My Beauty-Director Standards Are Notoriously High—This £9 SPF Has Floored Me

For those who are new around here, you probably only need to know three things about me before we move on: 1. I'm brutally honest in every aspect of my life, but particularly at work. 2. I appreciate the finer things—I like luxury beauty products that make me feel worthy of their presence. 3. I'm stubbornly loyal to my favourite skincare products. Now that's out of the way, let me tell you how I've recently become obsessed with a new £9 facial sunscreen.

Shannon Lawlor after using Simple Invisible UV Fluid SPF50.

Up until a couple of months ago, I had used the same SPF for knocking on two years (Mecca Cosmetica To Save Face, FYI, is still the best sunscreen ever made, in my opinion). Every day, I slathered the moisturising SPF cream over my face as the last step of my skincare routine. I had found my SPF soulmate, and I was never looking back.

But then, an email dropped into my inbox. Simple wanted to inform me that it was launching a top-secret new SPF fluid in the form of Simple Invisible UV Fluid SPF 50. It's the sort of email I receive countless of every week, but something about it piqued my interest, so I uncharacteristically decided to try it out for a couple of months. And let me tell you, it's good. It's so good, in fact, that ever since finishing my first tube, it has become my top-most affordable SPF recommendation. (My Mecca Cosmetica soulmate, sadly, does not fit into the affordable camp, after all.) It has, frankly, left me gobsmacked and, well, humbled. Here's what to know...

Simple Invisible UV Fluid SPF50, Reviewed

The Formula

First of all, I want to note that the above tube is actually not the final packaging—I was sent this tube ahead of launch, and some tweaks have been made to the exterior. So please do not be alarmed: the product is indeed called Simple Invisible UV Fluid SPF 50.

So, what do you need to know about this formula? For starters, it is a very, very lightweight fluid. It has the same sort of runny consistency as La Roche-Posay's iconic Anthelios UVMune, but it has significantly more oomph when it comes to hydration thanks to a hit of nourishing ceramides.

Inside this seemingly unassuming fluid, however, is a combination of very, very impressive skincare ingredients. For starters, you've got your high-protection UVA and UVB filters—the sort that will protect your skin from the sun's damaging rays just as effectively on the hottest days of the year as it does on the most overcast. Then there's the niacinamide, one of my favourite ingredients in skincare—it works to soothe, nourish, regulate oil production and also even out skin tone. The star of the show, however, is Simple's trademarked Gluta-Amino™, a concoction of powerful antioxidants and amino acids (most predominantly, glutathione) that boost the skin's natural glow and fight against uneven skin tone.

Oh, and it does all of this without a hint of greasiness or a smidge of white cast (it's a chemical formula, so no chalky minerals to be found here).

The Application

As mentioned, the fluid texture is runny, but the nourishing ingredients still give it a lightweight lotion feel. It rubs in with unparalleled ease (as you can see from my shaky, one-handed application above) and truly does turn invisible.

While at first, skin appears slightly shiny (as it does after applying any lotion), after just a few seconds, any visible trace of the SPF is totally gone. After applying, it simply feels as though you have layered on a very, very lightweight serum.

Simple Invisible UV Fluid SPF50 also possesses a very light and fresh sunscreen scent—it's something I really quite like, but those who hate fragrance in their skincare should be aware of it.

The most notable thing of all, immediately after application, is the lit-from-within sort of radiance and glow that my skin has. It's the sort that I have only ever witnessed after a 12-minute sauna session. My skin is plump, naturally radiant and healthy-looking.

The Verdict

As you can see above, I am wearing no base products—I've simply dabbed on a little blusher onto the high points of my cheeks, run some brow gel through my brows and applied a few coatings of mascara. But my skin? My skin genuinely looks as though I've applied a glow-boosting skin tint. It's not greasy or shiny, it's just glowing.

I can, hand on heart, say that I have never come across a facial sunscreen with an ingredients list (and results) this good for less than £20. Even the best affordable sunscreen formulas ever made sit around the £20 mark. It's been such an issue, in fact, that when people ask me for affordable SPF recommendations, I have to caveat that I know £20-£25 isn't cheap, but if you really want the results, then that's what you need to spend.

But all of that has changed. At £9, I am absolutely blown away. Is it the most luxurious and visually appealing product out there? Of course not, but it does exactly what it promises to do. Simple has done something I previously thought was impossible—produced a truly invisible, second-skin facial SPF that doesn't sting my eyes or break me out... all for less than £15.

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