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Paula's Choice vs Clarins

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

Paula's Choice and Clarins are distinct skincare brands offering diverse solutions for daily routines. Paula's Choice is an American line founded in 1995 and owned by Unilever since 2021, featuring serums, cleansers, moisturizers, toners, and more, built around hyaluronic acid, glycerin, and vitamin c that fit combination skin and oily skin best. Conversely, Clarins is a French skincare brand founded in 1954 and owned by Famille C, loved for its luxurious moisturizers, potent serums, soothing eye products, and gentle toners enriched with nourishing shea and hydrating squalane that suit sensitive skin and dry sensitive skin best. While both brands address specific concerns with targeted treatments, they differ through their foundational ingredients and regional heritage.

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

unilever.comtracxn.com

Clarins is a French skincare brand founded in 1954 and owned by Famille C (Groupe Clarins).

groupeclarins.comen.wikipedia.orghappi.com

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

Popular Paula's Choice vs Clarins products

People Say

Paula's ChoiceClarins
  • Lightweight and fast-absorbing formula Mostly MentionedOften Mentioned
    • “Absorbs quickly and leaves no greasy residue behind. — Paula's Choice Clear Oil-Free Moisturizer”
    • “absorbs instantly — Paula's Choice C15 Super Booster”
    • “watery consistency — Paula's Choice 10% Niacinamide Booster”
    • “absorbs immediately — Clarins Double Serum Eye”
  • Glow and radiance Often MentionedOften Mentioned
    • “visible glow — Paula's Choice C15 Super Booster”
    • “acne scars faded — Paula's Choice 10% Azelaic Acid Booster”
    • “skin drinks it up — Clarins Double Serum”
    • “skin looks brighter immediately — Clarins Cryo-Flash Cream-Mask”
  • Texture smoothing and refinement 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”
    • “neck feels smoother — Clarins Extra-Firming Neck & Décolleté Cream”
  • Deep hydration and softness Not notedMostly Mentioned
    • “keeps skin moist — Clarins Multi-Active Jour”
    • “woke up with baby soft skin — Clarins Multi-Active Nuit”
    • “no more dry patches — Clarins Super Restorative Night Cream”
  • Anti-aging and firming results Sometimes NotedOften Mentioned
    • “visibly tighter, lifted skin — Clarins Super Restorative Night Cream”
    • “plumped my fine lines — Clarins Double Serum”
    • “softened crow's feet — Clarins Double Serum Eye”
    • “skin looks plumper — Paula's Choice Pro-Collagen Multi-Peptide Booster”
  • Pore cleansing and clarity Often MentionedNot noted
    • “cleared my bumps — Paula's Choice Skin Perfecting 2% BHA Liquid Exfoliant”
    • “Helped clear my cystic acne — Paula's Choice CLEAR Pore Normalizing Cleanser”
    • “pores look smaller — Paula's Choice 10% Niacinamide Booster”
  • High price and small size Mostly MentionedMostly Mentioned
    • “surprisingly small bottle — Paula's Choice Skin-Smoothing Retinol Body Treatment”
    • “tiny tube — Paula's Choice 10% Azelaic Acid Booster”
    • “way too expensive — Clarins Double Serum”
    • “too expensive for results — Clarins Total Eye Lift”
  • Unpleasant smell or scent issues Often MentionedOften Mentioned
    • “smells like grain — Paula's Choice 10% Azelaic Acid Booster”
    • “smells like hot dog water — Paula's Choice C15 Super Booster”
    • “weird glue-like smell — Paula's Choice Weightless Body Treatment 2% BHA”
    • “smells like perfume — Clarins Multi-Active Jour”
  • Packaging and pump issues Sometimes NotedOften Mentioned
    • “dropper leaks — Paula's Choice C15 Super Booster”
    • “dropper can be unpredictable — Paula's Choice Pro-Collagen Multi-Peptide Booster”
    • “Cap broke immediately — Paula's Choice CLEAR Pore Normalizing Cleanser”
    • “dispenses too much product — Clarins Total Eye Lift”
  • Dryness, flaking, and irritation Sometimes NotedSometimes Noted
    • “not moisturizing enough — Clarins Total Eye Lift”
    • “caused redness — Clarins Double Serum Eye”
    • “made my face burn — Clarins Cryo-Flash Cream-Mask”
    • “peeling and flaking — Paula's Choice 1% Retinol Treatment”

