Pure and Cimple Skincare Review- SuperCerum and SuperSupple

Pure and Cimple is a small British brand that I stumbled across while I was searching for the perfect Vitamin C product for my podcast. I was looking for products that met certain conditions after reading through so many studies and figuring out the most important criteria a Vitamin C should meet to have the best effect on skin (more on that later!) and SuperCerum well and truly made the list. Pure and Cimple kindly sent me two of their star products to try out, so here is my review, do they live up to the promise of their awesome ingredient list?

I want to mention before we get into the skincare that the brand has a lovely ethical focus, they consider their environmental impact and give back to charity, which I love. Read about their efforts here.

SuperCerum Review- An Affordable Dupe for Skinceuticals C E Ferulic??

SuperCerum £27.95 for 30ml (in 2x 15ml pump bottles) available from Amazon and Pure and Cimple

After my extensive researching, I discovered that for a Vitamin C serum to have any effect on the skin, it should meet the following-

• It should be water based
• Have a concentration of 15% or above of pure Ascorbic Acid
• The pH should be below 4 (so it has to be really quite acidic otherwise it won’t absorb into the skin and have an effect). FYI SuperCerum has a pH of around 3.5.
• Should contain other antioxidants like Ferulic acid and Vitamin E to keep the Vitamin C fresh and to increase potency
• The product should be be freshly formulated when delivered to the customer

I spent absolutely hours scouring skincare websites searching for Vitamin C products, reading ingredient lists, emailing companies asking for pHs and the list of suitable products is really small (if you want to read more about our Vitamin C research, head to the podcast site). The list of great Vit C products is only 5 products long, the most expensive is the Skinceuticals C E Ferulic at £129.89 for 30 ml, which is £100 more than SuperCerum. Considering that Vitamin C products by their nature will go bad really quickly, £129 is a heck of a lot to spend.

So to figure out if SuperCerum is a sort of dupe for Skinceuticals C E Ferulic, lets look at the ingredient list-

SuperCerum ingredients list– Aqua, Ascorbic Acid, Propanediol, Lactobacillus/nereocstis Leutkeana, sodium lactate, Glycerin, heptyl glucoside, Vitamin E, Ferulic Acid, Sunflower seed oil, Propylene Glycol, Diazolidinyl glycol, Radish root ferment filtrate, Chlorphenesin, Iodopropynyl butylcarbamate

If you don’t know what that means, this is a really good ingredient list for a vitamin C product. You want to see Vitamin C and water at the top and Vitamin E (aka Tocopherol) and Ferulic Acid somewhere else on the list.

Lets have a look at the Skinceuticals list– Aqua, Dipropylene glycol, Ascorbic Acid, Glycerin, Laureth-23, Phenoxyethanol, Tocopherol, Ferulic Acid, Sodium Hyaluronate

SuperCerum is absolutely a dupe for Skinceuticals C Ferulic! very similar type of product, but actually SuperCerum is better than Skinceuticals, this is how-

• It has 20% Ascorbic Acid, Skinceuticals has 15%
• It has a very clever packaging system which means that the Vitamin C is mixed fresh as soon as you start using it
• SuperCerum comes in an airless pump as opposed to Skinceuticals dropper bottle. A dropper bottle allows air in, which means the Vitamin C has the potential to degrade faster.

SuperCerum by Pure and Cimple- Is it Good? (Yes)

We know from scientific research that pure Vitamin C has anti-aging benefits for the skin. It boosts collagen production, acts as an anti oxidant and has a sun protective effect as well as helping reduce pigmentation. It’s so important to have a well formulated and fresh product so that you are getting the most out of the Vitamin C, and Pure and Cimple have done an excellent job of overcoming these formulation issues.

SuperCerum comes in a clever airless pump. When you use the product for the first time you press the pump down until it clicks, this releases the powdered Ascorbic Acid into the base product and activates the formula, genius! There have been lots of reports of expensive Vitamin C products arriving to the customer having already degraded, so it’s great to find such an affordable product with such a clever delivery system to get round this problem. You will know if Vit C has oxidised because it will be colourless, if it’s gone bad it will be yellow, orange or black. SuperCerum is totally clear when it’s activated and the serum will stay fresh for 2 weeks (as it is supposed to) so you can feel free to slap it on every morning.

Vitamin C has to be acidic to work, so it can be irritating for some skin types. If you don’t get that acidic tingle when you apply a pure Vitamin C, it is unlikely to be effective, as we know above pH 4 it just won’t absorb into the skin. SuperCerum has that sight tingle, which is exactly what we need.

SuperCerum comes in little 15ml airless pumps, just enough for two weeks worth. Plus you get 15% off if you get an ongoing subscription. This is a great idea, Vitamin C is something that should be used long term to see an effect.

Supercerum is a clear colourless serum which applies easily and absorbs well. You should use it in the morning before your spf, it will act as a sun protectant and antioxidant.

I am thoroughly recommending that you buy SuperCerum, if you’re looking for a well formulated Vitamin C that is affordable, this is it. But I can’t use it, my acne won’t let me use pure Vitamin C at all, I wish I could. I used SuperCerum a few times and it was great, my skin was looking great but then at like day 4 or something like that, I could feel a boil coming up on my chin. That is totally a me problem, it happens every time I use Vit C.

SupperSupple Review

£29.95 for 60ml from Amazon

I’m fortunate that Pure and Cimple were kind enough to send me another of their products to try out- SuperSupple. I love a nice bland unscented moisturiser, and I’ve used this one every day since I’ve had it. I really like SuperSupple. I use strong actives- Tretinoin, Azelaic Acid and Benzoyl Peroxide for my acne, aging and melasma so I need solid support products to help with dryness and irritation.

The packaging is nice, the lid is a little tough to remove and it’s made of wood with a plastic insert. I don’t know if the lid is recyclable, I wouldn’t have thought so. It also comes with a little jute bag, which I really don’t need. I think the pump itself is recyclable when it’s empty.

Let’s check out the ingredients– Aqua, Citrus Aurantium Dulcis (Orange) Flower Water, Argan oil, Camellia oil, Propandial 1,3, Caprylic triglyceride, Cetearyl Glucoside and Cetearyl Alcohol, Saccharide Isomerate, Tocopherol, Polyglutamic acid, Phenoxyethanol, ethylhexylglycerin

So, there are a couple of plant oils for moisturising, Saccharide Isomerate binds water (a humectant) to draw water into the skin, and there is also Polyglutamic Acid. Polyglutamic Acid is a fabulous ingredient for a moisturiser, it’s a humectant like Hyaluronic Acid, but it traps way more water (five times more). Despite the word “orange” in the ingredients, it is actually fragrance free, and has no smell at all.

Super Supple has a fluid consistency, it’s more of a lotion than a cream. I like using SuperSupple alongside another moisturiser because it is a smidge sticky on it’s own. I apply a few layers of my hydrator (SDSM mist from NIOD is my all time favourite), my acne treatment, a pump of SuperSupple then my moisturising cream. Layers of hydration/moisture are great for naturally dry or medically dried out skin and SuperSupple really slots in well and helps my skin look plump and smooth.