Of all the makeup trends out there, the latest—and certainly the lamest—is fake freckles. They come in both temporary and permanent forms and, to their credit, look incredibly realistic. The pigment application Freck (getfrecked.com) allows users to mark dots on their faces or bodies to create artificial constellations. In November 2015, a Kickstarter campaign for Freck Yourself launched to bring an easy, semi-permanent freckle kit to the market. As with temporary tattoos, pigment is printed on the face through a stencil to create a finished, spotted look. (The Kickstarter did not meet its $215,000 goal.)
Blog and YouTube tutorials inform viewers how to apply makeup on their faces to create the illusion they were blessed with natural specks. There are also tattooers who will apply natural-looking patterns—or even rainbow-colored freckles, for the whimsical. They typically last three to four years before fading away.
What’s the big deal? For one, it’s a slap in the face to people who already have freckles and grew up being teased mercilessly about them. Also, unless you tattooed freckles on your face, you’re going to have to dye them on manually every day, and they likely won’t look the same as the day before. Adding a mismatched set daily is akin to gluing a mole onto your face a couple of millimeters removed from where it was yesterday: It’s comically off-putting. And throughout the day, your sweat will gradually wash off the freckle makeup, so re-applying would be a pain.
As someone who grew up wanting freckles and thought they looked great, fake freckle options are tempting. I mean, freckles are cute as hell, and it’s good people who are embracing them as such. But to treat them like a cosmetic trend of the moment? Get the freck outta here!
Aimee Murillo is calendar editor and frequently covers film and previously contributed to the OCW’s long-running fashion column, Trendzilla. Don’t ask her what her favorite movie is unless you want to hear her lengthy defense of Showgirls.