If my makeup takes any longer that ten minutes to apply, I’m going to be mad about it. As somebody who spends many hours a day sampling and testing makeup products (it’s a tough life being a beauty editor, what can I say), I want to keep my daily makeup routine as easy and simple as possible. In my opinion, the best makeup products are ones that have the power to make you look awake, fresh-faced and pulled together in just a few minutes. I want to scribble them on, blend with my fingers and be good to go. And that, my beauty-loving friends, is why Merit Beauty is my go-to makeup brand. In fact, if I were to move to a desert island and was only permitted one makeup brand to take with me, it would be Merit Beauty.
Previously only available to shop in North America, Merit Beauty finally landed on UK shores this year.After years of hearing my U.S. beauty pals wax lyrical about Merit Beauty’s no-fuss, foolproof products, it is finally available to us Brits. And trust me when I say this is something to celebrate.
Wearing a full face of Merit Beauty.
You see, I’ve been testing and trialling Merit Beauty for a couple of months now and I truly believe it is one of the best makeup brands I have ever used. With a carefully curated selection of easy-to-use, time-saving makeup products, Merit Beauty caters to those (like me) who want their beauty routine to feel luxurious and indulgent, without eating into too much of their times.
The best bit? The results are effortlessly natural looking. With super-creamy formulas housed in speedy sticks, the base products melt into the skin leaving behind a glowing, skin-like finish. The lip products, on the other hand, deliver a plumping hydration that doesn’t feel sticky or even a little bit uncomfortable. The products create a look that makes your face look instantly more alive while ensuring skin still looks like skin. There’s not a hint of greasiness or tackiness to any of the formulas, either—just hydrated comfort. Basically, Merit Beauty is my happy place.
If any of what I’ve said above rings true for you, too, keep scrolling for a run down of the best Merit Beauty products out there—you won’t regret a single one.
Merit has introduced a serum as a pre-cursor to it’s complexion products, however, it looks great worn alone too. “I’ve been testing out the serum alongside The Minimalist stick (below) and I love that it primes my skin with a dewy glow,” says Who What Wear UK Beauty Editor, Eleanor Vousden. “It contains skin-brightening niacinamide and four types of hyaluronic acid, leaving the skin looking radiant and feeling hydrated. I feel like I can get away with using less makeup when I use this,” she says.
As someone who doesn’t particularly like foundation, I consider this product to be game-changing. You see, there’s a few things I don’t like about foundation, mainly the way it takes away the skin’s natural ‘flaws’ and leaves my face feeling tacky and greasy. Because of this, I try to avoid foundation altogether, instead opting to apply concealer just where I need it. This product, however, does the best of both. With the coverage of a concealer but the creaminess of a foundation, it’s a hybrid product that you scribble onto skin only where you need it. Blend it out with fingers, and you’ll be pleasantly surprised at how much it livens up your complexion. With fatty acids, it delivers ample nourishment to the skin meaning you never have to worry about your base looking cakey. Since getting my hands on this, I haven’t used concealer or foundation once.
There are plenty of bronzing sticks out there, but none quite like this one. It is so creamy and blendable that you’ll never have to worry about applying too much. The shades are skin-like enough that you don’t have to fret about your bronzer looking muddy, either. Whether you want to use it as contour or a sun-striping bronze, it provides the perfect no-makeup makeup glow.
There are few cream blushers out there that I don’t like, but it wasn’t until I tried this one that I realised the common gripes I have with a huge number of my existing favourites. For starters, you don’t have to worry about getting your fingers mucky in a compact—just dab onto the apples of your cheeks and blend out with a fluffy brush. The other thing that sets it apart is it’s highly blendable, outstandingly creamy formula. Whereas most of the other stick blushers I have tried require a fair about of patting and rubbing to blend, this stuff disperses into a glowing, watercolour-esque flush in seconds.
Let me caveat here that I am not much of a highlighter person. Something about shimmering highlights make me feel as though my makeup doesn’t look natural. Don’t get me wrong, I love shimmering cheekbones on a night out, but for day-to-day life? I can’t help but feel as though a striking highlight gives the natural makeup game away. This stuff, however, is a little different. It’s jam-packed with nourishing oils, meaning it glides on with paralleled ease, leaving behind a skin-like sheen. The pearlescent pigment is somewhat diluted by these hydrating oils, meaning the intensity can be built up to whatever levels your heart so desires.
I am a total snob when it comes to brow gels. My brows are thick, coarse and very dark, so whenever I’m presented with a teeny-tiny spoolie on the end of my brow wand, I feel like giving up. This one, however, has a brush thick enough to get to the root of thick brow hairs, but small enough to work for finer brows, too. It also sets brows in place without turning strands crispy and crunchy—another winning point.
If you’re after an everyday mascara that doesn’t deliver too much impact, but just makes lashes look a little bit longer and more defined, this product is for you. It adds subtle but effective length without causing lashes to turn clumpy. The best bit? It uses tubing technology, meaning if you struggle with under-eye smudging, you needn’t worry. By coating every lash with a ‘tube’ of mascara formula, it won’t smudge or run until it comes to taking it off at the end of the day. You’re not going to get drastic before and after results with it, but that makes it kind of perfect for everyday wear.
Merit’s latest launch is the Solo Shadow, a cream-to-powder eyeshadow that come in four wearable neutral shades and four on-trend statement shades, from plum to hunter green. “These fuss-free eyeshadows blend beautifully with your fingertips for a wash of all over colour,” says Vousden. “I’ve been wearing the shade Studio, a brown taupe, all over my lids when I want to make a statement with my eyes without the faff of blending multiple colours.”
Come autumn, my lips turn particularly dry, making lipstick almost impossible to wear. This formula, however, is the exception. With squalane and sunflower seed oil, it delivers ample hydration that leaves limps looking plump and moisturised, while papain enzyme also helps to tackle any dry skin. The result is a nude lip that looks beautifully natural, making it the ultimate way to pull your final makeup look together.
When I first caught wind of the fact Merit Beauty would be launching in the UK, this was the product I was most excited to try. It is, after all, the product that U.S. beauty editors and influencers rave about the most. Richly pigmented, it delivers a wash of juicy colour to lips while hydrating and moisturising with rosehip oil, fatty acids and shea butter to leave lips enviably soft. It gives gloss-like results without any of the stickiness.
The beauty of Merit’s products is that you can just apply most of the complexion products with your fingertips. However, if you’re a makeup brush purist, then this do-it-all brush is a great all-rounder to have in your makeup bag to blend concealer, bronzer and blush.
The perfect pairing for the Solo Shadow eyeshadows, this dual-ended brush has a fluffy end for blending and a fine end for defining.
Sold on everything? This set contains every single products and allows you to choose the exact shades you want, with a saving of £47.
A concise edit of Merit’s favourites that allow you to streamline your morning makeup routine—think makeup in 5-minutes flat. This set comes with a saving of £32.
From work to Zoom calls, this set has everything you need to feel polished, with a saving of £24.
Housing Merit’s complexion favourites, this set is ideal if you want to try the brand’s serum, complexion stick, bronzer, blush and highlighter, and it also comes with the versatile blending brush too.
Love the dewy look? This edit includes the Flush Balm, Day Glow, Lip Slick and Signature Lip for an a radiant finish.
Merit’s core edit of its complexion products will see you through off-duty days.
All about eyes? Merit’s eye set has everything you need for a minimal eye makeup look.
