🇫🇷France

Clarins vs The INKEY List

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

Clarins and The INKEY List are distinct skincare lines, with the French house founded in 1954 offering nourishing moisturizers, targeted serums, delicate eye products, and refreshing toners with soothing shea and replenishing squalane, while the British brand founded in 2018 provides similar product categories built around glycerin. Both options suit sensitive skin, though the former tends to favor mature skin with standout treatments like the Extra-Firming Day Cream and Super Restorative Night Cream, whereas the latter caters well to combination and acne-prone skin through items such as the PHA Toner. Ultimately, they differ through their foundational elements, as the first brand harnesses shea butter to reduce redness and squalane to increase collagen, while the second brand utilizes glycerin to significantly increase skin hydration and restore barrier function.

Clarins is a French skincare brand founded in 1954 and owned by Famille C (Groupe Clarins).

groupeclarins.comen.wikipedia.orghappi.com

The INKEY List is a British skincare brand founded in 2018 and owned by Brand Evangelists for Beauty Limited.

cosmeticsbusiness.comprnewswire.comtheinkeylist.comtracxn.com

This page compares some of the most popular Clarins and The INKEY List products; for every product of both brands, with a fit score for your own skin, use the Lovi app.

Popular Clarins vs The INKEY List products

People Say

ClarinsThe INKEY List
  • Hydration and moisture Mostly MentionedOften Mentioned
    • “skin drinks it up — Clarins Double Serum”
    • “keeps skin moist — Clarins Multi-Active Jour”
    • “woke up with baby soft skin — Clarins Multi-Active Nuit”
    • “Super hydrating — The INKEY List Polyglutamic Acid Serum”
  • Lightweight and fast-absorbing texture Often MentionedMostly Mentioned
    • “sits beautifully under makeup — The INKEY List Caffeine Eye Cream”
    • “Gel consistency — The INKEY List Tranexamic Acid Serum”
    • “feels like applying straight up water to the skin — The INKEY List Omega Water Cream”
    • “absorbs immediately — Clarins Double Serum Eye”
  • Affordable price and value Not notedMostly Mentioned
    • “Good for the price — The INKEY List Salicylic Acid Cleanser”
    • “One of the best balms for quality and also price — The INKEY List Oat Cleansing Balm”
    • “unbeatable value — The INKEY List Hyaluronic Acid Serum”
  • Good makeup base and primer Sometimes NotedSometimes Noted
    • “concealer glides on smoothly — Clarins Total Eye Lift”
    • “Perfect primer for any foundation, which all glide on smoothly. — Clarins Beauty Flash Balm”
    • “concealer sits better — Clarins Double Serum Eye”
    • “Brilliant makeup base — The INKEY List Polyglutamic Acid Serum”
  • Texture smoothing and exfoliation Sometimes NotedSometimes Noted
    • “Great for sensitive skin — The INKEY List PHA Toner”
    • “Skin feels softer — The INKEY List PHA Toner”
    • “Glass skin — The INKEY List Polyglutamic Acid Serum”
    • “makes skin silky smooth — Clarins Hydrating Toning Lotion”
  • Acne clearing and blemish control Not notedOften Mentioned
    • “Free of active acne — The INKEY List Salicylic Acid Cleanser”
    • “calms redness instantly — The INKEY List 10% Azelaic Acid Serum”
    • “Skin instantly looks less oily — The INKEY List Salicylic Acid Cleanser”
  • Fragrance and scent issues Often MentionedSometimes Noted
    • “Smells like BBQ/meat — The INKEY List Tranexamic Acid Serum”
    • “Smells like chemicals — The INKEY List Polyglutamic Acid Serum”
    • “smells plasticky — The INKEY List ECTOIN HYDRO-BARRIER SERUM”
    • “smells like perfume — Clarins Multi-Active Jour”
  • Packaging and pump design flaws Often MentionedOften Mentioned
    • “dispenses too much product — Clarins Total Eye Lift”
    • “dispenses too much — Clarins Double Serum Eye”
    • “Pump breaks easily — The INKEY List Tranexamic Acid Serum”
    • “Very difficult to squeeze out at first — The INKEY List Oat Cleansing Balm”
  • High price point Mostly MentionedNot noted
    • “way too expensive — Clarins Double Serum”
  • Skin irritation and breakouts Sometimes NotedSometimes Noted
    • “caused cystic acne — Clarins Double Serum”
    • “caused redness — Clarins Double Serum Eye”
    • “made my face burn — Clarins Cryo-Flash Cream-Mask”
    • “did cause major breakouts — The INKEY List Omega Water Cream”

