Nothing looks or feels more refreshing than embracing the skin in its natural state, so why not embrace your freckles? A face full of freckles is gorgeous and can instantly add youthfulness to your complexion.
It is a charming trademark for natural beauty, not to mention how irresistibly cute they are too. Having freckled skin is not just something you may have to live with, in fact, it’s a feature to be desired. So, it comes as no surprise that freckles, whether they are faux or the real deal, are currently in trend.
While it was once fashionable to cover them up, now freckles are so trendy that brands are even selling freckle-pencils so people who aren’t naturally blessed with them can fake it. Even the Duchess of Sussex Meghan Markle enjoys showing off her freckled skin, so here’s how you can embrace yours.
Whether you gave sprinkles of speckles or a full face of these sun-kissed spots, the key is to use sheer makeup that lightly works with your freckles to enhance and complement them without concealing it.
So, get ready to embrace your freckles and flaunt these natural beauty marks.
What Are Freckles and Why Do They Appear?
Freckles aren’t on your skin just to be an adorable feature. The skin comes in many variations and freckles are simply skin cells that contain a pigment called melanin. Melanin is the chemical in your skin cells that give your skin its colour, as well as, protect it from the sun’s harmful rays.
Freckles are produced by cells called melanocytes when the melanin is overproduced and spread outwards onto surrounding skin cells. Therefore, it causes small areas of dark specks on the area of the skin that has had an increase of melanin. The skin acts in this way to protect its deeper layers from being damaged by UV rays.
So, if you have more freckles than others, it simply means you have more active melanin cells in your skin. It can also be determined by genetics and more often appears on people with lighter skin tones. And whilst they may appear typically on a individuals face, they can usually be found sprinkled across people’s arms and shoulders too.
Interestingly, freckles are not just reserved for those with lighter skin, as they can feature on those with darker skin too, however, this isn’t as common. Furthermore, contrary to popular belief, no one is actually born with them. Instead, they are triggered by the sunlight which makes them appear on the skin.
So, freckles come and go depending on how much you are exposed to the sunlight. This is why your freckles may seem prominent during the warmer seasons and why they may then lighten up a little during the colder months.
How to Care for and Protect Freckle-Prone Skin
Whether you have year-long freckles or just speckles during the warmer months, the key is to learn to love your freckled skin. It’s also really important to learn exactly how to manage and care for them correctly.
Slather on SPF
Protecting your skin from the sun’s harmful rays is super important no matter what your skin type is, but if you have freckles you need to be extra careful. Wearing SPF is one of the most important skin care tips for caring for your freckles, as the sun affects freckled skin more than most.
Fair and freckled skin can be particularly susceptible to sun damage, so a good SPF is an absolute must. Furthermore, sun exposure can make freckles darker and more prominent and even multiply. By wearing sunscreen, you can also prevent the appearance of dark spots and pigmentation that can appear on the skin whilst reducing the signs of ageing.
Tip: Be sure to avoid thick, white formulas that can leave a white cast behind. Instead, opt for a light, translucent texture that will provide optimum sun protection without leaving a ghost-like residue behind that can mask your beautiful freckles.
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Exfoliate the Skin Regularly
When you exfoliate, you scrub away any dirt and dead skin cells from the skin. This means that you will have a fresh, clean layer of skin that can soak up the sun to cause you freckles to appear darker and more prominent. However, always have your safety in mind. Don’t forget to put on a powerful SPF when going out, especially after exfoliating the skin. Doing so will prevent any sun damage to the skin while allowing your freckles to enhance and shine through.
Don’t Forget to Moisturise the Skin
Keeping the skin hydrated with a good moisturiser is a key step to any skincare routine. More so, a flawless, healthy complexion can make your freckles really stand out.
So, make sure you keep your skin healthy and hydrating with a nourishing moisturiser.
How to Apply Makeup to Enhance Your Freckles
Freckles can without a doubt make applying makeup a lot more difficult. The key to enhancing your freckles is to keep the base light and lovely so that your freckles can still shine through. You still want your freckles to be able to peek through the makeup without being covered up by a heavy base.
There are several beauty tricks you can use to make your freckles truly shine. Keep reading as we show you how.
Start by Prepping the Skin with Primer
Prepping the skin can make a real difference to how good your makeup looks, especially when it comes to freckled skin. Importantly, you want to create an even skin tone and texture without covering up any freckles.
So, start off by creating an even and smooth canvas with a good primer to prep the skin. To make the skin really glow, use an illuminating formula that can instantly brighten up your complexion before you even apply any makeup.
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Switch to A Tinted Moisturizer or BB Cream
Finding the right foundation can be stressful enough. But for those with freckled skin, it’s a completely different story.
If you use a regular, full coverage foundation, then it’s time to ditch it. Heavy foundations and freckles aren’t exactly the best match. Where foundation can flatten your natural radiance, especially if it’s a heavy full-coverage formula, it can also cover up your freckles. So, light and luminous is the way to go!
