It is mid-June. Oh sure, the weather has not been all that delightful since early May, but it isn't snowing and as such, I simply refuse to complain. As the month wears on, the subtle sun-kissed colour will appear on my friends. But not on me.
I am not a vain creature by nature. I am short in stature. I wear my additional weight on my chin, my chest, my belly. I have three cowlicks. My feet are, well, feet.
But I have a vanity. It is my face. You see, at 50, you start to see the sun damage, the cigarette damage or simply the luck-of-the-draw genetic damage on the face.
I do not tan. I am incapable of tanning, for two critical reasons:
1) I burn
2) I get bored in the sun
So I have spent my life out of the sun and covered by floppy sun hats in the garden.
I never smoked. Oh sure, I inhaled a couple of other substances while in high school, but gave it all up so long ago that I could almost describe myself as a born-again virgin when it comes to smoking anything.
And though my mother died at 67 of complications due to diabetes, her skin was amazing. I can remember sitting beside her hour upon hour the week that she died and thinking "Man, that is some nice skin."
Since that time I have been especially protective of my face - sunscreen, hats, the whole 9 yards. And now, it is beginning to pay off my friends. Compared with many of cohort, I got nice skin. And few wrinkles.
But then there is my legs. White, white, white.
Have you ever seen such whiteness? I am like the Moby Dick of my neighbourhood!
I have a self-tanner kit upstairs, the much-heralded St. Tropez, recommended by Miss XOXO, who I am pretty sure knows something about everything, but I have yet to crack it out. It seems, well, like work. And I wonder if it will look odd to have faux tan legs when my face is most decidedly NOT tanned. So I must ask:
1) do you self-tan?
2) are any of the rest of you going au natural (well, white) like me?
Which do you prefer and what do you think? Maybe some of you are able to tan because of your natural colouring? I always enjoy your thoughts on these things!
*************
I got an email from Tory Burch about their pre-fall 2013 lookbook. I take such emails very seriously - surely Tory herself wants me to check it all out ASAP and report back, which is exactly what I did!
Apparently, pre-fall is a new fashion category. I have been caught, sartorially, with my pants down on this one. Pre-fall is apparently those items of clothing that you can wear now and then wear later. I always thought of those clothes as season-less. Go figure!
Did I love anything? Well I always love SOMETHING, which is the great tragedy of my life, surpassed only by my love of chocolate, flour, George Clooney, Hollywood musicals and accordion music.
Damn you Tory with those $400 jeweled cardigans!
Do I need C$525 riding boots? No, but if you want to buy them for me in the brown, well, thank you very much!
These $250 printed loafers are calling my name..
And how chic is this look?
But never you mind, Tory will not trick me with this whole pre-Fall business! It hasn't even warmed up enough for shorts! My goodness, I haven't even decided whether to faux tan or not!!! Is it just me, or are Tory's models looking pretty fair? Maybe they haven't decided whether to faux tan or not either! Have a happy Wednesday and stay safe out there!
I am not a vain creature by nature. I am short in stature. I wear my additional weight on my chin, my chest, my belly. I have three cowlicks. My feet are, well, feet.
But I have a vanity. It is my face. You see, at 50, you start to see the sun damage, the cigarette damage or simply the luck-of-the-draw genetic damage on the face.
I do not tan. I am incapable of tanning, for two critical reasons:
1) I burn
2) I get bored in the sun
So I have spent my life out of the sun and covered by floppy sun hats in the garden.
I never smoked. Oh sure, I inhaled a couple of other substances while in high school, but gave it all up so long ago that I could almost describe myself as a born-again virgin when it comes to smoking anything.
And though my mother died at 67 of complications due to diabetes, her skin was amazing. I can remember sitting beside her hour upon hour the week that she died and thinking "Man, that is some nice skin."
Since that time I have been especially protective of my face - sunscreen, hats, the whole 9 yards. And now, it is beginning to pay off my friends. Compared with many of cohort, I got nice skin. And few wrinkles.
But then there is my legs. White, white, white.
Have you ever seen such whiteness? I am like the Moby Dick of my neighbourhood!
I have a self-tanner kit upstairs, the much-heralded St. Tropez, recommended by Miss XOXO, who I am pretty sure knows something about everything, but I have yet to crack it out. It seems, well, like work. And I wonder if it will look odd to have faux tan legs when my face is most decidedly NOT tanned. So I must ask:
1) do you self-tan?
2) are any of the rest of you going au natural (well, white) like me?
Which do you prefer and what do you think? Maybe some of you are able to tan because of your natural colouring? I always enjoy your thoughts on these things!
