I wore rainbow freckles to work all week and people REACTED

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Back in January, HelloGiggles contributor Bren Lee wrote a post titled “Would you try ‘rainbow freckles,’ the newest way to accessorize your face?” and I actually answered (out loud, if I remember correctly): “Yeah, I’d try them. Why not?” And I meant it.

I’ve only worn makeup a handful of times, so going full-force with rainbow freckles seemed like an intense foray into makeup. For some reason, it didn’t seem like a makeup trend to me – it felt like an artsy, fun form of self-expression… until I had to figure out the logistics.

To prepare, I watched Samantha Ravndahl’s tutorial for rainbow freckles. She suggested that one use matte lipstick, an eyeliner brush, and a concealer brush, so I drove to my local CVS and embraced their less-than-stellar makeup selection. I left with two tubes of Revlon Colorstay Moisture Stain (in “Parisian Passion” and “Rio Rush”) and an E.l.f. Studio Angled Eyeliner Brush.

Day 1

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Most people took the time to tell me that my newfound freckles were cute. Others were concerned. My roommate thought I had something on my face and, once I explained the situation, she said it looked as though I was auditioning for a Raggedy Ann play (which I wouldn’t mind doing, tbh). As for people on the street, they stared. One man even stopped his car in the middle of a parking garage to do so.

Personally, I really liked the freckles and was happy to sport them. They made me feel *~adventurous~*.

Day 2

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“Anita, you look different” is what my building’s maintenance man had to say about my makeup adventure. Others said that I didn’t look like myself and that I looked as though I had a rash on my face. 

I wasn’t as satisfied with my freckles the second time around. Maybe it’s because I went for a more subtle look and created only purple freckles? (However, I did love the Tom Ford lipstick we tried on at work that day.)

Day 3

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Though it was only Day 3, I started to get bored with my rainbow freckles and wasn’t at all conscious of them throughout the day. Maybe it’s because I got used to them or because others got used to them, but I wasn’t really feeling them that day. Also, my self-confidence definitely took a hit because of it.

Day 4

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Gina, my lovely editor, kindly lent me her Urban Decay 24/7 Glide-On Eye Pencil in the color “LSD.” It’s a sparkly blue shade, but came out looking a bit grey on my skin. Because of this, people definitely noticed that my freckles changed color.

Since I couldn’t use my eyeliner brush, it was hard for me to precisely place each freckle. Consequently, the freckles came out a bit bigger than my prior attempts. While it was fun to experiment, I did prefer the liquid lipsticks and the brighter colors.

Day 5

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For my last day wearing rainbow freckles, I tried to recreate the style I wore on the first day (also known as the day when my self-confidence soared). Today especially, I noticed that the freckles weren’t lasting throughout the day. After leaving work, I got lost on the way home (I just moved to L.A.), got stressed (hence the bangs being pulled back), and ended up rubbing my face a lot. Nearly all the freckles came off because of this, so they’re definitely not stress-proof.

The Verdict

In general, the two lip stains I bought were terrible. I tried them on my lips and the results were not appealing. They were blotchy and didn’t even work like stains (I could wipe them off 30 minutes later). However, they were slightly better as rainbow freckles – though they surely didn’t last throughout the day. When it comes to the eyeliner, I think it lasted about the same as the lip stain and the darker color poorly affected my mood.

The look also made my self-confidence fluctuate like crazy – especially since I probably wasn’t using the best products for what I wanted to achieve. With that being said, I don’t think this is an achievable style for someone who doesn’t have access to or can’t afford high-quality products. Plus, it’s not sustainable if you often touch your face during the day.

My favorite thing about this look, by far, was being able to express myself with bright colors. I truly enjoyed changing up my look for a bit. However, I hated that the freckles didn’t last throughout the day, though they did help me realize just how much I touch my face on a daily basis.

Overall, if you want to try out rainbow freckles for yourself, I highly recommend it – just make sure you’re ready to touch-up these colorful dots as the day goes by.

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