Fourth Ray Beauty Review

Fourth Ray Beauty: BFD Cleansing Oil & The Lightweight Hydrator Review

Hello, we're back again! Two weeks or so ago, Fourth Ray Beauty, sister company of the very popular makeup company, Colourpop, opened its digital doors and paraded its first round of skincare products all at that same affordable pricepoint Colourpop has been famous for.Fueled with the belief that good skin care shouldn't be out of reach for one's wallet, the Fourth Ray team have developed products for your basic skin care routine that are free of harsh chemicals and fragrances, while also being gluten-free, vegan, cruelty-free, and safe for all skin types. This is certainly promising. As I've said on this blog before, I've been less than impressed by the skincare offering from this side of the ocean and the "good" brands are all extremely expensive.Another detail about Fourth Ray Beauty is that to add "a little extra juju in our lives," products come infused with quartz. Personally, I find that a little hokey but it doesn't seem to hurt your skin any according to EWG. The only risk of quartz is that if it is airborne which could cause respiratory problems like pulmonary silicosis, a severe lung disease. Let's hope that the workers are wearing appropriate protective wear and precautions are taken. BUT that is neither here nor there. We're here to talk about skin.I have tested out the BFD Cleansing Oil and The Lightweight Hydrator and after using them for a couple of days, am ready to talk about them! So let's get into it, shall we?

The BFD Cleansing Oil Review

I've reviewed many cleansing oils and balms and have only enjoyed a few of them. In addition, I have not enjoyed one western cleansing oil so I was a little wary of this. I was ready for it to feel like I have cooking oil on my face even after washing it off.Surprisingly, I really loved the BFD Cleansing Oil! Let's take a gander at the ingredients. There aren't really any synthetic materials in here to worry about. The only research I heavily did was on the type of PEG that was in this cleansing oil. There are forms of PEG that are bad for you. PEG-4 and PEG-7 were used in World War I nerve gas, for example, so I had to make sure it was not THAT. The BFD Cleansing Oil has PEG-20 which is safe for the skin. MOST of the ingredients in this cleansing oil, however, are (duh) essential oils. The heavy hitters are camellia, or tea seed oil, which is rich in antioxidants, juniper berry oil which helps cleanse and balance the skin, and meadowfoam seed oil which is rich in antioxidants and helps moisturize the skin.The real test of this product is on how well it removes makeup. Like most cleansing oil, you apply this directly onto dry face. I'm excited to say that even with my heaviest and most stubborn gel eyeliner, this product manages to glide it right off my skin. AND EVEN BETTER, this provides no sting to the eyes at all! You will get a little milky vision when the product gets into your eyes but there's NO BURNING. Some of my holy grail cleansing oils can't even manage that so I was excited about it.Upon applying some water, it did emulsify slightly and then washed right off. Right after, I noted that my face didn't feel greasy or sticky. It didn't feel like any of the cleansing oil is still on my face and I needed six rounds of foaming cleanser to get it off. The oil loosened the makeup off my face and washed right off with water and left my face feeling soft!I was definitely taken by surprise. Like I said, I had not been impressed with most western cleansing oils and I LOVED THIS. A+

The Lightweight Hydrator Review

I did a little more digging into the ingredients of the moisturizer on offer but, similarly, I didn't find any red flags. The ingredient in the spotlight for The Lightweight Hydrator is squalane. Squalane is a naturally occurring oil, the human body produces it and it helps moisturize hair, skin, and nails. Squalane CAN and have been harvested from shark liver but is not the only place one can get squalane. Since Fourth Ray Beauty is 100% cruelty-free and vegan, I would venture a guess that the squalane in their products is plant-based. Squalane can be derived from olives and sugarcane, for example.I have only been using this product for a few days so long-term effects still need to be determined but right away, I noted that this moisturizer is of a thinner consistency. It's more of an emulsion than a cream. We're still technically in summer and the air isn't as dry as it would be during fall and winter months so this is working as a standalone for me. However, with fall just around the corner, especially if you live in drier areas, I would see needing a cream to use with this. (Maybe that's coming soon, eh, Fourth Ray team?)I did find that this sank easily into my skin and didn't leave my face feeling greasy or uncomfortable. This product is an ideal daytime hydrator but I have also used this at night since it's lightweight and very gentle.Again, I'd need to use this more to gauge its effects on the skin but so far, I am IMPRESSED.

Fourth Ray Beauty Final Thoughts

GUYS, I am impressed! Color me shocked. I am pleasantly surprised. I bought three products from Fourth Ray Beauty (I have not needed to use the spot treatment. Happy problem IMO.) and I have to say I've been impressed by it. There is not a long list of unintelligible ingredients that I had to sit and research for an hour. There aren't any harsh dyes or fragrances that will irritate the skin. They did add some quartz in there which, again to me, feels like hokum but otherwise benign so I'm not mad at it. And this is all at a VERY affordable price point.The ONLY complaint I have if I HAD to have a complaint is that the amount of product you get is a little on the small side. The Lightweight Hydrator has 2 fl oz of product and the BFD Cleansing Oil at a little over 4 fl oz. I will FOR SURE fly through this moisturizer and will be in need of more sooner rather than later but maybe as the brand gets more mature and sees more success (fingers crossed), we'll get better size offerings.BUT ALL IN ALL, I really enjoyed these products. I'm going to DEFINITELY keep using them and I'm looking out for more products from Fourth Ray Beauty. I'd love to see essences, maybe some masks, and creams. I'm getting ahead of myself but I really enjoyed this debut and I will definitely be using these to go forth and conquer!