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La Roche-Posay vs Paula's Choice

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

La Roche-Posay and Paula's Choice are two esteemed skincare brands offering targeted serums, nourishing moisturizers, and gentle cleansers. The French brand is known for utilizing thermal water, glycerin, and niacinamide to suit mature and dry skin, while the American brand relies on glycerin, hyaluronic acid, and vitamin C for combination and oily skin. Both lines feature specialized products addressing acne-prone skin, dark spots, and aging concerns, differing primarily in their formulation philosophies and heritage.

La Roche-Posay is a French skincare brand founded in 1975 and owned by L'Oréal S.A. since 1989.

laroche-posay.com.aufr.wikipedia.org

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

unilever.comtracxn.com

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

Popular La Roche-Posay vs Paula's Choice products

People Say

La Roche-PosayPaula's Choice
  • Fragrance-free and Gentle Formulas Mostly MentionedOften Mentioned
    • “Great retinol for beginners — La Roche-Posay Retinol B3 Serum”
    • “Only cream that doesn't sting — La Roche-Posay Toleriane Dermallergo Eye Cream”
    • “zero scent — La Roche-Posay Toleriane Double Repair Face Moisturizer”
    • “Finally a vitamin C product I can use — Paula's Choice 25% Vitamin C + Glutathione Clinical Serum”
  • Skin Texture Improvement Often MentionedMostly 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”
    • “Skin feels smoother — La Roche-Posay Retinol B3 Serum”
  • Hydration and Moisture Mostly MentionedSometimes Noted
    • “absorbs instantly — La Roche-Posay Toleriane Double Repair Face Moisturizer”
    • “skin feels plump — La Roche-Posay Hyalu B5 Serum”
    • “legs stopped flaking — La Roche-Posay Lipikar AP+M Triple Repair Moisturizing Cream”
    • “Provides an internal level of hydration without leaving any heavy finish. — Paula's Choice Skin Balancing Pore-Reducing Toner”
  • Acne Clearing and Oil Control Sometimes NotedMostly Mentioned
    • “cleared my bumps — Paula's Choice Skin Perfecting 2% BHA Liquid Exfoliant”
    • “Helped clear my cystic acne — Paula's Choice CLEAR Pore Normalizing Cleanser”
    • “pores look smaller — Paula's Choice 10% Niacinamide Booster”
    • “clears acne blemishes — La Roche-Posay Effaclar Medicated Gel Cleanser”
  • Good Texture Sometimes NotedOften Mentioned
    • “absorbs instantly — Paula's Choice C15 Super Booster”
    • “absorbs quickly — Paula's Choice Weightless Body Treatment 2% BHA”
    • “Absorbs like a dream — Paula's Choice 25% Vitamin C + Glutathione Clinical Serum”
    • “lightweight and absorbs quickly — La Roche-Posay Mela B3 Serum”
  • Brightening and Fading Dark Spots Sometimes NotedOften Mentioned
    • “visible glow — Paula's Choice C15 Super Booster”
    • “acne scars faded — Paula's Choice 10% Azelaic Acid Booster”
    • “Discoloration almost gone — Paula's Choice 25% Vitamin C + Glutathione Clinical Serum”
    • “skin looks brighter — La Roche-Posay Mela B3 Serum”
  • Price vs Size Value Sometimes NotedMostly Mentioned
    • “expensive for the size — La Roche-Posay Hyalu B5 Serum”
    • “Too expensive for the size — La Roche-Posay Toleriane Dermallergo Eye Cream”
    • “Tube is tiny for the price — La Roche-Posay Cicaplast Gel B5”
    • “surprisingly small bottle — Paula's Choice Skin-Smoothing Retinol Body Treatment”
  • Strong Fragrance and Scents Sometimes NotedOften Mentioned
    • “scent is awful — La Roche-Posay Mela B3 Serum”
    • “overwhelming floral smell — La Roche-Posay Hyalu B5 Serum”
    • “smells like grain — Paula's Choice 10% Azelaic Acid Booster”
    • “smells like hot dog water — Paula's Choice C15 Super Booster”
  • Packaging Issues and Faulty Pumps Often MentionedSometimes Noted
    • “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”
    • “pump stops working — La Roche-Posay Lipikar AP+M Triple Repair Moisturizing Cream”
  • Product Texture and Pilling Often MentionedRarely Noted
    • “sticky, oily film — Paula's Choice Skin Perfecting 2% BHA Liquid Exfoliant”
    • “pills under makeup — Paula's Choice 10% Azelaic Acid Booster”
    • “pills like crazy — La Roche-Posay Toleriane Double Repair Face Moisturizer”

La Roche-Posay vs Paula's Choice routines for dry skin

See multi-brand routine · 99% fit

La Roche-Posay vs Paula's Choice routines for oily skin

See multi-brand routine · 96% fit

La Roche-Posay vs Paula's Choice routines for combination skin

See multi-brand routine · 96% fit

Questions and answers

La Roche-Posay or Paula's Choice: which is better?

