We can always rely on Alix Earle to keep us up-to-date about what’s in her makeup bag. On Tuesday, April 9, the 23-year-old beauty influencer took to TikTok, unveiling her current, detailed daily glam to her nearly seven million followers. She even sprinkled in some of her go-to makeup hacks—including a nose-minimizing trick that even makeup novices can master.
The purpose of her video was to spotlight her favorite makeup products in honor of the Sephora Savings Event, happening now through April 15. Among her recommendations was the Freck The Original Freckle XL ($28).
What sets this product apart, according to Earle, is that it can create the illusion of a slimmer nose when you use it strategically. She applies them once her makeup is complete, after spritzing on the Charlotte Tilbury Airbrush Flawless Setting Spray ($38). The reason she insists on dotting them on after applying setting spray is that it creates a moisturized base so the pigment doesn’t look stark or unnatural. “If you go in while your face is dry, they set too dark,” she warns.
Then, she delicately applies faux freckles around the tip of her nose. “I think it makes my nose look skinnier,” she says. She completes the look by adding additional clusters to the right and left sides of her nose.
So, is she onto something? Celebrity makeup artist Kasey Spickard says yes. “When you use faux freckles around the base of your nose, you’re essentially contouring,” he tells NewBeauty. “The freckles achieve the same effect as a classic bronzer or contour by creating depth and dimension.”
Spickard’s take on the “freckle contour” technique involves “tapping the freckle product around the outer edges of the tip of the nose and tapping them with a finger to buff them into the skin.” Like Earle, he recommends the Freck product. “The formula is super lightweight and the tone is on the neutral side, which I love.” If you have have dark skin, he recommends Freck Noir ($28), which the brand describes as “a deeper, cooler hue designed for mid-to-dark skin tones.”
Earle’s influence within the beauty industry and beyond is undeniably strong. She’s been honest and vulnerable with her followers about her acne journey, including the toll it’s taken on her mental health, her experience using Accutane, and various professional treatments she’s undergone. Just last month, she gave fans an insider look into her first time trying a microneedling treatment to help reduce the appearance of her acne scars, and the results earned a thumbs up from the content creator.
“It hurt, but it’s worth it,” she captioned a TikTok video showing before and after images. She enlisted esthetician Marissa Roque at Flawless by My Melissa Fox in Miami. The pro describes herself as an “acne specialist” in her TikTok bio. She posted her own video in response Earle’s to shed even more insight into the treatment.
“It is amazing if your skin is clear of acne and now you’re working on the post-scarring and want to have a more flawless complexion,” she explains in the video. “It’s gonna also smooth out your texture, tighten up pores, and reduce fine lines and wrinkles.”
