🇺🇸United States

Paula's Choice vs BYOMA

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

Paula's Choice and BYOMA are distinct skincare brands offering a range of serums, cleansers, moisturizers, and toners. The American brand is known for utilizing hyaluronic acid, glycerin, and vitamin c to best suit oily and combination skin, while the British brand is celebrated for anchoring its formulations in tri-ceramide and squalane to nurture dry and dry sensitive skin. Through these ingredients, both brands support barrier hydration, yet they differ in their specific targeted treatments and foundational profiles.

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

unilever.comtracxn.com

BYOMA is a British skincare brand founded in 2022 and owned by Bansk Group since 2025.

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

Popular Paula's Choice vs BYOMA products

People Say

Paula's ChoiceBYOMA
  • Lightweight and fast-absorbing 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 instantly — BYOMA Moisturizing Gel-Cream”
    • “sinks in quickly — BYOMA Brightening Serum”
  • Improves skin texture 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”
    • “Keeps my face soft and not oily — BYOMA Brightening Toner”
  • Non-irritating and gentle Often MentionedMostly Mentioned
    • “doesn't strip skin — BYOMA Creamy Jelly Cleanser”
    • “no irritation at all — BYOMA Sensitive Retinol Oil”
    • “great for sensitive skin — BYOMA Balancing Face Mist”
    • “Finally a vitamin C product I can use — Paula's Choice 25% Vitamin C + Glutathione Clinical Serum”
  • Reduces redness and soothes Sometimes NotedOften Mentioned
    • “healed my skin barrier — BYOMA Hydrating Milky Toner”
    • “skin feels soft — BYOMA Brightening Serum”
    • “calming and soothing ingredients — BYOMA Balancing Face Mist”
    • “calmed redness immediately — Paula's Choice 10% Azelaic Acid Booster”
  • Deep hydration Not notedOften Mentioned
    • “skin feels so hydrated — BYOMA Hydrating Milky Toner”
    • “feels refreshing on the skin — BYOMA Balancing Face Mist”
    • “Skin feels soft — BYOMA Moisturizing Rich Cream”
  • Unclogs pores and clears acne Often MentionedRarely 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”
    • “heals blemishes faster — Paula's Choice Skin Perfecting 2% BHA Liquid Exfoliant”
    • “breakouts are nearly non existent — BYOMA Clarifying Serum”
  • Packaging issues Sometimes NotedMostly 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”
    • “Opening is huge — BYOMA Brightening Toner”
  • High price and value issues Mostly MentionedNot noted
    • “tiny tube — Paula's Choice 10% Azelaic Acid Booster”
  • Unpleasant smell or scent Often MentionedSometimes Noted
    • “has a weird chemically smell — BYOMA Milky Moisture Cleanser”
    • “smell is annoying — BYOMA Milky Oil Cleanser”
    • “smells like plastic — BYOMA Creamy Jelly Cleanser”
    • “smells like grain — Paula's Choice 10% Azelaic Acid Booster”

Paula's Choice vs BYOMA routines for dry skin

Buy BYOMA routine · $106.04 · 94% fitBuy Paula's Choice routine · $198.70 · 84% fitSee multi-brand routine · 99% fit

Paula's Choice vs BYOMA routines for oily skin

Buy Paula's Choice routine · $384.42 · 89% fitBuy BYOMA routine · $247.71 · 87% fitSee multi-brand routine · 98% fit

Paula's Choice vs BYOMA routines for combination skin

Buy Paula's Choice routine · $353.90 · 89% fitBuy BYOMA routine · $226.71 · 87% fitSee multi-brand routine · 97% fit

Questions and answers

Paula's Choice or BYOMA: which is better?

Both brands are great, but Paula's Choice is better suited for oily, combination, and acne-prone skin, while BYOMA is a Superior fit for dry, sensitive, and dry sensitive skin. Reviewers note that Paula's Choice does better at improving skin texture and clearing acne, whereas BYOMA is better at providing deep hydration and reducing redness.

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

Paula's Choice excels at unclogging pores, clearing acne, and improving skin texture, whereas BYOMA is better known for deep hydration, soothing, and gentle care. Reviewers report that BYOMA offers superior routine fits for dry and sensitive skin types.

Paula's Choice or BYOMA for dry skin?

For dry skin, BYOMA achieves a Superior routine fit, whereas Paula's Choice achieves a High routine fit. Reviewers note that BYOMA does better for deep hydration, and its ceramide-dominant barrier repair lipids help strengthen the skin barrier.

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

When it comes to cleansers, BYOMA helps provide non-stripping and deeply hydrating options, while Paula's Choice focuses more on unclogging pores and clearing acne. Lovi finds that both brands offer cleansers with a Superior fit for specific skin types, such as oily skin for Paula's Choice and dry skin for BYOMA.

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

Reviewers note that BYOMA has high price and value issues, whereas Paula's Choice reviewers mention high price as well, but BYOMA is generally positioned as the more budget-friendly brand.

Paula's Choice or BYOMA: which brand is better for improving skin texture?

Paula's Choice does better for improving skin texture. The products on this page help smooth texture and target signs of aging.

The Journal of Investigative Dermatology, 2000

Which brand performs better for reducing redness and soothing the skin?

BYOMA does better for reducing redness and soothing the skin. Lovi rates the routine fit for sensitive skin as Superior for BYOMA and High for Paula's Choice.

Paula's Choice or BYOMA: which brand is better for unclogging pores and clearing acne?

Paula's Choice does better at unclogging pores and clearing acne. Lovi rates its routine fit for acne-prone skin as High.

Paula's Choice or BYOMA for oily skin?

Both Paula's Choice and BYOMA fit oily skin well, with Lovi fit levels of High for the products on this page. Paula's Choice does better at unclogging pores and clearing acne, while BYOMA is notable for strengthening the skin barrier and providing deep hydration.

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

When it comes to moisturizers, BYOMA helps strengthen the skin barrier and provides deep hydration with a superior fit for dry skin, while Paula's Choice is better suited for oily and acne-prone skin.

Paula's Choice or BYOMA for sensitive skin?

BYOMA is a better fit for sensitive skin, earning a Superior routine fit compared to Paula's Choice's High fit level.

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

Paula's Choice is a better fit for acne-prone skin, as the products on this page achieve a Superior Lovi fit level for this skin type across multiple items like cleansers and exfoliants. Reviewers also note that Paula's Choice does better at unclogging pores and clearing acne.

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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