What Is Merit Beauty
Merit Beauty is a clean, minimalist beauty brand that's designed to take the stress and time out of your makeup routine while delivering a glowing and natural final look.
Merit Beauty came onto my radar about a year ago, but they are a new brand only started in 2021. Since their inception, though, they've built an impressive collection of products in the luxury, clean beauty space and this post is dedicated to Merit Beauty. About 4 weeks ago I needed to purchase some new makeup products and pulled the trigger on a few Merit Beauty items. Not 24 hours later the team had reached out to see if I wanted to try a few more and share my honest thoughts on them.
Some of the products in this post were gifted to me, others I bought on my own. As always, my opinions are my own and have not been influenced by the brand.
Is Merit Beauty Clean
The short answer: yes, Merit Beauty is a clean beauty brand. One of the labels I look for these days in both makeup and skincare brands is the "clean" label. Thankfully, with the rise in popularity of clean, non-toxic beauty brands, it's easier than ever to know if a brand is clean or not and Merit Beauty is no exception.
They are fully transparent about their clean label on their website - stating that their products fit within the EU standards of clean beauty which is notoriously more rigorous than the US standards. Additionally their entire ingredient list is available for each product they sell. That fact alone makes me much more confident about the products I'm putting on my skin.
Shop the full collection of clean beauty products on their website or via the widget below:
Merit Foundation Stick
It's been a few years since I've actually used a full-on foundation on my face. No affordable foundation ever really sat well on my combination skin and I hate the feeling of actually wearing makeup/foundation. So, I've been perfectly happy in my tinted moisturizer era, until I tried the Merit Foundation Stick.
They market it as a foundation/concealer combo that is buildable, blends seamlessly and covers flawlessly. And color me impressed. It actually does everything they say. My skin tends to be on the red side on a day-to-day basis and one swipe and a quick blend evened out my skin tone and created a beautiful base for the rest of my routine. On days I need a little more tinted moisturizer, this is it for me.
The product also comes in 20 different shades and I'm wearing the shade Silk which is an incredible match for my skin tone.
Watch the product in action in my latest Reel.
Merit Great Skin Instant Glow Serum
I chose as this one of my gifted products mainly because I was curious. Can a serum truly give me great skin? I had used the Glow Recipe Watermelon Dew Drops in the past and from my limited knowledge of skincare, it seemed like the two were a similar product.
The Glow Serum is applied under your Foundation Stick and just a pump or two will cover your whole face and neck. I found it worked better for me if I applied the Glow Serum, waited a couple minutes to let it sink into my skin and then applied the Foundation Stick. It truly does give your skin a glow but is maybe not my favorite product from the range. I think in the summer when I'm a bit tan this product will be a vibe, but for now I'll use it sparingly and leave the glowing to the Highlight Balm.
Merit Beauty Flush Balm
Now available in nine different shades the Flush Balm is the perfect cream blush. It melts like butter into your skin is buildable, hydrating and beautifully pigmented. I've been a powder blush girl until recently, then I tried the RMS Beauty Lips + Cheek combo which I was meh about, but this product is my absolute favorite.
I use it on the daily to get a little color back into my face and it's so easy to apply and wear without any fuss. I'm wearing the color Beverly Hills in my latest Reel and apply it to my cheeks, nose and eyelids.
Merit Beauty Day Glow Highlighting Balm
This product is exactly what I thought it would be and that is honestly all you can ask for when it comes to makeup. I had previously been using a powder highlighter but was looking for a cream one because I felt like the powder just ended up all over my face. I did not want to become a human mirrorball, so with a bit of placement practice I found the Merit Beauty Highlighting Balm to be the perfect solution. It comes in three beautiful colors and is really a perfect finishing touch on a 5 minute makeup routine.
It adds a bit of highlight to your face - cheekbones, nose, brow bow without making you glow unnecessarily. If you're looking for a cream highlighter, this one is the one for you.
Merit Beauty Signature Bag
Every first purchase on the Merit Beauty website comes with their beautiful, signature makeup bag. And although Merit Beauty can now be purchased at Sephora, I don't believe Sephora sells the makeup bag, so if you're a first time purchaser, I would suggest purchasing through the Merit website so you can snag this beautiful bag for free!
And speaking of where to buy Merit Beauty: it's currently available on their website and also at Sephora. And good news for my UK friends, it just launched in the UK so you're able to purchase it for yourself!
Is Merit Beauty Worth It
In my personal opinion, yes. After about a month of daily use in some capacity - whether that's a full face of Merit Beauty makeup or just a swipe of the complexion stick - I can confidently say their products are my new favorite. Like I mentioned perviously, for about a year, I've been wearing the Saie Beauty Slip Tint as my foundation and some RMS products for both blush and highlighter, but overall I think Merit Beauty has the superior product for my skin type.
I wouldn't consider myself an expert in beauty products and I am curious to try Merit Beauty's top competitor Westman Atelier to see the comparison, but right now I'm already prepared to repurchase all of the current products I'm currently using from Merit Beauty. And while their products are a bit pricy you get a lot of use out of them and anything that makes my skin look that good with minimal effort is definitely worth it!