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Paula's Choice vs Medik8

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

Paula's Choice and Medik8 are established skincare brands offering serums, moisturizers, toners, and more. The American brand, founded in 1995, builds its formulas around hyaluronic acid, glycerin, and vitamin c, suiting oily and acne-prone skin best. Meanwhile, the British brand, founded in 2009, relies on hyaluronic acid to cater primarily to dry and dry sensitive skin. Both brands differ in their key ingredients, with glycerin in the former significantly increasing skin hydration and restoring barrier function, and hyaluronic acid in the latter lengthening toxin wrinkle effect duration.

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

unilever.comtracxn.com

Medik8 is a British skincare brand founded in 2009 and owned by L'Oréal Groupe since 2025.

loreal.commedik8.comtracxn.com

This page compares some of the most popular Paula's Choice and Medik8 products; for every product of both brands, with a fit score for your own skin, use the Lovi app.

Popular Paula's Choice vs Medik8 products

People Say

Paula's ChoiceMedik8
  • Hydration and Moisture 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”
    • “Restores moisture — Medik8 Liquid Peptides”
    • “absorbed effortlessly — Medik8 Total Moisture Daily Facial Cream”
  • Texture and Pores Mostly MentionedOften Mentioned
    • “cleared my bumps — Paula's Choice Skin Perfecting 2% BHA Liquid Exfoliant”
    • “skin becomes very smooth — Paula's Choice 1% Retinol Treatment”
    • “pores look smaller — Paula's Choice 10% Niacinamide Booster”
    • “smoother skin — Medik8 Surface Radiance Cleanse”
  • Gentle Formulation Often MentionedMostly Mentioned
    • “zero irritation or peeling — Medik8 CRYSTAL RETINAL 3”
    • “only Vitamin C my sensitive skin can tolerate — Medik8 C-Tetra Serum”
    • “Best retinol replacement — Medik8 Bakuchiol Peptides”
    • “Finally a vitamin C product I can use — Paula's Choice 25% Vitamin C + Glutathione Clinical Serum”
  • Glow and Brightening Often MentionedOften Mentioned
    • “visible glow — Paula's Choice C15 Super Booster”
    • “acne scars faded — Paula's Choice 10% Azelaic Acid Booster”
    • “I wake up glowing. It adds back that youthful bloom that I've lost. — Medik8 Sleep Glycolic”
    • “unlocked a serious glow — Medik8 C-Tetra Serum”
  • Anti-Aging and Firming Sometimes NotedOften Mentioned
    • “skin looks plumper — Paula's Choice Pro-Collagen Multi-Peptide Booster”
    • “softens lines and wrinkles — Paula's Choice 1% Retinol Treatment”
    • “Reduces fine lines — Medik8 Liquid Peptides”
    • “Plumps skin with moisture — Medik8 Bakuchiol Peptides”
  • Acne and Cleansing Often MentionedRarely 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”
    • “Removes all my makeup easily — Paula's Choice CLEAR Pore Normalizing Cleanser”
    • “pores feel cleaner — Medik8 Surface Radiance Cleanse”
  • High Price Point Mostly MentionedOften Mentioned
    • “Expensive per bottle — Medik8 Liquid Peptides”
    • “very expensive for amount — Medik8 CRYSTAL RETINAL 3”
    • “hefty price tag — Medik8 C-Tetra Serum”
    • “tiny tube — Paula's Choice 10% Azelaic Acid Booster”
  • Dryness and Flaking Sometimes NotedSometimes Noted
    • “slightly drying — Medik8 Surface Radiance Cleanse”
    • “need a thick moisturizer — Medik8 CRYSTAL RETINAL 3”
    • “need more moisture — Medik8 Crystal Retinal Ceramide Eye 3”
    • “peeling and flaking — Paula's Choice 1% Retinol Treatment”
  • Packaging Issues Sometimes NotedSometimes Noted
    • “dropper leaks — Paula's Choice C15 Super Booster”
    • “dropper can be unpredictable — Paula's Choice Pro-Collagen Multi-Peptide Booster”
    • “Glass bottle breaks easily — Medik8 Liquid Peptides”
    • “hard to get last bit — Medik8 CRYSTAL RETINAL 3”

