Imagine, if you will...

A splendid beefsteak tomato. Picture it hanging on the vine, in the
middle of summer. It has been waiting for months to be ripe, and has
fully matured over the last weeks. It has been basking in the sun of
hot summer for months. The skin, shimmering and deep in its redness,
has finally reached a superlative crimson tone.

This, approximately, is the color of my skin after a day at the beach.

Despite my best intentions, despite three coats of SPF30 sunblock and
spending most of the day (6 of 8 hours) in the shade of the papol hut,
I have managed to emerge from the day a brilliant - some might say
blinding - garnet lustre.

*sigh*