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How to draw on freckles with makeup

Discover how to create the faux freckle look with tanning drops and makeup with my fake freckles tutorial guide.

6 minute read

Fake freckles are one of my favourite magic beauty tricks for creating a sun-kissed and healthy-looking complexion! Perfect for summer and beyond, freckles give you a dreamy, fresh-faced look with or without makeup.

But not all of us are blessed with natural freckles! That’s why I always turn to my beauty secrets to create a gorgeous, faux-freckled look. Read on to find out everything you need to know about how to create faux freckles and the best beauty products and shades to use to achieve this gorgeous look!

How to get faux freckles with tanning drops

Darlings, my Charlotte’s Beautiful Skin Island Glow Easy Tanning Drops are my first-ever self-tanning innovation and your new must-have beauty product for creating an Ibiza-inspired lit-from-within island glow and feeling!

Infused with radiance-boosting, skin-plumping and hydrating skincare ingredients, Charlotte’s Beautiful Skin Island Glow Easy Tanning Drops have GLOW-O-METER buildability to give you a sun-kissed glow, golden bronze glow, deep bronzed glow, gorgeous tantour tanned contour look or flawless faux freckles from your best ever holiday! Read on to discover the simple steps for creating faux freckles with tanning drops…

MAGIC STEP 1: Choose your shade of tanning drops. Charlotte’s Beautiful Skin Island Glow Easy Tanning Drops are available in two MAGIC shades. Choose Fair/Medium if you have cool undertones in your skin, or Tan/Deep if you have a warmer complexion.

MAGIC STEP 2: Add two drops of my self-tanning drops onto a solid base, such as your moisturiser lid.

MAGIC STEP 3: Dip an eyeliner brush into the drops, and then dot the formula onto areas of your face where the sun naturally hits. I recommend across the cheeks and nose, and top of your forehead – you can apply to all of these areas or just one or two, depending on your desired look!

MAGIC STEP 4: Let the drops sit on your face for 15 minutes before applying other skincare products to avoid any smudging. Then, watch and enjoy as your freckles develop in just 6-8 hours* and last for up to 4 days!

Tilbury Tip: Find out everything you need to know about tanning drops and how to use them in my What are tanning drops? and How to use tanning drops guides.

Shop Tanning Drops

How to draw on freckles with makeup

While tanning drops are great for achieving long-lasting faux freckles, makeup can also be used to create temporary fake freckles that wipe off at the end of your day during your research-powered evening skincare ritual. Read on to discover how to draw on fake freckles using makeup…

  1. A closed, luminous primer in a light cool-toned-beige shade in a glass bottle with a gold-coloured lid.

    MAGIC STEP 1: Apply your base makeup to create the perfect canvas for your fake freckles!

    If you want your natural skin to peek through your freckles for a gorgeous glow, create a beautiful glowing base using my sheer glow-boosting beauty secret, Hollywood Flawless Filter. Prefer more coverage? Charlotte’s Beautiful Skin Foundation offers buildable medium coverage, while my Airbrush Flawless Foundation offers full coverage with an AIRbrush effect!

  2. An open taupe-brown lip liner pencil with its lid next to it and golden-coloured packaging.

    MAGIC STEP 2: Sharpen your freckle pen!

    My Lip Cheat Lip Liner in Foxy Brown is your magic ‘instant freckle pen’ in a rich, natural brown shade that mimics the look of nature-given freckles. Sharpen the pencil before use using my pencil sharpener for perfectly precise application!

  3. A fair-tone model with green eyes getting freckles drawn on with a light brown eyeliner pencil.

    MAGIC STEP 3: Scatter your dots!

    Using my Lip Cheat in Foxy Brown, scatter dots over your nose, cheeks and other areas of your face where the sun naturally hits, like the top of your forehead. As you dot, press lightly and precisely to create a subtle freckle mark, then use your ring finger to tap onto the faux freckle to blend it out for a more diffused, natural finish. Depending on your desired fake freckle look, you can go over the dots to build more coverage for more apparent freckles, or use a lighter hand for a more delicate, barely-there look.

