🇫🇷France

Paula's Choice vs Avène

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

Paula's Choice and Avène are established skincare brands offering targeted serums, cleansers, moisturizers, and toners formulated with hydrating ingredients like glycerin. The American brand is known for utilizing hyaluronic acid, glycerin, and vitamin c across its lineup, suiting oily skin and acne-prone skin best. Meanwhile, the French brand is loved for its gentle moisturizers, protective sunscreens, and soothing cleansers built around glycerin, fitting oily acne-prone skin and combination skin best. While both cater well to oily and acne-prone complexions, they differ in their specific formulations, origins, and founding years.

Paula's Choice is an American skincare brand founded in 1995 and owned by Unilever since 2021.

unilever.comtracxn.com

Avène is a French skincare brand founded in 1990 and owned by Fondation Pierre Fabre.

pierre-fabre.comavene.co.ukaveneusa.com

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

Popular Paula's Choice vs Avène products

People Say

Paula's ChoiceAvène
  • Lightweight and fast absorption Mostly MentionedOften Mentioned
    • “visible glow — Paula's Choice C15 Super Booster”
    • “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”
    • “immediate radiance boost — Avène Vitamin Activ Cg Radiance Concentrated Serum”
  • Gentle and non-irritating Often MentionedMostly Mentioned
    • “leaves face clean but not dry — Avène Cleanance”
    • “Nothing has ever worked to soothe or heal my skin like these before. — Avène Tolerance Control Soothing Skin Recovery Balm”
    • “Perfect cleanser for sensitive skin. — Avène Milk Cleanser”
    • “Finally a vitamin C product I can use — Paula's Choice 25% Vitamin C + Glutathione Clinical Serum”
  • Smooth texture and anti-aging Mostly MentionedSometimes Noted
    • “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”
    • “skin looks plumper — Paula's Choice Pro-Collagen Multi-Peptide Booster”
    • “skin instantly felt firmer — Avène Hyaluron Activ B3 Concentrated Plumping Serum”
  • Unclogs pores and controls acne Mostly MentionedSometimes Noted
    • “cleared my bumps — Paula's Choice Skin Perfecting 2% BHA Liquid Exfoliant”
    • “skin becomes very smooth — Paula's Choice 1% Retinol Treatment”
    • “Helped clear my cystic acne — Paula's Choice CLEAR Pore Normalizing Cleanser”
    • “Keeps me matte for hours — Avène Cleanance Cleansing Gel”
  • Barrier repair, deep hydration and soothing Not notedOften Mentioned
    • “Calmed my angry red skin overnight — Avène Cicalfate+ Restorative Protective Cream”
    • “Saves my skin in winter — Avène Cold Cream”
    • “Healed my over-exfoliated skin in days — Avène Cicalfate+ Restorative Protective Cream”
  • High price and small size Mostly MentionedSometimes Noted
    • “Its a bit pricey but so worth it!! — Avène Tolerance Control Soothing Skin Recovery Balm”
    • “a bit pricey — Avène Cleanance”
    • “Tiny tube for the money — Avène Cold Cream”
    • “surprisingly small bottle — Paula's Choice Skin-Smoothing Retinol Body Treatment”
  • Causes dryness, purging, and irritation Often MentionedSometimes Noted
    • “Left my face tight — Avène Cleanance Cleansing Gel”
    • “it didn't do anything for my dark circles — Avène RetrinAL EYES”
    • “no difference — Avène Antirougeurs Fort Relief Concentrate”
    • “peeling and flaking — Paula's Choice 1% Retinol Treatment”
  • Packaging issues and product flaws Sometimes NotedOften Mentioned
    • “turned orange in weeks — Paula's Choice C15 Super Booster”
    • “dropper leaks — Paula's Choice C15 Super Booster”
    • “dropper can be unpredictable — Paula's Choice Pro-Collagen Multi-Peptide Booster”
    • “bring it back — Avène Antirougeurs Fort Relief Concentrate”

Paula's Choice vs Avène routines for dry skin

See multi-brand routine · 98% fit

Paula's Choice vs Avène routines for oily skin

See multi-brand routine · 97% fit

Paula's Choice vs Avène routines for combination skin

See multi-brand routine · 96% fit

Questions and answers

Paula's Choice or Avène: which is better?

Paula's Choice is better for unclogging pores and controlling acne, while Avène is better for soothing irritation. Overall, Paula's Choice achieves a Superior routine fit for oily, combination, sensitive, acne-prone, and mature skin.

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

Paula's Choice is better for oily, combination, sensitive, acne-prone, and mature skin, where Lovi rates its fit as Superior, whereas Avène rates as High. Avène does better for barrier repair, deep hydration and soothing, while Paula's Choice is better for lightweight and fast absorption, smooth texture and anti-aging, and unclogging pores and controlling acne.

Paula's Choice or Avène for dry skin?

For dry skin, Paula's Choice and Avène both offer a High routine fit on the products on this page. Paula's Choice products help deliver hydration with key ingredients like hyaluronic acid and glycerin.

Drug Delivery, 2017Dermatologic Therapy, 2022

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

Paula's Choice is better for cleansers, as the products on this page have a Superior fit for oily, acne-prone, and combination skin. Lovi rates the Paula's Choice cleansers as Superior for oily skin, whereas Avène cleansers are rated High for oily skin.

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

Reviewers note a high price for both Paula's Choice and Avène, but neither brand displays specific price figures on this page.

Paula's Choice or Avène for oily skin?

Paula's Choice is a better fit for oily skin, offering a Superior routine compared to Avène's High level. Paula's Choice products on this page help control oil and clear pores effectively.

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

Paula's Choice offers a wide range of moisturizers with options like the Replenishing Moisturizer achieving a Lovi fit level of Superior for mature skin, while Avène features deeply soothing options like the Tolerance Control Soothing Skin Recovery Balm achieving a Superior fit for dry skin. Paula's Choice is often noted for lightweight and fast-absorbing textures across its products on this page, whereas Avène helps provide gentle barrier repair and deep hydration.

Paula's Choice or Avène for sensitive skin?

Paula's Choice is a better fit for sensitive skin, offering a Superior routine fit compared to Avène's High fit level.

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

Paula's Choice offers sunscreens like the Youth-Extending Daily Hydrating Fluid SPF 50 that are formulated without added fragrance, whereas some Avène sunscreens on this page may contain fragrance.

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

Paula's Choice is a superior fit for acne-prone skin, while Avène has a high fit. The products on this page help unclog pores and control acne.

Paula's Choice or Avène for skin with dark spots?

Paula's Choice achieves a High fit level for skin with dark spots, and Avène also achieves a High fit level. The products on this page from Paula's Choice help target pigmentation with ingredients like niacinamide and vitamin C.

The British Journal of Dermatology, 2002Experimental Dermatology, 2003

Paula's Choice or Avène for dry sensitive skin?

Paula's Choice is better suited for dry sensitive skin, as Lovi rates its routine as High while Avène is rated Average. The products on this page from Paula's Choice also avoid the added fragrance found in several Avène products.

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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