🇨🇦Canada

Avène vs The INKEY List

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

Avène and The INKEY List are distinct skincare lines centered on glycerin, an ingredient that improves skin hydration and restores barrier function. The French brand offers gentle moisturizers, protective sunscreens, targeted serums, and soothing cleansers suited best for oily acne-prone skin and combination skin. Conversely, the British brand provides moisturizers, serums, toners, eye products, and more that fit combination skin and sensitive skin best. While both rely on the same core moisturizing ingredient, they differ through their brand origins, specific formulations, and ideal skin types.

Avène is a French skincare brand founded in 1990 and owned by Fondation Pierre Fabre.

pierre-fabre.comavene.co.ukaveneusa.com

The INKEY List is a British skincare brand founded in 2018 and owned by Brand Evangelists for Beauty Limited.

cosmeticsbusiness.comprnewswire.comtheinkeylist.comtracxn.com

This page compares some of the most popular Avène and The INKEY List products; for every product of both brands, with a fit score for your own skin, use the Lovi app.

Popular Avène vs The INKEY List products

People Say

AvèneThe INKEY List
  • Gentleness and Soothing Mostly MentionedMostly Mentioned
    • “Calmed my angry red skin overnight — Avène Cicalfate+ Restorative Protective Cream”
    • “leaves face clean but not dry — Avène Cleanance”
    • “Nothing has ever worked to soothe or heal my skin like these before. — Avène Tolerance Control Soothing Skin Recovery Balm”
    • “Safe and gentle especially for my dry, sensitive skin — The INKEY List Oat Cleansing Balm”
  • Texture and Absorption Mostly MentionedMostly Mentioned
    • “Saves my skin in winter — Avène Cold Cream”
    • “Thick but absorbs well eventually — Avène Cicalfate+ Restorative Protective Cream”
    • “Gel consistency — The INKEY List Tranexamic Acid Serum”
    • “Great for sensitive skin — The INKEY List PHA Toner”
  • Hydration and Moisture Often MentionedOften Mentioned
    • “Restores moisture barrier — Avène Cold Cream”
    • “Leaves my skin feeling soft and hydrated. — Avène Milk Cleanser”
    • “Super hydrating — The INKEY List Polyglutamic Acid Serum”
    • “intense nourishment — The INKEY List Collagen Peptide Serum”
  • Value and Affordability Rarely NotedMostly Mentioned
    • “Good for the price — The INKEY List Salicylic Acid Cleanser”
    • “One of the best balms for quality and also price — The INKEY List Oat Cleansing Balm”
    • “unbeatable value — The INKEY List Hyaluronic Acid Serum”
    • “Bottle lasts for months — Avène Cleanance Cleansing Gel”
  • Anti-Aging and Skin Repair Often MentionedSometimes Noted
    • “skin instantly felt firmer — Avène Hyaluron Activ B3 Concentrated Plumping Serum”
    • “Healed my over-exfoliated skin in days — Avène Cicalfate+ Restorative Protective Cream”
    • “skin looks fresh and plump — The INKEY List Collagen Peptide Serum”
    • “bags are gone — The INKEY List Caffeine Eye Cream”
  • Acne and Oil Control Sometimes NotedOften Mentioned
    • “Free of active acne — The INKEY List Salicylic Acid Cleanser”
    • “Skin instantly looks less oily — The INKEY List Salicylic Acid Cleanser”
    • “My T-zone was excessively oily... observed a subtle reduction in sebum. — The INKEY List Niacinamide Serum”
    • “Keeps me matte for hours — Avène Cleanance Cleansing Gel”
  • Residue, Finish, and Texture Complaints Often MentionedOften Mentioned
    • “leaves a white layer — Avène Hydrance+”
    • “Leaves a greasy film — Avène Cold Cream”
    • “very runny serum — The INKEY List Collagen Peptide Serum”
    • “Feels tacky on skin — The INKEY List PHA Toner”
  • Packaging and Quality Control Issues Sometimes NotedOften Mentioned
    • “Tube squirted water everywhere — Avène Cicalfate+ Restorative Protective Cream”
    • “Tube cracked on the side — Avène Cicalfate+ Restorative Protective Cream”
    • “Cap leaks in bag — Avène Cleanance Cleansing Gel”
    • “Tube leaks liquified oil when opened — The INKEY List Oat Cleansing Balm”
  • Strong Fragrance or Unpleasant Scent Sometimes NotedSometimes Noted
    • “The fragrance is very present. — Avène Milk Cleanser”
    • “smell is too strong — Avène Cleanance”
    • “Smells like BBQ/meat — The INKEY List Tranexamic Acid Serum”
    • “Smells like chemicals — The INKEY List Polyglutamic Acid Serum”

