The Minimalist Perfecting Complexion Foundation and Concealer Stick
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Merit's The Minimalist Perfecting Complexion Foundation and Concealer Stick offers light to medium coverage with a blurring, natural velvety finish that several creators say wears well on oily skin. Professional makeup artist Nikki La Rose disagrees, calling it "a little thick" and not worth the price, while Allana Davison notes the lighter shade is very pink and coverage is barely there. It's best for those wanting a quick, everyday skin tint rather than full coverage, and some recommend using it over separate sunscreen.
FULL REVIEWS
POSITIVE
Variant: 22
- “The thing that makes this so good in my opinion is the fact that it's blurring it. It is a radiant, very hydrating product, but it looks so good around my pores. It kind of looks like I have a filter on my face”15:11–15:16
- “Mary did an amazing job with this one”14:57–15:02
- “I think that this is probably my favorite kind of skin tint product at the moment”15:38–15:48
- “It is like more than half of like a third of the price and it performs incredible”16:33–16:39
- “It's not quite as glowy as the Victoria Beckham. So, if you're looking for more hydration, more skin care, go to with Victoria Beckham. But if you're looking for a good SPF tinted product, Merit is where it's at”
- Source: Top 25 Beauty Releases of 2025 - Dec 27, 2025
Variant: 22
- “I like it so much I bought it in a better shade for me”5:24–5:28
- “There's something about the way powder fuses with it and tones down the shine and turns it into this soft skin-like natural matte velvety finish”6:41–6:48
- “It looks incredibly natural and I rarely have to blot with this during the day, even on my most shine-prone areas”6:50–6:55
- “It blurs and smooths my pores and texture and evens out my skin tone just enough”
- “It applies quickly. It's lightweight. Wears beautifully throughout the day”
- “I absolutely love it”
- Source: Best makeup of 2025: my standout favorites - Dec 18, 2025
Variant: Oak
- “The Merit Minimalist Base Sticks continues to be one of my favorites”2:22–2:25
- “I think most days when I reached for a base product, especially from like January to June, it was this”2:28–2:39
- “I can swipe it on. I can just take a brush or a sponge and blend it out all over”2:49–2:54
- “It gives me a nice healthy glow”
- “It evens over redness”2:55–2:56
- “It's buildable to like a light medium, but it's not going to give you heavy coverage”
- “It's just something I use when I want to feel a little bit more put together on like an everyday basis”3:00–3:05
- Source: Best of beauty 2025 into 2026: makeup favorites, new essentials, longtime holy grails - Dec 30, 2025
- “These are amazing for a natural day”2:56–3:00
- “I love this on a no makeup makeup day”2:59–3:02
- “I can draw it all over my face like a crayon, blend it out with my fingers, and leave the house very quick”3:01–3:05
- “That is a great product for daily use”3:05–3:10
- “If you need something in your everyday kit, not really a full face kind of girl, this is going to be amazing for you”
- Source: Best Sephora Products You Need: Full Face + VIB Rouge Sale Haul - Apr 21, 2026
Variant: 26
- “This has a smoothing, blurring effect with a soft, natural, velvety finish on the skin”7:20–7:27
- “Love to see Merit encouraging everyday sunscreen use, but again, I love to reinforce the importance of applying the correct amount”7:27–7:31
- “I treat this as more of a skin tint on top of my separate sunscreen”7:37–7:42
- “It has a more soft matte finish than the rest of the group and a slightly thicker consistency with fine, natural powders that help blur and smooth the skin”7:40–7:47
- “Not as glowy as I usually go for, but it means it lasts well and seems to get good reviews from people with oilier skin types who can't do dewy as easily”7:49–7:55
- Source: More skin tints: popular and underrated sheer formulas for fresh, glowy skin - Apr 7, 2026
Variant: Dune
- “Certainly one of my most linked items”1:55–2:00
- “It's been my most consistently used base product for the last 4 years”1:58–2:05
- “Creamy, easy, light to medium coverage”2:02–2:07
- “You stripe on quickly and even out your complexion wherever you need it”2:05–2:09
- Source: Reviewing bestselling beauty products from Sephora - Feb 17, 2026
Variant: Buff
- “Number one pick for all over the face is the Merit Beauty their foundation concealer stick”10:45–10:52
- Source: My number one makeup product in every category - May 26, 2026
Variant: Ochre
- “Next I'm going in with the Minimalist Perfecting Complexion Stick”0:22–0:27
- “Mine is in the shade Ochre and I'm going to be using this in areas where I have a little bit of discoloration”0:26–0:29
- “This product is so creamy and so easy to use”0:33–0:38
- “I love using this on my light makeup days”0:36–0:40
- “Girl look at this complexion”0:40–0:43
- Source: My easy everyday makeup routine for fall - Jan 21, 2026
Variant: Tiger Eye
- “I use it also for cream contour in the shade Tiger Eye”6:08–6:14
- “If you're looking for convenience of a stick, you can use it for foundation or concealer”6:12–6:16
- Source: Best of beauty 2025: top makeup, skin care and hair care - Dec 7, 2025
Variant: 25
- “I also really enjoyed the Merit The Uniform, also in the shade 25, which is the deeper one. The lighter one was not it. It's very pink”5:03–5:09
- “Very, very light. Like, barely, barely there coverage”5:13–5:18
- “If you want like no coverage at all, maybe just a slight tint of color, this is going to be beautiful for you, but if I were to go out and purchase another SPF tint, I would pick up the CLE one over the Merit”5:24–5:32
- Source: Top beauty faves from the month: skin, makeup, empties - May 28, 2026
Variant: Suede
Variant: Sandstone
- “I'm first starting with the minimalist in the shade sandstone”1:06–1:10
- “I'm not going for something super full coverage here, just something that won't feel heavy”1:31–1:34
- Source: Easy, everyday polished makeup without a lot of effort - Jan 28, 2026
MIXED / NEGATIVE
- “I don't think it's worth it”
- “It's a little thick, in my opinion”28:29–28:33
- “I would say skip that one”28:30–28:33
- Source: 50 of the best sellers at Sephora: buy or skip? - Apr 4, 2026
WHAT CREATORS SAY
- Consensus
- 4.2 / 5 from 10 creator reviewsGrailPeople ratings based on creator reviews.
- Features
- Easy to use (6) · Natural finish (4) · Blurring (3) · Lightweight (3) · Dewy finish (2)
- ⚠ feels overpriced to some (1)
Product details
Details
- Type
- foundation stick
- Finish
- natural
- Shade
- 22
- Key ingredients
- —
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