Having soft lips doesn’t just refer to the texture. Instead, this season, blurred lips are the ultimate indicator of how soft yours actually are. “We’re in the midst of a new beauty renaissance, and blurred lips feel undeniably romantic,” MAC national artist Ximena Curtis tells ESSENCE. “They’re effortless, flirty, and deliver the perfect pop of color without doing too much.”
First gaining popularity as a K-beauty trend, blurred lips “have been popular for years, and usually are connected to a more natural, youthful look,” says Erika Guinn, vice president of brand marketing and community at NYX Professional Makeup. Seen on celebrities from Zendaya to Lori Harvey, Naomi Campbell to Jodie Turner Smith, Curtis says soft, diffused lip moments helped elevate the trend from fleeting to iconic.
Below, these makeup pros break down how Black women can achieve the blurred lip and best products to do it with.
What is a blurred lip?
“Blurred lips offer a new approach to wearing your favorite lip shades,” says Guinn. It’s when you use a subtle color at the center of your lips or blur out your lip liner for a more soft, pouty appearance. “You often use less product to achieve the look and the outcome tends to be a softer, more natural finish.”
How do you achieve a blurred lip?
Step 1: Exfoliate your lips
Like the first step to any lip combo: “The blurred lip look starts off with soft, moisturized lips,” says Guinn. “Try exfoliating them to create an even softer, smoother pout.”
Step 2: Apply your lip liner (optional)
“Start by softly lining and lightly filling in the lips with your favorite brown lip pencil—this step isn’t about sharp definition, it’s about anchoring the color,” says Curtis. Guinn suggests using a neutral lip liner, one that matches closely to the natural tone of your lips to shape, define, and diffuse.
If you’re looking for a one-product solution, “you can also use the lip liner as the lip product and blend it on its own in the center of the lips, feathering and fading it out towards the edges,” she says.
Step 3: Emphasize the pout
Now, for the most important part. “Apply your favorite velvety or matte lip product in the center of your lips, softly pushing the color out to the edges to give it a blurred’ look,” directs Guinn. Curtis advises you “gently press your lips together to diffuse the color outward, blending seamlessly toward the lip line,” she says. Then, “repeat until you reach your desired intensity for a soft, effortless finish.”
Guinn warns there shouldn’t be any harsh lines. “Just a smooth, soft, blurred pout!”
How do blurred lips differ from traditional application?
“Unlike traditional lipstick—where bold lines and precision are the focus—the blurred lip is intentionally soft and diffused,” says Curtis. “It’s less about solid structure and more about mood.” Hence why the key technique to the look is how well you can blur.
Instead of lining the lips and adding lipstick from the outside in, Guinn says blurred lips are the opposite. “Blurred lip application usually focuses on applying the product in the center of the lips and pushes out to the edge.”
The Best Products to Achieve Blurred Lips
