Is Merit The Minimalist Mascara worth it?

Yes. All 3 gurus who reviewed it give it their stamp of approval, for a Guru Score of 90%.

What is Merit The Minimalist Mascara's Guru Score?

Merit The Minimalist Mascara holds a Guru Score of 90%. That is our read on how warmly the experts talk about it, based on the verdicts of 3 expert reviewers we have collected. At least one expert has named it a Top Pick in its category.

Merit

Merit The Minimalist Mascara.

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Eye Makeup

About this product

A mascara formulated to deliver natural-looking lashes with a creamy texture, designed to resist flaking, smudging, and clumping throughout the day.

Guru Score

90%

Yay

3 experts · Moderate agreement

What the gurus are saying

No flaking, smudging, or clumping throughout the day is what keeps gurus reaching for this mascara. The creamy formula delivers a natural, flattering lash line without the little specks or transfer that plague other mascaras, making it a reliable choice for anyone who wants subtle definition that actually lasts.

Synthesized from 3 expert reviews · most recent take August 2026

What they liked

No flaking or smudging all day
Creamy formula that doesn't clump
Natural, flattering finish

What they flagged

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

Type

Eye MakeupLiquid

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

Beyond50Skin

32k subs

✓Yay

"My very favorite [...] mascara is Merit. They now have a new mascara out that's fabulous too, the Clean Lash mascara in brown, so I'm loving this even more. It's one of my absolute favorite mascaras. Merit wins the day when I'm just traveling around for everyday makeup because it's so easy and so fast, and it's one of my favorite brands for a very natural look."

All 13 takes from Beyond50Skin

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"This is the Merit The Minimalist Mascara. It is black. I hope they come out with a brown. [...] Absolutely love this. I got my mom turned on to it. This is fabulous because it's just so natural. It has just such a natural look, which is what I love on my mature skin. So I already have my backup. I already bought a mini for my purse and I bought one for my mom. Definitely holy grail status."

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"I love the brush. I don't know what the formula is in here, but I never mess up when I'm applying this. It's a tubing mascara. Comes off beautifully. It is in black. Please, Merit, come out with a brown. But honestly, the black is not bad for just a very natural look to the lashes."

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"I'm definitely restocking on Merit's Clean Lash Mascara. One of my absolute favorite mascaras. Mine is getting a little bit low and on the dry side, so I am ready for a refresh."

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"Their mascara is one of my absolute favorites, their Clean Lash... [...] I don't know if it's the magic of the formula or the brush, but I love this mascara."

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"What I love about their mascara is it's so easy to put on. I honestly don't even need a mirror. It never gets clumpy. It doesn't flake. One of my favorite mascaras of 2025. And I'm happy to have a mini that I can carry around in my makeup bag when I travel."

MINIMALIST MAKEUP

"I've been also playing around with Merit's clean lash mascara. I love this. It arrived in PR and I've been playing around with it and I absolutely love it. It glides on, it's super creamy. It's somewhat buildable, not super buildable. If you're looking for a Vavoom Vavoom look, this is probably not the mascara that you want, but for me personally, this is a perfect minimalist makeup mascara."

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"I followed it up with some mascara, the Clean Lash by Merit."

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"I really do love the Merit Clean Lash Mascara. The only thing I really don't like about it is that it only comes in black. And I would think for a minimalist line that they would offer a brown, especially if you kind of want that barely there look. I've really been liking the consistency of this formula. It's held up really well. I've had it for quite a while. I really like it for that very light coverage on my lashes, a no makeup makeup day."

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"I love the Merit mascara. [...] It does not flake throughout the day."

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"I've been raving about the Merit Clean Lash Mascara. It's one of the few black mascaras that I like. It gives me a very natural look, but also a little depth of color that kind of complements my gray hair and the graphite brow pencil. Absolutely love the Merit Clean Lash Mascara for a minimalist makeup look."

Minimalist Makeup Over 50: MERIT vs VERSED

"For MERIT The Minimalist Mascara, I've been using this for a while and I've talked about it before. I actually really like this mascara. The only thing is I wish they had it in brown. It's a beautiful creamy formula, it's really a no fail. I'm terrible about getting little flecks on, but it just doesn't clump the way other mascaras do. It's a very, very natural and flattering look. There's no transfer down to my lower eyelid and it just is such a pretty mascara."

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"My favorite mascara of the year arrived really late in the year, it's the Merit clean lash. I love this for a minimalist mascara look. I was absolutely shocked and I kind of put off trying this for a while because it didn't get great reviews, but this was definitely a pleasant surprise find. The fallout is minimal and my lashes never clump. I absolutely love this mascara."

Skincare YouTuber Over 50 Confessions: The REAL Truth!

HotandFlashy

1.23M subs

✓Yay

"The other mascara that I liked a lot was from Merit. This one is really pretty, it gives very natural looking lashes. So if you are like a not big makeup wearer and you just want to have just a little bit of mascara that's going to look pretty all day, and again, no chipping, no flaking, no smudging. The Merit mascara was really, really good."

All 2 takes from HotandFlashy

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"Their clean lash lengthening mascara comes in one color and it's $26. I would say this is definitely lengthening. I like it, lashes look long and silky, not a lot of clumps or anything. Nice and black, looks really nice."

Gothamista

683k subs

✓Yay

"The Merit Beauty Clean Lash Mascara is [...] a tubing mascara, and [...] right now this is the only mascara I want to use. The reason why I like tubing mascaras above all others is because it is the only mascara that truly does not smudge. It's impervious to my oily eyelids, and that is my main problem. It's not so much waterproofness that I need, it's more like oil proofness."

Top Pick: tubing mascara