The Dark Side To Make Up

(I am 15. I am female and have never worn foundation except for very, very formal events and even then it was applied by someone else, so I have no knowledge of how it works. I am walking to my next class when I see a girl  in my year level that I’m relatively familiar with. I’m startled because her face is paper white when she typically has very attractive tan skin.)

Me: “Oh, my God, [Girl]! Are you all right? You’re deathly pale! Are you feeling okay?”

Girl: *smiles* “No, actually I’m not wearing foundation today.”

Me: *embarrassed* “I’m so sorry. I don’t really know much about make-up. To be honest I thought your skin was darker.”

Girl: “Don’t worry about it, honey. It is, it’s just that I’ve been wearing foundation every day since I got to high school so now my skin has lost a lot of colour and is really dry and in bad shape.”

Me: “Oh, wow, that’s a thing?”

Girl: *laughs* “I’m really wishing I was in your position right now, sweetie.”