What is MERIT Beauty? 

MERIT is a clean, luxury beauty brand inspired by minimalism. Founded by Katherine Power in 2021, MERIT was created to reimagine luxury beauty by making it clean, well-edited, and accessible — essentials that have earned a place on your vanity.

As a brand, we're focused on responsible luxury, which means creating products that are safe for body, skin, and planet. Our products are vegan, certified cruelty-free by Leaping Bunny, EU-compliant, and Clean at Sephora. We've also partnered with Biba de Sousa — a longtime Hollywood favorite aesthetician famous for her "no-list" — to eliminate another 73 clean but potentially acne-triggering ingredients to ensure our products are safe for all skin types.

Who makes MERIT Beauty? 

Named one of Fortune's 40 Under 40 most influential people in business, Katherine Power is the founder and CEO of Who What Wear, Versed Skincare, and MERIT.

A pioneering voice in media and commerce, Power started developing MERIT in 2017 while pregnant with her son. While she had grown up wearing many of the legacy luxury and prestige brands that her mother introduced her to — always gravitating toward the more natural-looking products — she found herself wanting cleaner formulas than those brands offered. As the clean beauty landscape grew, she continued to try different products but always felt that they were being marketed toward a younger customer looking for newness (and excess) at every turn.

"I felt compelled to create a brand that would reimagine luxury beauty for modern consumers like myself by making it cleaner, well-edited, accessible, and beautiful," says Power. "Merit is the antidote to the overwhelming, saturated world of beauty with too many steps and 50 shadow palettes launching every week. It's built around the concept of minimalist beauty and the fact that we just want to look like ourselves, but better."

When did MERIT Beauty launch? 

MERIT Beauty launched direct-to-consumer on meritbeautifully.com in January 2021 and in stores and online at Sephora in February 2021.

Where is MERIT Beauty? 

MERIT Beauty is based in Los Angeles, California, with teams operating on both the East coast and the West coast.

How do you get the MERIT Signature bag? 

The MERIT Signature Bag ships free with your first order at meritbeautifully.com. It’s reusable, washable, and double-lined, so it’s made to last. To keep it looking brand new, toss it in the washing machine on cold and lay flat to dry. You’ll only get one with your first order because that’s all you need!

What is minimalist makeup? 

MERIT is the antidote to the overwhelming, saturated world of beauty with too many steps and 50 shadow palettes. We simplify what it means to get ready by creating well-edited essentials that help you do more with less. All of our products are designed to be buildable, easy to use, and impossible to mess up, so you can look like you but better. We also curate our collections to give you only the products and shades you need, making it easy for you to get ready in five minutes or less.

Welcome to your routine - simplified.

What is Responsible Luxury? 

At MERIT, responsible luxury means creating products that are safe for body, skin and planet. All of our products are formulated to EU standards, and we have an internal list of ingredients that we eliminate in addition. We eliminate any ingredients that may be inflammation triggering, like artificial fragrance and occlusive ingredients. We partnered with Biba de Sousa, a longtime Hollywood favorite aesthetician, who is famous for her “no-list” — another 73 ingredients that are clean but potentially inflammation or acne-triggering (like coconut oil).

We also focus on our impact on the planet. Our products are vegan and cruelty-free (certified by Leaping Bunny). We aim to eliminate as much virgin material as possible from our packaging and components, and this will continue to evolve as more post-consumer recycled plastic options develop and become available. Our mailer packaging is all either reusable (the MERIT Signature Bag that ships with every first order is a double-lined, durable fabric bag that can be tossed in the washing machine for a refresh), recyclable (our mailer box is made from post-consumer waste and is fully recyclable), or compostable (any orders after your first will ship with Green Cell Foam, a cornstarch derivative that dissolves in water). 

We’re proud of where we currently stand but also believe in continuing to develop and innovate —we’re always thinking about how we can continue to push the envelope and minimize our global impact.

Are your products all-natural? 

No. We’re a clean brand, meaning we use non-toxic ingredients, both natural and lab-created. While there is no regulated definition of “clean" beauty, we focus on ingredients that are safe and effective, whether natural or synthetic.

In addition to adding good-for-you ingredients to every formula, we eliminated many potential irritants, like added artificial fragrance. We partnered with Biba de Sousa, a longtime Hollywood favorite aesthetician on our complexion products, who is famous for her “no-list” — another 73 ingredients that are clean but potentially inflammation or acne-triggering (like coconut oil).

Are you vegan and cruelty-free?

MERIT is vegan and cruelty-free, and certified by Leaping Bunny. We are also Sephora Clean.

Are you paraben and sulfate-free?

We’re free of parabens, sulfates, and over 1300 additional ingredients. We're happy to provide our full "no list"— please email us at [email protected] to request it. 

Do any of your products contain nuts?

Most of our products are nut-free.

Are your products gluten-free? 

While we do not add gluten, there is no active testing for gluten in our products.

Are your products ethically made?

We hold our manufacturing processes to high standards, when it comes to ethics and the environment. Our manufacturer selection process includes vetting the quality of formulas, their ability to produce safe, reliable products; and their commitment to good manufacturing processes (GMPs). MERIT condemns forced labor of any kind, and we are committed to supporting fair and safe workplaces throughout our business. Our GMPs forbid forced labor, underage labor, hazardous work environments, harassment and discrimination based on race, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, pregnancy status, political opinions, religion, age and disability unrelated to an individual’s ability to perform the work required by the job.

Where is MERIT makeup made?

Our products are made in the U.S., South Korea, China and Italy. Our warehouse is located in New Jersey. 

What shades should I wear?

Be sure to use our "Shade Finder" to find your Minimalist shade. If you need additional help, email us at [email protected] with a photo in natural light as well as shades you wear in other brands.

Who do I reach out to for press or partnerships?

Please email us at [email protected]. Our team will reach back out if there is an opportunity to work together.

I would love to join the team - are you hiring?

Follow MERIT on LinkedIn to be the first to know about new job opportunities.