How to Create a Soft Focus Makeup Look

One of the biggest beauty trends of the moments happens to be makeup that has a soft focus effect—reminiscent of your favorite social media filters. The best part about this trend is that you don’t have to spend time painstakingly creating a super-sharp cat eye or perfectly defined lips. Soft focus makeup should look lived-in—meaning smudges and smears are totally OK. Keep reading to learn how to do a soft focus makeup look yourself—no camera filter necessary.

Step 1: Start with BB Cream

To start your soft focus makeup look on the right foot, opt for a light BB cream instead of a full coverage foundation. With your fingers, smooth the L’Oréal Paris Studio Secrets Magic Skin Beautifier BB Cream onto your skin. This BB cream is formulated with beautifying beads, encapsulated pigments infused in an ultra-light lotion with antioxidant vitamin E. This multi-action (4-in-1!) BB cream primes to smooth the appearance of skin’s texture, corrects skin for an even-looking complexion, hydrates for all-day moisture, and perfects to hide imperfections.

Step 2: Add Under-Eye Concealer

No matter how undone or messy you may want your soft focus makeup to look, the chances that you want to show off dark circles or under-eye bags are probably pretty slim. Fake a flawless-looking under-eye area with the help of a brightening concealer, like the L’Oréal Paris Infallible Pro Glow Concealer. Dot the concealer under your eyes in an inverted triangle shape, then gently blend out using the pad of your finger to pat it in. The lightweight, luminous concealer will correct the appearance of your under-eye area while giving your complexion a touch of radiance.

Step 3: Give Cheeks a Flush

Without a flush of color, your soft focus makeup look can easily fall flat. Using a rosy cream blush, blend it onto the apples of your cheeks to give them natural-looking color. Literally, it should look like you’re actually blushing.

Step 4: Use a Glossy Highlight

When you hear it’s time to highlight and illuminate your skin as part of a soft focus makeup look, chances are your first thoughts are of powders and creams packed with shimmer. Of course, those aren’t the only options. Open your mind to getting your glow on a different way, with glossy highlights that add shine rather than shimmer to your skin. Apply a face gloss above your cheekbones, onto your eyelids, and down the bridge of your nose for a more lived-in luminosity. Bonus tip: If you don’t have face gloss on hand, reach for your favorite lip gloss in your moment of need.

Step 5: Smudge Out Eyeliner

Perfectly-precise eyeliner may be trending on social media, but for those of us with shaky hands or a tad less patience, it’s practically impossible to manage. A trend that’s better suited to those without masterful makeup skills is smudged eyeliner. It’s easy and just the right way to tie a soft focus makeup look togeteher—imagine that! Grab an eyeliner that’s smooth enough to glide right on, like the L’Oréal Paris Infallible Pro-Last Liner, and draw along your upper and lower lash line. Don’t worry about getting your liner just right, since you’re going to mess it up in a moment anyway. When you’re finished with the pencil, use a smudge brush or cotton swab to smear your eyeliner, diffusing any harsh lines.

Step 6: Coat Lashes in Mascara

You didn’t think you could skip lashes, did you? Mascara is a must for soft focus makeup. Taking the wand of the L’Oréal Paris Voluminous Lash Paradise Mascara, sweep it through your lashes from root to tip to completely coat them in the volumizing and lengthening formula.

Step 7: Blur Lip Lines

Imagine this: Your lipstick starts to wear away as you eat and drink, but it makes your makeup look better. That’s the dream, right? Fuzzy or blurred lips improve with wear, because fading and smudging totally suit the style. Simply coat your lips in the L’Oréal Paris Colour Riche Lipcolour as usual, not paying too much attention to coloring within the lines. Then, use a clean lip brush to mess up the edges of your lipstick for a feathered look. All done—now you can pucker up and not worry about looking perfect.

Step 8: Spritz Setting Spray

Don’t leave without locking your look into place. Spritz the L’Oréal Paris Infallible Pro-Spray & Set Makeup Extender Setting Spray all over your face to keep your makeup from moving.

Next up, find a messy yet chic hairstyle to pair with your soft focus makeup. Read our article, Perfectly Imperfect: 9 Low-Maintenance Undone Hairstyles, for ideas.