Merit

Merit Great Skin Instant Glow Serum.

Serums

About this product

Merit Great Skin Instant Glow Serum is a skincare serum designed to give skin an instant radiant, glowing look while hydrating it.

Full ingredients

Water, Propanediol, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Isononyl Isononanoate, 1,2-Hexanediol, Niacinamide, Sodium Hyaluronate, Sodium Hyaluronate Crosspolymer, Hydrolyzed Sodium Hyaluronate, Sodium Acetylated Hyaluronate, Coptis Japonica Root Extract, Theobroma Cacao (Cocoa) Seed Extract, Tocopherol, Butylene Glycol, Pentylene Glycol, Ethylhexylglycerin, Citric Acid, Sodium Citrate, Dextrin, Trisodium Ethylenediamine Disuccinate

Guru Score

79%

Yay

6 experts · Moderate agreement

What the gurus are saying

A glowy, glass-skin finish and a light feel that still moisturizes are what the takes keep returning to. Four of the six gurus leaned yay, with a lot of praise for how skin looks and feels after use. The lone nay flags niacinamide as a possible irritant and calls the price high, though it allows the reaction may be personal. A mixed take is still undecided, so the picture is split.

Synthesized from 6 expert reviews · most recent take January 2026

What they liked

Oil-water hybrid texture
A little goes a long way
Evens tone and texture

What they flagged

Nothing. None of the experts who reviewed it raised a problem.

Type

SerumsDrops & dropper

Key actives

Niacinamide Hyaluronic acidVitamin E

Formula notes

Fragrance-freeNo drying alcohol

Where to buy

Sephora → Amazon → Google →

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What the gurus are saying.

Every take we've logged from this product's reviews across YouTube. Click any row to watch the moment they said it.

All takes Yay takes Nay takes Mixed takes Hide sponsored

Robert Welsh

1.11M subs

✓Yay

"Then this Merit Great Skin Instant Glow Serum. It really does give you, like, glass skin."

Beyond50Skin

32k subs

✓Yay

"This is the serum by Merit, it's their Great Skin Instant Glow Serum."

Allie Glines

829k subs

✓Yay

"I feel like this product actually really helps with the tone and texture of my skin, those are my top two issues especially after struggling with acne. I still have some acne scarring that I work on lightening and it's gotten a lot better over the years. I feel like my skin is overall a lot more even than it used to be, which is nice. [...] This Merit one specifically is newer to me but I love how it makes my skin look and feel."

Gothamista

683k subs

✓Yay

"The Merit Beauty Great Skin Instant Glow Serum is exactly what I want, a formula that gives my skin instant radiance but it's skin care not makeup. It's hydrating with four different weights of hyaluronic acid, and it also has Copus root, which is one of my favorite TCM ingredients. It has a lightweight texture but it really feels moisturizing. Two pumps is what I use and it's perfect, and it leaves my skin feeling really moisturized and glowing."

Dr Dray

2.69M subs

✓Nay

"I wonder if it's the niacinamide in this is just like not formulated correctly because it can be an irritating ingredient. [...] This is like niacinamide and not a whole lot else. Maybe hyaluronic acid. Yeah, it's a pass for me, but I don't recommend it to you guys. Not only because it caused that issue for me, which can just be a me specific issue, okay? But it's expensive for what it is. So, this is a pass."

What the evidence says.

Independent of what the gurus think, this is what the published research supports about the main active ingredients here.

Niacinamide

Niacinamide has evidence behind it for redness, uneven tone and supporting the skin barrier, and it is usually well tolerated even by skin that reacts to most things.

Source: DermNet

Humectants and emollients

Ingredients like these draw water into the surface layers and slow how fast it leaves. The evidence is for comfort, softness and hydration rather than for changing the structure of the skin.

Source: DermNet

Vitamin E

Vitamin E is an antioxidant, and it is often in a formula to keep the other ingredients stable rather than as the active itself. It pairs well with vitamin C, though on its own the evidence for visible change is limited.

Source: NIH, National Library of Medicine

Frequently asked.

What is Merit Great Skin Instant Glow Serum?

Merit Great Skin Instant Glow Serum is a skincare serum designed to give skin an instant radiant, glowing look while hydrating it.

Is Merit Great Skin Instant Glow Serum worth it?

Mostly yes. 4 of the 6 gurus who reviewed it give it their stamp of approval, for a Guru Score of 79%.

What is Merit Great Skin Instant Glow Serum's Guru Score?

Merit Great Skin Instant Glow Serum holds a Guru Score of 79%. That is our read on how warmly the experts talk about it, based on the verdicts of 6 expert reviewers we have collected.