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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 beloved for dependable moisturizers, serums, eye products, and cleansers that incorporate nourishing glycerin. Kiehl's incorporates squalane, suiting mature skin and skin with dark spots best, whereas Estée Lauder incorporates hyaluronic acid, suiting acne-prone skin and mature skin best. Both brands differ through their distinct standout solutions, such as the Calendula Herbal-Extract Toner and the Micro Essence Treatment Lotion.

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 · $382.00 · 82% fitBuy Estée Lauder routine · $271.00 · 74% fitSee multi-brand routine · 99% fit

Kiehl's vs Estée Lauder routines for oily skin

Buy Kiehl's routine · $343.42 · 80% fitBuy Estée Lauder routine · $399.42 · 75% fitSee multi-brand routine · 98% fit

Kiehl's vs Estée Lauder routines for combination skin

Buy Kiehl's routine · $339.90 · 83% fitBuy Estée Lauder routine · $503.90 · 77% fitSee multi-brand routine · 97% fit

Questions and answers

Kiehl's or Estée Lauder: which is better?

Both Kiehl's and Estée Lauder have strong options, but Kiehl's is better for dry skin while Estée Lauder fits acne-prone skin better. Reviewers note that Kiehl's provides lighter, non-greasy textures and better brightening results, whereas Estée Lauder excels in deep hydration across the products on this page.

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

Both brands offer solid options, but Kiehl's generally fits dry skin better while Estée Lauder stands out more for acne-prone skin. For the products on this page, Kiehl's tends to do better with brightening dark spots and lightweight textures, whereas Estée Lauder leans towards deep hydration.

Kiehl's or Estée Lauder for dry skin?

Kiehl's is better for dry skin because Lovi rates its routine fit as High, whereas Estée Lauder's routine fit is Average.

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

Both Kiehl's and Estée Lauder offer effective cleansers, but Kiehl's stands out on this page with top-rated options like the Calendula Deep Cleansing Foaming Face Wash achieving a Superior Lovi fit level for oily and oily acne-prone skin types. Reviewers often mention that Estée Lauder provides gentle and non-drying cleansers as well, such as the Advanced Night Cleansing Gelée which rates high for acne-prone skin.

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

Both Kiehl's and Estée Lauder share an equal level of high price points among the products on this page.

Kiehl's or Estée Lauder for fading dark spots?

Kiehl's is better for fading dark spots, as the products on this page achieve a High fit level for this concern compared to Estée Lauder's Average fit level.

Kiehl's or Estée Lauder: which brand has more fragrance-free products?

Kiehl's has more fragrance-free products on the products on this page, with 26 out of 28 options listing no fragrance, compared to 12 out of 14 for Estée Lauder.

Kiehl's or Estée Lauder for oily skin?

Both Kiehl's and Estée Lauder offer an equal high routine fit for oily skin. The products on this page for both brands provide lightweight hydration and oil control, making them well-suited for this skin type.

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

Kiehl's offers better moisturizer options for lightweight texture and hydration, achieving a High routine fit for dry skin compared to Estée Lauder's Average rating. Lovi finds that Kiehl's is particularly effective for targeted needs on this page, while Estée Lauder may appeal more to users seeking rich luxury formulations.

Kiehl's or Estée Lauder for sensitive skin?

Both Kiehl's and Estée Lauder show High routine fit for sensitive skin on the products on this page. Reviewers note that both brands offer gentle and non-drying formulas.

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

Both Kiehl's and Estée Lauder offer sunscreens that perform well, but Estée Lauder's DayWear Moisturizer achieves a Superior Lovi fit level for dry, sensitive, mature, and general skin types on this page.

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

For acne-prone skin, Estée Lauder achieves a High routine fit on the products on this page, whereas Kiehl's is rated Average.

Kiehl's or Estée Lauder for mature skin?

Both Kiehl's and Estée Lauder show a High routine fit for mature skin. Reviewers note that the products on this page offer deep hydration for both brands, while Kiehl's is additionally recognized for 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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