I am as white as a sheet, and I have always envied bronze goddesses and golden tans. I used to be made fun of for the paleness of my skin. "Get a tan you look like a ghost", they would say. I used spray and self tanner but only to be a disappointing shade of orange. 

No longer do I strive to be tan though. All that has changed, thanks to the mass popularity of "Twilight", and the pale beautiful vampires in the story. Thats when I learned to appreciate it and thought about all of the beautiful undermined pale people. 

Snowy skin has many connotations as far as beauty. There is something distinctively sexy about bright whiteness. It's can be hauntingly beautiful, classy dramatic, and mysterious.

Pale are usually the faces of angels in figurines and paintings, so it is related to goodness and wholesomeness as well as representing purity,chastity, and fairness.

On the other side pale can also carry a dark edge to it. People who follow the Gothic style can be seen with ghostly makeup. Being pale is often paired with ill health and death.

In old world films and even modern beauty pale can be seductive and dramatic especially when accompied with rouge red lips. (See photo below) 

Being extremely white is very old world and romantic to be sure. Ladies long ago used to plaster their faces with whitening powder and their lips with rouge. The trend of being pale originated in the fact that nobility never had to toil in the sun like the common people. If you were privelaged you were pale because you got to stay in doors and lounge around. 

Now people hop into tanning beds, and go layout in the sun. The trend of being tan stems from the fact it shows off the money you have to tan and it makes certain people look really good.  

Pale is still making a comeback though, now people with pale skin are complimented more on looking like cool good looking vampires than being called "pasty" and "looking like ghosts." thanks twilight for making me feel not so alone and more beautiful! At least if we get some people out of the sun we'll have less people getting skin cancer. So lets hope it becomes a full-blown trend!

Tan or pale, black or white or yellow or orange, all skin tones have their own unique beauty to them. I discovered that it's not about wether your tan, pale, or in between. It's about realizing your own beauty and being happy with what skin your in.