Paula's Choice vs Medik8 routines for dry skin

Buy Medik8 routine · A$283.59 · 97% fitBuy Paula's Choice routine · A$343.82 · 86% fitSee multi-brand routine · 97% fit

Paula's Choice vs Medik8 routines for oily skin

Buy Medik8 routine · A$409.86 · 94% fitBuy Paula's Choice routine · A$561.22 · 92% fitSee multi-brand routine · 96% fit

Paula's Choice vs Medik8 routines for combination skin

Buy Medik8 routine · A$444.44 · 93% fitBuy Paula's Choice routine · A$437.74 · 89% fitSee multi-brand routine · 95% fit

Questions and answers

Paula's Choice or Medik8: which is better?

Paula's Choice and Medik8 both offer great options depending on your goals, with Paula's Choice providing a superior fit for texture and pores as well as acne and cleansing. Medik8 is frequently noted for gentle formulation, deep hydration, and plumping, and the products on this page achieve a superior routine fit for dry skin, combination skin, and skin with dark spots.

What is the difference between Paula's Choice and Medik8?

Paula's Choice is better suited for texture, pores, acne, and cleansing, while Medik8 is often noted for gentle formulations and hydration. Paula's Choice features fragrance-free formulas across the products on this page, whereas Medik8 includes fragrance in select items like the Total Moisture Daily Facial Cream.

Paula's Choice or Medik8 for dry skin?

Medik8 is a Superior fit for dry skin, whereas the products on this page from Paula's Choice achieve a High fit. Reviewers note that Medik8 helps provide deep hydration and plumping for dry skin types.

Dermatologic Therapy, 2022Drug Delivery, 2017

Paula's Choice or Medik8: which cleanser is better?

Paula's Choice is better for acne and cleansing, with multiple cleansers rated as having a Superior fit for oily and acne-prone skin on the products on this page.

Which is more affordable, Paula's Choice or Medik8?

Medik8 is often noted for a high price point among reviewers on this page, while Paula's Choice faces mentions of high price as well.

Which brand has more fragrance-free products, Paula's Choice or Medik8?

Paula's Choice has more fragrance-free products, as every product on its page lists no fragrance in its ingredients. In contrast, Medik8 has 11 of 12 products listed as fragrance-free on this page, with its Total Moisture Daily Facial Cream containing fragrance.

How do the founding years and corporate ownership of Paula's Choice and Medik8 compare?

Paula's Choice was founded in 1995 in the United States and has been owned by Unilever since 2021. Medik8 was founded in 2009 in the United Kingdom and is owned by L'Oréal Groupe.

Which brand performs better for texture and pores based on review themes?

Paula's Choice performs better for texture and pores based on review themes.

Paula's Choice or Medik8 for oily skin?

Both Paula's Choice and Medik8 achieve a Superior routine fit for oily skin. Paula's Choice features fragrance-free formulas with key ingredients like salicylic acid and niacinamide.

Paula's Choice or Medik8: which moisturizer is better?

Medik8 offers superior routine fit for dry skin compared to Paula's Choice, while both brands feature options with high fit for this skin type. Paula's Choice products on this page list no fragrance, whereas one Medik8 moisturizer includes fragrance.

Paula's Choice or Medik8 for sensitive skin?

For sensitive skin, Paula's Choice is rated as a Superior fit, while Medik8 is also rated as a Superior fit on this page. Reviewers frequently note that Medik8 offers gentle and non-irritating formulas.

Paula's Choice or Medik8 for acne-prone skin?

For acne-prone skin, Lovi finds that both Paula's Choice and Medik8 achieve a Superior routine fit. Paula's Choice features fragrance-free formulations with key ingredients like salicylic acid and green tea that help manage blemishes, while Medik8 provides gentle alternatives that are unlikely to irritate.

The Journal of Investigative Dermatology, 2013Carcinogenesis, 2001

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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