My Honest Review of Merit Beauty, the Brand Dedicated to Perfecting the No-Makeup Makeup Routine

PureWow Editors select every item that appears on this page,, and the company may earn compensation through affiliate links within the story You can learn more about that process here. Yahoo Inc. may earn commission or revenue on some items through the links below.

Read the original article on Purewow.

I’ve always been and admirer of French women (who isn’t?), constantly obsessing over their makeup bag essentials, capsule wardrobes and go-to clothing brands. Still, one aspect of their existence that has continued to elude me is that no-makeup makeup look. With a million-and-one ways to apply blush and tons of foundations overwhelming me, sometimes less is so much more. I needed a brand committed to the aesthetic. Enter: Merit Beauty, which I’ve been eyeing since its inception. It was finally time I put the full collection to the test. Here is my complete review of The Full Collection (was $406; now $368) from Merit Beauty, including the Minimalist Perfecting Complexion Stick ($38) with a cult-like following that customers can’t stop raving about.

The PureWow100 is a scale our editors use to vet new products and services, so you know what’s worth the spend—and what’s total hype. Learn more about our process here.

What Is Merit Beauty?

Created by Katherine Power in 2021 to cut through the noise and excess of the beauty industry, Merit is a minimalist brand to its core. Beloved by Hilary Duff, Merit Beauty simplifies your routine by honing in on just the essentials, and their impossible-to-mess-up products, which have an average price of $30 per product, include skincare, makeup and tools. Per the brand, everything is formulated with nourishing, non-pore clogging ingredients that are intended to leave you with glowing, moisturized and healthy skin.

How I Tested the Merit Beauty Collection

Stephanie Meraz

For three weeks, I used every single product—applying each as instructed—included in Merit Beauty’s Full Collection to perfect my no-makeup makeup look. Now, a word about my skin: After going through Accutane my senior year of high school and into college, my once oily skin has transitioned to combination-to-dry, so getting that natural glow or dew sans oil in my T-zone is alluring. Referring to the PureWow100 scale, I considered various qualities, including quality, ease of application, longevity, natural finish and value. Read on for my honest breakdown of every product in the brand’s line-up.

My Review of the Full Collection

Stephanie Meraz

The Glow Serum is the first step in Merit’s complexion collection. It’s a weightless formula that’s intended to leave your skin feeling hydrated, plumped and prepped for makeup, and I was surprised by how watery the consistency was and how it easily sloshed around my palms before I dabbed it into my face. The instructions call for rigorous shaking before application to mix up the formula, which is comprised of a caffeine-rich cacao seed extract that works to stimulate blood flow for that plump effect, a brightening (and smoothing) niacinamide and—my favorite addition—four types of hyaluronic acid that provides intense hydration. I especially liked that the light liquid serum left a glowing sheen and burst of long-lasting hydration all day without feeling the slightest bit oily.

$38 at Merit Beauty

$38 at Sephora

Stephanie Meraz

I followed up the serum with this moisturizing masterpiece, which beautifully complements the serum. Think of this like a healthy smoothie full of all the good ingredients your skin wants to drink up, like peptides, oat extract, glycerin, hyaluronic acid and more. Apart from providing deep hydration, the brand claims that the moisturizer can help improve the appearance of skin elasticity, smoothness, firmness and tone. While I didn’t see a visible difference in how firm or toned my skin looked after application, it did feel satisfyingly quenched. My favorite part? That velvet-like, blurred finish that made for the best base for makeup.

$38 at Merit Beauty

$38 at Sephora

Stephanie Meraz

Easily my favorite item of the bunch, the complexion stick acts as both a buildable concealer and foundation, depending on your needs. The light-to-medium coverage applies and blends like butter with the Brush No. 1, leaving a natural finish that reduces the appearance of dark spots and acne without making it completely disappear. It’s become my go-to product for everyday wear. Whether I’m running out the door in a hurry or putting on a full face of glam, I’ve loved reaching for this handy-dandy stick. That being said, if you want something more full coverage, then this might not be for you.

My only qualm is that the complexion stick has the tendency to slide out easily—I actually talked about this at length with my sister, who experienced the same flaw with her packaging. Despite our grievances, we both find the formula to be worth it. TL;DR? This is the key piece to perfecting the natural no-makeup makeup look.

