To tan or not to tan!!

I think if your naturally pale then i would stick with it. If its not something you are comfortable with then it could look a little OTT.

Libby I'm a red head, so I come complete with pale skin and freckles, I couldnt possibly wear my dress without a bit of colour in me and sunbeds are not even an option, I swear by St Tropez, it adapts to your natural skin tone its really easy to use and it looks so natural I cant recommend it enough especially for people with pale skin like you and I. I wont be having a spray tan though, I apply it myself.

Why not find somewhere and see if you can have a trial run, see if you like it? I'm naturally pale and go from white to red and back to white again with no brown in the middle. I onve had a spray tan and looked like i'd been tango'd hated it and said i wouldn't have another however my mum uses a lady who rubs the tan on rather than spraying, the tan itself is called fake bake and mum recommended i tried it, which i did in February and i LOVED it, it adjusts to your skin tone so someone pale won't go as dark as someone darker. I went the colour i have always wanted to go in the summer but i never do, and i didn't look stupidly brown on photos or when stood next to H2B so i think i am going to go with that for my wedding day.

This is what I'm doing...au naturale x

I used this once and I was so unhappy with the result it was far to dark for me and I had the lighter one of the 2, I know every skin tone is different but I hated it.

Hi Libby

I am also quite pale and do not tan easliy.

I had a trial this week for a St. Tropez fake tan , was quite a shock at how brown i went the day after, but two or three days in i am liking the result, everyone keeps telling me how heathly I look.

I am getting married in April, so have decided that i will have a fake tan, but will book it in for the Monday, Tuesday, so by saturday it will be a lighter tone.

HTH

Keli xxxx

I'm really pale too and I had a St Tropez spray tan last year for my SIL2B's hen night and then wedding - it looks scary when it starts to darken - my OH was calling me Winnie Mandela lol but then you get a shower the next morning and the colour is definitely tanned but a lovely light tan, not orangey at all, just takes the glare off the milky white skin ?

Could you do a trial run one weekend to see how you get on with it?

I use johnsons holiday skin. Comes in light-med and med-dark. No streaks as its already a diluted verion of the stronger, full colour ones. Maybe try the light one & see if you like the results. I too am fair with freckles, but find it gives me a natural glow, without being tangoed or getting skin cancer.

There are lots of options out there for salon tans, spray tans and DIY fakes but the trick is to shop around, try a few and see what works for you. Everybody's skin is different so what works for one will look hideous on someone else!

Personally I have had a few spray tans (Fake Bake and St Tropez) and though the colour I got was lovely, no matter how hard either myself or the beautician tried I still got mottling on my face and a sort of brown 'creasing' under my arms and in the side of my hands even after much pre-exfoliation and moisturising!

One piece of crucial advice to take into consideration for anyone thinking of having fake tan especially for their wedding day though - factor the change in your skin tone when you are deciding on your wedding make up - a fake tan makes a HUGE impact on your base colour!!

I've been banned by the OH - he thinks they all look orange, even the subtle ones, and doesn't like the biscuit smell. I quite like a subtle bit of colour but am not too fussed either way, and since I want him to think I look amazing on the day will be complying!

There are some salons now that offer lighter tans. I got one done in Harvey Nics where you can choose one of three shades. Went for the lightest shade and still gave me a gorgeous glow but wasn't blatantly obvious.

I did however once have a friend who tried to do it herself just before the wedding with no trial runs and we spent the night before the wedding and the morning of the wedding scrubbing her!!! So definitley test out what you want between now and June x

As far as I know most tanning professionals will offer a range of colour and tan types....but I am in Liverpool (Tan City).

I think most of the salon quality ones can be built up...best place to ask are community colleges who do Beauty training- they tend to train for every eventuality. PLus those places are pretty cheap if you let a student practice on you!!

Being Scottish, my skin is practically blue so I thought having a fake tan would be a good idea given there will be more skin on show than norma on my wedding day! So I went and had a trial run a few weeks ago just to see how it worked and to make sure I had no streaky bits etc. Disaster! Turns out I am very allergic to the fake tan and after two days I came out in huge red lumps all over my body - it's taken about two weeks for them to go away. Thank goodness I had the trial well before the actual day.

I wouldn't say not to try it - I know my skin is just weird - but definitely, definitely have a trial well beforehand.

I'd def have a little yet subtle tan I know there are so many shades out there. I'd try a spray tan and start with the lightest shade they do. Most salons only charge around £10 - £15 and now is an ideal time to start trying them out before the wedding, people will also get used to your healthy glow. Just remember to exfoliate and put some mosituriser on your knees and elbows as they tend to take the most to the tan!

Teal suggested one of those tinted moisturisers which are brilliant, I use them daily I found Dove a bit streaky but Johnsons and Nivea were lovely. Go for the light to medium option and alot of them are on offer in most places, def start trying things out now whilst you have time on your side x

I'm considering a fake tan but the smell! eugh its rank. Does the smell wear off after a day or so? The girl who sits next to me at work stinks of it constantly. I dont want to spend my wedding day smelling like cheese!

Just dont let this happe for those that are going to tan!!!

Same here - I think I'm going to go and get a spray tan next week ish and see what its like etc. failing that I'm going on the sunbeds!

I'm just going with a gradual tanning moisturiser, just because my OH is really pale, so if I got a fake tan I would look stupid next to him in the pictures!