Fourth Ray Beauty: Low Cost Luxury Your Skin Needs?
Main image – Fourth Ray Beauty
While there are quite a few brands that I wish were a little easier to get hold of in Europe, the one that stands out the absolute most is Fourth Ray Beauty.
Having been lucky enough to previously get a few of their products over from the States, I can only say that it started something of an obsession that I know is going to end up becoming pretty expensive in customs charges.
Because for all the viral brands that take the beauty world by storm before slowly fading again, Fourth Ray Beauty has come to be one of the affordable lines I rate the most- and which I hope will continue to run for years.
Despite trying out literally hundreds (if not thousands) of products for my job over the years, when it comes to my daily at home beauty routine I tend to go for simple yet high quality ingredients.
And this is exactly what Fourth Ray Beauty provides by the spoonful, along with a healthy dollop of fun courtesy of its vivid packaging and fruit themed collections.
Read on for my thoughts on three of the brand’s most popular products.
This is new, up-to-date information. We updated this article in July 2023 to add our further thoughts on Fourth Ray Beauty, complete with updated prices.
What is Fourth Ray Beauty?
Owned by California-based Seed Beauty, and the skincare sister brand to popular budget makeup line Colourpop Cosmetics, Fourth Ray Beauty operates along the same principles of cruelty-free, high quality products at impressively affordable prices.
Most famous for their face milks, cleansing oils and natural botanicals, the brand is vegan, as well as paraben, pthalate and synthetic fragrance free.
Of the three products I own- the Good Mood Gel Moisturizer, Rainfall 2% Hyaluronic Acid, and Watermelon Face Milk– Good Mood has probably been my favourite so far, simply because it has turned out to be so wearable in all seasons (and it does also smell seriously good).
Rainfall
Image – Fourth Ray Beauty
Pretty much your typical no-nonsense hyaluronic acid serum (similar to what you’d get from say The Ordinary), this does what it says on the bottle (ie hydrate) and has a slightly sticky texture on first application, before drying to a non-sticky formula that has a slight cucumber scent (which I really like).
Great for: Simple hydration.
Not-so-great for: Anyone who likes their serum to tackle multiple issues in one go as this is pretty much just hydrating.
Fourth Ray Beauty’s Rainfall 2% Hyaluronic Acid is $11.20/£8.81 for 28 ml, Fourth Ray Beauty
Watermelon Face Milk
This serum goes one step beyond Rainfall, and provides both hydration (water) and moisture (emollients/oil).
As well as being a seriously adorable (if not slightly Pepto Bismal like) pink it also has an uplifting watermelon scent which I love in summer.
The combination of cucumber, melon, aloe vera, jasmine, apple, mango and sweet almond extracts in this product also make it that rare combination of light enough to wear in hot weather yet really nourishing.
I’ve included the full list of ingredients of this (and all the products I’ve reviewed here) at the bottom of this article.
Image – Fourth Ray Beauty
Great for layering under an emollient moisturiser on days when I need both a hit of hydration and moisture, I also use it on it’s own on days when my skin isn’t needy for anything too oil-based.
Rich in antioxidants, this also provides enough natural hydration to be used as a moisturiser during breakouts. The result is skin that is comfortable and gently glowing.
I’ve actually started rationing this to when my skin is particularly thirsty because I know I’ll miss it when it runs out (especially at this price).
For me, this is a great option for anyone serious about skincare but not anxious to spend hundreds to get results.
Great for: A combination of hydration and moisture, although this is a great all rounder that could probably work for most skin types.
Not-so-great for: I can’t think of anything- I really like this.
Fourth Ray Beauty’s Watermelon Face Milk is $9.80/£7.71 for 28 ml, Fourth Ray Beauty
Good Mood Moisturizer
Image – Fourth Ray Beauty
Meanwhile Good Mood ,with its blend of soothing watermelon seed extract, cucumber fruit extract, hyaluronic acid and silicones, is aimed more at dehydrated yet oily types (which can tolerate silicones). My skin absolutely drinks this up when it’s sensitive.
Great for: Oilier types who like gentle hydration and don’t mind some silicones in their products.
Not-so-great for: Anyone who doesn’t like silicones in their skincare.
Fourth Ray Beauty’s Good Mood Moisturizer is $9.80/£7.71 for 50 g, Fourth Ray Beauty
The takeaway
If you like your beauty products both high quality and seriously affordable then Fourth Ray Beauty is a fantastic find.
Slightly more fun-focused and less science-based than its similarly-priced competitors The Ordinary and The Inkey List, Fourth Ray brings an element of enjoyment back to skincare while still achieving high quality products.
That said, both The Ordinary and The Inkey List are exceptionally good at providing extremely targeted products for specific skin concerns (think congestion, hyperpigmentation).
They are brands focused on offering solutions to skin issues, where Fourth Ray Beauty’s focus seems to be more on offering affordable, quality skincare with more generic capabilites (exfoliating, hydrating).
Therefore, if you’re looking for multi-step, multi-ingredient skincare to tackle various complex skincare issues you may feel more at home among The Inkey List, for example.
But if what you’re after is a great quality cleanser and moisturiser- plus some straightforward extras like a vitamin C serum- then Fourth Ray Beauty is most definitely an unsung beauty find.
Get Glowing!