$38 at Merit Beauty

$38 at Sephora

Stephanie Meraz

Ahh, the small-but-mighty bronzer stick that leaves me with that beachy vacay glow. I seriously don’t know what Merit Beauty puts in their products, but they all apply like a dream. I like to apply it generously on both sides of my face in the shape of a 3 so I can sculpt my forehead, cheekbones, chin or really anywhere where the sun naturally hits. It has a sheer finish that looks oh-so healthy and soft, and even after adding more product, it never looks cakey.

$30 at Merit Beauty

$30 at Sephora

Stephanie Meraz

I’ve never been one to gravitate towards a cream blush, nor did I ever think I’d prefer it to my Hourglass powder blush—until now. Don’t be fooled by how tiny this balm looks because it packs a punch with one quick swipe and melts into skin, leaving a radiant flush that makes me feel like I’ve been pinched in the cheeks by my great aunt Rosey. A natural sunburnt blush effect, if you will. It can be used as a cream eyeshadow or lip tint, too.

$30 at Merit Beauty

$30 at Sephora

Stephanie Meraz

Friends and family can attest to my love of a highlighter. There’s something about an iridescent sparkle on the tip of my nose or an eye-catching sheen on the tops of my cheekbones to really boost my confidence, and the Day Glow Highlighting Balm does just that. Rich in vitamins, amino acids and plant-based squalane, I like to think of this balm as an extra step in my skincare routine since it claims to moisturize, lock in hydration and promote a healthy skin barrier in addition to—you know—adding some highlight. It’s not as pigmented and sparkly as a powder, but it does leave me with an iridescent luster, thanks to those micro-fine pearls, and gorgeous wet finish. It’s also really easy to blend out with your finger or a brush, and it’s delightfully compact (as is everything else in Merit’s collection), so you can totally toss it in your purse for a mid-day touch up.

$32 at Merit Beauty

$32 at Sephora

Stephanie Meraz

I’m no stranger to this trusty pomade, which I’ve reviewed in the past. For days when I’m running errands or just not wearing too much makeup, I like to use this to fill in my sparse spots and make my brows darker. It’s formulated with vitamin B5, kaolin clay and mineral pigments, which deliver fuller, natural-looking brows sans a flakey or stiff finish. The spoolie might look incredibly small, but you’d be amazed with how much product it holds. A little goes a long way, too. I’ve found that I don’t need to press in too much or go over my brows multiple times to get a fuller effect. Only caveat: It won’t make unruly or long eyebrow hairs stick in place.

$24 at Merit Beauty

$24 at Sephora

Stephanie Meraz

As someone who either uses brow gels or powder to fill in my sparse eyebrows, I’m always quite intimidated over gel pencils. Most are hard to use or leave thick globby strokes after attempting to “flick” with a light hand. With my skepticism at an all-time high and the bar set pretty low, I attempted to use Merit’s pencil, a soft gel formulated to apply with a smooth finish that doesn’t tug, pull or leave me with globs of dark matter in my brows. To say I was enamored would be an understatement, and I have to chalk it up to the ultra-fine tip because it allowed me to control the intensity of the strokes and add fullness and definition bit by bit. Best of all? I haven’t had any issues with the tip breaking off, and the spoolie brush at the other end of the pencil really blends everything out for a natural finish.

$32 at Merit Beauty

$32 at Sephora

Merit

Set your eyeshadow palettes aside because this buildable cream-to-powder shadow makes for a fun wash of color. It’s packed with ingredients that Merit Beauty claims can smooth the appearance of skin. I went a little out of my comfort zone and got the Midnight shade—a statement navy—for a pop of color I’ll wear for events or nights out. Because it’s a cream-to-powder formula, you must work fast, so it may take some getting used to at first. I found that it was easier to apply the shadow with my finger, as it really packed the product in without losing too much color—though I did like the dispersed look that the eyeshadow brush afforded me, especially for times when I want a smokier look. While I wouldn’t rank it in my top five—or say that it’s completely necessary—I do like it for special occasions.