Clarins vs The INKEY List routines for dry skin

See multi-brand routine · 98% fit

Clarins vs The INKEY List routines for oily skin

See multi-brand routine · 97% fit

Clarins vs The INKEY List routines for combination skin

See multi-brand routine · 96% fit

Questions and answers

Clarins or The INKEY List: which is better?

Both brands offer solid options depending on your budget and skin concerns, with Clarins focusing on luxurious hydration and anti-aging routines while The INKEY List provides affordable, targeted treatments for acne and texture smoothing. Reviewers note that Clarins excels in moisture and radiance, whereas The INKEY List is favored for its lightweight feel and lower price point.

What is the difference between Clarins and The INKEY List?

Clarins generally offers luxurious textures and hydrating moisturizers with added fragrance, while The INKEY List provides fragrance-free, budget-friendly serums and lightweight moisturizers focused on texture smoothing and acne clearing.

Clarins or The INKEY List for dry skin?

Both Clarins and The INKEY List fit dry skin well, with equal routine fit levels on this page. Clarins is noted for hydrating and smoothing moisturizers, while The INKEY List features hydrating moisturizers with no fragrance.

Clarins or The INKEY List: which cleanser is better?

Both brands offer cleansers on this page, but they cater to different needs with Clarins focusing on soothing formulas and The INKEY List providing options like the Salicylic Acid Cleanser for acne-prone skin.

Which is more affordable, Clarins or The INKEY List?

The INKEY List is more affordable, as the products on this page are noted for their affordable price and value compared to Clarins.

Between Clarins and The INKEY List, which brand offers fragrance-free products?

The INKEY List offers fragrance-free products, as every product on this page lists no fragrance in its ingredients, whereas almost all Clarins products contain fragrance.

How do the founding countries and parent companies of Clarins and The INKEY List compare?

Clarins was founded in 1954 in France and is owned by Famille C through Groupe Clarins, while The INKEY List was founded in 2018 in the United Kingdom and is owned by Brand Evangelists for Beauty Limited.

Which brand performs better for texture smoothing and exfoliation according to reviews?

The INKEY List performs better for texture smoothing and exfoliation according to reviews.

Clarins or The INKEY List for oily skin?

Both Clarins and The INKEY List fit oily skin well, with Lovi giving routine fit levels of High for the products on this page. Reviewers note that The INKEY List tends to offer more lightweight, fast-absorbing moisturizers and better acne-clearing benefits, while Clarins provides luxurious textures and good makeup bases.

Clarins or The INKEY List: which moisturizer is better?

Both Clarins and The INKEY List offer moisturizers that fit dry, oily, and combination skin at a High level on this page. Clarins focuses on hydration and nourishing textures, whereas the products on this page from The INKEY List provide lightweight and affordable options.

Clarins or The INKEY List for sensitive skin?

Both brands offer a high Lovi fit for sensitive skin, but The INKEY List has a Superior routine fit and lists no fragrance in any of the products on this page.

Clarins or The INKEY List for acne-prone skin?

Both Clarins and The INKEY List fit acne-prone skin well at a High level. Lovi shows that The INKEY List does better for acne clearing and blemish control across the products on this page.

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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