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Kiehl's vs Estée Lauder

Rated by Lovi · Unbiased, science-based skincare AI trained on real user outcomes · How the Fit score works

Kiehl's and Estée Lauder are American skincare brands known for their thoughtful arrays of moisturizers, serums, eye products, and more. Kiehl's is anchored by nourishing glycerin and squalane, suiting skin with dark spots and dry skin best, while Estée Lauder relies on hydrating hyaluronic acid and glycerin to suit acne-prone skin and mature skin best. Both brands differ in their standout products and specific key ingredients, though each offers carefully formulated hydration for distinct needs.

Kiehl's is an American skincare brand founded in 1851 and owned by L'Oréal S.A. since 2000.

loreal.comen.wikipedia.org

Estée Lauder is an American skincare brand founded in 1946 and owned by The Estée Lauder Companies Inc..

en.wikipedia.orgelcompanies.com

This page compares some of the most popular Kiehl's and Estée Lauder products; for every product of both brands, with a fit score for your own skin, use the Lovi app.

Popular Kiehl's vs Estée Lauder products

People Say

Kiehl'sEstée Lauder
  • Deep hydration and moisturization Often MentionedMostly Mentioned
    • “skin drinks it up immediately — Estée Lauder Advanced Night Repair”
    • “The formula is incredibly hydrating and leaves my skin feeling smooth. — Estée Lauder Re-Nutriv”
    • “texture is dreamy — Estée Lauder Advanced Night Repair Eye Supercharged Gel-Creme”
    • “Keeps skin moisturized for 24+ hours — Kiehl's Ultra Facial Cream”
  • Lightweight and non-greasy texture Often MentionedSometimes Noted
    • “feels like nothing — Kiehl's Better Screen UV Serum”
    • “works on dark skin — Kiehl's Better Screen UV Serum”
    • “absorbs instantly without residue — Kiehl's Ultra Facial Oil-Free Gel Cream”
    • “Absorbs quickly into the skin — Estée Lauder Revitalizing Supreme+”
  • Gentle on skin and sensitive formulas Often MentionedOften Mentioned
    • “experienced zero irritation — Kiehl's Retinol Skin-Renewing Daily Micro-Dose Serum”
    • “fragrance-free — Kiehl's Ultra Facial Cream”
    • “doesn't strip the skin — Estée Lauder Advanced Night Cleansing Gelée”
    • “Doesn't strip my skin — Estée Lauder Soft Clean Moisture Rich Foaming Cleanser”
  • Skin barrier and texture improvement Often MentionedOften Mentioned
    • “leaves skin feeling silky — Kiehl's Powerful-Strength Line-Reducing Concentrate”
    • “skin feels smoother — Kiehl's Retinol Skin-Renewing Daily Micro-Dose Serum”
    • “skin feels like a baby's bottom — Estée Lauder Advanced Night Repair”
    • “silky smooth — Estée Lauder Micro Essence Treatment Lotion”
  • Brightening and dark spot fading Often MentionedSometimes Noted
    • “Acne marks are gone — Kiehl's Clearly Corrective™ Dark Spot Solution”
    • “woke up glowing — Kiehl's Midnight Recovery Concentrate”
    • “Skin looks radiant — Kiehl's Clearly Corrective™ Dark Spot Solution”
    • “gives me that glass skin look — Estée Lauder Advanced Night Repair”
  • Makeup compatibility and primer benefits Sometimes NotedSometimes Noted
    • “concealer glides on smoothly — Kiehl's Creamy Eye Treatment with Avocado”
    • “no pilling — Kiehl's Ultra Facial Cream”
    • “no pilling — Kiehl's Better Screen UV Serum”
    • “doesn't pill — Estée Lauder Advanced Night Repair Eye Supercharged Gel-Creme”
  • High price point and expensive value Mostly MentionedMostly Mentioned
    • “pricy daily staple — Kiehl's Ultra Facial Cream”
    • “Very expensive product — Kiehl's Clearly Corrective™ Dark Spot Solution”
    • “way too expensive for the size — Estée Lauder Advanced Night Repair”
    • “too pricey — Estée Lauder Micro Essence Treatment Lotion”
  • Packaging and application challenges Sometimes NotedSometimes Noted
    • “dipping fingers is unsanitary — Kiehl's Ultra Facial Cream”
    • “hard to spread — Kiehl's Creamy Eye Treatment with Avocado”
    • “Dropper doesn't reach bottom — Kiehl's Clearly Corrective™ Dark Spot Solution”
    • “lid is hard to open — Estée Lauder Advanced Night Cleansing Gelée”
  • Unpleasant scent or fragrance complaints Rarely NotedSometimes Noted
    • “smells clinical — Kiehl's Retinol Skin-Renewing Daily Micro-Dose Serum”
    • “faint lab smell — Kiehl's Better Screen UV Serum”
    • “smell is overpowering — Kiehl's Midnight Recovery Concentrate”
    • “Scent is too overpowering — Estée Lauder Revitalizing Supreme+”
  • Ineffective formula or slow results Rarely NotedSometimes Noted
    • “Did absolutely nothing — Kiehl's Clearly Corrective™ Dark Spot Solution”
    • “Takes months to see — Kiehl's Clearly Corrective™ Dark Spot Solution”
    • “results were subtle — Kiehl's Retinol Skin-Renewing Daily Micro-Dose Serum”
    • “didn't notice any difference — Estée Lauder Advanced Night Repair”

Kiehl's vs Estée Lauder routines for dry skin

Buy Kiehl's routine · AED 1,652.44 · 84% fitBuy Estée Lauder routine · AED 1,653.06 · 77% fitSee multi-brand routine · 96% fit

Kiehl's vs Estée Lauder routines for oily skin

Buy Kiehl's routine · AED 1,609.62 · 80% fitBuy Estée Lauder routine · AED 1,743.92 · 75% fitSee multi-brand routine · 97% fit

Kiehl's vs Estée Lauder routines for combination skin

Buy Kiehl's routine · AED 1,639.74 · 83% fitBuy Estée Lauder routine · AED 1,225.96 · 75% fitSee multi-brand routine · 96% fit

Questions and answers

Kiehl's or Estée Lauder: which is better?

