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Paula's Choice vs Trilogy

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

Paula's Choice and Trilogy are established skincare brands known for offering effective serums, cleansers, moisturizers, and toners. The American brand, founded in 1995, builds its formulas around hyaluronic acid, glycerin, and vitamin c, while the other is deeply loved for its thoughtful moisturizers and gentle cleansers. Both brands suit different complexions, with the former fitting combination and oily skin best, and the latter suiting dry, balanced, and sensitive skin types. They differ primarily in their ingredient focus and targeted skincare solutions, with glycerin significantly increasing skin hydration and restoring barrier function in the Unilever-owned brand's products.

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 Paula's Choice and Trilogy products; for every product of both brands, with a fit score for your own skin, use the Lovi app.

Popular Paula's Choice vs Trilogy products

People Say

Paula's ChoiceTrilogy
  • Hydrating formula Not notedMostly Mentioned
    • “Keeps skin moisturized — Trilogy Vitamin C Ceramide Night Cream”
    • “Leaves skin thoroughly moisturised — Trilogy Line Smoothing Day Cream”
    • “Feels moisturizing — Trilogy Rosehip Cream Cleanser”
  • Non-irritating and gentle Often MentionedMostly Mentioned
    • “Doesn't irritate my sensitive skin — Trilogy Rosehip Cream Cleanser”
    • “Nothing irritated my skin — Trilogy Line Smoothing Day Cream”
    • “Finally a vitamin C product I can use — Paula's Choice 25% Vitamin C + Glutathione Clinical Serum”
  • Glow, radiance, and even skin tone Mostly MentionedOften 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”
    • “Wake to a glowing complexion — Trilogy Vitamin C Ceramide Night Cream”
  • Pleasant gel or cream texture Rarely NotedMostly Mentioned
    • “Silky cream consistency — Trilogy Rosehip Cream Cleanser”
    • “Luxuriously rich — Trilogy Vitamin C Ceramide Night Cream”
    • “Silky gel feel — Paula's Choice CLEAR Pore Normalizing Cleanser”
  • Texture smoothing and softening Mostly MentionedNot noted
    • “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”
  • Lightweight and fast absorption Mostly MentionedNot noted
    • “Absorbs quickly and leaves no greasy residue behind. — Paula's Choice Clear Oil-Free Moisturizer”
    • “absorbs instantly — Paula's Choice C15 Super Booster”
    • “watery consistency — Paula's Choice 10% Niacinamide Booster”
  • High price and value concerns Mostly MentionedRarely Noted
    • “Price to be high relative to performance — Trilogy Rosehip Cream Cleanser”
    • “tiny tube — Paula's Choice 10% Azelaic Acid Booster”
  • Unpleasant smell and scent issues Often MentionedSometimes Noted
    • “If you are sensitive to fragrances, you might find it irritating — Trilogy Rosehip Cream Cleanser”
    • “Scent is awful — Trilogy Line Smoothing Day Cream”
    • “smells like grain — Paula's Choice 10% Azelaic Acid Booster”
  • Heavy for oily skin Rarely NotedOften Mentioned
    • “Extremely greasy — Paula's Choice 25% Vitamin C + Glutathione Clinical Serum”
    • “A little bit too thick — Trilogy Vitamin C Ceramide Night Cream”

Questions and answers

Paula's Choice or Trilogy: which is better?

Paula's Choice is a better choice than Trilogy for oily, acne-prone, and combination skin types. Lovi finds that Paula's Choice offers a much wider range of fragrance-free products on this page tailored to those specific needs.

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

Paula's Choice offers a wide variety of fragrance-free products that Lovi finds fit best for combination, oily, and acne-prone skin, while Trilogy offers fewer options that often include fragrance. Reviewers note that Paula's Choice excels at texture smoothing and brightening, whereas Trilogy is preferred for hydration and gentle formulas.

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

Paula's Choice offers a wider variety of cleansers with high fit levels for oily and acne-prone skin, such as the CLEAR Pore Normalizing Cleanser, whereas Trilogy focuses on gentle options like the Rosehip Cream Cleanser that may suit sensitive skin better.

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

Reviewers note high price and value concerns for Trilogy, while Paula's Choice reviewers mostly mention high price as a drawback.

Which causes fewer breakouts, Paula's Choice or Trilogy?

Paula's Choice fits acne-prone skin best, and the products on this page help control breakouts with ingredients like salicylic acid. Trilogy does not feature acne-prone skin in its best-fit routines.

Which brand has more fragrance-free products, Paula's Choice or Trilogy?

Paula's Choice has more fragrance-free products, as every product on the Paula's Choice page lists no fragrance in its ingredients, whereas only one of the three Trilogy products on this page lists no fragrance.

Which brand is better for glowing skin and even skin tone?

Paula's Choice does better for glow, radiance, and even skin tone. Lovi rates the brand's C15 Super Booster as having a High fit for skin with dark spots, and topical vitamin C helps brighten the skin.

Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology, 2020

When was Paula's Choice founded compared to Trilogy?

Paula's Choice was founded in 1995, whereas Trilogy was founded in 2002.

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

Paula's Choice offers a wider range of moisturizers with specialized formulas, such as the Clear Oil-Free Moisturizer and Clinical Ceramide-Enriched Firming Moisturizer, whereas Trilogy features options like the Vitamin C Ceramide Night Cream that are known for hydrating and brightening benefits. Lovi rates the Paula's Choice products on this page as having a High fit for specific skin types like dry or oily skin depending on the product, and ceramides help support barrier repair.

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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