This made me think… I myself am a mix of all these, just add in some German/Prussian and Spanish. The Spanish doesn’t really show up physically for me though.
Are all these other pale people this general genotype? It would make a kind of sense…
My ancestors are all from the Netherlands.
plain_jane, I use Prescriptives foundation. I don’t recall the exact name of the shade, and the bottle’s buried under a mound of stuff on my dresser at the moment, sorry. But it’s a very light foundation both in color and in the way it goes on your face, more like a light whitewash to even things out than an actual coat of anything. That attribute also helps to make it look more natural on very pale skin.
My ancestry is, one one side, Irish and French (and Blackfoot-tribe Native American, but that hasn’t manifested itself visibly in anyone’s skin tone for two generations now). The other side is German and English.
Oh, and I bought the makeup at Macy’s, but I think they also sell at, like, Dillard’s and “other fine department stores.”
I’ll join in, I too am Pale. Just call me Alabaster, my foundation has to be mixed to blend in to my skin-tone.
I am a White Girl, I’ll admit to that, when I was in the Navy, in the Persian Gulf - Desert Storm/Southern Watch, I glowed in the dark, the sun reflected of me like a mirror, I could not get color to save my life even in the Desert. People were worried that I would get kidnapped and put into White Slavery.
The only way I had any color (on my hands anyway) is from the Inks I used as a Printer.
I refuse to get a tan, I go from white to burnt red, so the Hell with it. I will not get skin cancer, I am relived of that.
I’m not quite “pale.” I’m really, really fair-skinned, though. I’ve tried to tan, but it just doesn’t happen. I burn way too easy. Gotta use that SPF 2000 stuff, you know?
I’m a redhead. I inherited that from my grandfather. There are no other redheads in my family, and there’s only a couple that were unfortunate enough to inherit the fair skin. The rest of them? Like my mother, brother, and sister? I swear, they tan while standing next to Christmas tree lights. :mad:
I’m a phot lab tech, working in a darkroom all day.
Pale is my default setting.
Another melanin-deficient doper checking in. My ex used to tell me that I glowed in the dark. I have a heck of a time finding foundation and concealer that’s light enough…Revlon is the best for me, so far, but I’d like to find something a little lighter.
People have nagged me for years to get a little color. I worked at a salon where we could use the tanning bed for free. I tried and tried, but just came out of it pale, sweaty, and smelling of coconut. I don’t tan in the sun, either. Or burn. Just…nothing happens!
Pale suits me best, anyway. With blue-black hair and dark red lipstick, I like the look!
Urban Decay has a foundation called “apparition”. I don’t have it since I don’t wear foundation, but I remember that it came closest to matching my skin tone, so other pale Dopers might want to check that out. I also have heard that MAC has some pretty damn pale shades, so they could be good, too.
With regards to heritage, I don’t have a drop of Irish blood in me. My mom’s side is completely German and my dad’s side is half Polish, half Slovak. I’m the palest one in this entire family though, so maybe I’m an anomaly. 
mmmm pale women with dark hair
please continue!
I could probably double as a corpse. Where I am not pale, I am downright blue. I tend to spend a fair amount of time outdoors, so I never leave the house without sunblock. And yes, I have brown/black hair and dark green eyes.
Oh, and I’m male. Sorry!
Not me.
I’ve got the George Hamilton, mahogany dark thing going and I love it.
I’m pretty pale and, although I don’t go out of my way to avoid tanning, I don’t tan much. I do however have a nice luxurious coat of brown hair and from a distance my arms tend to look darker because of the blend of hair and skin. So, who needs tanning?
I, my friends, am not pale. I am fair skinned . Now, for all of the fair skinned brunettes out there, here’s to you. /me blows a kiss.
I’m pasty pasty white.
Nobody lets me out of the lab 
I bet they would once your coworkers stop creating hazmat-type situations on a (seemingly) continuous basis. 
Thanks for the information. I’m in Canada but I’m sure I can find it somewhere. I’m not far from Toronto, and Toronto is the centre of the universe, after all.
I’m brown, I’m brown, I’m bra-bra-bra-bra brown…
Brown… bra-brown… bra-bra-bra-bra-bra-brown…
Bro-hown…bra-bra-bra-braha brown…
Bra-bra-bra-bra-bra-brown… Bra-bra-bra-bra-bra-brown
Bra-bra-bra-bo-bo-bo-bo-bo-bo-bo-bo-----------Brownnnnnnnnnnn!
On the plus side… you guys make more folate.
I’m mexican, and I have a nice year-round tan. I am only going to pop into this thread long enough to say that pale women with black or red hair are unbelievably hot.
That is all.
I’m so pale I’m almost translucent in places. I hate having my skin exposed to air/light in public, so I go out in a swimsuit or anything less than pants, long-sleeves plus jacket, and/or a skirt w/ tights maybe two or three times a year – usually just to take pictures then cover myself up really fast. There are some spots on my legs and my hands and arms where you can see all the blood vessels and such under the skin. The only foundation I’ve found that works for me is Mabelline Shine Free Ivory (strangely, I tried the pale ivory, a “lighter” colour, and it was too dark.) They also don’t make the shade in any of their other lines of make-up and everything else I’ve tried was either too dark or too greasy, or both. I have to wear it really thin, though, or it shows up, and the lightest shade of powder. My eyebrows are really light too, and my eyelashes almost non-existant, so I really have to rely on makeup to not look like a walking corpse.
Oh, and for the record, I’m of primarily Irish and French descent.