I am super duper Scotch pale. My skin is practically translucent. My three summer essentials are Clarins liqued bronze, Avene SPF 50, and Vichy Normaderm Pro-matte with spf. The Clarins is so intense I could only use it once every 5 days or so, but after the first day it's a really natural tan, with that radiant quality that Gisele was somehow born with.
To deal with my heat and sun sensitive skin, the Vichy Pro Mat is a revelation. I can walk downtown for hours in sweltering humidity and my forehead is still bone dry. It almost makes me want to stop passersby on the street to show them my forehead.

I am mixed race, between Caucasian and African American, so I'm naturally tanned. I never fake-baked, but I saw people who do. Like you said, they look like a pumpkin. The strange thing about it is that they think they look good. Well, the girls that I went to school with thought they looked good. The natural golden color that one can get from a little bit of time in the sun looks fine. It's the florescent orange from a tanning booth that looks crazy. Why not save the money and spend some time at the beach?

Also, I agree with you on the wrinkle thing. When I get my first wrinkle, it will be the end of the world.

I'm a redhead and try and rock my super pale look year round. I rarely wear anything above 15spf and haven't had a sunburn in years.

But if I'm vacationing or having photos taken a get a good airbrush tan (about $45 where I live) and it lasts about a week. It's essential to find a real pro, though; a tan last week left me looking splotchy and ridiculous. Otherwise I LOVE airbrush tanning, and would get them every week if I could afford it. Fingers crossed that the fumes don't give me cancer someday.

Hahaha! I hear you. I am on week 4 of marathon training and have the same stupid watch tan. This is despite sunscreen application every single day.

I live in Greece. I wear 50 SPF everyday and still find myself with a tan. My skin tans easily but really, there is just no place here to hide from the sun. It is strong and everywhere.

The new MyMyst spray tan booths are much better now than in years past. You can choose from four shades so if you go with the lightest, called “Glow” it's a very light, natural application. The next step up is “light” – it looks good but I shudder to think that there are two more darker shades. I always wonder if it looks normal but friends ask if I've been basking in the sun or been on vacation. I live in Austin so lots of people are v v dark (and a bit dry and pruny, if you ask me). I don't need to look like Malibu Barbie but a very light glow in the summer is nice.

I'm really in love with the at home spray on tan, more specifically the Sunlove brand. It's cheaper than having it done by someone else and it looks so much better than using lotions.

So I'm happily and safely rocking the tan this summer.

I am originally from California and have been living in NY for 9 years. When I go back to visit, my friends and peers have aged from their sun exposure. Along with looking young, my main motive to not tan is having lost my father to malignant melanoma two years ago. I faithfully put on sunscreen.
I used to do Mystic Tan a while back, but have stopped not knowing what toxins my skin absorbs from it (mystic tan does not disclose the ingredients).

Not all French people have light skin and dark hair. Some are of African origin.

“buck up”

I''ve got very fair translucent skin that doesn't really tan and I burn horribly painfully. So I love sunscreen, hats, and shade. I've tried artificial tanning but it looks terrible on me, either too orange or too dull so it looks more dirty than tan. I get some comments in the summer about how pale I am and that I need to get outside more which is frustrating. I've known too many people in my family who've had to have moles removed and biopsied to take any chances.

Im asian and cool-toned pale. A lot of westerners have this misconception that asians want to emulate caucasians so we try hard to lighten our skin but in fact its because loong ago in asia the rich stayed indoors and the poor were outdoors farming and were naturally much darker than the rich.

These notions are still loosely held (i.e. tanned female celebrities are deemed 'sexy' and 'exotic' whereas pale female celebrities are said to look 'royal' and 'classy').

Anyway aside from this I am worried about wrinkles so I try to keep out of the sun and wear SPF products all the time. I really enjoy my pale skin and dark, jet black hair… :D

tanning vs. being naturally dark skinned is not the same thing when it comes to colorism. Completely unlrelated, as is lip injections and booty injections.

I have to work in the rice paddy about 10 hours a day to keep my awesome tan.

Yes, I was referring to ethnic French, descendants of Gauls. I was born outside of Paris and lived in the city for 25 years before coming to New York so I am aware that there are other ethnicities that are French nationals. African, Chinese, Turkish, etc. You do not have to go to make me look foolish. My wording must have not come though properly, forgive me for English not being my native tongue.

before donning a bathing suit a slathered my entire body with clarins self-tanner (all r good) for 5 days straight so that when i did venture into the light i didn't look like an albino whale. i only “sun” for about 1.5 hours a week and use a 50 sunblock. mid-week i use shiseido brilliant bronze quick self-tanning gel; it dries almost immediately and does not stain clothes (totally rocks). i look tan all summer long with minimal damage.

Sorry to sound like the Grim Reaper, but you may like to take a look at this very sad story of Asian- Australian Claire who died of skin cancer at the age of 26 after using solariums to get a tan prior to a holiday, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_KmHEJXYZrQ.

i'm italian, so if i avoid the sun i stay quite pale, but i tan easily and naturally. honestly, i use dove gradual glow lotion (something like that, can't remember the actual name) or the juergens stuff. i love that shit. if i use it every two or three days – honestly, whenever i remember – i never look fake. i don't smell weir, and my skin doesn't have that translucent look to it. also, a bit of color can really help hide the random imperfections on the legs one tends to acquire when one is 22 years old and clumsy when intoxicated.

A common look i’ve seen is girls with tannish orangey skin and dark hair. They’ll dye it either jet black or a dark chocolately brown…who do you think you’re fooling? Nobody thinks you’re from Brazil honey. You’re white. Fucking deal with it. What’s so bad about being pale anyway? lol. I’m dark skinned by the way

Look at how people of dark skin used to be treated. Not just black people, people who looked different enough from whites. Now so many light skinned people want to darken their skin! Purposely! It’s HILARIOUS! NOT completely unrelated. Wtf?