🇫🇷France

Kiehl's vs NIVEA

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

Kiehl's and NIVEA are established skincare brands offering nourishing moisturizers, targeted serums, and daily essentials. The American brand is beloved for thoughtful formulations incorporating glycerin and squalane that suit skin with dark spots and combination skin best, featuring standout products like the Calendula Herbal-Extract Toner and Ultra Facial Toner. Meanwhile, the German brand is dearly loved for reliable sunscreens and moisturizers formulated with skin-smoothing glycerin, suiting oily and acne-prone skin best with lightweight textures. While both brands harness glycerin to improve hydration and barrier function, they differ in their heritage and targeted ingredients, with Kiehl's additionally utilizing squalane to counteract oxidative stress.

Kiehl's is an American skincare brand founded in 1851 and owned by L'Oréal S.A. since 2000.

loreal.comen.wikipedia.org

NIVEA is a German skincare brand founded in 1911 and owned by maxingvest GmbH & Co. KGaA since 2004.

beiersdorf.comen.wikipedia.org

This page compares some of the most popular Kiehl's and NIVEA products; for every product of both brands, with a fit score for your own skin, use the Lovi app.

Popular Kiehl's vs NIVEA products

People Say

Kiehl'sNIVEA
  • Hydration and Moisture Mostly MentionedOften Mentioned
    • “Keeps skin moisturized for 24+ hours — Kiehl's Ultra Facial Cream”
    • “Feels like a drink of water — Kiehl's Hydro-Plumping Serum Concentrate”
    • “Smoothed out dry flaky scales on my cheeks overnight — NIVEA Creme”
    • “skin feels moisturized — NIVEA Protect & Moisture Sun Lotion SPF50+”
  • Skin Barrier and Texture Improvement Often MentionedMostly Mentioned
    • “Makes my face feel smooth and soft. — NIVEA Soft”
    • “skin feels squeaky clean and soft — NIVEA DERMA SKIN CLEAR”
    • “skin feels smooth — NIVEA Derma Skin Clear Anti-Blemish Scrub”
    • “leaves skin feeling silky — Kiehl's Powerful-Strength Line-Reducing Concentrate”
  • Texture and Absorption Mostly MentionedSometimes Noted
    • “feels like nothing — Kiehl's Better Screen UV Serum”
    • “absorbs instantly without residue — Kiehl's Ultra Facial Oil-Free Gel Cream”
    • “Absorbs quickly — Kiehl's Ultra Facial Cream”
    • “It's lightweight on the skin and leaves a bit of subtle sheen. — NIVEA Soft”
  • Relaxing and Classic Scents Rarely NotedOften Mentioned
    • “smells like holiday — NIVEA Protect & Moisture Sun Lotion SPF50+”
    • “Smell brings me back to childhood — NIVEA Creme”
    • “smells really nice — NIVEA Derma Skin Clear Anti-Blemish Scrub”
    • “calming lavender smell — Kiehl's Midnight Recovery Concentrate”
  • Gentleness and Sensitivity Often MentionedSometimes Noted
    • “experienced zero irritation — Kiehl's Retinol Skin-Renewing Daily Micro-Dose Serum”
    • “fragrance-free — Kiehl's Ultra Facial Cream”
    • “doesn't irritate sensitive eyes — Kiehl's Creamy Eye Treatment with Avocado”
    • “doesn't dry out skin — NIVEA Derma Skin Clear Anti-Blemish Scrub”
  • Value for Money Not notedOften Mentioned
    • “Works better than expensive luxury creams — NIVEA Creme”
    • “Best affordable vegan moisturizer. — NIVEA Soft”
    • “absolute steal for the price — NIVEA DERMA SKIN CLEAR”
  • High Price Point Mostly MentionedNot noted
    • “pricy daily staple — Kiehl's Ultra Facial Cream”
  • Greasiness and Heavy Residue Sometimes NotedOften Mentioned
    • “oil slick in summer — Kiehl's Ultra Facial Cream”
    • “too radiant for oily skin — Kiehl's Better Screen UV Serum”
    • “didn't absorb well — Kiehl's Powerful-Strength Line-Reducing Concentrate”
    • “Leaves a shiny grease layer that doesn't go away — NIVEA Creme”
  • Breakouts and Acne Sometimes NotedSometimes Noted
    • “caused cystic acne — Kiehl's Midnight Recovery Concentrate”
    • “cystic acne for some — Kiehl's Ultra Facial Cream”
    • “Clogged my pores and caused bad acne — NIVEA Creme”
    • “I noticed some acne breakouts on my chin after using this crème for a while. — NIVEA Soft”