Both brands offer a High routine fit for every skin type on this page. La Roche-Posay does better for fragrance-free and gentle formulas as well as hydration and moisture, while Paula's Choice does better for skin texture improvement, acne clearing and oil control, and brightening and fading dark spots.

What is the difference between La Roche-Posay and Paula's Choice?

La Roche-Posay is known for fragrance-free and gentle formulas as well as hydration and moisture, whereas Paula's Choice is better for acne clearing and oil control, brightening and fading dark spots, and skin texture improvement.

La Roche-Posay or Paula's Choice for dry skin?

Both La Roche-Posay and Paula's Choice achieve a High routine fit for dry skin, though they differ in review themes and formulation approaches. Reviewers indicate that La Roche-Posay does better for hydration and moisture, while Paula's Choice does better for skin texture improvement.

La Roche-Posay or Paula's Choice: which cleanser is better?

Both brands feature strong cleansing options, with La Roche-Posay standing out for gentle and sensitive-skin friendly moisturizers and cleansers, while Paula's Choice excels in acne clearing and oil control. Reviewers note that Paula's Choice offers high-performing cleansers like the CLEAR Pore Normalizing Cleanser, whereas La Roche-Posay provides well-rated barrier-supporting cleansers like the Toleriane Hydrating Foaming Gel.

Which is more affordable, La Roche-Posay or Paula's Choice?

When it comes to price, reviewers mention that both La Roche-Posay and Paula's Choice have price, value, and size concerns.

How do the founding countries and parent companies of La Roche-Posay and Paula's Choice differ?

La Roche-Posay was founded in 1975 in France and is owned by L'Oréal S.A., whereas Paula's Choice was founded in 1995 in the United States and is owned by Unilever.

Which brand performs better for fragrance-free and gentle formulas, La Roche-Posay or Paula's Choice?

La Roche-Posay performs better for fragrance-free and gentle formulas, while Paula's Choice is entirely fragrance-free on this page. Reviewers note that La Roche-Posay provides soothing, gentle options, whereas 21 of its 35 products also list no fragrance.

How does the percentage of fragrance-free products compare between La Roche-Posay and Paula's Choice?

Paula's Choice offers a higher percentage of fragrance-free options, as every product on its page lists no fragrance, whereas La Roche-Posay has 21 of 35 products on this page that list no fragrance.

La Roche-Posay or Paula's Choice for oily skin?

Both brands achieve a High routine fit for oily skin, making them strong options for managing shine. Paula's Choice specializes in oil control and acne clearing with a fragrance-free lineup, whereas La Roche-Posay offers high-fit cleansers and sunscreens like Anthelios UVMune 400 Oil Control Fluid SPF 50+ alongside several products containing fragrance.

La Roche-Posay or Paula's Choice: which moisturizer is better?

Both brands offer moisturizers that help maintain healthy hydration, as seen in the high routine fit for dry skin. La Roche-Posay products on this page list no fragrance in 21 out of 35 formulas, whereas every product on the Paula's Choice page lists no fragrance.

La Roche-Posay or Paula's Choice for sensitive skin?

La Roche-Posay and Paula's Choice both fit sensitive skin with a High routine fit level, but La Roche-Posay does better for fragrance-free and gentle formulas.

La Roche-Posay or Paula's Choice: which sunscreen is better?

La Roche-Posay Anthelios has a superior fit for skin with dark spots, sensitive skin, combination skin, acne-prone skin, mature skin, and oily skin on this page. Paula's Choice Youth-Extending Daily Hydrating Fluid SPF 50 has a high fit for dry skin, combination skin, and dry sensitive skin.

La Roche-Posay or Paula's Choice for acne-prone skin?

Both brands offer High routines for acne-prone skin, but Paula's Choice is noted as doing better for acne clearing and oil control. The products on this page for Paula's Choice fit best for acne-prone skin, while La Roche-Posay focuses best on mature, dry, and sensitive skin.

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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