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Paula's Choice vs Elemis

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

Paula's Choice and Elemis are established skincare brands that offer serums, cleansers, moisturizers, toners, and more. Paula's Choice suits combination skin and oily skin best with hyaluronic acid, glycerin, and vitamin c, whereas Elemis is celebrated for nourishing serums, rich moisturizers, gentle cleansers, refreshing toners, and more anchored by glycerin and softening shea that suit mature skin and dry skin best. Both brands differ in their formulations and targeted skin types, as glycerin significantly increases skin hydration and barrier function across both ranges, while shea butter reduces inflammation and relieves skin pruritus specifically for the British brand.

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

unilever.comtracxn.com

Elemis is a British skincare brand founded in 1989 and owned by L'Occitane Group since 2019.

elemis.comau.elemis.comen.wikipedia.org

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

Popular Paula's Choice vs Elemis products

People Say

Paula's ChoiceElemis
  • Improving Skin Texture and Smoothness Mostly MentionedOften Mentioned
    • “skin becomes very smooth — Paula's Choice 1% Retinol Treatment”
    • “bumps be gone — Paula's Choice Weightless Body Treatment 2% BHA”
    • “skin is insanely soft — Paula's Choice Weightless Body Treatment 2% BHA”
    • “baby soft — Elemis Dynamic Resurfacing Facial Pads”
  • Fast Absorption and Lightweight Texture 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”
    • “Absorbs almost immediately, and my skin feels well hydrated all day. — Elemis Pro-Collagen Marine Cream”
    • “weightless serum — Elemis Pro-Collagen Advanced Eye Treatment”
  • Instant and Deep Hydration Not notedMostly Mentioned
    • “The cream really hydrates and my face looks amazing. — Elemis Pro-Collagen Night Cream”
    • “Quenches thirsty skin... immediate improvement. — Elemis Pro-Collagen Marine Cream”
    • “skin feels baby soft — Elemis Pro-Collagen Cleansing Balm”
  • Glow, Radiance, and Brightening Often MentionedOften Mentioned
    • “visible glow — Paula's Choice C15 Super Booster”
    • “Discoloration almost gone — Paula's Choice 25% Vitamin C + Glutathione Clinical Serum”
    • “healthy glow — Elemis Dynamic Resurfacing Facial Pads”
    • “instantly fresh glow — Elemis Dynamic Resurfacing Facial Wash”
  • Pleasant Scent Rarely NotedOften Mentioned
    • “smells like a spa — Elemis Pro-Collagen Cleansing Balm”
    • “smells like a holiday — Elemis Papaya Enzyme Peel”
    • “smells like a tropical cocktail — Elemis Superfood Midnight Facial”
    • “Doesn't smell at all — Paula's Choice 25% Vitamin C + Glutathione Clinical Serum”
  • Anti-Aging and Firming Sometimes NotedSometimes Noted
    • “skin looks plumper — Paula's Choice Pro-Collagen Multi-Peptide Booster”
    • “softens lines and wrinkles — Paula's Choice 1% Retinol Treatment”
    • “improved neck texture — Paula's Choice Skin-Smoothing Retinol Body Treatment”
    • “My neck doesn't sag... plumps my skin to look more youthful. — Elemis Pro-Collagen Night Cream”
  • High Price and Value Issues Mostly MentionedMostly Mentioned
    • “tiny tube — Paula's Choice 10% Azelaic Acid Booster”
    • “Sooooo expensive — Paula's Choice 25% Vitamin C + Glutathione Clinical Serum”
    • “Complete waste of money for me. — Elemis Pro-Collagen Marine Cream”
    • “very expensive — Elemis Pro-Collagen Cleansing Balm”
  • Packaging Issues and Small Size Often MentionedRarely Noted
    • “jar looks half empty — Elemis Superfood Midnight Facial”
    • “tube feels half empty — Elemis Papaya Enzyme Peel”
    • “pump broke quickly — Elemis Dynamic Resurfacing Facial Wash”
    • “surprisingly small bottle — Paula's Choice Skin-Smoothing Retinol Body Treatment”
  • Unpleasant Smell or Scent Often MentionedRarely Noted
    • “smell is overpowering — Elemis Dynamic Resurfacing Facial Wash”
    • “smells like grain — Paula's Choice 10% Azelaic Acid Booster”

