🇺🇸United States

Paula's Choice vs Kiehl's

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

Paula's Choice and Kiehl's are American skincare brands offering serums, cleansers, moisturizers, toners, and more. Paula's Choice is known for hyaluronic acid, glycerin, and vitamin c, suiting oily and combination skin best with targeted treatments for acne-prone, dark spot, and mature skin. Kiehl's is beloved for incorporating glycerin and squalane, suiting mature skin and skin with dark spots best through distinct soothing and cleansing solutions. Both utilize glycerin to significantly increase skin hydration and restore barrier function, while differing in their founding years, corporate ownership, and primary ingredient philosophies.

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

unilever.comtracxn.com

Kiehl's is an American skincare brand founded in 1851 and owned by L'Oréal S.A. since 2000.

loreal.comen.wikipedia.org

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

Popular Paula's Choice vs Kiehl's products

People Say

Paula's ChoiceKiehl's
  • Fast Absorption and Lightweight Texture Mostly MentionedMostly Mentioned
    • “Provides an internal level of hydration without leaving any heavy finish. — Paula's Choice Skin Balancing Pore-Reducing Toner”
    • “Absorbs quickly and leaves no greasy residue behind. — Paula's Choice Clear Oil-Free Moisturizer”
    • “absorbs instantly — Paula's Choice C15 Super Booster”
    • “feels like nothing — Kiehl's Better Screen UV Serum”
  • Skin Texture Improvement 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”
    • “leaves skin feeling silky — Kiehl's Powerful-Strength Line-Reducing Concentrate”
  • Glow, Brightening, and Radiance Often MentionedOften Mentioned
    • “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”
    • “visible glow — Paula's Choice C15 Super Booster”
  • Deep and Intense Hydration Not notedMostly Mentioned
    • “Keeps skin moisturized for 24+ hours — Kiehl's Ultra Facial Cream”
    • “skin feels incredibly soft afterwards — Kiehl's Rare Earth Deep Pore Cleansing Masque”
    • “Feels like a drink of water — Kiehl's Hydro-Plumping Serum Concentrate”
  • Non-Irritating and Gentle Formula Often MentionedOften Mentioned
    • “Finally a vitamin C product I can use — Paula's Choice 25% Vitamin C + Glutathione Clinical Serum”
    • “no stinging — Paula's Choice C15 Super Booster”
    • “experienced zero irritation — Kiehl's Retinol Skin-Renewing Daily Micro-Dose Serum”
    • “fragrance-free — Kiehl's Ultra Facial Cream”
  • Acne and Blemish Clearing Often MentionedNot noted
    • “Helped clear my cystic acne — Paula's Choice CLEAR Pore Normalizing Cleanser”
    • “heals blemishes faster — Paula's Choice Skin Perfecting 2% BHA Liquid Exfoliant”
    • “controlled my back and chest acne — Paula's Choice Weightless Body Treatment 2% BHA”
  • High Price and Value Concerns Mostly MentionedMostly Mentioned
    • “surprisingly small bottle — Paula's Choice Skin-Smoothing Retinol Body Treatment”
    • “tiny tube — Paula's Choice 10% Azelaic Acid Booster”
    • “pricy daily staple — Kiehl's Ultra Facial Cream”
    • “Very expensive product — Kiehl's Clearly Corrective™ Dark Spot Solution”
  • Purging and Breakouts Sometimes NotedSometimes Noted
    • “skin purged — Paula's Choice Skin Perfecting 2% BHA Liquid Exfoliant”
    • “caused cystic acne — Paula's Choice 10% Niacinamide Booster”
    • “caused cystic acne — Kiehl's Midnight Recovery Concentrate”
    • “cystic acne for some — Kiehl's Ultra Facial Cream”
  • Unpleasant Scent or Smell Often MentionedRarely Noted
    • “smells clinical — Kiehl's Retinol Skin-Renewing Daily Micro-Dose Serum”
    • “faint lab smell — Kiehl's Better Screen UV Serum”
    • “smells like hot dog water — Kiehl's Powerful-Strength Line-Reducing Concentrate”
    • “smells like grain — Paula's Choice 10% Azelaic Acid Booster”
  • Irritation and Burning Rarely NotedSometimes Noted
    • “burnt skin off — Paula's Choice 1% Retinol Treatment”
    • “ruined my skin barrier — Paula's Choice Skin Perfecting 2% BHA Liquid Exfoliant”
    • “stung my face — Paula's Choice 10% Azelaic Acid Booster”
    • “burned my face immediately — Kiehl's Rare Earth Deep Pore Cleansing Masque”