Tinted moisturizer and BB creams are far more flattering. More so, they can create the look of second skin rather than a heavy, caked look. Both lighter BB creams and tinted moisturisers provide more sheer coverage to even out the skin tone, all without masking your freckles. They can hydrate the skin and allow it to breathe whilst giving you a healthy and natural-looking finish.
Tip: if you don’t already have a tinted moisturiser on hand, just mix a little bit of your existing foundation with your favourite moisturiser to create your own.
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Use Concealer Carefully
Concealer can be a lot heavier than a foundation and can mask your freckles if not applied strategically. So, make sure you use concealer to cover the areas of the skin that needs concealing, and not surrounding areas, to aid in avoiding the masking of your freckles.
To do this, keep the concealing strategic and precise by using a brush for application. Start off by dabbing the product on the required areas of the face, such as many dark circles under the eyes, blemishes or acne scars. Doing so this way, you should be able to spot correct any pigmentation or blemishes on your face without covering up your freckles. And finally, gently buff out any discolouration to give your face an overall even appearance without hiding any of your beautiful speckles.
Bronzer is Your Friend
Think you should avoid bronzer if you have freckles? Think again!
A little sun-kissed warmth can really complement freckled skin. However, you still need to be careful to ensure that you use it sparingly. Applying too much bronzer to the skin can make your freckles appear muddy and even mask them. So, make sure you choose a colour that matches the depth of your skin.
When choosing the bronzer, also ensure that you choose a light cream or gel formula. This is so that your freckles will still be visible under the product. Simple use a fluffy brush and apply it with a light hand to add some depth and warmth to your face. Apply it minimally to your cheekbones, on the top of the forehead and just under the jawline.
Keep it subtle and avoid going too dark to prevent your skin from looking too ashy!
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Brighten Up with Blush
Freckled skin can look extra fresh under a wash of soft blush as it can really lift your complexion. It shall simply add a healthy tint to your cheeks!
It should be noted, that you may need to be pickier with the colour/formula you choose. Try and opt for a peach or coral coloured blush rather than pink or red colours. Alternatively, choosing pink or red shades will pick up the red undertones of your freckles and make them look harsh.
Peach or coral shades can add a light hint of rosiness to your cheeks as well as adding a bit of contrast to the freckles. This should help make them stand out ever so slightly without looking too intense.
Tip: Don’t forget to choose a cream blush formula that will blend seamlessly into the skin to let your freckles seep though.
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Go for the Glow with Highlighter
A dewy, radiant look pairs perfectly with freckled skin. This is why we recommend a good highlighter! Using a highlighter can really brighten up your complexion to give an overall healthy glow to the skin. Doing so, without getting in the way of your freckles.
Opt for a subtle, creamy formula. Apply it to the highpoints of your cheeks, under the brow bone and just atop your cupid’s bow to allow light to reflect from these areas. In turn, this will give your skin an overall fresh and radiant glow. However, if you want a non-sparkly sheen to the face, its best to use a balm or ointment on the areas instead. Doing so will hydrate the skin whilst giving you a brighter looking complexion.
Contour with Caution
Contouring can prove problematic if you have freckled skin. This tends to be because you can easily overwhelm a face full of freckles. Furthermore, it can be tricky to blend in without making it look muddy. If you do want to get a bit more definition and create the illusion of chiselled cheekbones, the trick is to keep things subtle.
We recommend that you opt for a lightweight, powder contour and tap any excess product off the brush. This will save you using too much. Next, apply it with a light hand and dust it gently under the cheekbone and jawline to create an illusion of sharper facial features. Using a highlighter on your cheekbones can sculpt the face. This should make it appear more defined without the need to contour. This will give you the sharpness and definition you need without dampening your freckles.
Importantly, if you want to go for a more natural look, its best to give this step a miss.
Keep the Eyes Subtle with Mascara
Sometimes, a few coats of mascara are all you need.
Try and keep your overall eye makeup nice and simple to enhance the natural features on your face. This will aid in creating an overall delicate and natural look. Doing this will also cause the emphasis to be on your freckles.
Applying a few coats of mascara to both lashes will add a little more dimension to the eyes. Whilst still letting your freckles shine. This should be enough to enhance your natural beauty whilst still adding some subtle drama to the eyes to lift the lashes.
Draw More on With a Brow Pencil
During the colder months, your freckles could be starting to fade away and you may want to amp them up. If your freckles are lightening up or aren’t as uniform or defined as you would like, all you need is an eyebrow pencil.
Choose an eyebrow pencil that is the closest match to your existing freckles. Next, lightly dot the pencil on your skin. You can add a few more freckles by drawing them onto the skin, or you can go over your existing freckles to add a little extra dimension to really make them pop. Then, you use fingertips to gently blend the product to get rid of any harsh lines. This will aid in making them appear more natural.
Next, use a translucent powder over the areas you applied the pencil to. This will allow it to set in place so it stays all day without budging. Runway makeup artists use this trick all the time, so why not?
As freckles are a part of your identity, it’s important to embrace them. So, use these makeup tricks and skincare hacks to keep them looking their best.
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