Merit Beauty Review

When Merit Beauty first launched stateside in January 2021, the minimalist makeup brand quickly garnered a loyal fan following. With celebrities, from Michelle Pfeiffer to Bella Hadid, wearing the curated line of clean yet high-performing makeup, it’s clear that the minimal makeup brand is a must for anyone looking to streamline their routine with products that help them look like the best version of themselves—not a mask.

Founded by Katherine Power, the brains behind affordable skin-care brand Versed and Who What Wear, Merit was developed with her own five-minute, barely-there makeup routine in mind. And while the brand carries a well-rounded assortment of complexion and lip products, they’ve done an impressive job of editing the lineup to only include those that are actually necessary for a pared back makeup collection.

The products are all EU compliant, paraben-free, sulfate-free, cruelty-free, and free of synthetic fragrance—and they’ve even worked with Hollywood aesthetician Biba de Sousa to ensure the formulas don’t contain any of her hard-no list of 73 clean but acne-triggering ingredients.

What’s more, the brand is Leaping Bunny certified and has a full commitment to environmental responsibility.

However, despite these impressive credentials, I’m not convinced that Merit is truly a “clean” brand. In this age of greenwashing, I can’t take a company’s word for it when they claim to be clean. That’s why it matters that a third-party confirms these claims. And, in this case, I’m not convinced that Sephora—which is part of the massive LVMH beauty empire that also owns Ulta and many other large retailers—has validated MERIT’s “clean” claims. Merit Beauty Review