You know spring is here when flowers are in full bloom everywhere you go. With warm days comes the urge to refresh wardrobes, nail looks and, of course, beauty routines. As I’m a low-maintenance person who seldom wears a full glam look, my makeup bag usually contains only a tinted sunscreen, sebum-control pressed powder and lip tint. For this season of new beginnings, I’ve decided to step out of my comfort zone and give myself a mini makeover by tapping into the soft glam makeup trend.
Characterized by a natural and blended finish with no harsh lines, soft glam makeup hits the sweet spot between a “no-makeup” makeup look and a dramatic party-worthy look. The antithesis of cut-crease eye shadows and sculpted contour, soft glam makeup is about embracing natural beauty and turning up the drama just a bit without going overboard. As the soft glam look doesn’t involve chunky glitters or bold red lips, this low-key yet sassy trend is right up my alley.
To take things in a spring-ready direction, I’ve added four soft glam makeup essentials from K-Beauty brands to my rotation, ranging from a soft matte lip tint to moisturizing setting spray. Can these Korean makeup products keep me looking fresh-faced this season and beyond? Read on to find out!
Soft and Blended Eye Shadow
Warm, hazy eye makeup is one of the key features of the soft glam aesthetic, so your choice of eye shadow either makes or breaks your whole eye makeup look. I went for WAKEMAKE’s Soft Blurring Eye Palette (#02 Lively Blurring) featuring 12 neutral and muted shades in matte and shimmery formulations. The versatile color combination, ranging from nude brown to dusty pink, allowed me to create a wide array of romantic looks. I’m most impressed by the two shimmery shades boasting finely-milled reflective pigments that added just the right amount of glistening sheen to my lids. The ultra-smooth powder glided on my lids effortlessly and delivered a beautifully diffused finish. I blended the eye shadows thoroughly with a big fluffy brush to create a soft halo effect around my eye area.
As I’m a fan of makeup products with dreamy packaging, the eye shadow palette’s pink-tinted, see-through case and sleek gold rims cinched my love for the WAKEMAKE product.
Glowy Highlighter
A soft glam makeup look isn’t complete without a luminous glow. peripera’s Pure Glory Highlighter Set is what I need to give my makeup a three-dimensional radiance. I opted for the #02 Night Glory version to match my pink-themed makeup look. The highlighter combines a shimmery base with tiny glitters to create a natural pearlescent finish. It instantly added gleaming, light-catching sparkles to my face with only a few swipes. The highlighter brush that comes with the set features soft bristles and a tapered tip that helped me apply the highlighter seamlessly without looking streaky or cakey.
My only quibble is that since the highlighter leans on the drying side, there was visible fallout during application. Fortunately, the powder stayed in place for the rest of the day once it settled onto my face.
Neutral Lippy
When it comes to soft glam lip products, forgo high-octane shades and opt for MLBB colors. To keep things pared down while making an impact, I chose FAUX PAS PARIS’s Lip Trip French Garden lip tint in the shade #13 Peony, a warm-toned nude pink hue reminiscent of blooming peonies. The soft shade brought a natural flush of color to my face without being too dramatic. I blended the edges of my lips with my fingers to avoid any harsh lines for a seamless finish. Upon application, the creamy formula immediately melted into a powdery finish which felt a bit parching. After application, the lip tint didn’t settle into creases nor produce flakes. As it’s a buildable matte formula, I could easily create both a gradient and full lip look. In terms of long-lasting wear, the lip tint stayed on my lips longer than I anticipated and didn’t leave imprints on drinking cups.
Dewy Setting Spray
To be honest, I’ve always doubted the necessity of using a setting spray to lock makeup looks in place because a finishing powder does the same job, minus the stickiness. However, CLIO’s Stay Perfect Makeup Fixer proved me totally wrong with its lightweight yet deeply moisturizing formula. Once I spritzed the setting spray onto my face, it absorbed quickly into my skin and left a non-sticky finish. The ultra-fine mist produced a natural dewy glow that’s perfect for sealing a soft glam makeup look. The spray’s lasting power exceeded far beyond my expectations, as it helped keep my makeup on point throughout the day without the need of touch-ups. Thanks to the various plant-based extracts in the formula, the spray also did a decent job of providing continuous hydration and comfort.
Final Thoughts
With the help of these four makeup products, building a soft glam look wasn’t as challenging as I had thought. After testing these goodies for more than two weeks, I realized soft glam makeup is actually an elevated version of my everyday minimalist makeup with an added sophisticated sensibility. The key to pulling off a soft glam look is to keep all the products in the same color family, preferably muted and warm shades, for a coherent and natural-looking finish.
My favorite item from this trial is CLIO’s Stay Perfect Makeup Fixer. It gave me the first taste of that budge-proof, glam-extending magic a setting spray can offer. The CLIO spray has already become my holy grail product that I reach for every time I do my makeup. The other three items are also helpful must-haves if you want to jump on the soft glam makeup trend.
