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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 known for expert formulations that feature glycerin, hyaluronic acid, vitamin C, and squalane. The brand from 1995 offers serums, cleansers, moisturizers, toners, and more, suiting combination skin and oily skin best, while the 1851 brand provides moisturizers, serums, toners, eye products, and more that suit combination skin and mature skin best. Both brands differ in their specific product lineups and key ingredients, with the older brand also incorporating squalane to counteract oxidative stress and stimulate fibroblast migration, whereas the Unilever-owned brand focuses on barrier restoration.

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

See multi-brand routine · 97% fit

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

See multi-brand routine · 95% fit

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

See multi-brand routine · 96% fit

Questions and answers

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

Both brands offer a High routine fit for most skin types, but Paula's Choice is better suited for acne-prone skin with a High fit compared to Kiehl's Average level. Paula's Choice also tends to perform better for fast absorption, skin texture, and blemish clearing, whereas Kiehl's excels in deep hydration and radiance.

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

Paula's Choice and Kiehl's both offer high routine fit levels across most skin types, but Paula's Choice is better suited for acne-prone skin with a High fit compared to Kiehl's Average fit. Reviewers note that Paula's Choice excels in fast absorption and acne-clearing, while Kiehl's is favored for glow, brightening, and deep hydration.

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

Both Paula's Choice and Kiehl's offer a High routine fit for dry skin, making them equally good options. The products on this page for both brands feature hydrating ingredients like glycerin and hyaluronic acid that help retain moisture in the skin.

Dermatologic Therapy, 2022

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

Both Paula's Choice and Kiehl's offer top-tier cleansers, with Paula's Choice excelling in acne-prone and oily skin care while Kiehl's features standout options like the Calendula Deep Cleansing Foaming Face Wash. Reviewers find that Paula's Choice helps clear blemishes effectively, whereas Kiehl's delivers a gentle and deep clean without fragrance in the vast majority of its formulas.

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

Both Paula's Choice and Kiehl's are considered equal regarding high price and value concerns.

Between Paula's Choice and Kiehl's, which brand is better suited for acne and blemish clearing?

Paula's Choice is better suited for acne and blemish clearing, as the products on this page achieve a High routine fit for acne-prone skin compared to Kiehl's Average fit. Review themes also indicate that Paula's Choice performs better for acne and blemish clearing.

How do the fragrance ingredients compare between Paula's Choice and Kiehl's products on this page?

Paula's Choice products on this page list no fragrance in their ingredients, whereas 2 of the 28 Kiehl's products list fragrance. Both brands offer mostly fragrance-free formulas across their ranges.

Which brand performs better for glow, brightening, and radiance according to review themes?

Kiehl's performs better for glow, brightening, and radiance according to the review themes on this page.

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

Both Paula's Choice and Kiehl's are great options, as Lovi rates their routines as High for oily skin. Paula's Choice offers fragrance-free formulas with key ingredients like salicylic acid and niacinamide, which help control excess oil and soothe blemishes.

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

Both brands offer moisturizers for different skin types, with Paula's Choice focusing on combination, oily, and acne-prone skin while Kiehl's centers on combination, mature skin, and skin with dark spots. Reviewers note that Kiehl's provides lightweight, non-greasy moisturizers and deep hydration.

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

Both Paula's Choice and Kiehl's offer a High routine fit for sensitive skin. Every product on the Paula's Choice page lists no fragrance, while Kiehl's includes fragrance in two of its products.

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

Both brands offer solid options for sun protection, with Paula's Choice Youth-Extending Daily Hydrating Fluid SPF 50 and Kiehl's Better Screen UV Serum both achieving a High fit for combination and dry sensitive skin.

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

Paula's Choice is better suited for acne-prone skin because the routine fit level for this skin type is High, compared to Kiehl's Average. Paula's Choice products on this page are completely fragrance-free and feature targeted exfoliants like salicylic acid that help manage 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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