Paula's Choice vs Clarins routines for dry skin

Buy Paula's Choice routine · CA$301.97 · 84% fitBuy Clarins routine · CA$332.00 · 77% fitSee multi-brand routine · 99% fit

Paula's Choice vs Clarins routines for oily skin

Buy Paula's Choice routine · CA$357.38 · 87% fitBuy Clarins routine · CA$468.45 · 71% fitSee multi-brand routine · 96% fit

Paula's Choice vs Clarins routines for combination skin

Buy Paula's Choice routine · CA$383.47 · 88% fitBuy Clarins routine · CA$408.46 · 74% fitSee multi-brand routine · 96% fit

Questions and answers

Paula's Choice or Clarins: which is better?

Paula's Choice is better for oily, combination, and acne-prone skin, whereas Clarins excels in deep hydration and anti-aging results for dry and mature skin. Both brands offer high routine fit levels for dry, sensitive, mature, and dark spot-prone skin.

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

Paula's Choice excels in pore cleansing, texture smoothing, and lightweight formulas, while Clarins is preferred for deep hydration, softness, and anti-aging results. Lovi rates Paula's Choice as having High routine fit for oily, combination, and acne-prone skin, whereas Clarins achieves High routine fit specifically for sensitive, dry sensitive, and mature skin. The products on this page by Paula's Choice list no fragrance in their ingredients, while almost all Clarins products include fragrance.

Paula's Choice or Clarins for dry skin?

Both Paula's Choice and Clarins achieve a High routine fit level for dry skin. Paula's Choice formulates every product on this page without fragrance, while nearly all Clarins products contain added fragrance.

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

Paula's Choice is better for oil and acne control, while Clarins is better for dry and sensitive skin. For pore cleansing and clarity, Paula's Choice does better.

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

Reviewers note a high price point for both Paula's Choice and Clarins, with negative mentions regarding cost and size being equal for the products on this page.

Between Paula's Choice and Clarins, which brand has better fragrance-free options?

Paula's Choice offers better fragrance-free options because every product on its page lists no fragrance in its ingredients, whereas almost all Clarins products contain fragrance. Retinol helps stimulate collagen accumulation in naturally aged human skin.

The Journal of Investigative Dermatology, 2000

Paula's Choice or Clarins: which brand performs better for anti-aging and firming results?

Clarins does better for anti-aging and firming results. Retinol helps reduce signs of aging and stimulates collagen accumulation in naturally aged human skin.

The Journal of Investigative Dermatology, 2000

Which brand is better suited for mature skin routines, Paula's Choice or Clarins?

Both Paula's Choice and Clarins achieve a high routine fit for mature skin. Paula's Choice relies on fragrance-free formulations with active ingredients like retinol and peptides, whereas Clarins offers luxurious textures featuring botanical extracts and heavy moisturization.

The Journal of Investigative Dermatology, 2000

Paula's Choice or Clarins for oily skin?

Paula's Choice is a better option for oily skin, as Lovi rates its routine fit as High compared to an Average fit for Clarins. Paula's Choice also performs better for pore cleansing and clarity.

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

Paula's Choice and Clarins both offer effective moisturizers, with Paula's Choice providing a High routine fit for oily and combination skin, while Clarins is well-suited for dry and sensitive skin. Paula's Choice products on this page list no fragrance, whereas nearly all Clarins moisturizers contain fragrance. Clarins stands out for deep hydration and anti-aging results, while Paula's Choice excels in lightweight formulas and pore clarity.

Paula's Choice or Clarins for sensitive skin?

Both Paula's Choice and Clarins offer a High routine fit for sensitive skin. Paula's Choice products on this page list no fragrance in their ingredients, while most Clarins products on this page contain fragrance.

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

Paula's Choice is a better fit for acne-prone skin, offering a High routine fit compared to Clarins's Average level. Paula's Choice provides superior pore cleansing and clarity for acne-prone skin, whereas Clarins is more prone to dryness, flaking, and irritation.

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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