Is Merit Solo Shadow Matte Eye Color in Studio worth it?

Yes. All 4 gurus who reviewed it give it their stamp of approval, for a Guru Score of 80%.

What is Merit Solo Shadow Matte Eye Color in Studio's Guru Score?

Merit Solo Shadow Matte Eye Color in Studio holds a Guru Score of 80%. That is our read on how warmly the experts talk about it, based on the verdicts of 4 expert reviewers we have collected.

Merit

Solo Shadow Matte Eye Color in Studio.

Eye Makeup

About this product

A single matte eyeshadow in a cream-to-powder formula.

Full ingredients

Isododecane, Dimethicone, Trimethylsiloxysilicate, Hydrogenated Polycyclopentadiene, Synthetic Wax, Helianthus Annuus Seed Cera, [Helianthus Annuus (Sunflower) Seed Wax], Mica, Silica, Chamomilla Recutita (Matricaria) Flower Extract, Calendula Officinalis Flower Extract, Helianthus Annuus (Sunflower) Seed Oil, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Disteardimonium Hectorite, SH-Polypeptide-123, Ascorbyl Palmitate, Tocopherol, Dimethicone/Vinyl Dimethicone Crosspolymer, Polyhydroxystearic Acid, Synthetic Fluorphlogopite, Calcium Aluminum Borosilicate, Calcium Sodium Borosilicate, Magnolia Officinalis Bark Extract, Tin Oxide, Ci 77891 (Titanium Dioxide), Ci 77491 (Iron Oxides), Ci 77492 (Iron Oxides), Ci 77499 (Iron Oxides), Ci 77742 (Manganese Violet), Ci 77007 (Ultramarines), Ci 77510 (Ferric Ammonium Ferrocyanide), Ci 42090 (Blue 1 Lake), Ci 19140 (Yellow 5 Lake), Ci 16035 (Red 40 Lake), Ci 19140 Yellow 5, Ci 77400 (Bronze Powder), Ci 77400 (Copper Powder), Ci 77000 (Aluminum Powder)

Guru Score

80%

Yay

4 experts · Moderate agreement

4Gurus

4Yay

0Mixed

0Nay

What they liked

Blends smoothly
Stays put without creasing
Works alone or as a base

What they flagged

Dries out and crumbles in the pot
Needs primer to prevent gathering in crease

What the gurus are saying

Reviewers split on wear and durability. Some love their blend-ability and find the cream-to-powder formula sets and lasts, while others found them fragile without primer, gathering in the crease by four hours. The shades are muted, which some love as a base but others find too subtle, and reviewers note the formula dries to a dusty powder in the pot over time if not carefully sealed.

Synthesized from 4 expert reviews · most recent take July 2025

Type

Eye MakeupPowder

Key actives

Vitamin CVitamin EPeptides

Formula notes

Fragrance-freeNo drying alcohol

Where to buy

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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

"It's the Solo Shadow in the color studio by Merit. These shadows tend to dry out. I've been trying really hard to take care of this. Make sure that lid snaps because I'm absolutely loving this color. I never thought I would love this deep of a plum color. But if I top it off with a satin color over the mobile lid, I've been loving it."

All 3 takes from Beyond50Skin

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"I was thinking that I would use a one-and-one eyeshadow and this is the one by Merit and this is in Social. So what I'm going to do is I'm going to apply with my finger, literally smudge it on, and that's what they say to do, just smudge. It's a single color shadow smudge and done, which is perfect for my no makeup makeup days. I love a minimalist fast five minute makeup."

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"The Solo Shadows by Merit are really not my favorite shadows at all. They tend to dry out. They tend to get turn to dust. They desiccate within the pot, especially if you don't do there's an extra click that you have to do to really close them and keep them for as long as possible. Even so, they can get fairly stiff fairly quickly. I've been pretty good once I learned that hack about keeping it closed. And it's still a little on the dry side. I really have to kind of punch that seal to get the color moving around. And I have to say the colors are a little bit on the muted side for me. I like a little more pop because my eyes are really recessed and darker kind of muted colors just make them look a little bit more recessed. So, these are just not my favorite shadows."

