Simple and VR are skincare lines offering distinct daily remedies. The British brand, founded in 1960 and owned by Unilever PLC since 2011, is beloved for gentle moisturizers, makeup removers, cleansers, and toners crafted with niacinamide and glycerin, suiting acne-prone skin and skin with dark spots best. Conversely, enthusiasts deeply appreciate the sensory pleasure of moisturizers and considered design from VR, whose offerings suit combination, sensitive, and dry skin best. While both cater to daily needs, Simple relies on niacinamide to reduce hyperpigmentation and improve aging signs and glycerin to improve hydration and barrier function, whereas the latter continually refines its formulations for varied skin types, including the PDRN CREAM for acne-prone skin.
Simple is a British skincare brand founded in 1960 and owned by Unilever PLC since 2011.
This page compares some of the most popular Simple and VR products; for every product of both brands, with a fit score for your own skin, use the Lovi app.
Simple is the better choice because it offers a much wider selection of products on this page, including gentle cleansers, toners, and moisturizers featuring glycerin, which helps hydrate the skin. Lovi rates Simple as having high to average fits across multiple skin types, whereas VR only features a single moisturizer with limited fits.
Simple offers a broad range of products on this page with High to Superior Lovi fits for various skin types and features key ingredients like niacinamide and glycerin, whereas VR features just one moisturizer with a High fit for sensitive skin. Glycerin helps maintain skin hydration.
Simple offers more moisturizer options on this page, including the Hydrating Light Moisturiser and Replenishing Rich Moisturiser which both achieve an Average fit for dry skin, whereas VR features only the PDRN CREAM which has an Average fit for dry skin. Glycerin is a key ingredient in Simple products that helps support skin hydration.
Simple offers value-friendly moisturizers, while VR does not feature price details on this page. Shoppers note that the products on this page for Simple are budget-friendly, making it the clearer choice for affordability.
Which causes fewer breakouts, Simple or VR?
Simple products on this page have an average Lovi fit for acne-prone skin, while VR features a single moisturizer without a specified fit for acne-prone skin, though reviewers note that Simple can sometimes cause breakouts.
Which brand has been established longer, Simple or VR?
Simple has been established longer, having been founded in 1960 in the United Kingdom, whereas VR was founded more recently in 2018.
Do any products from Simple or VR contain added fragrance?
Every product on this page from both Simple and VR lists no fragrance in its ingredients.
How does the Lovi fit level for sensitive skin compare between Simple's Micellar Cleansing Water and VR's PDRN CREAM?
Simple's Micellar Cleansing Water achieves a High Lovi fit level for sensitive skin, whereas VR's PDRN CREAM also reaches a High fit level for sensitive skin.
5-ceramide complex · Skin Pharmacology and Physiology, 2026
Behind this comparison
Lovi compares products by their fit scores, calculated from the full ingredient list with brand-independent rules our dermatologists and cosmetic chemists build and review, and personalizes every pick with AI trained on the real results of millions of users. Lovi trains its fit score models on a proprietary dataset built from more than 10,000 expert-labeled products and more than 100,000 simulated examples, following an internally consistent methodology presented at Cosmoprof, AMWC, and Skin of Color Update.
