Welcome to Deep Reviews—your one-stop destination to discover the absolute best products and brands the beauty industry has to offer. The Who What Wear staffers you already know and trust will research, test, and review the market's most sought-after and buzzed-about products to see which formulas (of the hundreds up for consideration) are truly worth your hard-earned money and attention. You can expect honest, completely uncensored feedback and no-BS recommendations our hard-to-please testers endorse without reservations.
The majority of our Deep Reviews will feature our editors' honest, ultra-hot takes on entire product categories or multiple products from a particular beauty brand, but every so often, we'll sprinkle in a special single-product format called Honestly, I Love It. As the name suggests, these reviews will hone in on one standout beauty formula our editors quite literally can't shut up about. This time around, I'm highlighting Furtuna Skin's Biphase Moisturizing Oil ($225).
I'm sure you've noticed by now, but beauty editors tend to have a very short attention span. Due to the nature of the job, we're constantly sampling at least five products a month. Because of this, the product life cycle for a beauty editor can be perpetually short, so it's shocking that this luxurious oil has stayed in my rotation for well over a year now. Then again, once you try the formula for yourself, you'll quickly realize that it's not shocking at all.
I'll admit that the price is, in fact, eye-watering, but I have exactly one rule when it comes to luxury skincare. I'll happily pay the price as long as it delivers serious results quickly. Furtuna Skin is a brand that excels at this. The Biphase Moisturizing Oil was the first product I tried from the brand after hearing Hailey Bieber's rave review along with an endorsement from a few trusted celebrity estheticians. The "wow" factor is definitely there. I remember being surprised and delighted by the immediate glow that the formula delivered to my skin.
This obviously led to a long-term love affair with the oil as well as the rest of the brand. Furtuna uses a unique Soundbath extraction method and highly potent wild-foraged ingredients straight from the brand's farm in Italy (hence, the price point). Some folks have beef with organic skincare because they say it isn't as effective, but Furtuna really challenges that notion. Every product is organic and EWG Verified and brings so much radiance to your skin instantly. This isn't even an exaggeration—the unique delivery system of the Biphase Oil ensures it. I'll honestly never run out of good things to say about the brand, but I wanted to highlight this particular oil because it's the most reached-for product on my vanity. If you've been wanting to give it a go or are just curious to learn more about why this product delivers a serious glow, keep scrolling! I'm breaking it all down ahead.
I really appreciate Furtuna Skin's products because they're all safe to use on my sensitive, acne-prone skin. Full disclosure: I wouldn't say that this oil exactly clears acne, but it does at least work wonders for dark spots, uneven tone, and a damaged moisture barrier (all things I struggle with). I started using this oil about a year ago and loved how it provided an immediate glow to the skin. It's loaded with vitamin C, which is great if you also struggle with hyperpigmentation. It is a richer formula, containing a blend of plant-based extracts and oils, but it's completely noncomedogenic, meaning it won't clog up your pores.
As I said above, I'm always testing new formulas, so I stopped using this oil for a few months last year, but I would always seem to pick it back up again without hesitation later on. Two months ago, I decided to use it consistently for this story so I could highlight the fantastic results. The most noticeable differences in my skin are improved moisture-barrier function and faded dark spots. Your skin feels so hydrated after using this formula due to ingredients such as jojoba and olive oil. I like to mix it with my moisturizer to seal in extra moisture before applying sunscreen. Overall, I'm so happy with the results this product delivers. My moisture barrier will only continue to improve, and I can tell that my skin tone and texture are heading in the right direction. Progress.
This product's unique delivery system is what makes it the perfect product to give the skin a glow. It's a shake-activated biphase system that causes the oil to be absorbed extremely fast. The first "phase" contains botanically infused organic extra-virgin olive oil, which is rich in phenols, vitamin E, and omega-3 fatty acids. The second "phase" contains olive-leaf water and improves moisture retention and elasticity. Water is essential for the skin to absorb oil. In this case, the olive-leaf water delivers the nutrients instantly for an immediate and long-lasting glow.
Celebrity esthetician Candace Marino is a huge fan of this delivery process. "The oil-water combination helps to create balance, addressing both the hydration and moisture of the skin, which slows down overactive oil glands and nourishes dry skin," she says. "It contains medicinal botanicals that provide antioxidant protection and anti-inflammatory properties, making it suitable for age concerns and acne."
In addition to olive oil and water, the formula contains barrier-repairing squalane, jojoba oil, and soothing extracts such as calendula, chicory leaf, beet leaf, and blackberry-fruit water. It's truly one of my all-time favorite products to use because I know that my skin is getting all the nutrients it could possibly need in one product.