    Tilbury Tip: If you need more flawless coverage, apply my Beautiful Skin Radiant Concealer on your skin before your foundation and freckle pin to brighten, smooth and lift the look of your face! Discover how to apply concealer with my easy-to-follow tutorial.

Complete your fake freckle makeup look

Once you’ve perfected your fake freckles using makeup, it’s time to complete your look!

  1. Charlotte's Beautiful Skin Sun-Kissed Glow Bronzer is a glowy cream bronzer infused with hyaluronic acid

    Beach-Bronzed Skin

    My Beautiful Skin Sun-Kissed Glow Bronzer is a hyaluronic acid-infused face and body cream bronzer that will give your faux freckles a beautiful, healthy-looking and beachy bronzed glow! I also recommend giving your faux freckles an extra hit of sun-kissed summer perfection with my Beach Stick cream blusher sticks. Simply choose your shade, twist up the applicator and glide it onto your lips and cheeks, using your fingertips to blend for a radiant pop of colour!

  2. Mascara in a pink-coloured tube with its gold-coloured lid with a black applicator next to it.

    Natural-Looking Brows + Lashes

    Defined, natural-looking supermodel brows will also complement your faux freckles! Brow Cheat is a micro precision eyebrow pencil that will give you full, fluffy and feathered eyebrows in seconds! I also recommend applying lashings of Pillow Talk Push Up Lashes! Mascara to make your eyes look bigger, brighter and more awake!

  3. Airbrush Flawless Setting Spray is Charlotte's weightless, makeup-fixing mist that lets you party all night and stay all day

    The AIRbrush Effect

    Finally, don’t forget to add those finishing touches! My Airbrush Flawless Finish Powder is an AIRbrush-effect finishing powder that will set, smooth and enhance your sun-kissed complexion, while my award-winning Airbrush Flawless Setting Spray will prime and set your faux freckled makeup look in place for up to 16 hours!**

Fake freckles 101

Creating natural-looking fake freckles is easy with my face tanning drops and magic makeup products! Read on to discover more beauty secrets about faux freckles, including how to create water-resistant faux freckles and the best makeup and colours for creating fake freckles…


How to create water-resistant fake freckles

Darlings, if you’re concerned about your faux freckles lasting the day then there’s really no need to be! My Lip Cheat Lip Liner in Foxy Brown is waterproof, sweat-proof and humidity-proof to keep your fake freckles in check come rain or shine! For an extra boost of longevity, always spritz on my Airbrush Flawless Setting Spray, my waterproof setting spray for stay-all-day makeup!


What makeup to use for fake freckles?

The best way to create fake freckles with makeup is with my Lip Cheat Lip Liner in Foxy Brown! You could also try using my Brow Cheat micro-precision eyebrow pencil for a softer finish. If you’re looking for something longer lasting, then I recommend creating your fake freckles with Charlotte’s Beautiful Skin Island Glow Easy Tanning Drops, which stay in place for up to 4 days!*


What colour is best for fake freckles?

If you’re applying your fake freckles with makeup, I recommend using my Lip Cheat Lip Liner in Foxy Brown! And if you’re using self-tanning drops to create your gorgeous faux freckled look, choose the shade that matches your skin tone. Charlotte’s Beautiful Skin Island Glow Easy Tanning Drops are available in Fair/Medium for skin tones with cool undertones and Tan/Deep for complexions with warmer undertones!

Darlings, now that you know how to create a gorgeously faux freckled look with my self-tanning drops and magic makeup products, this irresistible island-inspired beauty look is all yours!

*Tested on 63 people

**Tested on 30 people

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Author Details

Charlotte Tilbury

Founder, President, Chairman and Chief Creative Officer of Charlotte Tilbury Beauty

With over 30 years experience, Charlotte Tilbury MBE is the world's number 1 makeup artist and British beauty entrepreneur. Charlotte established Charlotte Tilbury Beauty in 2013, which is now a record-breaking beauty brand that has won over 400 awards.

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