Do You Feel Good In That?

Thoughts on unfussy makeup, plus a Merit launch!

Full transparency: this is a sponsored collaboration with Merit (password: ASHLEEG), a beauty brand I love. As always, all opinions are my own. Photos were shot with my iPhone and are—by Merit’s request—filter-free.

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My six-year-old daughter began “experimenting” with her personal style a few months ago. And by experimenting, I mean: wearing outfits that don’t exactly coordinate.

For example, one morning she appeared wearing cheetah leggings underneath a teal floral dress, with a pink sweatshirt on top. She regularly layers a full dress over a full pair of pants, in a combination of colors and patterns that I can only describe as: it’s giving eclectic librarian. Most mornings she runs into my room looking like a LuLaRoe sample sale threw up on her.

“How do I look, mom?!” she asks, twirling in front of the mirror.

Not wanting to squash her spirit or creativity, I smile at her and ask a question of my own: “Do you feel good in that outfit?”

“Yep!” she nods confidently, skipping out of my room toward the toaster waffle waiting for her in the kitchen.

Occasionally I’ll ask her to shed a layer, at which point she kindly reminds me: “But mom, I feel good in this outfit, and that’s what you said is most important.”¹

Touché.

The topic of personal style has come up a lot lately in different friend groups of mine. What are we wearing? What’s the deal with barrel jeans? Are we too old for crop tops? A lot of us are now 40 or approaching 40 and finding ourselves in a wardrobe liminal space of sorts, veering more toward comfort and away from platitudes like “beauty is pain.”

At a recent book club, my friend Elise described her personal style as “classic, feminine, and unfussy.”

I am still thinking about those three words—particularly unfussy—because that’s exactly how I would describe Merit makeup.

Prior to actually using Merit, I might have scoffed at the tagline: “makeup you can live in.” I look forward to washing my face at the end of the day as much as I look forward to removing my bra. But I’ve been wearing this makeup for a full year now and to my own surprise: I often forget I am even wearing it. Merit is decisively unfussy, easy to throw on like your favorite dress. No matter how many times you’ve worn it, every time you slip it on, you think: Wow, I feel good in this.

I’m not one of those women who loves experimenting with makeup. I’m not into BeautyTok or BeautyTube or whoever else is teaching Gen Z how to contour their faces in 2025. If I had to describe my approach to makeup, I’d echo Elise’s personal style descriptors—I am looking for makeup that is classic, feminine, and unfussy. Above all else, I want makeup that feels good: easy to apply, easy to wear, and looks like I’m hardly wearing makeup at all.

Wearing: The Minimalist (under eyes) in Ochre, Flush Balm in Persimmon, Day Glow in Cava, Brow 1990 in Light Brown, Clean Lash, Signature Lip in Beverly Hills, and Shade Slick in Biarritz — this whole routine takes less than 5 minutes.

Thankfully, Merit fits the bill across every category. Their makeup glides on like a dream, layers well, and always looks natural.

My go-to favorites:

Flush balm. Prior to using Flush Balm, I had been using the same blush for something like seven years. AKA: it was going to take something reeeeeeeal good to usurp that product in my makeup bag. Enter: Flush Balm. I used Beverly Hills for most of last year, but recently switched to Persimmon and like it a tad more with my skin tone. I also keep Rouge on hand for when I need a more distinct pop.

Day Glow. This is probably the California girl in me, but I ride or die for highlighter. I love a soft glow all year round, and this stuff glides on like Aquafor. I’m obsessed. I’m currently using Cava but will probably switch back to Citrine once I get a little more sun on my face.

Brow 1990. A new one for me! I had previously only used the brow pomade and while I liked that product just fine, the precision of Brow 1990 is unreal. I use it every day.

You can imagine my delight when I learned Merit is launching one of my personal makeup staples: lip liner (!). Their Signature Lip Sheer Lip Liner is hydrating, buildable, and impossible to mess up. Merit is calling it “lip liner for people who don’t wear it.” (I wouldn’t know—I wear lip liner all the time 😜) Additionally, they’ve extended their line of Shade Slick (tinted lip oils) by adding Shade Slick Sheen, a cushioned formula with pearlescence for sheen on the lips.

TL;DR—these two products are truly a dream team.

Right now you can get early access to both Lip Liner & Shade Slick Sheen before they officially launch to the public by using password ASHLEEG through my link here.

As a quick refresh, Merit creates products that leave your skin looking better after wearing them. Beauty is not one size fits all, so they added skin-loving ingredients into their formulas—like plant-based squalane, vitamin B5 and antioxidants—to ensure their products work for everyone with dry to oily to acne-prone skin.

After using Merit Makeup for a full calendar year, I can attest they live up to these claims. My skin has never been happier.

Any questions about Merit Makeup? I’m not an expert, but happy to answer based on my personal experience!

1. We had a similar conversation in the car a few months ago, en route to church. I was expressing disapproval at the shoes my boys were wearing when Presley piped up from the backseat: But mom, church isn’t about what you look like, it’s about JESUS. She had me there.