A whiter shade of pale
By Emine Ali
If ever there was a time to flaunt your fairness, it is now!
With pale beauties Lily Cole and Gemma Ward dominating the catwalk and milky-skinned beauties Kirsten Dunst, Anne Hathaway and Scarlett Johannsen at the top of the cinema charts ?the new bombshell may be blonde, but she's certainly not bronzed. In fact, such is the pull of the pale, that even eternally bronzed celebs such as Jessica Simpson and Paris Hilton have been ditching the fake tan in favour of a creamier colour.
But a peaches and cream complexion isn't always easy to achieve. It requires more dedication than a daily dose of self-tanning would – with pale skin, blemishes, dark circles, redness and blocked pores have nowhere to hide – so it's necessary to invest in some super-smart skincare in order to address the above problems. Exfoliation is an important part of every cleansing regime – sloughing away dead cells that would otherwise block pores and result in spots – but an AHA-based or powder-fine formula is best because it won't be overly abrasive. Dermalogica Daily Microfolliant, £28.40 is a bestseller for a reason – it is gentle, brightening and always results in an improvement in dull-looking skin. If spots are a problem, pick up REN Multi-Mineral Detox Facial Mask (£17.50,
www.renskincare.com) which is filled with skin-nourishing seaweed, red tea and pore-vacuuming French clay. Eve Lom Rescue Mask (£25,
www.spacenk.com is also an extremely effective option.
Then apply moisturiser – ensuring you've found the right formula for your skin. A good test is to wash your face with your normal cleanser, pat skin dry and wait fifteen minutes. Then have a good look at your face in the mirror. Look at your T-zone. Is your nose and forehead shiny and cheeks comfortable? It's probable that you have an oily skin type. Are your cheeks tight and flaky and T-zone uncomfortable? Then you're dry. If your nose and forehead are shiny and cheeks tight, chances are you're combination. Dermalogica Active Moist, £18.15, is wonderful for oily skins; Vaishaly Day Cream (£35, 020 7235 5000) brilliant for combination and Liz Earle Skin Repair Moisturiser Cream (£13, 01983 813 913) a miracle cure for normal/dry faces.
Now that you've found your skin solution, you can experiment with make-up to enhance your clear, creamy complexion. With so many ingenious new foundation formulas on the market, you have no excuse to not find your perfect match. Want a fresh, glowing and natural-looking result? Try the miraculous new SK-II Airbrush Foundation (£85, 08000 721 771), which is – with no exaggeration whatsoever – absolutely foolproof and the results are addictively impressive. If you're after a tinted moisturiser to match your milky hue, try Clinique Moisture Sheer Tint (£17,
www.cliique.co.uk) or if you're a fan of foundation, Chanel's new Teint Innocence, £21, glides on to create a creamy complexion.
When skin looks this good, you want to keep colour to a bare minimum – which doesn't mean that you have to go naked. Nude eyeshadows come in myriad options – ivory, cream, taupe – and a good way of selecting a suitable colour is to close one eye and look at the colours that occur on the naked eyelid. Peach? Pink? Purple? You can then find a shadow to match the hues that occur naturally within your skin, and will therefore be a perfect match for your own skin-tone. Laura Mercier, Bobbi Brown and No7 all produce a wide range of subtle shades that will brighten eyes.
A pat of cream blusher on the apples of the cheeks will ensure you look healthy. The Body Shop Cheek Blush, £8.50, is wonderful gel-based formula that creates a natural-looking flush. For a cream blusher that you can pat on with fingertips, grab Laura Mercier Crème Cheek Colour, £18, which comes in eight different shades – Praline and Canyon are great for paler skins.
Finish with a slick of tinted balm – Kiehl's and Nuxe both produce great ones – and a single coat of black mascara. It's a simple look that lets your skin do the talking, but as with most things in life– simple is best… and pale is even better.
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Having pale skin really makes you stand out in a sea of fake orange tans.