Avène vs The INKEY List routines for dry skin

Buy The INKEY List routine · CA$118.83 · 82% fitBuy Avène routine · CA$265.85 · 76% fitSee multi-brand routine · 99% fit

Avène vs The INKEY List routines for oily skin

Buy Avène routine · CA$307.37 · 86% fitBuy The INKEY List routine · CA$258.98 · 86% fitSee multi-brand routine · 96% fit

Avène vs The INKEY List routines for combination skin

Buy The INKEY List routine · CA$206.30 · 90% fitBuy Avène routine · CA$393.55 · 88% fitSee multi-brand routine · 96% fit

Questions and answers

Avène or The INKEY List: which is better?

The INKEY List is better for value and affordability, while Avène is better for gentleness and soothing, though both brands offer high levels of routine fit for many skin types.

What is the difference between Avène and The INKEY List?

The INKEY List is a better fit for sensitive and combination skin on Lovi, whereas Avène is better for gentleness and soothing. The INKEY List also offers better value and affordability, and it wins on acne and oil control among the products on this page.

Avène or The INKEY List for dry skin?

For dry skin, both Avène and The INKEY List achieve a High routine fit level on this page. Lovi rates Avène's routine fit as High for dry skin, and Lovi rates The INKEY List's routine fit as High for dry skin as well.

Avène or The INKEY List: which cleanser is better?

The INKEY List does better for acne and oil control, while Avène does better for gentleness and soothing.

Which is more affordable, Avène or The INKEY List?

The INKEY List is more affordable, as value and affordability is an area where this brand does better than Avène.

Which brand has more products with added fragrance, Avène or The INKEY List?

Avène has more products with added fragrance, as 7 of its 15 products on this page list added fragrance. In contrast, every product on The INKEY List page lists no fragrance in its ingredients.

Avène or The INKEY List: which brand is better for combination skin?

The INKEY List is a superior fit for combination skin compared to Avène, which has a high fit. The INKEY List features 16 products on this page that all list no fragrance in their ingredients.

Avène or The INKEY List for oily skin?

Both Avène and The INKEY List fit oily skin well, with Lovi ranking their routines at a High fit level. The INKEY List does better for acne and oil control, while Avène is better for gentleness and soothing.

Avène or The INKEY List: which moisturizer is better?

Both Avène and The INKEY List offer moisturizers with a High fit level for dry skin. The INKEY List also provides options such as the Polyglutamic Acid Serum and Oat Cleansing Balm which achieve a Superior fit for dry skin.

Avène or The INKEY List for sensitive skin?

The INKEY List is a better fit for sensitive skin, offering a Superior routine fit compared to Avène's High fit on this page.

Avène or The INKEY List for acne-prone skin?

Both Avène and The INKEY List fit acne-prone skin with a High routine level among the products on this page. Reviewers report that The INKEY List does better for acne and oil control, while Avène does better for gentleness and soothing.

Avène or The INKEY List for dry sensitive skin?

The INKEY List is a better fit for dry sensitive skin, offering a High routine fit compared to Avène's Average fit on this page.

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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