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Beauty of Joseon vs Paula's Choice

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

Beauty of Joseon and Paula's Choice are two distinct skincare lines established respectively in 2016 and 1995. Beauty of Joseon is loved for its thoughtful serums, masks, moisturizers, sunscreens, and more that feature star ingredients like niacinamide, glycerin, and hyaluronic, suiting dry skin and sensitive skin best with gentle daily care. Conversely, the American brand offers serums, cleansers, moisturizers, toners, and more, built around hyaluronic acid, glycerin, and vitamin c, which fit oily skin and acne-prone skin best. While both brands utilize powerful humectants to nourish the complexion, they differ significantly in their geographic heritage, founding years, and targeted skin types.

Beauty of Joseon is a Korean skincare brand founded in 2016 and owned by Goodai Global Inc. since 2019.

kbeautywiki.combeautymatter.comprnewswire.comgoodai-global.com

Paula's Choice is an American skincare brand founded in 1995 and owned by Unilever since 2021.

unilever.comtracxn.com

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

Popular Beauty of Joseon vs Paula's Choice products

People Say

Beauty of JoseonPaula's Choice
  • Texture and Application Mostly MentionedMostly Mentioned
    • “feels like a light moisturizer — Beauty of Joseon Relief Sun: Rice + Probiotics”
    • “sinks in instantly — Beauty of Joseon Ginseng Essence Water”
    • “Absorbs quickly and leaves no greasy residue behind. — Paula's Choice Clear Oil-Free Moisturizer”
    • “absorbs instantly — Paula's Choice C15 Super Booster”
  • Gentle and Non-Irritating Formula Mostly MentionedOften Mentioned
    • “no irritation at all — Beauty of Joseon Revive Eye Serum”
    • “cleansed my face gently without making my skin feel irritated — Beauty of Joseon Green Plum Refreshing Cleanser”
    • “doesn't irritate my sensitive skin — Beauty of Joseon Apricot Blossom Peeling Gel”
    • “Finally a vitamin C product I can use — Paula's Choice 25% Vitamin C + Glutathione Clinical Serum”
  • Hydration and Moisture Mostly MentionedSometimes Noted
    • “Saved my dry winter skin — Beauty of Joseon Dynasty Cream”
    • “doesn't dry my skin like other cleansers — Beauty of Joseon Radiance Cleansing Balm”
    • “eyes look less tired — Beauty of Joseon Revive Eye Serum”
    • “Provides an internal level of hydration without leaving any heavy finish. — Paula's Choice Skin Balancing Pore-Reducing Toner”
  • Smooths Skin Texture Rarely NotedMostly Mentioned
    • “skin becomes very smooth — Paula's Choice 1% Retinol Treatment”
    • “bumps be gone — Paula's Choice Weightless Body Treatment 2% BHA”
    • “skin is insanely soft — Paula's Choice Weightless Body Treatment 2% BHA”
    • “skin feels baby soft — Beauty of Joseon Apricot Blossom Peeling Gel”
  • Pore and Oil Control Sometimes NotedSometimes Noted
    • “less shiny by noon — Beauty of Joseon Red Bean Water Gel”
    • “pores look cleaner — Beauty of Joseon Red Bean Refreshing Pore Mask”
    • “cleared my bumps — Paula's Choice Skin Perfecting 2% BHA Liquid Exfoliant”
    • “pores look smaller — Paula's Choice 10% Niacinamide Booster”
  • Glow and Radiance Sometimes NotedSometimes Noted
    • “gives a glass skin look — Beauty of Joseon Glow Serum”
    • “Gives me that chok-chok dewy look — Beauty of Joseon Dynasty Cream”
    • “visible glow — Paula's Choice C15 Super Booster”
    • “Discoloration almost gone — Paula's Choice 25% Vitamin C + Glutathione Clinical Serum”
  • Scent and Fragrance Issues Often MentionedOften Mentioned
    • “smells like cooking oil — Beauty of Joseon Ginseng Cleansing Oil”
    • “smells like cheese — Beauty of Joseon Ground Rice and Honey Glow Mask”
    • “smells like grain — Paula's Choice 10% Azelaic Acid Booster”
    • “smells like hot dog water — Paula's Choice C15 Super Booster”
  • High Price and Value Issues Not notedMostly Mentioned
    • “surprisingly small bottle — Paula's Choice Skin-Smoothing Retinol Body Treatment”
  • Breakouts and Purging Sometimes NotedSometimes Noted
    • “Broke me out in cystic acne — Beauty of Joseon Dynasty Cream”
    • “gave me cystic acne — Beauty of Joseon Ginseng Cleansing Oil”
    • “skin purged — Paula's Choice Skin Perfecting 2% BHA Liquid Exfoliant”
    • “caused cystic acne — Paula's Choice 10% Niacinamide Booster”

Beauty of Joseon vs Paula's Choice routines for dry skin

Buy Beauty of Joseon routine · A$217.64 · 89% fitBuy Paula's Choice routine · A$343.82 · 86% fitSee multi-brand routine · 97% fit

Beauty of Joseon vs Paula's Choice routines for oily skin

Buy Paula's Choice routine · A$561.22 · 92% fitBuy Beauty of Joseon routine · A$242.56 · 81% fitSee multi-brand routine · 96% fit

Beauty of Joseon vs Paula's Choice routines for combination skin

Buy Paula's Choice routine · A$437.74 · 89% fitBuy Beauty of Joseon routine · A$210.57 · 80% fitSee multi-brand routine · 95% fit

Questions and answers

Beauty of Joseon or Paula's Choice: which is better?

