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All Australian beauty lovers have a list of brands they wish and hope will one day start shipping to Australia. For many, Merit is high up on that list (sitting side by side with Hailey Bieber’s Rhode, of course). Blessedly, the wait is finally over, with the brand announcing it will begin shipping to Australia on September 18.
A cult beauty brand founded in 2021, Merit is known for creating simple makeup products that are impossible to mess up. Many of the base products come in stick formats with a multipurpose promise that they will replace more than one item in your beauty bag. The Minimalist Perfecting Complexion Stick is a case in point for this. It will retail for $61 and promises to be neither a foundation nor a concealer, but a product that can do both.
This product captures the ethos of the brand beautifully. The stone-coloured packaging is effortlessly chic and travel-friendly, and the product itself has a skin-like finish that’s not designed to mask your skin, but rather, offer a touch of coverage just where you want it. This is also the case for the Flush Balm Cheek Colour ($48), which is a creamy and easily blendable cheek tint that comes in nine shades, and the Bronzer Balm Sheer Bronzer (also $48), which is a sheer-buildable product that adds a subtle warmth to the skin.
Merit’s goal is to bring an elevated touch to simple morning makeup routines. The range is a tight edit, with lip oils, a brow pomade, sheer lipstick, and a few skincare products designed to work well underneath makeup, plus a few essential makeup brushes.
This thoughtful approach is also evident in the formulations, which are pumped with skincare ingredients like antioxidants, vitamin B5, and squalane. Meanwhile, the packaging also has added benefits, with every first Merit order coming in a chic little bag that doubles as a makeup bag or clutch on a night out. Even the website is properly optimised for the online shopper, with all 20 shades of the Complexion Stick modelled on 20 different people, to try and take the guesswork out of virtual shade matching.
The brand’s Australian launch marks its second expansion outside North America, where it’s currently stocked in Sephora and on the Merit website. Last year, it launched in the UK where, according to a press release from the brand, one product was sold every 30 seconds on launch day.
If you haven’t gathered yet, Merit is a brand people rave about — and you don’t need to take our word for it. Merit counts celebrities like Gossip Girl‘s Kelly Rutherford and Hilary Duff amongst its list of fans. It’s also earned industry awards for 13 formulations, including Allure Best of Beauty awards for the Flush Balm and Brush No. 1 Blending Brush ($51).
The relaxed products and second-skin finishes make Australia an obvious choice for the next international launch, particularly in the lead-up to summer.
“Our brand’s ethos has clear alignment with the Aussie approach to beauty — Australian consumers pioneered the kind of natural, glowy look that is the hallmark of our products and philosophy, and clearly prioritise the kind of simple routines we create at Merit,” says Merit Chief Marketing Officer, Aila Morin.
Merit will be available to shop directly through the brand’s website from September 18.
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