015

Naomi K.

I'm a super pale natural redhead too! I have to same question as Margu M. :)

Mar 4, 2015

Heidi C.

Own it :) I'm not quite as pale as you, but still pale enough to hear "oh my god I thought she was a ghost!" from orange people. I've found that I can pull off bold, contrasting looks a lot easier and it tends to stand out in a crowd (but not in a bad way lol). Red lips never fail me. If you want a way to lighten up your foundation, you can mix it with a bit of bb cream or put a brightening sunscreen underneath (Lioele's Sun Shake Lotion is great).

Mar 4, 2015

MaKenzie T.

I love being pale. I do love using bronzer and glowing up my complexion on occasion, but I think fair skin is really eloquent looking. There is something about it that is so dainty and fresh to me. lol. I always use suncsreen with a high spf, and seeing as I am a redhead I don't tan anyway. lol.

Mar 4, 2015

Jamie D.

I like to use very very very finely ground shimmer highlighters. I don't like glitter, but a very fine sheen of highlighter all over my skin makes my paleness look less sickly and more glowy. Just skip the oily patches of your skin :) Also, instead of using bronzer, I like to use bronzey red burnt blushes. I feel like they sort of clash with my pale skin but in a really good way and it makes my skin look luminescent in comparison. Light pinky blushes always look beautiful as well. Basically, with pale skin the most important thing is to have a glow so that your skin looks healthy and refreshed. I find that, because I'm so pale, it's easy for me to look sickly and for my skin to look really dull (even when I'm oily). I'm a natural red head too, so I feel your pain. I hope this helps! Embrace it girl! But also, there's nothing wrong with loving your bronzer!! :)

Mar 4, 2015

Emily P.

You sort of just have to play around until you find a look that you love, and then wear it with confidence. :)

I'm not as pale as you, and I've got red undertones so those tend to make me look more pink and less ivory when I flush. But I still consider myself to be light skinned. SPF 100+ for the win.?

I love playing up my light skin with a bold lip colour that makes my hair. I really like the contrast. I also love nude lipsticks, though they don't compliment me on the same way. It depends on the day, haha.

Mar 4, 2015

Carlie N.

Use Mac NW10 foundation

Mar 4, 2015

Rebecca B.

Also very pale and lighter than every foundation shade. I think for me, the best thing is a white foundation, for us it can lighten foundations or be used as a highlight. I also think shimmer looks amazing on us. I don't think we need to follow any rules for our eyeshadows and lip colours. Only eyeshadow colour I avoid is blue. :)

Mar 4, 2015

Margu M.

Thanks, ladies! Totally agree on the eyeshadow and lip rules, I threw those out ages ago, same with the "redheads can't wear red" bs. All my lipsticks are dark, red or purple haha. My favorite blush color is purple, I think it looks ethereal and fairy-like on pale skin and doesn't turn orange the way a lot of "natural" colors do on me. I'm actually a redhead by choice, my natural color is too red to be dirty blonde but not red enough to be red, but I prefer to just go all the way red, since it's so easy for me to get it natural looking and I think it works better with my skin than blonde.

Mar 4, 2015

Brandy S.

Urban decay has a.5 shade in the naked skin foundation, maybe that would be a better match for you?

Mar 4, 2015

Shauna S.

Some foundations that have very pale shades are MUFE Mat Velvet +, Tarte, and Revlon Colorstay.

Mar 4, 2015

Margu M.

.5 is barely lighter than 1.0, the main difference is.5 is pink, so it turns orange on my neutral-yellow undertone. Revlon Colorstay is for sure too dark and pink, it was one of the first actual foundations I tried. Nothing in the drugstore is pale enough for me. But thank you for your suggestions :)

Mar 4, 2015

Ellie K.

I have very pale skin with a cool undertone and naturally red hair...mac nw10 works well for me!! :)

Mar 4, 2015

Jamie D.

You thought 0.5 was pink? Really? Hmmm...it's what I use, and it's even too dark on me (I have to use a light concealer to even it out), but I wouldn't call it pink. In general, my biggest problem with pale foundations is that if they're pale enough they're always too pink, but I don't have that problem with the UD Naked Skin. I have neutral-cool tones though, not neutral-warm like you. MUFE Mat Velvet + in shade 15 is pretty neutral, and personally I wear NW10-15 in MAC, but if you have neutral yellow you should probably go for NC15 (I don't know if there is an NC10 in foundations...) if you want to go with MAC. Hourglass has some very pale shades of their Immaculate Foundation, so you could look at those as well.

Mar 5, 2015

Margu M.

I've got my eye on Nars' Siberia right now, MAC doesn't have anything yellow-toned that's pale enough, as far as I know, and I never cared much for their formulas. I do plan on checking out MUFE and Hourglass, though.