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Paula's Choice vs Kiehl's

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

Paula's Choice and Kiehl's are American skincare brands offering serums, cleansers, moisturizers, toners, and more. Paula's Choice relies on hyaluronic acid, glycerin, and vitamin c to best suit oily and acne-prone skin, whereas the brand features glycerin and squalane in nourishing formulations that best suit dry and sensitive skin. Through these selections, both brands use key ingredients to significantly increase hydration, restore barrier function, counteract oxidative stress, and stimulate fibroblast migration.

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

unilever.comtracxn.com

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

loreal.comen.wikipedia.org

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

Popular Paula's Choice vs Kiehl's products

People Say

Paula's ChoiceKiehl's
  • Fast Absorption and Lightweight Texture Mostly MentionedMostly Mentioned
    • “Provides an internal level of hydration without leaving any heavy finish. — Paula's Choice Skin Balancing Pore-Reducing Toner”
    • “Absorbs quickly and leaves no greasy residue behind. — Paula's Choice Clear Oil-Free Moisturizer”
    • “absorbs instantly — Paula's Choice C15 Super Booster”
    • “feels like nothing — Kiehl's Better Screen UV Serum”
  • Skin Texture Improvement Mostly MentionedSometimes Noted
    • “skin becomes very smooth — Paula's Choice 1% Retinol Treatment”
    • “skin is insanely soft — Paula's Choice Weightless Body Treatment 2% BHA”
    • “skin never been this silky — Paula's Choice Skin-Smoothing Retinol Body Treatment”
    • “leaves skin feeling silky — Kiehl's Powerful-Strength Line-Reducing Concentrate”
  • Glow, Brightening, and Radiance Often MentionedOften Mentioned
    • “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”
    • “visible glow — Paula's Choice C15 Super Booster”
  • Deep and Intense Hydration Not notedMostly Mentioned
    • “Keeps skin moisturized for 24+ hours — Kiehl's Ultra Facial Cream”
    • “skin feels incredibly soft afterwards — Kiehl's Rare Earth Deep Pore Cleansing Masque”
    • “Feels like a drink of water — Kiehl's Hydro-Plumping Serum Concentrate”
  • Non-Irritating and Gentle Formula Often MentionedOften Mentioned
    • “Finally a vitamin C product I can use — Paula's Choice 25% Vitamin C + Glutathione Clinical Serum”
    • “no stinging — Paula's Choice C15 Super Booster”
    • “experienced zero irritation — Kiehl's Retinol Skin-Renewing Daily Micro-Dose Serum”
    • “fragrance-free — Kiehl's Ultra Facial Cream”
  • Acne and Blemish Clearing Often MentionedNot noted
    • “Helped clear my cystic acne — Paula's Choice CLEAR Pore Normalizing Cleanser”
    • “heals blemishes faster — Paula's Choice Skin Perfecting 2% BHA Liquid Exfoliant”
    • “controlled my back and chest acne — Paula's Choice Weightless Body Treatment 2% BHA”
  • High Price and Value Concerns Mostly MentionedMostly Mentioned
    • “surprisingly small bottle — Paula's Choice Skin-Smoothing Retinol Body Treatment”
    • “tiny tube — Paula's Choice 10% Azelaic Acid Booster”
    • “pricy daily staple — Kiehl's Ultra Facial Cream”
    • “Very expensive product — Kiehl's Clearly Corrective™ Dark Spot Solution”
  • Purging and Breakouts Sometimes NotedSometimes Noted
    • “skin purged — Paula's Choice Skin Perfecting 2% BHA Liquid Exfoliant”
    • “caused cystic acne — Paula's Choice 10% Niacinamide Booster”
    • “caused cystic acne — Kiehl's Midnight Recovery Concentrate”
    • “cystic acne for some — Kiehl's Ultra Facial Cream”
  • Unpleasant Scent or Smell Often MentionedRarely Noted
    • “smells clinical — Kiehl's Retinol Skin-Renewing Daily Micro-Dose Serum”
    • “faint lab smell — Kiehl's Better Screen UV Serum”
    • “smells like hot dog water — Kiehl's Powerful-Strength Line-Reducing Concentrate”
    • “smells like grain — Paula's Choice 10% Azelaic Acid Booster”
  • Irritation and Burning Rarely NotedSometimes Noted
    • “burnt skin off — Paula's Choice 1% Retinol Treatment”
    • “ruined my skin barrier — Paula's Choice Skin Perfecting 2% BHA Liquid Exfoliant”
    • “stung my face — Paula's Choice 10% Azelaic Acid Booster”
    • “burned my face immediately — Kiehl's Rare Earth Deep Pore Cleansing Masque”

