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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 beloved for comprehensive collections of moisturizers, serums, eye products, and cleansers, which feature key ingredients like glycerin, squalane, and hyaluronic acid. Kiehl's uses glycerin and squalane to suit dry skin and sensitive skin best, while Estée Lauder incorporates hyaluronic acid and glycerin to suit dry sensitive skin and dry skin best. Both offer targeted standouts for acne-prone skin, skin with dark spots, and mature skin, with the former's preparations working to increase hydration, restore barrier function, counteract oxidative stress, and stimulate fibroblast migration, and the latter's formulations lengthening botulinum toxin effects and significantly increasing hydration and barrier function.

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 · A$685.63 · 86% fitBuy Estée Lauder routine · A$330.00 · 83% fitSee multi-brand routine · 97% fit

Kiehl's vs Estée Lauder routines for oily skin

Buy Kiehl's routine · A$767.92 · 85% fitBuy Estée Lauder routine · A$497.39 · 80% fitSee multi-brand routine · 96% fit

Kiehl's vs Estée Lauder routines for combination skin

Buy Kiehl's routine · A$693.88 · 83% fitBuy Estée Lauder routine · A$490.31 · 78% fitSee multi-brand routine · 95% fit

Questions and answers

Kiehl's or Estée Lauder: which is better?

Both Kiehl's and Estée Lauder achieve a High routine fit across all skin types on this page. Estée Lauder tends to do better for deep hydration, whereas Kiehl's is noted for lightweight textures, brightening, and makeup compatibility.

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

Kiehl's and Estée Lauder both offer products on this page that achieve High routine fit levels across all skin types. Kiehl's is noted by reviewers for lightweight, non-greasy textures and brightening benefits, whereas Estée Lauder stands out for deep hydration and moisturization.

Kiehl's or Estée Lauder for dry skin?

Both Kiehl's and Estée Lauder show a High routine fit for dry skin on this page. Kiehl's is frequently praised for lightweight, non-greasy moisturizers and features ingredients like squalane and glycerin, while Estée Lauder products often provide deep hydration.

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

Both Kiehl's and Estée Lauder offer cleansers with high Lovi fit levels for various skin types, but Kiehl's features a wider variety of specialized face washes like the Calendula Deep Cleansing Foaming Face Wash. Estée Lauder cleansers are often noted for providing gentle and non-drying results.

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

Both Kiehl's and Estée Lauder share a high price point across the products on this page, as high price is a commonly noted drawback for both brands. Therefore, neither brand is more affordable.

Between Kiehl's and Estée Lauder, which brand performs better for brightening and fading dark spots?

Kiehl's performs better than Estée Lauder for brightening and fading dark spots. Lovi rates the products on this page for this concern with several options like Clearly Corrective Dark Spot Solution and Better Screen UV Serum achieving High fits.

How do the fragrance options and ingredients compare between Kiehl's and Estée Lauder skincare products?

Kiehl's has a lower rate of fragrance across the products on this page than Estée Lauder, while key ingredients for Kiehl's include vitamin C and squalane compared to hyaluronic acid and glycerin for Estée Lauder.

Which brand offers better makeup compatibility and primer benefits according to reviewer themes?

Kiehl's does better than Estée Lauder regarding makeup compatibility and primer benefits. Reviewers often note that the products on this page help create a good base for makeup.

Kiehl's or Estée Lauder for oily skin?

Both Kiehl's and Estée Lauder achieve a High Lovi fit level for oily skin. Reviewers indicate that Kiehl's provides a lightweight and non-greasy texture, while Estée Lauder offers deep hydration and moisturization.

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

When comparing moisturizers, Kiehl's is often preferred for a lightweight and non-greasy texture, while Estée Lauder excels in deep hydration and moisturization. Lovi gives routine fit levels that are equal for both brands across various skin types.

Kiehl's or Estée Lauder for sensitive skin?

Both Kiehl's and Estée Lauder show a High routine fit for sensitive skin on this page. Kiehl's features fragrance-free options across the vast majority of its products here, while Estée Lauder provides gentle and non-drying cleansers.

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

For sunscreen, Kiehl's offers a high Lovi fit for skin with dark spots, combination skin, sensitive skin, acne-prone skin, and mature skin with its Better Screen UV Serum. Estée Lauder provides a superior Lovi fit for dry sensitive skin, dry skin, sensitive skin, and mature skin with its DayWear Moisturizer.

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

Both Kiehl's and Estée Lauder show a High routine fit for acne-prone skin on this page. Kiehl's offers targeted options like the Calendula Herbal-Extract Toner, which helps soothe skin, while Estée Lauder provides gentle cleansers like the Advanced Night Cleansing Gelée.

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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