Simple and Shu Uemura are distinct skincare lines, with the British brand founded in 1960 and the Japanese counterpart established in 1967. The former is celebrated for gentle moisturizers, makeup removers, cleansers, and toners featuring niacinamide and glycerin, which suit oily and acne-prone skin best. Meanwhile, the latter is renowned for transformative makeup removers and meticulously crafted formulas that suit all skin types best. They differ primarily in their formulation focus and target audience, offering tailored benefits for diverse complexions.
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 Shu Uemura products; for every product of both brands, with a fit score for your own skin, use the Lovi app.
Simple stands out as the better choice here because the products on this page offer broad options like gentle makeup removers and hydrating daily items, whereas Shu Uemura only features a single cleansing oil with lower fit ratings for oily and acne-prone skin. Glycerin helps maintain skin hydration across Simple products.
What is the difference between Simple and Shu Uemura?
Simple offers a wide range of products including sensitive-skin-friendly makeup removers and lightweight moisturizers that list no fragrance, whereas Shu Uemura provides only a cleansing oil on this page. Glycerin, which helps hydrate the skin, is found across Simple products.
Simple offers budget-friendly moisturizers among the products on this page, while Shu Uemura is not noted for affordability. Glycerin in these formulations helps maintain hydration.
Which causes fewer breakouts, Simple or Shu Uemura?
Simple is unlikely to cause as many breakouts compared to Shu Uemura, whose cleansing oil receives a low fit level for acne-prone skin and caution for oily acne-prone skin. Reviewers note that Simple products are gentle makeup removers, though some users still mention occasional breakouts or irritations.
Where and when were Simple and Shu Uemura founded, and which parent companies own them?
Simple was founded in 1960 in the United Kingdom and is owned by Unilever PLC, while Shu Uemura was founded in 1967 in Japan and is owned by L'Oréal S.A.
How does the Lovi fit level for oily skin compare between Simple cleansing products and Shu Uemura cleansing oil?
Simple cleansing products achieve a High or Average Lovi fit for oily skin, whereas Shu Uemura cleansing oil earns a Low or Caution fit for oily skin.
Do products from Simple and Shu Uemura contain any fragrance in their ingredients?
Every product from Simple and Shu Uemura on this page lists no fragrance in its ingredients.
Saccharide isomerate · Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology, 2023
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.
