I’ve always been a fan of French women (who isn’t?), obsessing over their beauty bag basics, capsule outfits, and preferred apparel labels. However, one facet of their existence has eluded me: the no-makeup makeup appearance. With so many different ways to apply blush and foundation, sometimes less is more. I needed a brand that was committed to the look. Enter Merit Beauty, which I’ve been following from its inception. It was now time to put the entire collection to the test.
Read on for my full review of Merit Beauty’s The Full Collection (was $406; now $345), which includes the Minimalist Perfecting Complexion Stick ($38), which has a cult-like following and consumers can’t stop gushing about.
The PureWow100 is a scale that our editors use to evaluate new products and services, letting you know what’s worth the money and what’s just hype. Find out more about our procedure here.
What Is Merit Beauty?
Merit, founded by Katherine Power in 2021 to break through the noise and excess of the cosmetics industry, is fundamentally a simple brand. Merit Beauty, beloved by Hilary Duff, simplifies your routine by focusing on the fundamentals, and their impossible-to-fail goods, which cost an average of $30 each item, include skincare, cosmetics, and equipment. According to the brand, everything is developed with nourishing, non-pore-clogging ingredients that will leave you with glowing, hydrated, and healthy skin.
How I Tested the Merit Beauty Collection
To achieve my no-makeup makeup look, I utilized every single product from Merit Beauty’s Full Collection for three weeks, applying each one exactly as advised. Now, about my skin: After taking Accutane my senior year of high school and into college, my once oily skin has changed to combination-to-dry, so having that natural sheen or dew without oil in my T-zone is appealing. Using the PureWow100 scale, I examined quality, ease of application, longevity, natural finish, and value. Read on for an honest breakdown of each product in the brand’s lineup.
My Review of the Full Collection
1. Merit Great Skin Instant Glow Serum
The Glow Serum is the first product in Merit’s complexion line. It’s a weightless solution designed to leave your skin feeling moisturized, plumped, and ready for makeup, and I was shocked by how watery the consistency was and how readily it sloshed around my palms before being wiped onto my face. The instructions call for thorough shaking before application to blend the solution, which is made of a caffeine-rich cacao seed extract that acts to promote blood flow for that plump effect, and 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.
Fast Facts
- Key Ingredients: hyaluronic acid, niacinamide cacao seed, Japanese goldthread root
2. Merit Great Skin Priming Moisturizer
I followed the serum with this moisturizing masterpiece, which perfectly matches it. Consider this a nutritious smoothie packed with elements your skin craves, such as peptides, oat extract, glycerin, hyaluronic acid, and more. In addition to offering deep hydration, the manufacturer says that the moisturizer can assist improve skin elasticity, smoothness, firmness, and tone. While I didn’t notice a discernible improvement in the firmness or tone of my skin after application, it did feel satisfyingly satiated. My favorite part? The velvety, blurred quality provided for an excellent makeup base.
Fast Facts
- Key Ingredients: hyaluronic acid, oat extract, glycerin, peptides
3. Merit The Minimalist Perfecting Complexion Stick
Easily my favorite item of the group, the complexion stick can be used 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, giving a natural finish that lowers the appearance of dark spots and pimples without entirely removing them. It has been my go-to item for everyday use. Whether I’m rushing out the door or applying a full face of makeup, I’ve enjoyed grabbing for this convenient stick. That being said, if you prefer more comprehensive coverage, this may 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.
Fast Facts
- Key Ingredients: fatty acids, sea daffodil extract
4. Merit Bronze Balm Sheer Bronzer
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.
Fast Facts
- Key Ingredients: fatty acids, microfine pigments
5. Merit Flush Balm Cheek Color
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.
Fast Facts
- Key Ingredients: vitamin E
6. Merit Day Glow Highlighting Balm
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.
Fast Facts
- Key Ingredients: vitamin E
7. Merit Brow 1980 Volumizing Pomade
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.
Fast Facts
- Key Ingredients: vitamin B5, kaolin clay, mineral pigments
8. Merit Brow 1990 Sheer Gel Pencil
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.
Fast Facts
- Key Ingredients: sunflower oil, safflower extract
9. Merit Solo Shadow Matte Eye Color
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.
Fast Facts
- Key Ingredients: magnolia bark extract, antioxidant-rich chamomile, calendula extract
10. Merit Clean Lash Lengthening Mascara
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.
Fast Facts
- Key Ingredients: sunflower oil, safflower extract
11. Merit Signature Lip Lightweight Lipstick
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.
Fast Facts
- Key Ingredients: squalane, sunflower seed oil, papain enzyme, vitamin C
12. Merit Shade Slick Tinted Lip Oil
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.
Fast Facts
- Key Ingredients: rosehip oil, shea butter, grapeseed oil, jojoba oil
13. Merit Brush No.1 Blending Brush
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.
Fast Facts
- Bristle Type: synthetic
14. Merit Brush No. 2 Eyeshadow Brush
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.
Fast Facts
- Bristle Type: synthetic
Final Thoughts on Merit Beauty’s The Full Collection
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.
Fast Facts
- Includes: complete set of Merit Beauty essentials
