Friendly Makeup Guide to Enhance Your Natural Freckles

We love freckles, the delicate clusters of concentrated melanin. They usually occur from childhood and are increased by sun exposure but while they're technically a form of sun damage, freckles aren't necessarily a cause for concern and certainly shouldn't be masked. With faux freckles popping up on the catwalks, it's high time to celebrate them.

A frequent freckle question we're asked is how to avoid makeup leaving your complexion looking grey or patchy, so we called upon bare Minerals International Makeup Artists Sarah-Jane Froom to try her top tips. Here's how to achieve a 'second skin' look, rather than a mask. See Guide after the jump....

The base

Instead of foundation, our model Hannah used the bare Minerals Complexion Rescue Tinted Hydrating Gel Cream (available from 29th March at Debenhams) because it has a light 'freckle-friendly formula', using a brush to blend it in gentle sweeping motions (fingers are fine for a quicker application). Sarah-Jane says, "Always use a really sheer base product, otherwise your skin can look grey. Try one layer for barely-there coverage and two layers to neutralise any rosiness without completely covering freckles. This way your skin's surface tone will appear more even".

Concealing

"Only cover areas that need concealing to avoid masking even skin. Always use a pinky peach/salmon toned product to colour correct any blueness under eyes and a yellow-based product on blemishes and around the nose to neutralise redness. Precision concealing is key, dab it onto the required area gently. When concealing a hormonal spot, for example, do not cover the whole chin just for the sake of it."

Powdering

"To take away any excess shine away from the centre panel of the complexion, use a translucent powder like the bareMinerals Original Mineral Veil so you don't add coverage. Dust a small amount from forehead to nose leaving the highs of the cheeks to glow. Using your ring finger, smooth out any creases across the eyelid with the powder to set and stop any creasing."

Bronzing

"Bad bronzing over freckles can look like muddy marks so choose a colour that matches the depth of your skin and avoid going too dark, or picking up too much product on your brush. For a sun-kissed glow we used bareMinerals Ready Bronzer in The Skinny Dip where the sun would naturally kiss the complexion; across the forehead right up to the hairline, across the bridge of the nose and onto the chin."

Contouring

Using a slightly darker bronzer or contouring powder, yet still keeping it subtle, shade under the cheekbones and jawline to define the face. Again, don't put too much on the brush, a loose powder will help to avoid excess product being added to the brush that will then mask your freckles."

 

The lips

"If your lip line is speckled with a few freckles I suggest almost joining them up where you can with a nude lip liner, making your lips look instantly fuller. Use a cotton bud or your ring finger to soften the line so you are left with a natural looking finish. Use the same lip liner to fill in the lips (we used bareMinerals Marvelous moxie in Liberated) and then finish with a slick of natural gloss for the perfect natural look."