An Expert Guide at Doing Your Makeup—Without Covering Your Freckles

So, How Do You Apply Makeup Without Covering Your Freckles?

1. Prep Your Skin

Getting a diffused and glowy look starts off with the right skin prep. A light exfoliation and ultra-hydrating moisturizer will brighten up your freckles and help your makeup apply more smoothly, Gagnon tells IPSY. “Beautiful makeup starts with beautiful skin,” she says. “A hydrating moisturizer is key to a clean makeup application, since dry skin can exacerbate texture.”

Try using a cleanser that gently washes away impurities without stripping your skin—like the cult-favorite The Rice Wash from TATCHA—before following up with a quenching moisturizer. (This TONYMOLY Wonder Ceramide Mochi Water Cream is packed with hydrating ceramides and aloe vera.) After your moisturizer absorbs into your skin, you’ll want to reach for a radiant primer. “Think of your primer as the first layer of glow,” says Gagnon. 

2. Choose Your Coverage

With your base prepped, you’ll want to decide what kind of glam you’re going for. Most of Gagnon’s freckled clients lean toward a “clean girl” or “soft glam” look, she says, allowing their freckles to shine as much as their highlighter. Regardless of what look you want, however, stay away from heavy or thick foundations. When it comes to freckles, there is a thing as too much coverage—but with careful product placement, you can still let your freckles shine through while also camouflaging any blemishes or dark under eyes.

For a no-makeup makeup look, Gagnon likes to apply a sheer skin tint with a flat brush, evening out skin tone without totally covering freckles. Then, she follows up with a radiant concealer, only applying the product where needed. “Creamy, sheer products are best for showing off your freckles,” she says. “I usually apply a glowy concealer underneath the eyes and around the T-zone to brighten up the face.” In case of any blemishes, she recommends spot-concealing for a more natural finish. 

If you’ve only got full-coverage foundation on hand, don’t worry. You can always make a heavier foundation more sheer by mixing it with your moisturizer, creating a hydrating formula that offers more minimal coverage. Gagnon loves this Ambient Soft Glow Foundation from HOURGLASS COSMETICS because of its blurring and glowy effect. 

3. Opt for a Natural Finish

To really get a skin-like finish, Gagnon likes to use cream products, since she considers them easier to blend out. “Cream products are buildable and blend really nicely,” she adds. “They offer a more lived-in look than powder formulas.” She uses a damp beauty blender for sheerer coverage before setting makeup with a minimal amount of translucent powder. Remember, you can always add more product—too much will leave your makeup looking cakey. 

4. Enhance Your Freckles

Highlight your freckles by emphasizing them with a bit of makeup. Make them pop with a freckle-specific product like this Freck OG formula, or reach into your existing makeup collection for a brow pencil. No matter what product you decide on, lightly tap it onto your existing freckles to bring them out more—and if you wish, add a few extra freckles for good measure. Just make sure the shade of your product aligns with the natural shade of your freckles. 

5. Add Some Glam

Just because your freckles are showing doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy a full glam. Infuse your look with some drama by adding a shimmering eyeshadow to your lids, or by swiping on a statement lip color. Gagnon likes to enhance her looks with a cool-toned brown lip liner and nude gloss—complementing freckles, which tend to be cool-toned—but she also suggests using warm-toned products to create a bit of contrast. For some major juxtaposition, try using warm sunset shades like those in this convenient NATASHA DENONA palette, and finish off your look with a pigmented orange-based lipstick.