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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 their thoughtful arrays of moisturizers, serums, eye products, and more. Kiehl's incorporates nourishing glycerin and squalane, suiting skin with dark spots and combination skin best, while Estée Lauder relies on hydrating hyaluronic acid and glycerin to suit mature skin and sensitive skin best. The first brand offers targeted formulations addressing specific needs like acne, dark spots, and aging, whereas the second brand provides gentle, nourishing compositions featuring standout options for similar concerns.

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

See multi-brand routine · 99% fit

Kiehl's vs Estée Lauder routines for oily skin

See multi-brand routine · 96% fit

Kiehl's vs Estée Lauder routines for combination skin

See multi-brand routine · 96% fit

Questions and answers

Kiehl's or Estée Lauder: which is better?

Both brands offer strong options, but Kiehl's achieves a High routine fit for dry skin and skin with dark spots, whereas Estée Lauder achieves a High routine fit for acne-prone skin.

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

Kiehl's offers a High fit for dry skin, whereas Estée Lauder provides an Average fit for dry skin. For acne-prone skin, Lovi rates Kiehl's as Average and Estée Lauder as High.

Kiehl's or Estée Lauder for dry skin?

For dry skin, Lovi finds that Kiehl's has a High routine fit while Estée Lauder has an Average routine fit. Reviewers mention that Kiehl's delivers lightweight, non-greasy moisturizers and deep hydration.

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

Both Kiehl's and Estée Lauder offer highly effective cleansers on this page, but Kiehl's achieves a Superior fit for oily and oily acne-prone skin with products like the Calendula Deep Cleansing Foaming Face Wash. Estée Lauder provides great options like the Advanced Night Cleansing Gelée, which fits acne-prone and mature skin well.

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

Both Kiehl's and Estée Lauder have a high price point according to the reviews on the products on this page.

Which brand performs better for fading dark spots and brightening, Kiehl's or Estée Lauder?

Kiehl's performs better for brightening and fading dark spots, as the products on this page achieve a High fit level for skin with dark spots compared to Estée Lauder's Average fit level.

How do the fragrance levels and scent complaints compare between Kiehl's and Estée Lauder products?

Kiehl's has a higher proportion of fragrance-free options on this page, with 26 out of 28 products listing no fragrance, compared to Estée Lauder where 12 of 14 products list no fragrance. However, Kiehl's receives more complaints about unpleasant scents and fragrance, whereas Estée Lauder reviews sometimes note strong fragrance.

Which brand offers better deep hydration according to reviewer themes, Kiehl's or Estée Lauder?

Estée Lauder does better for deep hydration according to the reviewer themes. Lovi rates the routine fit for dry skin as High for Kiehl's and Average for Estée Lauder.

Kiehl's or Estée Lauder for oily skin?

Both Kiehl's and Estée Lauder offer a High routine fit for oily skin. The products on this page for both brands provide lightweight hydration and effective cleansing options that help manage excess oil without causing heavy residue.

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

When comparing moisturizers, Kiehl's offers better lightweight and non-greasy textures, while Estée Lauder excels in deep hydration and moisturization. The products on this page feature key ingredients like glycerin and squalane for Kiehl's, and hyaluronic acid for Estée Lauder.

Journal of Pharmacy & Pharmaceutical Sciences, 2015Dermatologic Therapy, 2022

Kiehl's or Estée Lauder for sensitive skin?

For sensitive skin, both Kiehl's and Estée Lauder achieve a High Lovi routine fit. Reviewers note that both brands offer gentle and non-drying cleansers, while Kiehl's is additionally recognized for lightweight and non-greasy textures.

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

Both Kiehl's and Estée Lauder offer sunscreens on the products on this page with High fit levels for various skin types, such as sensitive and mature skin. Kiehl's Better Screen UV Serum has a High fit for skin with dark spots, while Estée Lauder DayWear Moisturizer achieves a Superior fit for dry and sensitive skin.

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

For acne-prone skin, Estée Lauder has a High routine fit, while Kiehl's has an Average routine fit.

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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