Paula's Choice vs Elemis routines for dry skin

Buy Elemis routine · CA$278.47 · 88% fitBuy Paula's Choice routine · CA$301.97 · 84% fitSee multi-brand routine · 99% fit

Paula's Choice vs Elemis routines for oily skin

Buy Paula's Choice routine · CA$357.38 · 87% fitBuy Elemis routine · CA$411.49 · 74% fitSee multi-brand routine · 96% fit

Paula's Choice vs Elemis routines for combination skin

Buy Paula's Choice routine · CA$383.47 · 88% fitBuy Elemis routine · CA$369.58 · 77% fitSee multi-brand routine · 96% fit

Questions and answers

Paula's Choice or Elemis: which is better?

Paula's Choice is better for oily and mature skin with its anti-aging serums and texture improvements, while Elemis is better for deep hydration and a radiant glow with its luxurious moisturizers. Both brands offer high routine fit levels for dry, combination, sensitive, acne-prone, dark spot, and dry sensitive skin.

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

Paula's Choice focuses on combination, oily, and acne-prone skin with fragrance-free products containing key ingredients like Niacinamide and Salicylic acid, while Elemis centers on mature and dry skin with a focus on hydrating moisturizers and luxurious textures. Reviewers note that Paula's Choice does better for anti-aging and improving skin texture, whereas Elemis excels in providing instant hydration and a pleasant scent. Both brands share similar price points and performance levels across several skin types, but Elemis includes fragrance in the majority of its products on this page.

The British Journal of Dermatology, 2002Antioxidants, 2021

Paula's Choice or Elemis for dry skin?

Both Paula's Choice and Elemis have a High routine fit for dry skin. Elemis helps provide instant and deep hydration with its products on this page, while Paula's Choice offers fragrance-free options.

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

Paula's Choice is better for oilier types, as the products on this page offer a Superior fit for oily and acne-prone skin, whereas Elemis cleansers generally fit these skin types at an Average level. Elemis also features added fragrance in most formulas, while every Paula's Choice cleanser on this page lists no fragrance.

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

Both brands share the same level for high price and value issues, so neither is more affordable than the other based on the products on this page.

Paula's Choice or Elemis: which is better for anti-aging and firming?

Paula's Choice does better than Elemis for anti-aging and firming, as the products on this page help improve skin texture and firmness with key ingredients like retinol. Topical retinol stimulates collagen accumulation and helps reduce signs of aging in human skin.

The Journal of Investigative Dermatology, 2000

Paula's Choice or Elemis: which brand has more fragrance-free products?

Paula's Choice has more fragrance-free options, as every single product on its page lists no fragrance. In contrast, only 4 of the 22 products on the Elemis page are fragrance-free.

Paula's Choice or Elemis: which is better for mature skin?

Both brands are great for mature skin, with Elemis offering a Superior routine fit and Paula's Choice offering a High routine fit on this page. Elemis features hydrating moisturizers and a radiant glow, while Paula's Choice provides anti-aging serums and helps improve skin texture.

Paula's Choice or Elemis for oily skin?

Paula's Choice is a better fit for oily skin, as Lovi rates its routine as High while Elemis is Average. The products on this page for Paula's Choice are fragrance-free, whereas most Elemis products contain fragrance.

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

Paula's Choice offers better options for oily skin, while Elemis is rated Superior for mature skin. Both brands provide high levels of routine fit for dry skin, dry sensitive skin, and other key skin types.

Paula's Choice or Elemis for sensitive skin?

Both brands are a High fit for sensitive skin, but Paula's Choice offers fragrance-free products across the entire page while Elemis may carry a risk of strong fragrance and skin irritation.

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

Both Paula's Choice and Elemis offer products on this page that have a High fit for acne-prone skin. Paula's Choice is formulated with key ingredients like salicylic acid and niacinamide, which helps manage breakouts, while Elemis focuses on cleansers and peels to gently resurface the skin.

The British Journal of Dermatology, 2002The Journal of Investigative Dermatology, 2013

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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