Rarely am I influenced to try new makeup - I honestly use the bare minimum everyday (if I even wear it).  Even when I was commuting to an IRL office I used the same 5 products day in and day out (I’ve literally been purchasing the same mascara brand + type for 10+ years).  

Why am I telling you this?  I just want to set the stage for my very non-experimental makeup routine.  Rinse and repeat at it’s finest.    

Enter Merit.  

Katherine Power’s new brand (she is the founder of Who What Wear and Versed Beauty) showed up in my IG explore page one day and I was instantly intrigued.  Her perfectly curated mood board feed and new launch teases soon lead to a slow trickle of products… and more and more interest from me. 

Merit’s niche is “Well-edited essentials that have earned a place on your vanity.”  Not only that, they’re clean (EU-Compliant clean) with “skin-loving ingredients.”  Pared down to just the essentials including a concealer, brush, blush, mascara, brow gel, highlighter and lip tint, they’re going for perfected products not everything and the kitchen sink.  They’re also clearly going for the luxe look without the overly hefty price tag.

While, yes, this was a slight detour into experimentation, these were all classic pieces for a polished, “no-makeup makeup” face - just my cup of tea (I wanna look pretty natural but obvs better when I wear makeup).  So when meritbeauty.com finally launched I knew I had to buy something…. What that was going to be was still up for consideration.  As I stared at my full cart trying to decide what to actually buy, I ended up buying the complete set -minus the brush (but might have to go back for that).

The exact pieces I bought include:

• The Minimalist Perfecting Complexion Stick in Linen (I have fair skin with yellow undertones) 

• Flush Balm Cheek Color in Beverly Hills 

• Day Glow Highlighting Balm in Cava

• Clean Lash Lengthening Mascara in Perfect Black

• Brow 1980 Volumizing Pomade in Blond

• Shade Slick Tinted Lip Oil in Au Naturel 

All for a not too high total of $170.

One slight hiccup in my purchase experience was that my 6 makeup pieces were all shipped separately (a glitch in their system apparently) and instead of 1 small box, I got 6 small boxes…. Not the best first look or at all good for the environment but least the packing was recyclable or biodegradable.

Anyways, receiving and opening up all my 6 boxes was like Christmas morning part deux.  I was so excited to open and play with everything.  Once I got everything out of the box, I could not wait to get it on my face… immediately I ran to the bathroom and got my 5 min face going, 

Side note on packaging - while the tubes are very pretty (As are the blue boxes each piece comes in) they don't have the weight of a truly luxe makeup brand.  Something is to be said about the weight of a Dior compact or Armani lipstick in your hand but these pieces make for a much lighter makeup bag (and obvs a lower price tag since we’re not paying for hefty metallic compacts).

The Minimalist, aka the perfecting complexion stick, is just that.  I liked how creamy it slid on my face, especially my undereyes.  It goes on nice and sheer but is buildable based on how much you apply and buff in.  I like to make an inverted triangle under my eyes and tap in the product with my ring fingers.  The coverage is great to cover fine lines and brighten my eye area and also works amazing as a concealer on any part of your face. 

The flush balm is perfection as well.  The creamy and soft transparent balm, contains Vitamin E to help condition skin as you wear it.  I found the Beverly Hills color (a soft peach according to the Merit site) to give me a perfect flush.  Since the balm is creamy it also gives you extra glow that a powder blush could never give.  

Next up, Day Glow.   Day Glow is a great highlighter, also super creamy with the perfect touch of sheen gives you a dewy vs. glitter sparkle.  I use this highlighter everyday on my cheek bones, brow bones and sometimes above my brow.   An added benefit is that it’s formula includes plant-based squalane to lock in hydration, and supports elasticity. 

The piece de resistance for me is the Clean Lash Lengthening Mascara.  As mentioned previously I am very devoted to one particular Mascara - Waterproof Diorshow in Black.  My eyes are sensitive and get very watery when it's sunny, cold, windy, etc. so I need waterproof when out in the world.  But as I spend most of my time at home, the thought of applying and removing waterproof mascara everyday is miserable.  I also have never found another formula or brush that I love.  I have strayed to try but I just love that chunky bristle brush of Diorshow.  Luckily for me Clean Lash as a very similar brush applicator.  It’s a bit thinner but I love the texture of it and how it coats my lashes.  I found Clean Lash to not smudge, stayed put and helped curl my lashes (I often find mascara weighs down my already pretty straight lashes removing any curl I have).  

The Brow 1980 is like the grown up version of Glossier Boy Brow.  I used to really like Boy Brow and used to give my blonde lashes a bit more color and substance.  I find the color and strength of Brow 1980 is miles ahead of Boy Brow.  It has great coverage and deposits color on my mini blonde hairs and also has the stamina to last all day.  

As for the Shade Slick lip oil, the Au Naturel color is like an enhanced version of my own lip color.  I love the sheen it gives without giving off an overly shiny gloss look.  Since it’s a lip oil it also feels smooth and soft on your lips vs sticky or tacky.  Like any lip color it does fade quickly and does not have hold so will come off on your cup of coffee, etc. throughout the day so you will definitely have to reapply to keep the color on.  The bonus of reapplying though is that with repeated use it can help natural moisture levels in lips over time - it does have jojoba oil and shea butter in it after all.  

And lastly an added bonus with your first Merit purchase - you get a chic af golden corduroy (washable) makeup bag with a knotted closure.  It may be a makeup bag but it’s definitely worthy of being an everyday clutch.  

So all in all, my makeup experiment was a success.  Got an upgrade in my everyday beauty routine, I feel more polished and know what I’m putting on my face is clean and good for my skin.  And because of their shipping mishap Merit offered 20% my next purchase - so I think my I will have to go back for the Flush Balm in Terracotta for a summer bronzed glow and their Brush No. 1 Blending Brush to buff in The Minimalist when I need some coverage on other parts of my face.  Will report back on anything else I try as well ;)