*************
I got an email from Tory Burch about their pre-fall 2013 lookbook. I take such emails very seriously - surely Tory herself wants me to check it all out ASAP and report back, which is exactly what I did!
Apparently, pre-fall is a new fashion category. I have been caught, sartorially, with my pants down on this one. Pre-fall is apparently those items of clothing that you can wear now and then wear later. I always thought of those clothes as season-less. Go figure!
Did I love anything? Well I always love SOMETHING, which is the great tragedy of my life, surpassed only by my love of chocolate, flour, George Clooney, Hollywood musicals and accordion music.
Damn you Tory with those $400 jeweled cardigans!
Do I need C$525 riding boots? No, but if you want to buy them for me in the brown, well, thank you very much!
These $250 printed loafers are calling my name..
And how chic is this look?
But never you mind, Tory will not trick me with this whole pre-Fall business! It hasn't even warmed up enough for shorts! My goodness, I haven't even decided whether to faux tan or not!!! Is it just me, or are Tory's models looking pretty fair? Maybe they haven't decided whether to faux tan or not either! Have a happy Wednesday and stay safe out there!
I don't like showing my arms so I always have a farmer's tan. I even had a sock tan up until 10 years when I finally decided that it's ok to wear shoes without socks. I know, what a liberating time! Anyway, I'm very fair, so I wear sunscreen all year long; even on rainy and cloudy days. My boys wear SPF 50 before 5 years old. Have to start with the healthy habits at an early age. I burn too so I stay away from the sun as much as possible. I can handle not wearing hats but only for a few hours. Oh and I don't believe in faux tanning lotion/creams. I have a Jergen's bottle but I never used it. I feel that it's ok to just be who you are. If you tan easily or not, that's is who you are. I'm short like you, Wendy but I embrace it because those are my genes and I can't do anything about it. I could hide it by wearing platforms, etc but I feel that it's just too much work. Why not just allow the world to accept who you truly are?
ReplyDeleteWendy - that is funny, I have the same jergens bottle, unopened! I am like you on the sunscreen daily and with my kids and they have lovely skin! You will be glad when you get to my age that you took such good care of your skin!
DeleteI have avoided tanning for the last 25 years, ever since my father had his first skin cancer. I've tried to embrace the Snow White looks that Mother Nature gave me--you should have seen my scowl when the girl at Sephora tried to sell me bronzer! But given that the no-stockings look seems here to stay, my legs present a challenge, because they are so white that they are blue! Alas, I have never found a self-tanner that gives an even and attractive color, so I use a little Sally Hansen Airbrush Legs make-up mixed with some lotion. Just enough of a pale bronze to take the blue edge off, plus a little coverage and sparkle.
ReplyDeleteAdding some bronzer to lotion is a good idea! Skin cancer is such a scary thing!
DeleteWell I am a bit of a know-it-all, aren't I? My motivation is honorable, I feel like I have helpful information to share and people can take it or leave it as they please.
ReplyDeleteAnyhoo, I am very white but can tan slightly with a lot of work. Growing up in the South there was plenty of warmth and sunshine to slowly build up a tan. Living in Canada it is impossible, even a two-week junket to the Caribbean is not enough sun. I do leave my legs white at the beginning of the season but eventually want to have a bit of color and once I start I maintain it until the first chilly day in September when the furnace kicks in and I know my legs will soon be covered for the next 8 months. St. Tropez is the only brand that looks natural IMO. No orange glow and a subtle build up that gives a slight color to my legs without too drastic a contrast to the rest of me if I leave it white. It's all self-tanner now, I use sunscreen every day of the year on my face and any exposed skin. I have no problem with others going au naturel but for myself I feel better with a bit of a glow.
I don't know about you but I do not care to see a woman wearing boots when it is not even officially summer and still cool in Canada. Hold the boots, we want sandals please!
xoxo - we need your good advice, so keep it coming
DeleteI have a cold today and it is miserable out, so I may take a try at the St. Tropez! The other thing, which I forgot to say, is that the sun is SOOOO different than when I was a kid. 40 years ago you could be a kid out all day without a hat and never burn, but not so now! I am with you on the boots!
I pride myself on being "white as a ghost". However I would be much whiter had I not tried to tan in my teens. Many burns and blisters later...I ended up with melanoma in my early 40's. No one was more shocked than my Dr. I knew what it was but they kept disagreeing with me. I don't "bronze" or "self tan". Yes, it's very chic thanks to Coco Chanel but I would rather be pale and healthy, albeit a bit pallad.
ReplyDeletePre-fall reminds me of the "cruise" collection. Seriously silly by the best stuff is to be found there.