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Allie Glines

829k subs

✓Yay

"I'm wearing it on top of a Merit eyeshadow, their cream solo shadow in the shade Social kind of all over underneath. It's the most beautiful glitter, like I'm loving it so much. I definitely think this is their most reflective glitter out of the bunch, which I love, like a good punch when it comes to an eye topper. This is their prettiest shade I think."

All 9 takes from Allie Glines

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"I bought two shades of this new Merit eyeshadow. I've only tried the purple one so far and I wanted to try this one. This is called Studio. I just think this would be like a really good quick everyday color. It also kind of looks like bronzer. I'm applying this to the eyelid and also whatever's left on the brush on the lower lash line too."

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"I'm going to take a little bit of the Merit cream shadow, this one is in the shade Studio. My hands are all moisturized. This is just like a really nice neutral color. I love this one for my skin tone personally for situations like this where I want a little bit of an eye look but not anything too over the top. I feel like less is more with this product. I just don't want to overdo it too much."

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"I'm going in with the Solo Shadow from Merit in the shade Social. I told you guys I wanted to do something a little bit like lavender and I felt like this would be a good base for what I had in mind because it kind of gives a neutral lavender look. It's not like a super pastel vibrant lavender but it gives that feeling. So I wanted to just apply this all over as my base shadow. I'm also going to take a bit of that and just run under the lower lash line."

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"I just decided single cream shadows, I'm going to use this one from Merit. This is the shade Studio, which is just like a nice neutral brown color, and I'm just going to buff this all over the eyelid up into the crease and a little bit above toward the brow as my transition shade. I'm also going to take that along the lower lash line just to define things there."

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"I have the shade Studio which is a really beautiful kind of like neutral brown color. This is a cream to powder formula, and once it dries down it really doesn't budge. I couldn't get it off. This is something that I feel like is living up to the hype, so really loving this as well."

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"I bought studio and social. Studio is a little bit purple, it's like a purpley brown. The packaging is so pretty. I've been seeing people swatch these and they don't budge on the arms after they try to wash them off. It's really sheer at least with a light layer, I'm sure I can build it up. It feels really easy to work with. How pretty, it's really gorgeous and this color really suits me."

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"The Merit cream shadows won best cream shadow. These are the Merit Solo Shadows and I love them; I get the most use out of the shades Studio and Social. They were some of my favorites, so I wanted to mention them."

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"I've got some single shadows that I just love from Merit, the Solo Shadow in the shade Social, a purple color. This one looks so natural on me, it works great on its own or as a base, I tend to use it more as a base. Studio is what I use the most, a nice brown, and Social is that kind of purple taupe. I love these, they're so nice, they blend like a dream."

HotandFlashy

1.23M subs

✓Yay

"This is really a pretty color, really very subtle. Goes on the eye so beautifully, blends out really nicely. It's like a color that you would actually see on your skin. It's not too orangey, it's not too warm. So far really loving this eyeshadow. It's got such a nice slip to it and it blends out so easily, really really pretty. I didn't use any primer because for things like this that you're supposed to be super minimalist, I hate to add extra products, so if it doesn't work without primer I'm never happy with it."

Dr Dray

2.68M subs

✓Yay

"Merit Beauty is what I like so much about this brand because the formulas are very skin-friendly, free of fragrance, free of common ingredients that are frequently irritating to skin. There's no essential oils. I never understood putting fragrance in eyeshadows. Eyelids skin is really delicate and cosmetics can easily be irritating around the eye area. Their cream shadows I absolutely love for a few reasons. First of all they give, in my opinion, a really good color payoff, easy to work with. I'm not some sort of advanced makeup applier, I need something that's simple to do, easy to reproduce, and that I can do basically blindfolded. That's what I really like, good color output, easy to work with, skin friendly. But what I have really come to love is some of their darker shades of eye shadows. The shadows are called Solo Shadows. I think the darker shades I actually use as liner and they have this great brush."

All 2 takes from Dr Dray

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"Coming in with mid-century from Merit, this has been my go-to eyeshadow look because it's ridiculously easy, requires zero talent or skill."