Both brands offer a High routine fit for most skin types on this page, with Kiehl's performing better for brightening dark spots and lightweight textures, while Estée Lauder excels in deep hydration and handles acne-prone skin with a High fit compared to Kiehl's Average fit.

What is the difference between Kiehl's and Estée Lauder?

Kiehl's and Estée Lauder both achieve a high routine fit for most skin types, though Estée Lauder is better suited for acne-prone skin while Kiehl's excels in brightening and lightweight texture.

Kiehl's or Estée Lauder for dry skin?

Both Kiehl's and Estée Lauder are a High fit for dry skin on this page. Kiehl's features high ratings for dry skin routines and relies on ingredients like glycerin and squalane, while Estée Lauder offers deep hydration and relies on hyaluronic acid.

Journal of Pharmacy & Pharmaceutical Sciences, 2015Dermatologic Therapy, 2022

Kiehl's or Estée Lauder: which cleanser is better?

Kiehl's and Estée Lauder both offer top-performing cleansers on this page, with Lovi rating their top routines equally high for cleansing needs across various skin types. Reviewers note that Estée Lauder provides gentle and non-drying cleansers, while Kiehl's cleansers help deeply cleanse oily skin.

Which is more affordable, Kiehl's or Estée Lauder?

Both Kiehl's and Estée Lauder face frequent complaints from reviewers regarding a high price point. Lovi finds the price level for both brands to be equal in this regard.

Kiehl's or Estée Lauder for fading dark spots?

Kiehl's does better for brightening and fading dark spots. Reviewers sometimes note its effectiveness in this area, and Lovi rates its products on this page as having a high fit for skin with dark spots.

Which brand offers more fragrance-free products, Kiehl's or Estée Lauder?

Kiehl's offers more fragrance-free products on the page than Estée Lauder. Lovi notes that 26 of 28 Kiehl's products list no fragrance compared to 12 of 14 Estée Lauder products.

Kiehl's or Estée Lauder for oily skin?

Both Kiehl's and Estée Lauder are a High fit for oily skin. Reviewers note that Kiehl's offers a lighter, less greasy texture, while Estée Lauder provides deep hydration.

Kiehl's or Estée Lauder: which moisturizer is better?

Both Kiehl's and Estée Lauder offer moisturizers with high routine fit levels for dry skin, but Kiehl's is noted by reviewers for its lightweight, non-greasy texture while Estée Lauder excels in deep hydration. Estée Lauder's products may help improve skin quality through ingredients like hyaluronic acid.

Journal of Pharmacy & Pharmaceutical Sciences, 2015Dermatologic Therapy, 2022

Kiehl's or Estée Lauder for sensitive skin?

Both Kiehl's and Estée Lauder achieve a High Lovi fit level for sensitive skin. Reviewers note that both brands offer gentle and non-drying cleansing options as well as deep hydration.

Kiehl's or Estée Lauder: which sunscreen is better?

Both Kiehl's Better Screen UV Serum and Estée Lauder DayWear Moisturizer are sunscreen options that achieve a High Lovi fit level across multiple skin types on this page. Kiehl's sunscreen is noted for working well on skin with dark spots, sensitive skin, and acne-prone skin, while Estée Lauder achieves a Superior fit level for dry sensitive skin, dry skin, sensitive skin, and mature skin.

Kiehl's or Estée Lauder for acne-prone skin?

For acne-prone skin, Lovi rates Estée Lauder High and Kiehl's Average. Estée Lauder's products on this page often feel lightweight and help provide deep hydration without clogging pores.

Kiehl's or Estée Lauder for mature skin?

Both Kiehl's and Estée Lauder achieve a High Lovi fit level for mature skin. Reviewers note that Kiehl's tends to offer a lighter texture, while Estée Lauder focuses more on deep hydration.

Research behind their key ingredients

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.

  • Nadia Kapleva, MS

    Nadia Kapleva, MS

    Co-founder, Medical Director

    Cosmetic chemist, cosmetologist, aesthetic products developer

  • Alexey Shagraev, PhD

    Alexey Shagraev, PhD

    Co-founder, CEO and CTO

    PhD in computer science, 3x US patent holder, ex-Google, ex-Yandex

  • Dr. Sofía Perea Pérez, MD, MSc

    Dr. Sofía Perea Pérez, MD, MSc

    Medical Board

    Aesthetic medicine practitioner, MSc in Longevity and Anti-Aging Medicine

  • Aishani Shah, MD

    Aishani Shah, MD

    Medical Board

    Specialist dermatologist, MBBS, MD, IFAAD

  • Asya Zubkova, MS

    Asya Zubkova, MS

    Medical Board

    Cosmetic chemist, SCS, IFSCC member

  • Hanna Kurets, MD

    Hanna Kurets, MD

    Medical Board, Medical Advisor

    Dermatology MD

  • Elina Nazarenko, MD

    Elina Nazarenko, MD

    Medical Board

    Dermatology and diagnostic consultant

  • Victoria Derkova, MS

    Victoria Derkova, MS

    Medical Board

    Cosmetic chemist, cosmetic development technologist

How does it fit your skin?

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