Vocabulary notes. Complexionn [C] the skin on a person’s face, E. G. A pale/fair/ruddy etc complexion / he said I had a good complexion

complexion n [C] the skin on a person’s face, e.g.a pale/fair/ruddy etc complexion / He said I had a good complexion. Compare: skin n [U], e.g. She had dark skin.

pale adj having a skin colour that is very white; Syn. fair, e.g. If you are fair-skinned, you should try to stay out of the sun.

sunburned (sunburnt) adj having skin that is attractively brown as a result of spending time in the sun; Syn. brown; suntanned (tanned), e.g. He had a tough tanned face and clear eyes.

dark adj if your skin is dark, it is brown or black in colour, e.g. The young man had thick black hair and smooth dark skin. Ant. fair

black adj someone whose skin is black belongs to a race of people from Africa, e.g. Over half the students are black. Ant. white. We say that people are black or white but not black-skinned or white-skinned. We can say people are dark-skinned or fair-skinned. We sometimes say that somebody has got a pale complexion or that they are pale-skinned but if we just say that somebody is pale or looks pale, it is because they aren’t feeling very well.

olive adj olive skin/ complexion is typical of people from countries such as Greece, Italy, or Turkey

oriental adj of or from the eastern part of the world, especially China or Japan

ruddy adj reddish in colour usually because of good health, anger or hard work, e.g. ruddy cheeks/ a ruddy complexion

sallow adj sallow skin looks slightly yellow and unhealthy, e.g. a woman with dark hair and a sallow complexion