Paula's Choice vs Kiehl's routines for dry skin

Buy Paula's Choice routine · A$343.82 · 86% fitBuy Kiehl's routine · A$685.63 · 86% fitSee multi-brand routine · 97% fit

Paula's Choice vs Kiehl's routines for oily skin

Buy Paula's Choice routine · A$561.22 · 92% fitBuy Kiehl's routine · A$767.92 · 85% fitSee multi-brand routine · 96% fit

Paula's Choice vs Kiehl's routines for combination skin

Buy Paula's Choice routine · A$437.74 · 89% fitBuy Kiehl's routine · A$693.88 · 83% fitSee multi-brand routine · 95% fit

Questions and answers

Paula's Choice or Kiehl's: which is better?

Paula's Choice achieves a Superior fit level for oily skin, sensitive skin, acne-prone skin, and mature skin, making it the better choice for these skin types. Kiehl's and Paula's Choice match at a High fit level for dry skin, combination skin, skin with dark spots, and dry sensitive skin.

What is the difference between Paula's Choice and Kiehl's?

Paula's Choice is owned by Unilever and fits oily, acne-prone, and oily acne-prone skin with a Superior routine fit, whereas Kiehl's is owned by L'Oréal and fits dry, sensitive, and mature skin with a High routine fit. The products on this page from Paula's Choice have no fragrance, while two Kiehl's products contain fragrance.

Paula's Choice or Kiehl's for dry skin?

Paula's Choice and Kiehl's both fit dry skin at a High routine level on this page. Reviewers report that Kiehl's provides deep hydration and lightweight moisturizers, while Paula's Choice features fragrance-free formulas.

Paula's Choice or Kiehl's: which cleanser is better?

Paula's Choice and Kiehl's both offer top-tier cleansers, as the CLEAR Pore Normalizing Cleanser from Paula's Choice and the Calendula Deep Cleansing Foaming Face Wash from Kiehl's each achieve a Superior fit level for oily and oily acne-prone skin on this page. Reviewers note that Paula's Choice delivers fast absorption and lightweight texture, while Kiehl's is often praised for deep hydration.

Which is more affordable, Paula's Choice or Kiehl's?

Both Paula's Choice and Kiehl's face similar high price and value concerns among reviewers on the products on this page.

Between Paula's Choice and Kiehl's, which brand is better for glowing and brightening the skin?

Between Paula's Choice and Kiehl's, Kiehl's does better for glow, brightening, and radiance according to reviewer themes on this page. Topical niacinamide found in the products on this page also helps reduce cutaneous pigmentation.

The British Journal of Dermatology, 2002

Which skincare brand has a better routine fit for mature skin?

Paula's Choice has a superior routine fit for mature skin, whereas Kiehl's routine fit is high. Both brands rely on key ingredients like retinol, which stimulates collagen accumulation in naturally aged human skin.

The Journal of Investigative Dermatology, 2000

How do Paula's Choice and Kiehl's compare when it comes to fast absorption and lightweight texture?

Paula's Choice outperforms Kiehl's for fast absorption and a lightweight texture across the products on this page.

Paula's Choice or Kiehl's for oily skin?

Paula's Choice is a better option for oily skin, as Lovi rates its routine as Superior compared to Kiehl's High level. The products on this page help manage oil and blemishes effectively with key ingredients like salicylic acid.

Paula's Choice or Kiehl's: which moisturizer is better?

Paula's Choice and Kiehl's both offer quality moisturizers, with Paula's Choice providing superior fit levels for oily and sensitive skin types while Kiehl's focuses on deep and intense hydration. Both brands feature fragrance-free options across most of their products on this page.

Paula's Choice or Kiehl's for sensitive skin?

Paula's Choice is better for sensitive skin, earning a Superior fit level compared to Kiehl's High fit level. Furthermore, every product on the Paula's Choice page lists no fragrance in its ingredients, whereas two Kiehl's products contain fragrance.

Paula's Choice or Kiehl's: which sunscreen is better?

Paula's Choice offers the Youth-Extending Daily Hydrating Fluid SPF 50, which has a High fit for dry and combination skin, and an Average fit for oily, acne-prone, and sensitive skin on this page. Kiehl's features the Better Screen UV Serum, which has a High fit for skin with dark spots, combination, sensitive, acne-prone, and mature skin, and an Average fit for oily and dry skin.

Paula's Choice or Kiehl's for acne-prone skin?

For acne-prone skin, Paula's Choice is a superior fit compared to Kiehl's. Lovi rates the routine fit for Paula's Choice as Superior and for Kiehl's as High.

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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