BUT the best stuff is to be found there. Spell check on this IPad is for the birds.
DeleteYou are like me with my slight rosacea - so frustrating and due to the same thing (and the red wine!)
DeleteI tanned very late in life - around 25. Then I loved it but I have freckles so it is a fine battle to get brown but evenly and not in speckles. I do think certain people look great pale but realistically everyone looks great tanned! Self tan is such a pahlava and I am loathe to pay someone £30 to paint me...I do enjoy sunbathing. I am busy doing nothing but I can say I am working on my tan...
ReplyDeleteCSW - maybe your sun is not so strong as our location, too? I think I would love it more if I did tan, but since I don't it just seems silly!
DeleteI spent my formative years in the land of drizzle and weak sunlight, so never really got a suntan til I moved to Asia in my 20s. Now I live in a land with a very harsh climate where skin cancer is a huge risk (Australia).
ReplyDeleteI ALWAYS, ALWAYS wear factor 30 on all exposed parts, even in winter! Even so, I am permanently a slightly olive colour due to the (almost) ever-present Ausisie sun. I'm blessed with olive skin anyway, so tan very quickly even with the factor 30.
I'm sure I have sun damage, but far less than my Aussie born and bred peers, who spent their childhoods getting burnt to a crisp every summer.
I do slap on fake tan in winter to maintain a bit of a glow, but only one a month or so.
Pre-Fall: the cynical amongst us would say it's a ruse to get us to buy even more stuff, by creating a micro-season! I'm not familiar with tory Burch, but those items look very tempting! Just right for our winter, I'd say!
I'm off the shopping for the moment, having peaked with the Monarch skirt. Now if only Matches and Net-a-Porter would stop spamming me.....
Ruth, do you have a favourite sunscreen?
DeleteI have yet to find one that I can tolerate for every day wear, and I know I should just suck it up but I often don't (I also live in a very grey land, not Australia! But I'm very fair and should wear it daily).
Abby, I really love Laroche Posay's Anthelios sunscreen - most sunscreen's bother my daughter and I as we have very sensitive skin, but not this one and have choice of lotion or cream and spray as well.
DeleteRuth - I hear you on the no shopping ban - though there is a a couple of things I am eying these days. But summer is so short here and I really should only choose something i can wear into the fall.
Abby,i wear Kiehls Super Fluide UV Defense 50+ for my face,it thes best.
DeleteI live in a grey land too,haha.
Thanks for the ideas.
DeleteIna - I think we live not so far from each other. It has been so grey this year :( I keep forgetting that it is spring and not fall, and being surprised that it stays light out until so late.
Abby,i think roughly 3-4 hours between us maybe?
DeleteThis year has been the worst,just rain and grey:(
And you folks have had a lot of flooding, have you not?
DeleteIna, yes, I think about that far. Yeah, such a bad year.
DeleteWendy, we had a lot of rain but no flooding here. Other parts of Europe got hit very hard.
I heard that they haven't been able to bring the cows up to the mountains yet, so there will be a lower supply of some of the cheese this year (they are a.o.c. and therefore must be produced under very specific conditions, which include cows eating alpine flowers!) - those cheeses are made by small producers, so there will be economic consequences. Just a small example of the impact that all this unusual weather is having.
Yes,not in the Heidelberg region though.
DeleteAbby, I use a local brands, either the Cancer Council, Invisible Zinc or Mecca Cosmetica To save face.
DeleteAus has very stringent laws regarding sunblock, so a lot of European and US brands don't get the ok to be sold here as they're not up to our high levels of UV rays!
I think Invisible Zinc is available outside of Aus.
I highly recommend Aussie sunblock - it's made to stand up to VEERY strong sun!
Oh this really made me laugh, Moby Dick! Last week I overheard some Scots talking about tanning and heard the trad Scots line, First of all I go red, then I go to hospital" Luckily I fall into the other half, I go red then brown, well never brown like a Med type, more golden. I wish I could stop tanning but I am addicted to the alchemy of turning white to red to gold, I just can't stop, even though my skin is crepey and ancient looking on my body because of it.
ReplyDeleteLove that saying!! I have some crepe too, so worry pas!
DeleteHey, I just self tanned yesterday. I only do my legs and yes I use st. Tropez mousse for light color. It's easy and dries super fast. Still smells though so I only do when I'll be home all day. I use a touch of liquid bronzer mixed with moisturizer for my face. I have been self tanning for years. Being white and in Florida growing up was a bit tough...so many comments about how pale I was. Do like the Tory Burch but can't and won't get into the pre fall clothes when it will be 96 F here.
