This Makeup Brand Was All Over My Feed, So I Finally Tried It
While everyone else may be moving onto bolder, more colorful makeup looks as they trend this spring season, I'm not ashamed to admit that you can find me right where the "clean girl aesthetic" left off.
I'm a big believer in the less-is-more motto, especially when it comes to beauty, and there's one brand I literally can't ignore any longer in this space. MERIT Beauty ads have infiltrated my feed on every social media platform I have for the past year or so. I've watched countless GRWMs endorsing their products, admired more makeup shelf pictures adorned with this brand name than I can count, and at one point truly considered hitting "check out" with all 15 products they currently offer in my cart.
As a former smokey eye fan—no matter if it was for a 9am college class or a Saturday night—I am woman enough to admit when I've been wrong. Looking back on photos where I've taken the eyeliner or bronzer a little (a lot) too far compared to photos where I've taken a more natural approach, it's clear to see that I look much more feminine, and much more like myself in the latter group. Full-face glam can be fun for special occasions like New Years Eve or a professional photoshoot, but for everyday purposes, I now prefer a very minimal approach to makeup.
Enter: MERIT Beauty.
What Is MERIT Beauty?
A self-proclaimed "modern minimalist brand," MERIT Beauty boasts a lineup of multi-purpose makeup products that are vegan, cruelty-free and eu-complaint. They're also full of "nourishing, skin-loving ingredients" that are intended to support your skin in a way that benefits your complexion even when you're not wearing them. Incredible, right? Let's find out.
Here is my unsponsored, honest review on MERIT Beauty.
What I Bought
I purchased The Weekday Set which included the following items:
Signature Makeup Bag (free with the set)
Grand total: $201.41 USD (including taxes and shipping)
Does It Live Up to the Hype?
Short answer: In some ways, yes. In other ways, no.
There are certain products by MERIT Beauty that absolutely warrant hype. One of those is The Minimalist. The way it blended into my skin so seamlessly was actually impressive. Somehow, I chose the perfect shade for my skin despite toggling back and forth between this one and two other options online before purchasing (and despite their Shade Finder recommending a totally different shade entirely). The applicator is super easy to use, it's tiny enough to fit in any purse—no matter how micro—and the coverage is just right for a natural no-makeup-makeup look.
Equally impressive is the Flush Balm. This was the second item I was looking forward to most, so I'm glad that it hit the spot in its delivery. I've never used a liquid blush before and was a bit nervous about adding too much and looking like a literal circus clown, but this product—especially this shade—did not disappoint. The Stockholm shade gave me the perfect pink flush that gave the appearance of just a little too much sun exposure. Following tutorials I've seen online, I also used the balm on my lips alongside some clear gloss to make the whole look match and give off an ultra-feminine vibe.
Pause—I'd love to know if everyone has been using a tubing mascara except for me. It seems as if everyone forgot to clue me in on this little beauty hack. The Clean Lash mascara from MERIT Beauty certainly earned its spot as Google's most recommended in this category. I found my lashes looking much fuller and longer with less product.
Another item I enjoyed was the Bronze Balm as it was easy and quick to use and blended seamlessly to give a natural tan in the spots it was applied. That being said, since I'm used to using a powder bronzer prior to this experiment, I found that the liquid bronzer did make it more difficult to add a tan all over, leaving me a little more pale than I usually like. Rather, I found it more useful as a contour tool. I have a feeling that my opinion will change on this once summer makes its arrival and I have a real tan and don't need full-face bronzer, but until then, this item lost a star for me based on that.
Let's move onto the Day Glow. While not a must-have in my opinion, it did a decent job at providing a sheer glow. I felt like I had to add a lot of product in order to notice my typical amount of highlight, however.
Now for their one and only makeup brush, aptly named Brush No. 1. I'm not as disappointed in this product as I am confused. While I appreciate its ability to blend the makeup together well, are we intended to wash it after each application? Otherwise, I find that the last-used product from the day before (in this case, my blush) mixed into my application of my foundation/concealer the next day. In my last makeup routine, I used a sponge to apply my foundation and concealer and separate brushes entirely for each product that followed. In any case, the Brush No. 1 does do a good job of blending products seamlessly into the skin and providing a natural finish while reducing the amount of tools in my makeup bag. I foresee a lot of rinsing in my future though.
Last, and well, actually least is the Brow 1980 which I've already put aside with no intention of picking it back up anytime soon. For the girls with naturally full, beautifully arched eyebrows, I can see why this product would be a good fit. It's intended simply to darken the brows that you already have. Unfortunately for me, I actually don't want to darken my eyebrows as much as I want to just fill them in and shape them lightly. In an attempt to make this brush work for me, I ended up with dark, uneven brows that still looked very clearly lacking in fullness. Thus, I have since reverted back to using my Anastasia Beverly Hills Brow Wiz.
Overall, the only big thing I would say that is going to take some getting used to with this new makeup routine is not touching my face once the products have been applied for the day. I do find that with liquid products as opposed to powder, they come off with each gentle touch or scratch as I would find product under my nails often throughout the day. Admittedly, I'm using an extremely cheap setting spray (e.l.f. Power Grip), but my face does feel a bit adverse to touch. It doesn't feel dry or crack like I found my powder makeup to do occasionally, but it does feel like there's a heap of skincare products on my face.
So, What's The Verdict?
Well, the good news for my wallet is that I've found my new makeup routine and I don't have to spend any more money adding new items to my arsenal. While I do feel like I wasted $24 on the Brow 1980 and I could've done without the Day Glow, those are really the only items I regret buying. I'm happy to move past my days of dry, itchy skin with a full line-up of powder products and I find MERIT Beauty overall to fit my desire for a dewy, natural and feminine approach to daily makeup much better.
While I have a feeling that my makeup routine will improve as I experiment and become more comfortable using each product, I'm already happy with the results I'm seeing in the mirror so far.