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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 known for nourishing moisturizers, targeted serums, soothing toners, gentle eye products, and cleansers. The first brand relies on glycerin and squalane, whereas the second utilizes hyaluronic acid and glycerin. Both brands suit mature and sensitive skin best, while differing in their foundational ingredients and standout formulations for specific concerns.

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 · CA$413.99 · 80% fitBuy Estée Lauder routine · CA$386.99 · 76% fitSee multi-brand routine · 99% fit

Kiehl's vs Estée Lauder routines for oily skin

Buy Kiehl's routine · CA$370.40 · 80% fitBuy Estée Lauder routine · CA$510.40 · 75% fitSee multi-brand routine · 96% fit

Kiehl's vs Estée Lauder routines for combination skin

Buy Kiehl's routine · CA$373.49 · 79% fitBuy Estée Lauder routine · CA$424.49 · 75% fitSee multi-brand routine · 96% fit

Questions and answers

Kiehl's or Estée Lauder: which is better?

Kiehl's and Estée Lauder both offer High routine fit for most skin types, but Kiehl's is better for brightening dark spots and lightweight textures, while Estée Lauder performs better for acne-prone skin and deep hydration.

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

Kiehl's and Estée Lauder both offer high routine fit across most skin types on this page, but Kiehl's performs better for brightening dark spots and lightweight textures, whereas Estée Lauder excels in deep hydration and has a better routine fit for acne-prone skin.

Kiehl's or Estée Lauder for dry skin?

Both Kiehl's and Estée Lauder achieve a High Lovi routine fit level for dry skin. Reviewers note that Kiehl's provides lightweight, non-greasy moisturizers and deep hydration, while Estée Lauder offers deep hydration and gentle cleansers.

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 has more options specifically rated Superior for oily and acne-prone skin. Estée Lauder's cleansers are noted by reviewers for being gentle and non-drying, while Kiehl's provides a wider variety of specialized washes.

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

Both Kiehl's and Estée Lauder are noted on this page for having a high price point, meaning neither brand stands out as more affordable than the other.

Kiehl's or Estée Lauder: which brand has better fragrance-free options?

Kiehl's provides more fragrance-free options, as 26 of its 28 products on this page list no fragrance compared to 12 of 14 for Estée Lauder.

Kiehl's or Estée Lauder for oily skin?

Both Kiehl's and Estée Lauder achieve a High routine fit for oily skin on the products on this page. Reviewers note that Kiehl's provides a lighter and less greasy texture.

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

Kiehl's offers a better lightweight and non-greasy moisturizer texture, whereas Estée Lauder does better with deep hydration and moisturization. Lovi rates the routine fit for dry skin as High for both brands.

Kiehl's or Estée Lauder for sensitive skin?

Both Kiehl's and Estée Lauder achieve a High routine fit for sensitive skin on the products on this page. Reviewers note that both brands provide gentle and non-drying formulas, though Kiehl's lists fragrance in slightly more products.

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

For sunscreens on this page, Kiehl's Better Screen UV Serum has a High fit level for skin with dark spots, combination, sensitive, and acne-prone skin, while Estée Lauder DayWear Moisturizer has a Superior fit level for dry sensitive, dry, sensitive, and mature skin. Both brands offer high-performing sun protection, but Estée Lauder may be better suited for dry or sensitive skin types.

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

For acne-prone skin, Lovi rates Estée Lauder High and Kiehl's Average. Estée Lauder tends to do better on this page for acne-prone skin.

Kiehl's or Estée Lauder for mature skin?

Both Kiehl's and Estée Lauder offer an equal High routine fit for mature skin. The products on this page help improve hydration and texture.

Dermatologic Therapy, 2022

Kiehl's or Estée Lauder for skin with dark spots?

Kiehl's does better than Estée Lauder for skin with dark spots. Lovi rates Kiehl's routine as High for this skin type, and reviewers note that Kiehl's excels at brightening and fading dark spots.

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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