ReplyDeleteI think I will wait for the pre-fall items to go on sale in September when it is actually cool! I may give the st. tropez a go today today to see what I think!
DeleteCount me in the pale club. I never leave the house without a sunscreen even in the winter. I don't like chemical sunscreen so I use Skinceuticals UV Physical sunscreen. In the summer, I want my legs and arms with a little color so I use L'Oreal Sublime twice a week. Pre-Fall, Resort, whatever, there's really no use buying ahead of time these days as everything goes on sale quite fast these days.
ReplyDeleteMarie - I am with you - I can't believe how many of the new JC releases of a couple of weeks ago are now on promo!
DeleteWhen i lived in Atlanta,where there is lots of sun all year round,i tanned pretty easily through playing outside with the kids.
ReplyDeleteI never actually tan like laying in the sun,because i dont want sundamage or worse things.
Now with living in a grey land,as Abby said it,there is too little sun to get any color.
I use Kiehls Super Fluid Defense 50+ all year round,even if its cloudy and rains,because i dont want to tan.
For my feet,which are very white,i use Dove selftanner lotion every third day and that works pretty well for me.My legs are slighly tan matching the face and neck,that tan from beeing outside(with sunprotection).
Interesting that your feet stay so white! I haven't used the dove self-tanner lotion - I have a friend who swears by it!
DeleteI get color, but I'm not sure I would call it tan that I get. Never have considered self tanners. In my 20s, I tried a tanning bed a couple of times but got a burn so never again. I don't take good care of my skin but I am very good about using sunscreen these days. If I spend time in the sun and use lots of sunscreen (SPF 55/70 these days), then I will somewhat tan. If I don't use sunscreen, I burn. My half-Italian heritage does not extend to my skin, apparently.
ReplyDeleteI try not to look at Tory Burch's things because they seem to be out of my price reach. If I lived a less casual life, and if money were no object, I'd wear it head to toe.
I like Tory, too! WHen I visited the store in NYC I thought it was all lovely! I need to watch for good sales - must get on their mailing list, as the things I saw were excellent quality!
DeleteI never see Tory Burch in stores, so I don't know how the sizing. Probably for the best!
DeleteVery white here. I generally don't mind but the legs get to me - they definitely look better with a tan.
ReplyDeleteI have such confusion over this topic - is sunscreen okay or potentially bad for us, which sunscreens are best, are self-tanners potentially bad for us (all those chemicals), what about vitamin D, etc., etc.
I don't self-tan, though I have bought and not used many a bottle. I should probably stay out of the sun more than I do, but I'm pretty decent about covering up. Always tons of room for improvement though.
When I moved to California, I saw how prematurely aged all the surfers looked, and that definitely pushed me to be more vigilant about sunscreen.
Just a friendly reminder that everyone should be getting their moles checked, and make sure you get a good doc to do it. I recently had them properly checked, and realized how totally unthorough all of my previous checks had been.
HI Abby - great advice - i have never had mine checked! i don't think my doctor has ever even mentioned it! I am unsure about the sunscreen stuff too - it sometimes seems to me that everything is bad for us!
DeleteYes, please get them checked!
Deletep.s. I have three cowlicks too.
Embrace the pale! I had plenty of sun damage as a kid running around the small town where I grew up, without ever wearing sunscreen, out on boats quite a bit of the time, I even tanned in my early 30's when we had our holidays in the Outer Banks NC, the sun was glorious hot there I loved it!
ReplyDeleteBut now I wear a 15SPF as my base moisturizer and I slap a 50 on top of that if I'm going to be outside more than 10 minutes. I find the UV very high these days, the sun feels extra burn-ey.
Hilarious post Wendy, you made me laugh this morning!
well just call me M.D.!
DeleteI'm as pale as you are on my legs. I avoid the sun and have since I was about 16 - it doesn't agree with. As a result, my face is also pretty good and my friends tell me that it doesn't look it's 49.11 years old :-) My arms and chest get a bit of color from being outside gardening and at endless baseball games, but never the legs. Self tanner is my kryptonite. I cannot apply it evenly to save my life!
ReplyDeletePre-fall and resort are usually my favorite, most wearable collections. My climate is quite mild so I can easily wear boots nearly all year. Actually our warmest months are August-October, when you want to be bundled up in layers. The TB preview has a lot of gorgeous pieces....OMG so many! All of the pieces I like are beyond my budget and lifestyle, though so I'm safe - but over at Vince there are some really great looks too. Wait until you see what Trina Turk has in store for Pre-fall...TROUBLE.
I will have to check out Vince - such comfy clothes! And Trina always does nice things!
DeleteWhen is the actual big day Julie?
