F – Fake Tan
Back in the Victorian age and possibly earlier, being seen to be tanned was a sign of lower class/social standing and lack of wealth as you were outside working and catching the sun’s rays, women even applied make-up to make themselves appear paler. Nowadays being tanned is favoured over pale skin as it is seen as healthy and more attractive, what is sometimes called ‘a healthy glow’. Ironically being tanned is probably more unhealthy as you’re spending large amounts of time in the sun which over a prolonged period of time and without suitable protection in the form of either covering yourself up or using sun tan cream, can seriously damage your skin which in turn can make you look old and leathery but more worryingly it can lead to skin cancer and melanomas (deadliest form of skin cancer). Although I must add one benefit of being in the sun is that the body produces vitamin D which is claimed to have many health benefits such as fighting cancers and infections but these are still uncertain. Therefore this has led to many fake tan creams being introduced, ones that work as part sun tan cream part fake tan cream, others that are body moisturisers with fake tan mixed in and the rest that are solely fake tan. Additionally there are lots of salons now that offer fake tan treatment, by which I mean you go into a room and get spray painted with fake tan (from what I’ve been told, not personal experience) or the classic option of sun beds which have been around for many years, I believe being introduced in the 1980’s. The thing is, these creams don’t so much make you look tanned i.e. a slight olive complexion or darker (maybe more of a caramel complexion) depending on your skin type but more orange and reminiscent of the man in the Tango advert or for a more international friendly comparison, an Oompa Loompa. Other problems with these DIY fake tan creams is the application of them as you’ll see girls with ridiculously dark palms, lines where their clothes have smudged the cream, areas of their body on show where they have simply stopped applying the cream and various other elements that have effected it such as the weather. Even the salon spray on tan isn’t great, it smells like vegetable oil and still leaves you looking somewhat orange.
Exceptions where this faux pas is acceptable
When you’re dressing up as an Oompa Loompa or some sort of orange skinned creature.