(Please excuse the grumpy face — I always forget to smile in photos)
I am so pale, so English, that if I go in the sun I start to sizzle like bacon on a griddle. Uncomfortable in minutes, scarlet in half an hour, I learnt from a very early age to cover up outdoors. Hat, long sleeves, swimsuit not bikini, factor 30+ sunscreen, vast sunglasses…
I looked stupid as an infant, awkward as a teenager but finally my sun protection looks normal, as we all now know that covering up in the sun is sensible not scaremongering. This is about the limit of my sun exposure:
(The pool at Tortuga Bay)
(Although I do make sure I get my twenty minutes a day in the sun — I don’t want my bones collapsing though lack of vitamin D)
I’ve been protecting my skin with a number of products so far. I like The Organic Pharmacy’s new Cellular Protection Sun Cream SPF25. Quite brilliantly, it is free from preservatives, colourants, fragances & petrochemicals. It’s quite sticky, but I expect that from a natural sunscreen like this. Best of all, unlike many natural sunscreens, it’s invisible & doesn’t leave a white glow on the skin.
Nivea Sun’s Moisturising Sun Spray SPF 30 is really good — a fine, easy to apply spray, it’s very moisturising, and leaves no residue on the skin.
Sunglasses: Oliver Peoples. Hat: Bronté Vintage silk shirt: Grandmother’s (found in the attic) Swimsuit: Eres. Gold necklace: Erica Weiner. Earrings: Topshop
(Don’t worry — I’m not going to start posting photos of me in my daily outfits. This one just seemed relevant to the post.)
LLG is a guest of Tortuga Bay
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I am just the same, pale and prone to pinkness after about 5 minutes in the sun so a very helpful post! Although I am yet to find a good hat to wear that is big enough and suits me. One to look for this summer I guess… Enjoy the rest of your time at Tortuga Bay!
Can I just say that I bought the most FANTASTIC swimsuit from M&S yesterday. It is so flattering, I am in shock. I usually find swimwear traumatic, to say the least. Having turned 40 this year, I’ve kind of decided that my bikini days are behind me, and you know what? Gosh, it’s a relief. I still want to look good, and a well-chosen one piece can look damn fine, I’ve discovered.
I was just going to nag about your vitamin d quota — I’m glad you get your daily dose!
I have a tough time with the sun as well, I am exceedingly pale with dark hair and prone to being superwarm at the best of times…as a result sun exposure is limited to earlier in the morning and evenings at the pub
Maria xxx
Love the sunnies and that hat is absolutely TDF — gorgeous — nothing says English rose like a giant straw hat, so lovely and summery xxx
I hate sun exposure and I rarely tan. To avoid being BBQ-ed I use a high SPF 50+ I think that’s quite high for a 27 year old girl.
The hat is amazing! It’s so hard to find a good sunhat but yours is perfect.
I know what you mean about burning — us fair skinned Irish girls are the exact same as you! I swear by LaRoche Posay’s Factor 50 which was also recommended to a friend of mine by a dermatologist. It’s excellent stuff and also sits well under make up.
You’re making me so jealous with this post!
I would have thought preservatives were a good idea in sunscreen to make sure it’s effectiveness is not reduced with time?
Can I say spending my teens in Scotland where summers were cool has paid huge dividends now I am adult living in Australia — my skin looks 10 years younger than that of my sun baking Australian contemporaries. Love that hat.
Wow, those Bronte hats are beautiful! Where can they be bought online? Are they easy to pack?
Thanks for reminding readers about hats—I went to a swamp yesterday and forgot mine. I also forget it later while photographing a mullet hole, and I am paying for it today. (I have an exceedingly glamorous existence in backwoods Florida!)
J’adore le chapeau!
The hat is exquisite. No preservatives in sunscreen? Now that’s excellent news;-)