Merit’s Second Fragrance Is A Straight-Up Compliment Magnet

In our series Trial Run, TZR editors and writers put the buzziest new beauty products to the test and share their honest reviews. This week, deputy beauty editor Erin Lukas is testing the buzzy Merit New Wave Eau de Parfum.

In a world where oversharing online has become the norm, I’m all for a little gatekeeping, whether it’s not posting about having a bad day to not tagging an under-the-radar vintage store. My desire to remain a little mysterious made it incredibly easy to keep Merit’s New Wave L’Extrait de Parfum a secret while I tested for five months ahead of its launch. Well...in theory. The brand’s second scent turned out to be a compliment magnet, with other beauty editors, beauty publicists, and strangers on the subway asking me what I was wearing.

I’ve tried hundreds of fragrances at this point in my career, and none have garnered this level of IRL engagement. However, it shouldn’t have come as a surprise. The brand’s first scent, Retrospect, is a best-seller and became an instant cult-classic when it launched in 2024. So what makes New Wave just as special? It has an unconventional scent profile that combines energizing spices with light florals and sensual woods, resins, and musks. The result is a warm, mysterious fragrance that’s also hauntingly familiar. And of course, there’s the fact that New Wave’s curved bottle reads more like a decorative object than perfume falcon.

Keep reading to find out why Merit’s New Wave L’Extrait de Parfum has become the most-worn scent of my fragrance collection.

Fast Facts

• Price: $92
• Size: 30 mL
• Best For: A unique everyday scent that lingers
• Ingredient Highlights: Pink pepper, angelica seed, orange flower, ylang-ylang, musk, oakwood, vanilla bean
• What We Like: Long-lasting, suitable for day or night
• What We Don’t Like: Nothing so far!
• Rating: 5/5

How TZR Keeps Score: 1/5: Making a return; 2/5: Keeping as a backup; 3/5: Finishing to the last drop; 4/5: Recommending to my group texts; 5/5: Already on auto-replenish

The Fragrance

Instead of following the progression of the traditional fragrance structure where top notes dry down into the heart and base, master perfumer Dominique Ropion and perfumer Meabh McCurtin composed New Wave so you instantly smell elements of all three parts. The top notes include spicy pink pepper and angelica seed, while the solar floral heart consists of orange flower, ylang ylang, and honey floral accord. New Wave’s robust, woodsy-musk base is comprised of benzoin, labdanum, olibanum, patchouli heart, ambrarome, ambroxan, musk, cypriol, vetiver, tobacco accord, oakwood, cedarwood heart, tonka bean, and vanilla bean. The result is a warm, slightly sweet floral-amber that dries down into a soft, musky-woods amber.

“What excites me most about New Wave is the dialogue between tradition and emotion. We worked with exceptional raw materials that each bring their own texture and personality, but the goal was always to create a feeling rather than showcase ingredients,” says McCurtin of the fragrance’s creation in a statement. “I wanted the fragrance to feel empowering and alive, evolving on skin in a way that feels deeply personal.”

It’s also worth noting that the fragrance is labeled as an extrait de parfum and deemed long-lasting by the brand because it’s made with nearly 30% fragrance oil (eau de parfums have 20%).

Since the fragrance was inspired by the Musée Picasso in Paris, the bottle’s molten bottle and silver pebble cap are a nod to surrealist art. The bottle also has an ergonomic thumb dent just like Retrospect.

My Experience Wearing New Wave

When I love a fragrance at first sniff, I become hyper-fixated on it and will wear it regardless of the time, place, or season. Luckily, New Wave’s un-categorizable scent profile is what makes it so versatile. It feels effortlessly cool with an oversized button-down shirt and jeans on an office day, and bold and sultry with black dress and heels at a party. I should also mention that on paper, the 30% fragrance oil composition would make you think New Wave would be too rich for a hot mid-summer day, but it surprisingly wasn’t when I wore it during a July heat wave.

Aside from being drawn to the actual scent, I also expect my fragrance to last because I’m not realistically going to take the bottle with me for touch-ups. I’m happy to report that New Wave does have staying power. If I give myself a few spritzes in the morning, I’m still able to catch a soft hint of it on my wrist mid-afternoon. And this dry down is just as captivating. On me, I can detect the amber, woods, and vanilla with just the tiniest bit of pink pepper.

Is Merit’s New Wave Fragrance Worth It?

Whether you’re in the market for a new signature scent that doesn’t feel like a product of the #PerfumeTok algorithm or a long-lasting fragrance that isn’t overpowering, there’s something in New Wave everyone will love.

For me, fragrance is an extension of my personality. I’d like to think I’m not one note, which is why New Wave has become my go-to scent. The top, heart, and base notes don’t follow a traditional fragrance formula, which is why it’s so multifaceted, and frankly, unforgettable.