It’s been a good couple of years for the budget skincare lovers of the world. Beauty brands have been passionately wooing us to spend our money on their products, and they want poor people’s money more than aaaanyone else’s. So, lucky for us, we have a lot of great, affordable skincare brands popping up all over the place. The latest, as of August 2018, is Colourpop’s sister brand, Fourth Ray Beauty.
Having launched less than six months ago, it’s impressive that Fourth Ray has already amassed almost 50 products to choose from. A few of those products are sets or kits, but there are dozens of individual facial cleansers, oil, serums, and creams for you to play with.
Despite the brand’s infancy, people are already raving in measurable patterns about Fourth Ray Beauty’s best products. From the reviews and comments I’ve read, the ultimate favorite Fourth Ray product is the Cloud Bank Milky Cleanser ($12). It’s an opaque, thin facial cleanser that contains soothing ingredients like rose water and Argan milk that are gentle on skin while thoroughly cleansing. Other common favorites include the facial mists, moisturizers, and the BFD Oil Cleanser ($14), which happens to come in a set with the Cloud Bank Milky Cleanser for only $26 – currently on sale for $22. People love the way the oil emulsifies into a soft cleanser, and the smell is a favorite among shoppers, as well!
There are also a few products that people have repeatedly cited as their least favorite. Number one on that list: AM to the PM Gel Cleanser ($12). Folks have said that the formula can be overly drying, especially for naturally dry skin types.
But not every purchase can be based on a slew of credible, eloquent reviews. Instead, we are gonna just scroll through the Fourth Ray products until we see something we would like to someday unbox, set next to our other skincare products, and perhaps even use someday.
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Matcha Face Milk |
True to Colourpop family legacy, Fourth Ray loves to latch on to a good trend. They’ve got a ton of products to choose from already, and new releases aren’t exactly few or far between. While they have your standard cleansers, moisturizers, and face masks, they also have very buzzed-up items like skin milks, facial oils, and those weird crystal face rollers. (Do they work? IDK. I’m inclined to believe that they just make you feel extra fancy.)
One of the most appealing aspects of this new brand is the fact that everything is vegan and cruelty-free. They also pay attention to their environmental impact, and include recyclable packaging, glass bottles, and plastic that is recyclable in many regions.
Photo by @SeeWantWear via @FourthRayBeauty
As for whether or not you should take the plunge – well, it seems like most would say it’s worth a shot. Not only is the price right, but many have touted the ingredients in Fourth Ray’s products and I see frequent comparisons to higher end products. Someone on Reddit even compared Fourth Ray’s The Lightweight moisturizer ($12) to Tatcha’s famous(ly expensive) Water Cream. If they’re even remotely similar, that means you could be getting the goodness of a $68 product for less than 20% of the price. If that claim holds water, sign me the eff up, please!
For further reading on Fourth Ray (i.e. everything I’ve been diving through to see if there’s any real dirt on this new, affordable skincare brand), here are some great resources:
- /r/SkincareAddiction’s collection of Fourth Ray posts & reviews
- A great review of a beauty blogger’s first Fourth Ray order
- A product-by-product review of popular Fourth Ray Beauty items
Of course, there are hundreds of reviews already posted to the Colourpop and Fourth Ray websites, but I’m never sure about who deletes negative reviews and who doesn’t, so I rely on external reviews more than anything!