Is Merit Worth It? An Honest Look at Quality, Fit and Price

Merit is worth it if you want a quick, softly blended routine, but its wear time makes the price a tradeoff. In merit reviews, the most convincing case is the brand's pared-back idea: founded in 2021, Merit set out to simplify getting ready with considered everyday essentials. I like the logic of a small skin-to-base routine with Great Skin Instant Glow Serum, Great Skin Priming and Firming Moisturizer, The Uniform, and Great Skin Double Cleanse, rather than buying several formulas for the same job. The numbers behind the polish are less decisive. Wirecutter tested 12 makeup products and two brushes with seven testers ages 29 to 44 for one month, tracking texture, wear time, pigment payoff, and ease of use. The panel liked many of the colors and creamy textures, but found most formulas greasy and felt pigment and longevity fell short. That is the tension: Merit makes easy-to-use, soft-focus beauty, yet an easy routine is not automatically a durable one. I treat those findings as a useful warning about wear, not as a universal score for every item now sold.

Merit's skin-to-base sequence works best when each step has a separate job. Great Skin Instant Glow Serum is a weightless, oil-free prep step that brightens and plumps, while Great Skin Priming and Firming Moisturizer is a lightweight cream with time-release hydration that sits before makeup. The Uniform adds sheer, buildable tint with broad-spectrum SPF 45 from 15 percent non-nano zinc oxide; Great Skin Double Cleanse is a bi-phase foaming wash for sunscreen and makeup, with gentle daily exfoliation. That's a tidy routine on paper, but it still asks skin to tolerate several layers. Wirecutter's testers with dry and oily skin both called The Uniform greasy, and the tint had largely faded by day's end, a real caveat if you're expecting SPF and base coverage to handle everything. My practical tip is to judge the sunscreen by itself in daylight, then add a separate base only if you still want more coverage. That separates sun protection from your expectations of foundation.

The color formulas are easy to understand, and harder to justify if you expect them to last. Bronze Balm is a sheer, buildable cream bronzer; Day Glow is a highlighter balm that leaves a dewy finish without visible sparkle. Wirecutter testers found Bronze Balm too subtle to add much depth for many people and said its color did not last, while Day Glow looked greasy and its shine faded quickly. Brush No. 1 Tapered Blending Brush has dense synthetic bristles for buffing cream complexion color, and Clean Volume is a buildable tubing mascara that lifts and separates with a petite precision brush. I like this combination in theory: soften one spot of color, then add definition at the lashes. In practice I would test the balms at home and check them a few hours later before deciding they deserve a regular place. The brush adds control, but it can't make a formula last longer.

Merit's smaller finishing pieces are easier to judge one at a time. Brow 1980 is a volumizing pomade with light, flexible hold and a tapered brush; Shade Slick is a tinted lip oil whose color and nonsticky feel appealed to Wirecutter, though several testers found it drying without balm. Brush No. 2 has one end for a soft wash of eye color and one for precise lines, while New Wave L'Extrait de Parfum is a full-size warm floral with pink pepper, a honeyed floral note, benzoin, and oakwood. I would use the eye brush only if shadow is already part of your routine, and keep balm nearby if lip oil tends to dry you out. Then, is Merit worth it? Yes for people who prefer a quick, soft finish and ease; no if all-day wear, strong pigment, or one product for every job matters most. Merit accepts exchange or refund requests for specific direct-site purchases within 30 days, but shipping is not refunded; Sephora orders follow Sephora's policy. Start with one useful product, not the whole routine.

If you are still deciding, I also wrote Where to Buy Merit Makeup (and When It Goes on Sale), Where to Buy Natasha Denona on Sale (and When the Best Sales Happen) and Is Huda Beauty Worth It? An Honest Look at Quality, Fit and Price.