I'm Obsessed With Merit Beauty—Here Are My Honest Thoughts on Every Product

Merit has introduced a serum as a pre-cursor to it's complexion products, but it looks great worn alone too. "I've been testing out the serum alongside The Minimalist stick (below) and I love that it primes my skin with a dewy glow," says Who What Wear UK Beauty Editor Eleanor Vousden. "It contains skin-brightening niacinamide and four types of hyaluronic acid, leaving skin looking radiant and feeling hydrated. I feel like I can get away with wearing less makeup when I use this," she says.

As someone who doesn't particularly like foundation, I consider this product to be a game-changer. You see, there's a few things I don't like about foundation; mainly the way it takes away the skin's natural "flaws" and leaves my face feeling tacky and greasy. Because of this, I try to avoid foundation altogether, instead opting to apply concealer just where I need it. This product, however, is the best of both. 

With the coverage of a concealer but the creaminess of a foundation, it's a hybrid product that you scribble onto skin only where you need it. Blend it out with fingers, and you'll be pleasantly surprised at how much it livens up your complexion. With nourishing fatty acids, it delivers ample hydration to the skin, meaning you never have to worry about your base looking cakey. Since getting my hands on this, I haven't used concealer or foundation once. 

There are plenty of bronzing sticks out there, but none quite like this one. It is so creamy and blendable that you'll never have to worry about applying too much. The shades are skin-like, so don't have to fret about your bronzer looking muddy, either. Whether you want to use it as contour or a sun-striping bronze, it provides the perfect "no-makeup makeup" glow.

There are few cream blushers out there that I don't like, but it wasn't until I tried this one that I realised the common gripes I have with a huge number of my existing favourites. For starters, you don't have to worry about getting your fingers mucky in a compact—just dab the product onto the apples of your cheeks right from the pot and blend out with a fluffy brush. The other thing that sets it apart is it's highly blendable, outstandingly creamy formula. Whereas most of the other stick blushers I've tried require a fair amount of patting and rubbing to blend, this stuff disperses into a glowing, watercolour-esque flush in seconds.

Let me caveat here that I'm not much of a highlighter person—something about shimmering highlights make me feel as though my makeup doesn't look natural. Don't get me wrong; I love shimmering cheekbones on a night out, but for day-to-day life? I can't help but feel as though a striking highlight gives the natural-makeup game away. This stuff, however, is a little different. It's jam-packed with nourishing oils, meaning it glides on with unparalleled ease, leaving behind a skin-like sheen. The pearlescent pigment is somewhat diluted by these hydrating oils, meaning the intensity can be built up to whatever level your heart desires.

I'm a total snob when it comes to brow gels. My brows are thick, coarse and very dark, so whenever I'm presented with a teeny-tiny spoolie on the end of my brow wand, I feel like giving up. This one, however, has a brush thick enough to get to the root of unruly brow hairs, but small enough to work for finer brows, too. It also sets hairs in place without turning them crispy and crunchy—another winning point.

If you're after an everyday mascara that doesn't deliver too much impact but just makes lashes look a little bit longer and more defined, this one is for you. It adds subtle but noticeable length without causing lashes to turn clumpy, and the best bit is that it uses tubing technology, meaning if you struggle with under-eye smudging, you needn't worry. By coating every lash with a "tube" of mascara formula, it won't smudge or run until it comes to taking it off at the end of the day. You're not going to get drastic before-and-after results, but that makes it kind of perfect for everyday wear.

One of Merit's latest launches is Solo Shadow, a cream-to-powder eye shadow that comes in four wearable, neutral shades and four on-trend statement colours, from plum to hunter green. "These fuss-free eyeshadows blend beautifully with your fingertips for a wash of all-over colour," says Vousden. "I've been wearing the shade Studio, a brown taupe, all over my lids when I want to make a statement with my eyes without the faff of blending multiple colours."

Come winter, my lips turn particularly dry, making lipstick almost impossible to wear. This formula, however, is the exception. With squalane and sunflower seed oil, it delivers ample hydration that leaves lips looking plump and moisturised, whilst papain enzyme also helps to tackle any dryness. The result is a nude lip that looks beautifully natural, making it the ultimate way to pull your final makeup look together.

When I first caught wind of the fact Merit Beauty would be launching in the UK, this was the product I was most excited to try. It is, after all, the product that U.S. beauty editors and influencers rave about the most. Richly pigmented, it delivers a wash of juicy colour to lips whilst hydrating and moisturising with rosehip oil, fatty acids and shea butter to leave them enviably soft. It gives gloss-like results without any of the stickiness, and there are eight pigmented shades and four sheerer tints to choose from. 

The beauty of Merit's products is that you can apply most of the complexion products with your fingertips. However, if you're a makeup-brush purist, then this do-it-all number is a great all-rounder to have in your makeup bag to blend concealer, bronzer and blush. It does it all.

The perfect pairing for Solo Shadow eye shadows, this dual-ended brush has a fluffy end for blending and a fine end for defining. It's the only eyeshadow brush you need.

Merit launched its first fragrance this year, and it's just as chic as you'd expect. On first spritz, you are met with notes of juicy pear and fresh bergamot, before rich jasmine and rose take centre stage. Base notes of moss give an earthy feel, while vanilla and musk add a warm, sensual edge. read our full Merit Retrospect review here if you want to find out more.

"This is my ultimate brow pencil—I can't use anything else now," says Vousden. "The microfine nib is nimble enough to create realistic brow hair strokes to naturally fill in sparse areas without it looking stark. The pencil formula itself isn't too soft nor too hard, so it glides onto the skin and can easily be diffused with the spoolie brush on the other end for a seamless result. Plus, the shades are among some of the most natural I've seen. I find it hard to find brow pencils that match my dark brown eye colour (I find that most of them are too warm-toned) but the Dark Brown shade was a perfect match for me."

The latest addition to Merit Beauty is the Signature Lip Liner, which the brand describes as a sheer liner. These aren't your traditional lip liners, however. Rather than providing a crisp defined line, these have a soft-focus finish that adds a blurred finish to the lips with a comfortable satin finish. They're the ultimate low-maintenance lip liner to scribble on and go for a naturally defined lip. They're also retractable, so you don't need to worry about sharpening them either.

Sold on everything? This set contains every single product and allows you to choose the exact shades you want, with a huge saving.

A concise edit of Merit's favourites that allow you to streamline your morning makeup routine—think a full face in five minutes flat.

From the office to Zoom calls, this set has everything you need to feel polished, with a very generous saving.

Housing Merit's complexion favourites, this set is ideal if you want to try the brand's serum, complexion stick, bronzer, blush and highlighter, and it also comes with the versatile blending brush, too.