Paula's Choice vs Kiehl's routines for dry skin

Buy Paula's Choice routine · $198.70 · 84% fitBuy Kiehl's routine · $382.00 · 82% fitSee multi-brand routine · 99% fit

Paula's Choice vs Kiehl's routines for oily skin

Buy Paula's Choice routine · $384.42 · 89% fitBuy Kiehl's routine · $343.42 · 80% fitSee multi-brand routine · 98% fit

Paula's Choice vs Kiehl's routines for combination skin

Buy Paula's Choice routine · $353.90 · 89% fitBuy Kiehl's routine · $339.90 · 83% fitSee multi-brand routine · 97% fit

Questions and answers

Paula's Choice or Kiehl's: which is better?

Paula's Choice outperforms Kiehl's for acne and blemish clearing, while Kiehl's is better for glow, brightening, and radiance based on the products on this page.

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

Paula's Choice and Kiehl's are both United States-founded skincare brands, but Paula's Choice is owned by Unilever while Kiehl's is owned by L'Oréal S.A. The products on this page show that Paula's Choice focuses best on oily, combination, and acne-prone skin, whereas Kiehl's focuses best on mature skin, skin with dark spots, and combination skin.

Paula's Choice or Kiehl's for dry skin?

Both Paula's Choice and Kiehl's offer a High routine fit for dry skin. Paula's Choice features fragrance-free formulas with key ingredients like hyaluronic acid and glycerin, while Kiehl's provides deeply hydrating options such as the Hydro-Plumping Serum Concentrate.

Drug Delivery, 2017Dermatologic Therapy, 2022

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

Both Paula's Choice and Kiehl's offer effective cleansers, with Paula's Choice standing out for acne and blemish clearing and Kiehl's being favored for gentle daily cleansing. The products on this page help remove impurities without stripping the skin barrier.

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

Both brands share high price concerns as a notable drawback for shoppers on this page. Reviewers mention a high price point for Kiehl's and a high price for Paula's Choice.

Paula's Choice or Kiehl's: which brand is better for reducing dark spots?

Both Paula's Choice and Kiehl's offer products on this page that are effective for skin with dark spots, with Paula's Choice fitting best for acne-prone skin and Kiehl's fitting best for mature skin and combination skin. Niacinamide helps reduce cutaneous pigmentation and suppresses melanosome transfer.

The British Journal of Dermatology, 2002Antioxidants, 2021

How do the founding years and parent companies of Paula's Choice and Kiehl's compare?

Paula's Choice was founded in the United States in 1995 and has been owned by Unilever since 2021, whereas Kiehl's was founded in the United States in 1851 and has been owned by L'Oréal S.A. since 2000.

Which brand performs better for skin texture improvement and glow?

Paula's Choice performs better for skin texture improvement, while Kiehl's performs better for glow, brightening, and radiance.

Paula's Choice or Kiehl's for oily skin?

Both Paula's Choice and Kiehl's offer a high routine fit for oily skin. Paula's Choice products on this page list no fragrance, whereas Kiehl's includes fragrance in some of its formulations.

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

Both Paula's Choice and Kiehl's offer moisturizers with a High fit level for dry skin, oily skin, combination skin, and mature skin on this page. Kiehl's is frequently noted for deep and intense hydration, while Paula's Choice is noted for fast absorption and lightweight texture.

Paula's Choice or Kiehl's for sensitive skin?

Both Paula's Choice and Kiehl's offer a High routine fit for sensitive skin on the products on this page. Paula's Choice is formulated entirely without added fragrance, whereas a small number of Kiehl's products do contain fragrance.

Paula's Choice or Kiehl's: which sunscreen is better?

Paula's Choice offers the Youth-Extending Daily Hydrating Fluid SPF 50, which fits dry, combination, and dry sensitive skin at a High level and acne-prone, oily, oily acne-prone, skin with dark spots, sensitive, and mature skin at an Average level. Kiehl's provides the Better Screen UV Serum, which fits skin with dark spots, combination, sensitive, acne-prone, and mature skin at a High level and oily, dry, oily acne-prone, and dry sensitive skin at an Average level.

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

Paula's Choice is a better fit for acne-prone skin, as the products on this page achieve a High routine fit compared to Kiehl's Average fit. The brand features specialized exfoliants like salicylic acid that help clear breakouts.

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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