Merit Beauty is a minimalistic clean makeup line founded by girl-boss powerhouse Katherine Power. Power co-founded the popular Who What Wear fashion and lifestyle site and clothing brand, Versed, a natural skincare line, and Avaline, a natural wine company. Merit first launched at the beginning of 2021, and a month later, they announced their partnership with Sephora. I have had the opportunity to try all of Merit’s products and am excited to share my Merit Beauty makeup review with you.
Merit Beauty Foundation Stick
The Minimalist Perfecting Complexion Stick is not just a foundation. It doubles as a concealer too. It has a satin-matte finish, making a setting powder unnecessary. I love the minimalism behind this line. Merit’s Foundation Stick comes in 20 shades (I use shade Bone), and they claim that this complexion stick is light-medium coverage. I have found it to be more medium, hinting towards full. It has very concentrated pigment that can be sheered out as it is blended. The Merit Blending Brush pairs perfectly with this foundation, it is very dense, and the coverage is determined by how much pressure is used in blending out this base. It is creamy and not too heavy or thick once blended. It blurs imperfections and slightly fills pores, so the skin doesn’t look too cakey. I have enjoyed this base product and how it minimizes the products I need in my makeup bag! Find Merit’s Foundation and Blending Brush HERE!
Merit Beauty Makeup Review Brow Gel
The Merit Beauty Brow 1980 Volumizing Pomade is one of my favorite tinted spoolie brow gels in clean beauty. It has the PERFECT texture! It is creamy and almost dries down to be a powder consistency. The blond shade is perfectly taupe, not too red, and not too butterscotch, the perfect tone for my cool, dirty blonde hair. It adds a bit of volume, but what I like most is that it fills in the sparse front parts of my brows. I love it so much! I will be repurchasing this. Find the Brow 1980 Volumizing Pomade HERE!
Merit Beauty Highlighter
Another FAVORITE Merit makeup product is their highlight balm. It has a gorgeous silky texture and iridescent sheen. I’m not too fond of chunky and glittery highlights, and this one is not that. It highlights the high point of my face without looking obnoxious. I have said that I think this highlight is a good dupe for the original Vapour Organic Beauty Halo Moonlight Highlighter (discontinued). I have shade Cava in this highlight balm, a creamy champagne shade. They have two other shades I have yet to try, Rose Gold and Soft Gold. Find the highlight balm HERE!
Merit Beauty Lipsticks + Lip Oil
The Merit Beauty Signature Lipsticks are their newest makeup product. They have a beautiful creamy consistency, and the packaging is super luxe. The shades are typical of any lipstick line: pinks, oranges, and reds. These are satin lipsticks, and the pigment does slide, so I recommend using a lip pencil for movement prevention. I like these lipsticks, but I think the packaging is what sets them apart. Find the Signature Lipsticks HERE!
I also tried Merit’s Tinted Lip Oils to round out the lips portion of my Merit Beauty makeup review. The two shades I selected are Marrakesh and Taupe. Taupe is a nude brown with some hints of pink, and Marrakesh is a coral peach with hints of red. The texture of the lip oils is soft and a bit creamy, not greasy. It is very moisturizing, and it doesn’t bleed outside of my lip line like some of the other lip oils I’ve tried. Find the Tinted Lip Oils HERE!
Merit Beauty Makeup Review Mascara
The Clean Lash mascara is not a favorite of mine… They claim it is lengthening and a tubing mascara, but I do not see the length value. At best, it is a defining mascara. I like mascaras with a bit more volume, and that’s where Merit’s missed the mark for me. For a good tubing mascara, look into Thrive Causmetics, and for a good volumizing mascara, try Ilia.
Merit Beauty Makeup Review Flush Balm
Last, and honestly, my least favorite Merit Beauty Makeup item in this review is their Flush Balm. This is a cheek color balm, and it is way too oily. It has funky packaging that reminds me of those EOS egg lip balms a lot of us remember from high school, but that’s where my likeness of this guy stops. The texture is too slick, so the pigment evaporates from my cheeks when blended out. This one was a hard pass for me, and I do not recommend it. If you are looking for a good cream blush, check out Westman Atelier or Tower 28 for some pigment.
Merit Beauty Makeup Review Conclusion
Overall, I love the luxurious packaging and minimalistic branding of Merit Beauty. The products I most recommend from the line are the complexion stick, complexion brush, highlight balm, and brow gel. The blush balm and mascara are flops IMO. And while the lip products are nicely formulated and branded, their formulation and shades are nothing unique to the clean makeup space. Share your thoughts on Katherine Power’s new Clean at Sephora line below!
Merit Beauty Makeup Review Sources
Merit Website. https://go.magik.ly/ml/1ib6z/.
FTC: I do have affiliate links in this blog post. If you purchase something from my link, I will receive a small commission from the sale that goes back into the blog. I do not take becoming an affiliate with any company lightly. If I am, it’s because I believe in the company and their product.