Bastille Day :-)
DeleteI am humming Le Marseillaise in my head!
DeleteI got burned lying out at the pool and biking around the neighborhood every summer growing up but now am honestly not out in the sun very much. I wear a 15 SPF in my moisturizer every day and when we are at the beach or going to be outside all day in the summer, I wear a further sunblock. My kids get sunblocked religiously. I hate pale skin but also hate self-tanner and cannot put it on to save my life. I use Jergens "natural glow" lotion in the late spring/summer as the slow coloring is light enough to not make imperfections in application a big deal. I hate wearing tights or stockings in the heat and usually wear skirts or dresses to work, so this is a good solution for me. I will be 35 this year and am definitely beginning to see the marks of age on my face.
ReplyDeleteI am with you on hating to wear hosiery in summer - I avoid it like the plague! 35 - you are just a wee babe! :-)
DeleteSo THAT's what I was doing yesterday ahead of the trend, pre-fall! I thought it was only because I was feeling sorry for the sequin bow pants. Yes indeedy I wore those to work.
ReplyDeleteI tan fairly easily so people don't realize how pale I really am. That is until I wear shorts or dresses with bare legs. It's a catch 22, I don't often and because I don't they're white white. But no self tanner for me. Never tried but seems like too much work and mess.
Oh you are a scamp! they must have been glad for the outing!!!
DeleteRAWHIDE WMM Just a speed-reading catch-up. As always a hoot. I always wanted a smooth as syrup on hotcakes tan, but my skin doesn't do it. Do think I am pretty lucky skin-wise for someone who grew up more than half her life in Caribbean and had a couple of spectacular boiled lobster sunburns, despite my mum's best efforts.
ReplyDelete- With ruth on Laroche Posay's Anthelios (you can get it in Shoppers, kids version also great if your skin is sensitive.
- Have you tried Origin' oil-free SPF moisturizers? They are higher than the standard 15 or 20 in most face creams and I don't find they have that tacky, heavy feel.
- Abby is so right about the skin checks!
- Must go look for xoxo on St. Tropez. I did have one French self-tanner I found on vacation a few years ago (not theirs) when I was feeling especially pasty. But I generally don't have the patience, beauty acumen etc. for anything other than a bit of face highlight, so my legs stay scary pale.
Yes, Antheolosis is my sunscreen of choice - I buy it by the buckets? I am using NARS moisturizer these days, which I love, and like origins, don't have that tacky feel. I was feeling too badly all day to self-tan - not doubt will be well-mended tomorrow and able to give it a go and see what I think!
DeleteI am a sun freak... I have a fair complexion with many, many moles and therefore I always have been, very, very careful with the sun. So definitely I do not tan... And because of other reasons, I do not self tan neither... So yes, I most of the time go pretty white... But I also have to say that I do not wear anything (except bathing suits:-) over the knee and my tops always have some sleeves... so you know... Pre-fall, huh? That sounds another way to make sure you will spend some $ if the weather did not make spend all of them on the summer collection ;-)
ReplyDeleteSorry it took me so long to catch up.
Take Care
Steph
Steph - am with you on the making us think there is ANOTHER season fashion-wise - as if 4 wasn't enough!
DeletePersonally, I stay out of the sun as much as I can and don't use self-tanners either. I love my pasty, white skin just the way it is. :D
ReplyDeleteI think we need to embrace our pastiness!
DeleteI am looking for a great sunscreen-any recs?
ReplyDeleteI like Antheliosis - I see someone else recommended Kiehl's up above, so that is worth a go too!
DeleteThanks!
DeleteYou are a very funny Moby Dick. I can tan but try not to; another sunscreen wearer and more recently tinted moisturizer with SPF ( Trish McAvoy). My husband is one of those tall dark handsome types who turns brown looking out the window so I would not try to compete. I always garden with hats on, gloves for the sun mostly too. I have few wrinkles for my scary age as well.
ReplyDeleteI know Fred swears by Trish McAvoy - never got to the right store in NYC to check it out - maybe next time! My husband is same, though weather has been so wretched he is pretty white himself!
DeleteOh my gosh you crack me up. The picture of your legs ...did you have to use that angle. I can't tan and spent many years trying. After XOXO posted about St.Tropez I rushed out to Sephora and purchased the mitt and tanner. The mistake I made was having our daughter Taylor for supper that night. She noticed it on the counter and scooped it up. It actually the first self tanner she's like .
ReplyDeleteHilarious past Wendy.
Hi Marsha - the picture cracked me up so much I had to share it. I wish I had more dignity - I will have to acquire some in 2014!
Delete