Kiehl's vs NIVEA routines for dry skin

See multi-brand routine · 98% fit

Kiehl's vs NIVEA routines for oily skin

See multi-brand routine · 97% fit

Kiehl's vs NIVEA routines for combination skin

See multi-brand routine · 96% fit

Questions and answers

Kiehl's or NIVEA: which is better?

Both Kiehl's and NIVEA are good options, with Kiehl's offering a higher proportion of fragrance-free products on the page while NIVEA tends to provide better value for money. Reviewers often mention NIVEA for its blemish-clearing serums and versatile multi-use moisturizers, whereas Kiehl's is frequently noted for lightweight, non-greasy moisturizers and gentle serums.

What is the difference between Kiehl's and NIVEA?

Kiehl's focuses on gentle formulations with very limited fragrance across the products on this page, whereas NIVEA offers higher value for money with more heavily scented options. Lovi rates Kiehl's as High and NIVEA as High for routine fit on most skin types, though NIVEA performs better specifically for acne-prone skin.

Kiehl's or NIVEA for dry skin?

Both Kiehl's and NIVEA offer a High routine fit for dry skin among the products on this page. Kiehl's provides lighter textures like the Hydro-Plumping Serum Concentrate, while NIVEA features versatile moisturizers such as Creme.

Kiehl's or NIVEA: which moisturizer is better?

Both Kiehl's and NIVEA offer moisturizers on this page that help deliver deep hydration, with Kiehl's favored for its lightweight formulas and NIVEA praised for its versatile, multi-use creams.

Which is more affordable, Kiehl's or NIVEA?

NIVEA is more affordable, as the products on this page are noted for offering better value for money compared to Kiehl's.

Which brand has more fragrance-free product options, Kiehl's or NIVEA?

Kiehl's offers more fragrance-free product options than NIVEA on this page, with 26 out of 28 products listing no fragrance compared to only 3 of 9 for NIVEA.

Kiehl's or NIVEA: which brand does better for skin barrier and texture improvement?

NIVEA does better for skin barrier and texture improvement among the products on this page. Reviewers note that NIVEA offers smoother skin texture serums and helps improve the skin barrier effectively.

When comparing key ingredients, what do Kiehl's and NIVEA products have in common?

When comparing key ingredients, the products on this page for both Kiehl's and NIVEA prominently feature glycerin. This shared ingredient helps provide hydration and moisture across their formulations.

Kiehl's or NIVEA for oily skin?

Both Kiehl's and NIVEA provide a High routine fit for oily skin on the products on this page. Kiehl's features fragrance in only 2 of its 28 products here, while NIVEA includes fragrance in 6 of its 9 products.

Kiehl's or NIVEA: which sunscreen is better?

When comparing sunscreens on this page, Kiehl's Better Screen UV Serum helps with dark spots, combination skin, sensitive skin, acne-prone skin, and mature skin at a High Lovi fit level, whereas NIVEA Protect & Moisture Sun Lotion SPF50+ achieves a High Lovi fit level across combination, sensitive, dark spots, mature, oily, and oily acne-prone skin types. Kiehl's is mostly fragrance-free on this page, while NIVEA includes fragrance in its sunscreen.

Kiehl's or NIVEA for sensitive skin?

Both Kiehl's and NIVEA offer a High routine fit for sensitive skin, though Kiehl's is often noted for gentleness and features far fewer fragranced products on this page.

Kiehl's or NIVEA for acne-prone skin?

For acne-prone skin, NIVEA offers a High routine fit on this page, while Kiehl's provides an Average fit. Reviewers often mention NIVEA for its blemish-clearing serums.

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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