$24 at Merit Beauty

$24 at Sephora

Stephanie Meraz

Behold: one of the best tubing mascaras for everyday wear. If you couldn’t already tell from everything I’ve divulged above, I like to go glam, so these lightweight mascaras are usually no match for me, but I’m also actively trying to perfect the natural French aesthetic. My pin-straight eyelashes usually need a more intense formula to stand out, however, I’m really impressed by how good my eyelashes looked after using this. While it doesn’t magically lift or curl my lashes (actually, no mascara has done that—even the ones with “curling” technology), it does coat every single lash with no clumps or that scary spidery effect. What really wowed me was the fact that it never fell or smudged throughout the day.

$26 at Merit Beauty

$26 at Sephora

Stephanie Meraz

Confession: This Merit lipstick has been in my purse for several months now. Available in both matte and satin finishes, it’s formulated with a lightweight and airy finish that’s contains papain enzymes to soothe your lips, plant-derived squalene and sunflower seed oil to lock in moisture and vitamin C to minimize the look of fine lines. My full lips are often crackly and chronically dry, so I’ll take all the help I can get in that department. That being said, I did find the satin Baby colorway to be slightly drying throughout the day, so I can’t imagine how the matte finish would feel on my lips. Regardless, I keep coming back to it because it’s my ideal shade of a nudey pink and it doesn’t feel super cakey like other lipsticks tend to feel on my lips. Plus, it’s the perfect pop of color that can read both casual and fancy in a flash.

$26 at Merit Beauty

$26 at Sephora

Stephanie Meraz

Psst…I found the answer to my dry lips: Merit’s tinted lip oil, which boasts a creamy texture that’s formulated with shea butter, grapeseed oil, rosehip oil and jojoba oil, so you better believe that it’ll condition your lips and make them feel super soft and supple. I’m not one for lip glosses (womp womp)—the stickiness and shininess are no-gos for me—but I was pleasantly surprised by how much I liked this on. It’s super lightweight and when I combined the taupe shade with the lipstick above, it added a really nice neutral tint that softened the pink hue in the lipstick.

$24 at Merit Beauty

$24 at Sephora

Merit

Behold: the blending brush that does it all. From concealer and bronzer to blush and highlighter, there’s nothing this brush can’t handle like a champ. It’s made with extra soft vegan bristles that are super gentle, especially on sensitive skin, and the densely-packed bristles are *chef’s kiss* for blending. It’s the Renaissance Man of brushes and will follow me everywhere I go.

$32 at Merit Beauty

$32 at Sephora

Merit

Next is a dual-ended brush made to complement the Solo Shadow above, complete with a fluffy end that can be used to diffuse color and blend along the lid, as well as a tapered end for the lash line. I’ve actually preferred using the fluffy side to blend out concealer under my eyes, finding that it’s sometimes tough to blend the creamy Solo Shadow compared to a less dense powder. While it’s one of the less necessary pieces of the bunch, it is especially helpful to buff out eyeshadows or smudge cream eyeliners if you wear them often.

$20 at Merit Beauty

$20 at Sephora

Merit

At the end of the day, I gave The Full Collection a whopping 95/100 on the PureWow100 scale. From the EU-compliant ingredients to the vegan, minimalistic formulas to the sustainable packaging, this collection has so many noteworthy pieces that make it great, not to mention a consistent dewy, hydrating finish in almost all of its products that’s hard to come by. Whether you’re a makeup beginner or seasoned MUA, you’ll discover that everything’s easy to apply and buildable. It’s the ultimate five-to-ten-minute collection that’ll help you achieve the French girl no-makeup makeup routine. While there are some minor setbacks, including confusing packaging on some products, a drying lipstick and translucent finishes that may be too slick-looking on people with oily skin, the overall value and dewy finish really make the whole lineup a winner in my book for people with combination, dry or sensitive skin.

$406; $368 at Merit Beauty

An Honest Review of Typology Makeup, the Brand French Women Swear By

Why You Should Trust Us

PureWow’s editors and writers have spent more than a decade shopping online, digging through sales and putting our home goods, beauty finds, wellness picks and more through the wringer—all to help you determine which are actually worth your hard-earned cash. From our PureWow100 series (where we rank items on a 100-point scale) to our painstakingly curated lists of fashion, beauty, cooking, home and family picks, you can trust that our recommendations have been thoroughly vetted for function, aesthetics and innovation. Whether you’re looking for travel-size hair dryers you can take on-the-go or women’s walking shoes that won’t hurt your feet, we’ve got you covered.