Simple Illuminating Radiance Cream - review

I love Simple products.  This is the range I'll keep in my kit because nine times out of ten, I can use it on a client.  It will suit most skin types and I've yet to encounter someone who reacts to it.  In other words, it's a great workhorse, one-size-really-does-nearly-fit-all product to carry around with me.  So I was definitely interested in trying out their recently (ish) released Illuminating Radiance Cream - essentially, their "standard" moisturiser plus an SPF of 15, plus some illuminating ingredients-or-other...

What it doesn't have

No perfumes, no colours.  Great so far.  Even given that some more expensive skincare products can ultimately smell di-vine, I tend to prefer scent-free products (but they're difficult to find).  Ingredients-wise, it's a water-based cream with glycerin for moisturisation, and an odd mix of chemicals, silicones, silica, plant and seed oils and extracts and parabens, but for some reason, as I mentioned "up top", this formula does work for "most people".


What it does have

Shparkles, ladieeez.  In droves.  Severious, oh-so-many, look maw, I'm a glittery little Christmas fairy!!!! sparkles.  And the damn stuff is an absolute bugger to get off your hands once you've applied it.  Sorry now for swearing, but holy shiny glitter, batman, what the hell is this all about.  I want an illuminator to give a glow to my skin, to make it look healthy and plumped-up, voluminous, happy, rested, young.  I do most definitely and categorically not want to look like I am mutton playing with my fifteen-year old self's makeup kit.

While it may be difficult to persuade a camera to adequately capture just how sparkledy is this stuff, trust me, it's pretty damn evident in real life on your face - and more importantly - on your hands, where it will sit merrily, making you look like you've had your hands in all the glitter pots of your crafts box.  Nice.  Not.

No, no, no.  A whole world of no.  This will set you back in-or-around a tenner for 50ml.  So, price-wise, it's grand, and if you're a youngwan, this might suit you.  More obvious sparkles when your a bit on the not-fifteen-anymore side of things just make you look older, not younger.  Then again, if you're a youngwan, you won't need this stuff.  Recommended?  Sure, if you wanna look like a disco ball.  Or, to be more fair to the product, if you want to use a little bit of it very strategically - like in the summer time on just the tops of your cheekbones, for example.  But don't put this stuff everywhere on your face.  And use gloves when applying it, for the love of goodness.  Sadly, I was disappointed with this one*.

(* but I think I hid it really well...)