Furtuna Skin co-founder and Chief Creative Officer Agatha Relota Luczo shared a few fun facts about the Biphase Oil. "When my husband and I founded La Furtuna Estate in Sicily, I knew I wanted to create a skincare line featuring olive oil–based products," she explains. "Our Biphase Moisturizing Oil was once described as 'the face oil loved even by the anti-oilers,' which, to me, indicates that we did everything right when it came to formulating this product. "The biphase delivery system also makes the product really fast-absorbing because water is essential for the skin to absorb oil. It's why this product brings about such an immediate plumpness and glow on first application and balances the skin over time. It's my pick-me-up whenever my skin looks dull or dry. It instantly replenishes moisture without leaving my skin looking or feeling oily. I also love to make my own tinted moisturizer using it by adding two to three drops into my foundation and applying it."
"I love EVOO (extra-virgin olive oil) because it boasts many incredible health benefits, especially for the skin," she continues. "It is packed with natural antioxidants and skin-nourishing nutrients. It contains vitamins A and E to help repair the skin's moisture barrier and protect and support collagen production. It also has a high squalene content, a natural plant-based lipid that balances sebum and protects the skin's acid mantle. EVOO also boasts high percentages—up to 83%—of oleic acid, an omega-9 fatty acid that fights inflammation and soothes skin. Because of all these qualities, EVOO is a natural skin moisturizer to the point where everyone should consider olive-based products as their number one defense against dry, prematurely aging skin."
Marino also gives this one a five-star review, saying "What I love most about this one is definitely the texture. I've found most oils to be rich, sometimes occlusive, and heavy, especially for my oily skin. The Furtuna Skin Biphase Oil has all the benefits of an oil but in a weightless formula that leaves the skin hydrated and glowing but not greasy. It's something I haven't seen done yet with an oil. It also contains vitamin C, which is on my list of daily nonnegotiables. Vitamin C is crucial for the formation of collagen. It also protects the cells against sun and environmental damage, making it both a preventative and corrective antioxidant that everyone should use daily. It also contains borage and calendula, which nourish and protect the skin against damaging light waves. Blackberry is another antioxidant that protects against environmental aggressors and is also high in vitamin E."
Additionally, the brand's unique extraction method makes all the difference. It's truly what makes each product so effective. Luczo shared a few more details on the process: "When it comes to formulating any products with organic ingredients, one of the challenges is creating consistency and preserving potency. Preserving potency was extremely important to us because, over thousands of years, the trees and plants on La Furtuna Estate have survived Sicily's varied microclimates, range of elevations, and volcanic eruptions, becoming more resilient and supercharged with nutrients. When we founded Furtuna Skin, we knew the unique potency of our ingredients was the game changer that would set us apart from other natural skincare brands and the key to delivering our transformative results. But conventional ingredient-extraction methods tend to overprocess and overheat active ingredients, making them obsolete. Not to mention, they often use harsh solvents that are bad for the environment and the body! So we turned to the pharmaceutical industry and discovered a pioneering method—our Soundbath extraction method—where whole plant ingredients are immersed in oil or hydroglycerin and 'bathed' in ultrasound, using the energies of sound and low temperatures to preserve the potency of the vitamins, amino acids, phenols, and aromatic essences inside."
More Furtuna Skin Products I Love
The brand's Face & Eye Serum is one I was immediately impressed by. It's now a nonnegotiable item in my routine. It firms the skin, gives it a glow, and contains ingredients that help make your other vitamin C–infused products even more effective.
I use this twice a day as a toner, and it really hydrates and brightens my skin like no other.
This eye cream is so hydrating. It provides immediate relief to the under-eye area and really helps eliminate any puffiness and dark circles.
This is a new product for the brand and a huge favorite of mine for removing makeup. The texture is rich, smooth, and hydrating. Adding a little water creates the perfect milky texture, and it's great for removing a full face before going in with a water-based cleanser. I'm not the only one who loves it. It's so good that it's completely sold out at the moment. But keep an eye out for when it does come back in stock. You won't want to miss it.
This is one of the few products I haven't tried from the brand yet, but I know I'm going to love it. It helps recalibrate the skin's circadian rhythm during the day to protect against daily stress, renew radiance, balance the skin's tone, and minimize any puffiness.
As for the brand's night cream, this one helps harness the skin's regenerative power during the evening with retinol alternative bakuchiol and triple-enzyme technology that repairs skin, reduces wrinkles, and boosts firmness.
