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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 known for their comprehensive ranges of moisturizers, serums, eye products, cleansers, and toners. Kiehl's is beloved for incorporating nourishing glycerin and squalane to suit skin with dark spots and combination skin best, while the brand features standouts like the Calendula Deep Cleansing Foaming Face Wash and the Ultra Facial Toner. Conversely, Estée Lauder is beloved for utilizing hydrating hyaluronic acid and glycerin to suit acne-prone skin and mature skin best, offering standout solutions like the Micro Essence Treatment Lotion and the Futurist Peptide-Power Serum Primer. Ultimately, both differ through their unique ingredient pairings and targeted formulations, as glycerin and squalane in the first brand address oxidative stress and barrier function, while hyaluronic acid and glycerin in the second brand increase skin hydration and lengthen the effect of botulinum toxin.

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 · 98% fit

Kiehl's vs Estée Lauder routines for oily skin

See multi-brand routine · 97% 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?

Kiehl's and Estée Lauder both offer strong options, but Kiehl's is often preferred for lightweight textures and fading dark spots, while Estée Lauder stands out for deep hydration.

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

Kiehl's focuses on lightweight textures and targeted treatments for dark spots, whereas Estée Lauder leans into deep hydration and luxury formulas. For dry skin, Lovi rates Kiehl's routine as High and Estée Lauder's as Average. Hyaluronic acid helps maintain moisture levels in skin care.

Journal of Pharmacy & Pharmaceutical Sciences, 2015

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 often mention deep hydration for both brands, but Kiehl's is noted as better for lightweight and non-greasy textures.

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

When comparing cleansers, Kiehl's and Estée Lauder both offer high-performing options, but Kiehl's stands out with specialized formulas like the Calendula Deep Cleansing Foaming Face Wash achieving a Superior fit for oily and oily acne-prone skin.

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

Both Kiehl's and Estée Lauder face frequent reviewer complaints on this page regarding a high price point and expensive value.

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

Kiehl's performs better for brightening and fading dark spots, as the products on this page offer superior outcomes in this category compared to Estée Lauder. Lovi rates Kiehl's routine fit for skin with dark spots as High, while the brand is also noted for its brightening serums and treatments.

How do the fragrance options compare between Kiehl's and Estée Lauder skincare products?

Kiehl's offers slightly more fragrance-free choices across the products on this page, with 26 out of 28 products listing no fragrance compared to 12 out of 14 for Estée Lauder.

Which brand performs better for deep hydration and moisturization according to reviewers?

According to the reviewers on this page, Estée Lauder does better for deep hydration and moisturization. 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 products on this page that achieve a High routine fit for oily skin. Reviewers note that Kiehl's helps provide a lightweight and non-greasy texture, while Estée Lauder helps deliver deep hydration.

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

Kiehl's offers a higher Lovi fit than Estée Lauder for dry skin moisturizers, delivering deep hydration with a lightweight texture. Estée Lauder provides solid options, but the products on this page for Kiehl's perform better for hydration needs.

Kiehl's or Estée Lauder for sensitive skin?

Both Kiehl's and Estée Lauder achieve a High Lovi fit for sensitive skin. Reviewers note that both brands offer gentle and non-drying cleansers.

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

Both brands offer strong sunscreen options on this page, with Kiehl's Better Screen UV Serum providing high Lovi fit for skin with dark spots, combination skin, sensitive skin, acne-prone skin, and mature skin, while Estée Lauder DayWear Moisturizer achieves a superior Lovi fit for dry sensitive skin, dry skin, sensitive skin, and mature skin.

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

For acne-prone skin, Estée Lauder is the better choice because Lovi rates its routine fit as High, whereas Kiehl's is Average.

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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