The faux freckle trend has been around for a while, and I’m giving it a try. Have you tried it yet?
Today I wore a smattering of freckles for fun, and ya know…it’s a little weird to touch up your real freckles to make them blend in and look as “freckle-y” as your fake ones, but hey, ya gotta do what ya gotta do in the pursuit of makeup experimentation!
How to fake freckles
This sprinkling of speckles comes courtesy of a drugstore brow pen in a warm brown shade.
Here’s what I did:
- After finishing my makeup (base, blush, eyes, everything), I lightly dabbed the pen on top of any existing freckles to darken them, since they were hidden under tinted moisturizer and concealer.
- Next, I stippled a few extra faux spots for funsies.
- Then, I waited a couple minutes for the freckles to dry.
- When they were completely dry, I diffused the spots a tad by gently dabbing a skunk brush that I’d used earlier to blend my base… It just took the edge off so they wouldn’t look as obviously fake.
And that was it! If you don’t have a brow pen, a brow pencil works too — either option creates a lovely semi-transparency, so your freckles don’t just look like dots drawn on your face, and has a longer wear time than, say, a creamy pencil liner would.
If you don’t have a brow pen or pencil around, you can also regular pencil eyeliner; however, if you’re going to go the liner route, you’ll want one that 1) has a matte finish and 2) is long-lasting and/or waterproof to prevent your spots from smearing all over your face.
No winged liner woes here
Also up in the mix of this look? Winged liner! I haven’t done wings in a minute, so I’m very rusty. So I cheated a little and used surgical tape on the outer corners to set the angles.
You can use regular tape too, but I prefer the surgical tape because it doesn’t pull my skin as hard.
Whatever tape you use, wait until your liner is completely dry before lifting it off; otherwise, the tape might remove product where it’s still wet and leave your dots with fuzzy edges.
This is particularly important if you’re using runny or runny-ish liquid liner.
Oh! — and to make sure the tape doesn’t remove any of your base, do your eyes before your foundation, concealer, etc.
One last thing — everything in this look is drugstore.
Makeup worn in this look
- Eyes: Maybelline Snapscara in Black, Maybelline Lasting Drama Light Liners in Starlight Gold and Twinkle Black, Covergirl Easy Breezy Brow in Clear, Maybelline Total Temptation Brow Definer in Deep Brown, Maybelline Master Precise Liquid Liner in Black, Neutrogena Essential Eye Palette By Kerry Washington, Maybelline City Bronzer, Almay Eyeshadow Quad in Own It
- Cheeks: Maybelline City Bronzer, Covergirl Clean Fresh Cooling Glow Stick in Pink Thrill, Maybelline Tattoo Studio Brow Tint Pen in Soft Brown, Neutrogena Healthy Skin Blush in Rosy
- Base: Covergirl Clean Fresh Skin Milk in Tan, Maybelline Age Rewind Dark Circles Eraser in Golden
- Lips: Maybelline Lip Crayon in Treat Yourself and Physicians Formula the Healthy Lip in Magentle Formula
Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,
Karen
P.S. Happy Tuesday! 😊 How are you doing?
Rachel says
May 19th, 2020 at 11:22 amCute! If I didn’t know what you looked like I’d say those freckles are real! I need to get me some of those maybelline lip crayons!
Christine says
May 19th, 2020 at 11:23 amYou are upping your drugstore game, Karen! I’m going to investigate the Physicians Formula Healthy Lip; although I’m trying to get away from pink-based, I’m curious to try Tulip (looks kinda red-orangeish). I’m also about to delve into drugstore bronzer-land. Wish me luck. Or feel free to recommend any that you like!
Your new freckles are cute and look like the ones I inherited from my mother’s side! It’s weird how a freckle can be genetically passed; my mom, her half-sister, and I have the same freckle in about the same spot on our faces.
Tatiana says
May 19th, 2020 at 1:13 pmAll I can say is, “Those wings!!!” You rock at winged liner. And I’m loving the magenta lip.
Karen says
May 20th, 2020 at 1:37 pmSeriously, thank goodness for the tape! Otherwise it would’ve been a mess!
Rachel Runyan says
May 19th, 2020 at 2:32 pmVery cute look! I have real freckles, so no need for faux.
Karen says
May 20th, 2020 at 1:36 pmThanks, Rachel!
Jennifer Emmett says
May 19th, 2020 at 2:50 pmLovely! This is hot, sexy and feminine all at once. I really like it!
Karen says
May 20th, 2020 at 1:36 pmThanks, Jennifer! I ended up really liking it too.
Jaclyn Levy says
May 20th, 2020 at 5:51 amI love that lip color! I might have to go get it during my next supply run.
Karen says
May 20th, 2020 at 1:33 pmGood luck! I hope you can find them… And that people are polite and wear masks and stay six feet away!
Seddi says
May 20th, 2020 at 12:08 pmFirst off, love your hair pulled back. You have the bone structure for it. A close second, if not first, love your hair color – the occasional silver! As a 50-something year old, I have more silver on my head than you and admire women who are brave enough to let it shine instead of coloring (though I do wonder if I would think differently if I was not allergic to hair dye…) Keep up the good work. Love your blog.
Karen says
May 20th, 2020 at 1:30 pmThanks, Seddi. I’ve been growing out my natural color for over a year now (after dyeing it for 20 years!). Do you use any special shampoos/conditioners or products to keep your silvers looking nice? I use mainly de-frizzing now (the texture! so unruly!), but I’m also thinking of getting a purple shampoo/conditioner up in the mix.
Jennifer Emmett says
May 21st, 2020 at 8:30 amI did freckles today! And a colorful lip (necromancy Divine Flesh). This is fun!
Karen says
May 21st, 2020 at 1:14 pmOoh, nice! What did you use to do your freckles?