Earlier this year I discovered some fantastic new makeup brands. These discoveries were the result of my endeavours to break the make-up rut, which I had found myself stuck in. The realisation that what worked so well in my thirties, wasn’t working so well in my forties pushed me to shake things up! The first of my new discoveries, which I’ve already posted about, was Vieve. I adore their Skin Nova and Modern Powder Perfector. They’ve completely changed my day-to-day make-up routine to a minimal, no effort look, with just enough coverage, and this has been perfectly complemented by my second incredible make-up discovery, Merit Beauty. While I had heard of Vieve before trying their products, Merit was entirely new to me. Possibly because it’s an American brand and it’s only been the in the UK for a couple of years. But a little research quickly revealed it’s the kind of brand every beauty editor carries in their make-up bag. It’s also highly recommended for ladies around our age. What distinguishes Merit from the crowd, is their understanding of the demands of our still fabulous, but occasionally needy, midlife skin. They know that for midlife skin to look at its best, it requires light, but highly functional makeup. Merit is expert in the ‘no make-up’ make-up, glowy, natural look, that so many of us covet. And trust me, Merit is well worth the hype. It’s just amazing! Let me explain…
Merit Beauty
Merit was founded by Katherine Power in 2021 and offers an entirely streamlined range of essentials that are impossible to mess up. Given their forgiving formulations, they fit seamlessly into the most hectic of routines. This brand is focused on the realities of a busy life and not a romantic notion of how life should be. It’s for mums, working people and those with next to no time to make themselves look and feel great. Sound familiar? If so, Merit will most likely be your new best friend. What’s also fantastic about this brand is, as well as making you look great, this is makeup which is vegan, clean and cruelty free. It’s also fragrance free and suitable for sensitive and acne prone skin and enriched with skin friendly ingredients which support its integrity. So, using Merit make-up keeps your skin looking great with and without makeup. The packaging is also divine, and the price point is pretty good too. Here is a quick rundown of the products I’ve been using daily for the past few months, in tandem with my new Vieve staples. These are ridiculously easy and fun to apply, make you feel great with minimal effort and entirely enhance, rather than age, your skin. What more could you possibly ask for?!
Flush Balm Cheek Colour
The first product I bought from Merit was the Flush Balm Cheek Colour. This is basically a cream tint that melts away into your skin for a hit of lit-from-within colour. There are thirteen shades to choose from, which are helpfully categorised into The Pops, The Neutrals and The Classic Pinks. Also, the website is incredibly user friendly and allows you to choose your skin tone and compare the look of the different shades. I’m pretty fair and was I looking for quite a neutral, natural colour, so I opted for Terracotta. This is a gorgeous, warm, golden brown crème blush.
The Results
I love absolutely everything about the Flush Balm. The packaging is beautifully simple but so incredibly functional and practical. It’s the ideal size to pop in your handbag and its domed shape make it a pleasure to use, including on the go. It can be applied hassle-free, directly to your cheeks and blended with either a brush (the Merit Brush No.1 Brush is perfect) or your fingers, and built up to the desired colour intensity. Like all of the Merit products, it’s lovely and light and sheer and is ideally formulated to bring out the best in your complexion. It’s not like some traditional cheek colours that sit on the surface of your skin, and age you in the process. It offers a youthful, dewy, satin finish and the product itself just dissolves into your skin, leaving no tackiness or residue or harsh lines. It’s truly impossible to mess up as it’s such a lightweight, blend-able blush. It also has good staying power and can be easily topped up, if required, throughout the day. If you wish longer staying-power, a light sweep with a little bronzing powder will set it perfectly in place. It can also be applied to your lips and your eyelids for a wash of light, glowy colour. So, the Flush Balm is a multipurpose, easy to use and gorgeous addition to your make-up bag, which will almost certainly become your new non-negotiable item!
Day Glow Highlight Balm
The perfect complement to the Flush Balm is the Merit Day Glow Highlight Balm. This highlighter was formulated to give a lovely dewy, balmy sheen with zero glittery sparkle, which is perfect, as the disco ball look is no longer flattering on my midlife skin! Instead of glitter, microfine pearls reflect light and illuminate. The moisture rich, decadent formula also includes super-hydrating squalane and vitamins, which boost your skin’s moisture levels and further enhance the resulting, enviable glow. There are four shades to choose from, and I opted for CAVA – Champagne, which is a lovely pearly, neutral tone.
The Results
Similarly to the Flush Balm, the Day Glow Stick is minimally, but beautifully packaged and, once again, the rounded stick favoured by Merit, entirely enhances the joy of using this product. I apply the Day Glow Stick to my cheek and brow bones and massage it in with my fingers or a brush to look instantly refreshed. What’s truly unique about Merit is this doesn’t feel at all like make-up, and it doesn’t look like it either. It feels incredibly hydrating and luxurious and looks sheer, natural and radiant! The Day Glow Stick delivers a guaranteed natural glow, which would look at home on any face. It’s unquestionably the best highlighter I’ve used so far this year and I couldn’t recommend it more. It’s not try-hard make-up, it’s just naturally enhancing makeup you feel so comfortable and confident wearing. And that, I think, is makeup doing its job perfectly!
The Minimalist
Merit’s answer to complexion imperfections is The Minimalist. This is a sort of unicorn product as it’s neither a foundation or a concealer, but it can, and does, end up replacing both. It comes in thirty different shades to cater to every need. I opted for Silk which is fair, but on the warmer side, and it tones in perfectly with my fair complexion.
The Results
While Merit don’t make a foundation, with The Minimalist in your make-up bag, you don’t need one. Again, due to its rounded tip and incredibly minimal, but highly functional packaging, this is hassle and mess-free to use, even on the go. I apply The Minimalist to any imperfections and it glides on and blends seamlessly into the skin, without drying or caking, thanks to the fatty acids in the formulation that help to lock in moisture. A little goes a long way and it really doesn’t look like you’re wearing any make-up, but that you do have a flawless complexion. The Minimalist offers light-to-medium coverage which stays in place all day. It’s breathable and hydrating and just feels nice and light on the skin, without compromising on coverage. The Minimalist basically ticks all the boxes of the perfect complexion perfector.
What Distinguishes Merit from the Crowd
Having used Merit products for the past few months, this brand stands out in the vastly crowded beauty market, due to their gorgeous, highly practical packaging and luxurious, hydrating formulas. Everything I’ve tried has been so light weight and instantly lifting, perfecting and glow-giving to my midlife skin. There’s something about Merit’s big rounded dome tipped blushes and sticks that are so fun to use, and their forgiving formulas make experimenting with their make-up so enjoyable! It’s a bit of child-like, carefree play applying Merit. It takes no time, no thought and you can’t go wrong. Merit makes make-up fun again, but uniquely, also gives you so much confidence when you are wearing it, due to their highly functioning formulations. This is highly addictive make-up. You’ll be just like a kid in a candy shop, once you treat yourself to your first Merit purchase… but trust me, it’s worth the indulgence!
