Once again, I will make you all mad by expressing my dislike for these products. The active ingredient in all of them is one of two chemicals. Some mix them together.
To those of us who do not use them, everyone who does, whether they use a cheap one, an expensive one, or whether they go to the salon to have it squirted or airbrushed on, the question is to what extent the person resembles which citrus fruit.
I get the sense that to each other, they recognize more subtleties maybe and have great admiration for the ones that make the people look just a little bit orange. Or kumqwat, in the case of those who use the higher-end products.
I think the pale skins are very beautiful, and people who have this skin will look much more fabulous if they celebrate it, wear all those colors that can make brunettes look like we have the flu.
If you look at how pretty it is, the subtle balances and soft color friendships between the paintbox-colored eyes and hair the peaches and cream, rose dipped in milk,*** people with skin like moonlight, so delicate it looks translucent, the ones like ancient alabaster statues that poets wrote about - Why? Why? would anyone who has received this gift in their natural beauty basket wish to stain it with chemicals that will cause it to resemble something stacked in a pyramid on Aisle 3?
Just put on those muted pastels that only you can wear, stay out of the sun, drape yourself floatily on something like the Lady of Shallot. Drift around like gossamer sylphs.
I must end this rant now, or I will start in on all the people all over the world, who also have skins of thousands of breathtakingly lovely colors who devote part of every day to applying some goo or other in the vain hope of turning their skin the color of Nicole Kidman.
Mother Nature is not exactly a second-rate artist, and she knew exactly what she was doing when she painted you. OK so she may have left off some stuff like eyeliner and lip gloss, so spend your time on tweaking that!
**unless they have that really knock down gorgeous skin that is such a dark brown it looks blue or aubergine. OK those fortunate folks can wear almost anything. It is the long legs of skin.
***As always, props to Miss Kate Douglas Wiggin for this dead on poem of a description.