Is your skin "in"?

When I look at Carly Rae Jepsen, I don't think,
"this girl needs a tan." I think, "Where can I
buy that dress?"

You may not think of your skin color as a fashion accessory, but some people do. A recent article in USA Today presents a fascinating perspective on the status of "the tan" in the context of the fashion and beauty industry.

The article cites a beauty industry analyst who has noticed a sharp decrease in the number of celebrities and models who are shunning fake tans. It's a trend I've noticed, too. While a summertime tan is still the norm, the year-round permatan isn't as ubiquitous as it once was. Not in magazines, not in catalogs, not in real life.

I love this quote from Elle magazine's beauty director:

"The idea of people taking a step back to, 'What is my skin tone?' and celebrating their true skin color is very freeing. It's not about dark skin tones trying to be paler or pale skins trying to be darker."

This quote epitomizes what I try to encourage on my blog. Whether you're dark, olive, fair, or any shade in between, owning your natural skin tone is so much sexier than running around looking orange.

Plus, it's incredibly liberating not needing to wait in line at the tanning salon, spend money on overpriced indoor tanning lotions, or worrying if I'll smell like spray tan before I go on a date. Because, let's be real. That shit stinks.