MERIT Beauty Great Skin Double Cleanse: Review

Updated August 12, 2025: The wait is over: MERIT Beauty’s Great Skin Double Cleanse ($32) is officially here. Along with, MERIT also just announced the MERIT x BAINA The Face Cloth Set ($26), a limited-edition collab bringing luxe texture to your daily routine, plus The Great Skin Trio ($96), an exclusive set that delivers the ultimate three-step glow from all the Great Skin products: Great Skin Double Cleanse, Great Skin Instant Glow Serum and Great Skin Moisturizer.

Originally published August 5, 2025: I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, if I have makeup on my face (and most days when I don’t) I’m wearing MERIT Beauty’s Great Skin Instant Glow Serum ($38). The bi-phase serum not only gives me a non-greasy, glass-skin base, but it’s also infused with hyaluronic acid to moisturize, niacinamide to brighten and even out texture and cacao seed extract to give skin a plump, bouncy look. In short, MERIT’s Great Skin formulas (I’m on my second bottle of the Great Skin Moisturizer [$38] too) are all you need for a your-skin-but-better complexion, with or without makeup. But, until now, one crucial piece was missing.

MERIT Announces Launch of Great Skin Double Cleanse

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Today, MERIT officially announced the launch of its first-ever facial cleanser: Great Skin Double Cleanse ($32), a bi-phase formula that essentially eliminates the need for a double cleansing routine. This latest extension of Great Skin features the same ultra-hydrating formula Great Skin is famous for and has a liquid-to-foam texture that gently exfoliates and cleans off every stitch of makeup, sunscreen and tiny pollution particles that build up throughout the day, without disrupting skin’s natural moisture barrier.

Paring down beauty routines without sacrificing efficacy and results is very much on brand for MERIT (The Minimalist foundation stick [$38] and The Uniform tinted SPF [$38] immediately come to mind). “In my experience, a simplified routine that focuses on cleansing, hydration and sun protection has always generated better results than when I try to use too many actives,” explains MERIT’s CMO Aila Morin. “Often when I feel I need more exfoliation or actives, what I really need to do is spend more time washing my face thoroughly at the end of the day to remove everything I come into contact with; the simplest solves usually work incredibly well.”

My Honest Thoughts

I had my reservations going back to a one-step cleanser, but after testing Great Skin Double Cleanse for two weeks, the proof is undeniable. Since starting Great Skin Double Cleanse, I get out of the shower, wipe my face with my (Clean Skin Club, always) towel, and there is no trace of makeup to be seen. Even more, the formula never irritates my eyes (even when I’m scrubbing away waterproof mascara), I love that it’s fragrance-free and my skin never feels stripped, overly tight or in desperate need of immediate moisture after cleansing. Simply put, Great Skin Double Cleanse is an effective, luxurious cleanser that just made my double cleansing routine obsolete.

I see no reason to go back to double cleansing when MERIT’s Great Skin Double Cleanse does the job of removing all matter of grime in one step. To try it for yourself, mark your calendars: Great Skin Double Skin will officially be available to shop on August 12.