Karen Pittman’s Merit Campaign Is All About Joy And Confidence

Karen Pittman possesses the kind of deeply rooted sanguinity that could rub off on even the biggest of cynics.

For example: At one point during our Zoom call, I lament how cold it’s been in New York City, compared to sunny Los Angeles (where she’s joining me from). “That snow is beautiful in New York,” she responds. “I know it’s cold, I know. But I love a fresh start.”

I tell her I get the vibe that she’s very good at reframing. “You’ve got to be good at it, because life will throw all the things at you,” she says with a laugh. “I’m an artist, and inherent to being an artist is being an optimist. You have to believe the best is out there in humanity, so you can reflect it back.”

That glass-half-full perspective is one of the many reasons the star of The Morning Show is a natural choice as the face of Merit’s relaunched Signature Lip Blush. To showcase the eight lightweight sheer-matte lipsticks, the brand designed a campaign centered on color, joy, and confidence — the kind of effortless elegance that comes from a strong sense of self, and that Pittman radiates both in and out of character.

Pittman had been a fan of the brand for years, discovering it while on a quest to find clean, straightforward beauty products that were also brown girl friendly. “I was at Sephora one afternoon. I went in, spoke with one of the great folks at Sephora who teaches us all about makeup, and he introduced me to Merit,” she says. “The colors were perfect for my skin. The texture was creamy. The packaging was really beautiful — all the things. I thought, ‘Wow, this is what I’ve been looking for.’”

Ahead, Pittman chats with TZR about her beauty history, skin care faves, and the reason she never takes — or gives — advice.

Have you always been a beauty girl?

I have been. I was 6, 7 years old with these lips! Do you know what I mean? And at the time, these full lips were not in; nobody was looking at lip filler when I was walking around [as a child] with these full lips. Now, I’m connected with a beauty brand that’s like “We want to feature your lips.” That’s extraordinary to me. But yes, I’ve always been interested in accentuating the features of my face and my body that are unique to me, that I’ve always really loved, and that also make me different. I’ve always been attracted to lipsticks, lip stains, and lip gloss, for sure.

Which one of your on-screen characters do you think would be the most into the Signature Lip Blushes?

I think Mia Jordan [from The Morning Show] would be most interested in the ability to pick up a product and use it as your blush, as your lip gloss, on your eyes — you know, a little dab on the eye, on the cheek, on the lip, and be done and put together. Mia would probably use the color I wear in the burgundy suit in the campaign, Bespoke.

I think Dawn Edwards from Forever would be interested in just kind of luxuriating in it in the morning. She’s probably got the longest makeup routine of any of my characters. She’s the one who gets up early, works out, and does a good dry brush before getting in the shower. And Merit having such gorgeous packaging is a big deal for her, because she absolutely has it out on her vanity.

I always love to ask actors: Are there any beauty tips you learned on set?

[With mascara], don’t forget the bottom lashes! “Don’t forget the bottom lashes” is a really important one.

You know, as an actress, I spend a lot of time in front of a mirror and seeing other actresses in front of mirrors, constantly checking ourselves out. That’s par for the course because you’re trying to make sure you’re camera ready. But I feel the most beautiful when I lose complete consciousness of myself, and I’m just in the moment, enjoying my life and feeling the joy that comes from just engaging in real life and real relationships.

You keep giving me amazing segues! This campaign is all about joy. What’s bringing you joy these days?

Probably my children. Seeing the people that they’re becoming. There’s no middle ground at this point — either you know how to be a good human, and I taught you that, or you don’t. Having my son at college say to me “Hey, Mom, I can’t talk right now, because me and my friends are sitting down at the cafeteria and we’re having family dinner together,” I’m like, “Yes, my son knows how to create a family for himself at college.” Or when my daughter says to me “You know, Mom, I wanted to let you know, I made an A+ on my pre-calc test,” and she’s really proud of herself, talking well to herself. That’s bringing me joy.

Being out in nature every day brings me joy. I’m not a camper — I don’t like camping — but I do love taking hikes, and in L.A., you have the beach, [and] you have the mountains.

Your skin looks incredible. Do you have any skin care favorites at the moment?

Merit’s Great Skin Serum. It’s in this little gold bottle that has this beautiful amber-colored serum in it. Even if I’m not putting on my makeup, I put that serum on every day, and it makes my skin glow. And of course, SPF. Merit also has a really great primer. I hate to be all Merit, but I was a Merit girl before Merit knew me! I [also] have a great dermatologist, Dr. Rosemarie Ingleton. I will fly to New York to see her. I will get on a plane every couple of months and go get a good facial. I really believe in that whole inside-out skin care thing, so I love a good collagen, a good creatine, a good smoothie from Erewhon. I’m super bougie!

Any scents that you’re loving?

It’s very much a Merit life; I love the Merit Retrospect L’Extrait de Parfum. My daughter and I both wear it. In my house, I use a lot of Aesop candles, and from my New York days, living in Brooklyn, I love some incense. I’ll light some incense in the house. I don’t really have a lot of fragrance that I wear on me, but when I walk into a room, I really do love to have good-smelling scents around me.

Are there any beauty faux pas from your past that you’d be willing to share?

Overplucked eyebrows. Before I knew what threading was — my really, really good threader is still in New York, Shobha — I was doing too much. And I used to have, like, this little mustache. You would see me when I was 14, 15 years old, with these big lips and a little black shadow mustache. It was horrifying. If I could talk to my 14-year-old self, I would say, “Honey, don’t worry. We’re going to have a beauty campaign one day.”

What is the single best piece of advice you have ever received? It doesn’t have to be specific — just any great piece of advice.

This is hard! I’m not an advice kind of person. To my mother’s constant frustration, I never took advice. I don’t ask for advice. We’re all on our own journeys. We live in a world where you can go online and learn about what the best idea is or where the best restaurants are. But I still believe the best algorithm lies within us. So I don’t wait for anyone to tell me which direction I should go in anymore. I really think the best advice is to check into your own algorithm and follow that.