The Belle Filter Is the Latest Trend That’s Making People Feel Insecure

You’re probably used to the pattern by now: Another day, another viral TikTok filter that absolutely everyone is using. This time, it’s the Belle filter. No, it doesn’t turn you into a cartoon Disney princess (although there’s a filter for that, too), but it does definitely change up your look.

Plenty of people have been sharing impressive Belle filter videos to TikTok. If you want to share your own, they’re pretty easy to make — but you won’t find the filter on TikTok. Read on to find out more.

As with many of the filters that end up going viral on TikTok, the Belle filter did not originate on the video-sharing app. It’s actually a filter from Instagram, but don’t let that discourage you! It’s super easy to film a video using an Instagram filter, download it to your phone, and then reupload it to TikTok.

First, you’ll want to open up Instagram. Swipe over to the Story creator mode. Scroll through the effects and filters at the bottom of the screen until you get to the “Browse Effects” option on the far right. Tap that, then type in “belle.” You want to select the “Belle” filter from @sasha_soul_art. Tap the filter, then tap the “Try it” button in the lower left-hand corner. Press and hold the record button, and watch the filter do its magic. 

Once you’ve recorded your video (or videos!), tap the download button in the upper right-hand corner of your screen to download it to your phone. Then, navigate over to TikTok and upload the video there. Add your caption and maybe a #bellefilter hashtag and you’re good to go! Not too difficult, right?

While there are tons of filters (from all of the social media platforms) that are meant to be humorous or just plain interesting, the Belle filter seems to be intended to “enhance” your natural beauty. That makes sense, given that “belle” literally means “beautiful” in French. From what we can tell, the filter slims your face and nose, plumps up the lips, makes your skin appear smoother, and makes your eyes gray. (Of course, whether those features equal “beauty” is another matter entirely.)

People have been sharing their reactions to the Belle filter all over social media, and we’ve gotta say, some of what they’re saying is making us a little hesitant to use the filter ourselves! Judging by their posts, the Belle filter tends to make some people feel a little insecure about the way they actually look. This isn’t anything new. Since the early days of Snapchat and Instagram “beauty” filters, people have expressed similar views. 

Obviously, the world would be a pretty boring place if everyone looked like the Belle filter version of themselves (or if we all resembled pretty much any other filter, for that matter)! It’s fun to experiment and see yourself in a new way, but at the end of the day, don’t forget that it’s just a filter!