If dewy skin was for 2024, and butter skin for 2025, then blurred makeup is primed to be the defining finish of 2026; and all of the Hollywood it-girls are proof. Mia Goth and Charli XCX, for example, have been rocking the look thanks to celebrity makeup artist Nina Park who imparted a soft-focus finish via blurred lips, diffused blush, filter-like concealers.
Per Merit’s CMO Aila Morin, it was only a matter of time that the pendulum swung back in favor of mattes. “Trends are always cyclical—we’ve seen high-shine lip oil and balm products dominate for the last few years, so shifting to a softer, blurred look feels fresh,” she says. While the clean girl aesthetic required a precise hand, blurred finishes offer easier, effortless application. “It looks like you’ve lived your life, and your makeup moved with you, which is how modern beauty should feel.”
Vogue’s Favorite Blurred Makeup Products
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Chanel Joues Contraste Intense Cream-to-Powder Blush in Grenat Profond
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Merit Signature Lip Blush
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Victoria Beckham Contour Stylus
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Pro makeup artist and Chanel beauty ambassador Kate Lee shares this sentiment. “Full glam requires a lot of precision and time, whereas the soft-focus approach can be achieved in a relatively short period of time,” she explains, drawing similarities to ‘90s era matte makeup. And while the mattes of that time felt heavy or cakey, formulas today are a lot more advanced. “Today’s matte is no longer about flat, heavy coverage or masking texture, and is much more breathable and flexible thanks to new ingredients and formulations,” Morin says. “The new generation of matte is all about diffusion and comfort, which is exactly what consumers have been asking for.”
This is the thinking behind Merit’s latest launch, Signature Lip Blush: a blurry, balmy remix of the brand’s existing lipstick collection. “Historically, it’s tough to achieve a matte formula that’s comfortable, lightweight, and non-drying,” Morin continues. The focus then became on creating a sheer-matte color that wears evenly rather than settling into fine lines, thanks to gel-wrapped pigments. “The formula applies more like a balm, but sets into a soft, velvety finish that won’t feel tight or dry.”
The blurred surge, of course, traces back to K-beauty, where this finish has been popular for years. “No matter the [K-beauty makeup] product, the finish is always soft and blurred—never a harsh contour or an overdrawn brow in sight,” former editor in chief of Allure and K-Beauty World’s CMO, Michelle Lee previously said.
We predict the blurred finishes to be one of the top makeup trends of the year, so how should we go about achieving the look at home? Ahead, experts break down the lip, cheek, and compleion products for diffused, soft-focus color. Read all to learn more.