Beauty of Joseon is better for gentle hydration, while Paula's Choice is better for mature skin, acne-prone skin, and oily skin. The products on this page help deliver targeted anti-aging and blemish-clearing benefits, and retinol helps stimulate collagen accumulation in naturally aged human skin.

The Journal of Investigative Dermatology, 2000

What is the difference between Beauty of Joseon and Paula's Choice?

Beauty of Joseon is best suited for dry and sensitive skin with gentle formulas, while Paula's Choice excels for oily and acne-prone skin with targeted treatments. Both brands offer products with ingredients like niacinamide that help reduce skin pigmentation and aging signs.

The British Journal of Dermatology, 2002Antioxidants, 2021

Beauty of Joseon or Paula's Choice for dry skin?

Beauty of Joseon and Paula's Choice both offer a High routine fit for dry skin. Beauty of Joseon fits dry skin best with its brand-focused routines, while the products on this page help provide deep hydration and moisture.

Drug Delivery, 2017Dermatologic Therapy, 2022

Beauty of Joseon or Paula's Choice: which cleanser is better?

Beauty of Joseon offers better gentle formulas for cleansers, while Paula's Choice excels in pore and oil control for the products on this page.

Which is more affordable, Beauty of Joseon or Paula's Choice?

Beauty of Joseon is more affordable, as Paula's Choice frequently draws reviewer complaints regarding high prices and value issues. Both brands offer products with no added fragrance across the items on this page.

Beauty of Joseon or Paula's Choice for oily skin?

Paula's Choice is a better option for oily skin, offering a Superior routine fit compared to the High fit of Beauty of Joseon. Both brands feature effective oil-control products on this page, but Paula's Choice is specifically noted for its superior pore-reducing and smoothing treatments.

Beauty of Joseon or Paula's Choice: which moisturizer is better?

Both Beauty of Joseon and Paula's Choice offer moisturizers, but Beauty of Joseon is specifically known for deep hydration and moisturization with a high fit for dry skin. Paula's Choice features formulations targeting specific skin types with ingredients like hyaluronic acid that helps maintain skin hydration.

Drug Delivery, 2017Dermatologic Therapy, 2022

Beauty of Joseon or Paula's Choice for sensitive skin?

Beauty of Joseon and Paula's Choice both have a High fit for sensitive skin on the products on this page. Beauty of Joseon does better for a gentle and non-irritating formula.

Beauty of Joseon or Paula's Choice: which sunscreen is better?

Beauty of Joseon offers the Relief Sun: Rice + Probiotics and Ginseng Moist Sun Serum, both achieving a High fit for skin with dark spots, while Paula's Choice features the Youth-Extending Daily Hydrating Fluid SPF 50, which is also a High fit for dry skin and combination skin. Reviewers note that Beauty of Joseon formulas provide deep hydration and a radiant glow, whereas Paula's Choice products focus on anti-aging and smooth texture.

Beauty of Joseon or Paula's Choice for acne-prone skin?

Both Beauty of Joseon and Paula's Choice offer options for acne-prone skin, though Paula's Choice achieves a superior routine fit level. Paula's Choice helps smooth skin texture and provides active ingredients like salicylic acid and niacinamide.

The British Journal of Dermatology, 2002Antioxidants, 2021

Beauty of Joseon or Paula's Choice for mature skin?

Paula's Choice is a better fit for mature skin, achieving a Superior routine fit compared to the Average fit of Beauty of Joseon. Topical retinol helps stimulate collagen accumulation in naturally aged human skin.

The Journal of Investigative Dermatology, 2000

Beauty of Joseon or Paula's Choice for skin with dark spots?

Both Beauty of Joseon and Paula's Choice fit skin with dark spots at a High level. Niacinamide is a key ingredient across the products on this page that helps reduce cutaneous pigmentation.

The British Journal of Dermatology, 2002Antioxidants, 2021

Beauty of Joseon or Paula's Choice for dry sensitive skin?

Both Beauty of Joseon and Paula's Choice achieve a High Lovi fit for dry sensitive skin. Beauty of Joseon is noted for providing deep hydration and gentle formulas, while Paula's Choice offers targeted options like the Skin Recovery Enriched Calming Toner.

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

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