Fake tan freckles: The viral beauty hack creating realistic freckles

Drawing on fake freckles has been a booming beauty trend for the past two years. 

From Kylie Jenner showcasing her sprinkle of natural sun spots to huge influencers like Lissy Roddy adding statement freckles to their faces, the youthful, quirky look is still going strong since it emerged in popularity in 2017. 

While drawing them on with eyeliner or transfer tattoos (and real tattoos!) has become popular, mega makeup and beauty guru Katie Jane Hughes popularised a method that has a little more longevity than drawing them on with makeup. 

The beauty guru created a tutorial in which she applied her freckles using fake tan – and we had to give the trick a whirl to test out iof it really worked.

Fake tan is a beauty essential in most Irish households, so discovering a second use for it is a major breakthrough. 

Here's how to achieve the look – it's slightly different to Katie's, and allows the tan time to stain your skin. 

Step 1: Locate a medium or dark and an extra dark tanning mousse or lotions.

Step 2. Clean a tiny detail eyeshadow brush and an eyebrow spoolie. 

Step 3. Ensuring you keep your distance from stainable fabric, squirt some medium tan into a washable bowl or dish. 

Step 4. Using the detail brush and medium tan, apply a general layer of freckles to your nose and cheeks – or wherever you want to feature them. 

Step 5: Go in with the extra dark tan to add another layer onto the same areas, this time taking care to use both the detail brush and the narrow tip of the spoolie to create freckles of different sizes. 

Step 6: Leave on over night and wash off with warm water in the morning. 

The key to creating believably realistic looking freckles is to make sure you create random constellations, and do not create similar patterns, It is also essential to make sure your drawn on freckles are different sizes and vary in shape. Perfect dots look fake, so try to create misshapen circles, not perfect circles. 

Concentrate the freckles on the sides and bridge of your nose, before spreading them out across your face in a wider pattern. Don't forget to dot a few subtle ones on your top lip and under your eyebrows,

If you want freckles right now, or for an event the same day, you can apply your base as usual and apply the freckles using the same tan method. 

After they are drawn on, simply blot them with a damp beauty blender to blend them in to your skin, to leave a natural, realistic freckled complexion.