Pale Skin and Blush/Bronzer/Highlighter

A question I often see posted around forums is, "I'm pale, so I don't use bronzer, right?" Well, not if you don't want to, of course but you can if you want to. The issue with bronzer when you are pale is that it's so very often orange-based which works well on a medium skin tone but not so much for us pale folks. I also find that very soft, pink shades are recommended as blushes for pale folks and that may not provide the flushed look you're going for.

Many people have recommended the Too Faced Milk Soleil to me but most unfortunately, it contains sodium saccharine. (I have a sulfa drug allergy and this goes along with it. Too Faced uses this to make the bronzer smell sweet, like chocolate.) I will see if I can find a similarly-toned guest swatcher for that one.

A lot of folks recommended Urban Decay's Naked Flushed. Possibly because it was new, probably because it was failing for folks with medium skin tones and they assumed that meant it was geared for the pale. I'm sorry to say, not for me - the bronzer is very orange, the highlighter is very dark, and the blush is too much for me. The highlighter shade is actually comparable to NARS Orgasm.

NARS is the eternal favorite of the blush world and I can see why. I've been using Laguna for years and just recently jumped on the Orgasm bandwagon. Where I think NARS falls flat here, though, is the highlighter. Copacabana is the commonly recommended highlighter and it's too bright and too light, in my opinion, for most highlighting needs.

Here's a (poorly done, I'm sorry to say) swatch set of the Urban Decay Naked Flushed Palette (highlighter, bronzer, blush) and the most commonly recommended NARS items (Copacabana highlighter, Laguna bronzer, Orgasm blush) each in a heavy and then blended swatch.

The NARS colors disappear into my skin, leaving not much else than a healthy glow. The Urban Decay palette leaves a bold look - which works for some but may not be what you're looking for. Stay tuned as I try Francois Nars's suggestion for contouring shades for pale skin - taupe eyeshadows.

Up Next: Foundation Swatches - They're here! Sephora finally got around to discontinuing my Kat Von D Light 42, so I finally got around to finishing the swatches.