Celebrity guide to tanning

If Hollywood celebrities have taught us anything, it’s that we should emulate them as often and as thoroughly as we peasant folk can manage. This includes their luscious bronzed skin.

Here are a few celebs you should and shouldn’t  mirror when catching some rays by the poolside.

SHOULDN’T Kristen Stewart

Unfortunately, Ms. Stewart takes her on-screen role as a vampire too seriously in her personal life. The young and otherwise attractive starlet is rarely seen without her signature pasty skin and gaunt, sunken features. Some light color would do the on-again off-again Mrs. Robert Pattinson some good.

SHOULD Kate Hudson

This Oscar nominee is the ultimate California, sun-kissed beach babe. With skin that flawless, you’d think she was actually born on a sand bar in the middle of the Pacific. Her tan is never Cheeto-tinted. Instead it glows with an effortless ethereal sheen. Add the windswept blonde locks and you really can’t go wrong.

SHOULDN’T Snooki

The whole cast of “Jersey Shore” deserves a ban from the fake baking, but that is about as likely as the crew going cold turkey on alcohol consumption. But Snooki usually gets the brunt of the criticism, seeing as she tends to look like an escaped Oompa Loompa from Willy Wonka’s factory. This is most definitely a case where less would have been more.

SHOULD Jennifer Aniston

You’d have to dig deep to find an example of Ms. Aniston not looking tanned to perfection. Her fresh and clean radiance make her one of the most natural beauties on planet Earth. It helps that the actress tends to keep her palette clear with light makeup that accentuates her features instead of burying them.

SHOULDN’T Donald Trump

Not that the Donald is someone you want to model your looks after anyway, but his tan is one of his biggest offenses. You’ll rarely see Mr. Trump not looking like he didn’t haphazardly sweep some dollar store self tanner around his cracked mug. I guess it’s true what they say: money can’t buy you taste.

SHOULD Megan Fox

She won’t be winning an Oscar anytime soon, but this actress has got her tanning practices down pat. She has that biker tan that only comes from hours and hours strapped to the back of a motorcycle, cruising down the Florida coast. But Ms. Fox rocks the pale skin just as well as the bronzed look, making her the ideal role model for Indiana girls used to heat stroke-inducing summers and meat locker-cold winters.