Have you ever wondered how to achieve that fade-ish, film look by yourself without ever relying on social media filters? It can be so frustrating as hobbyist or amateurs who own a DSLR. Pulling your images to the pc, processing the raw image, then you either have to go through your phone or use existing presets that don't quite get it right the way you want them to.
While I can't say that I have broken the code entirely here, but I do believe that all VSCO presets are just names of different tweaks of a single tool. The curves adjustment. Now I'm using Lightroom 6/CC, you may have them, but I trust all photo editing softwares have some kind of a curves adj. in them.
In the curve adjustment. just make sure it is set to linear. Start by clicking the lowest point on the left side and slide it right up as seen in the picture. Immediately you will notice the picture fades off into a nice and soft film look. Adjust the top to tweak the highlights and the rest is history.
So there you go, with a little bit of trial and error, you can now tweak your images to match the current trend of having that signature film look that fits you.
Images were taken at Haji Lane, Singapore