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Paula's Choice vs Estée Lauder

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

Paula's Choice and Estée Lauder are American skincare brands offering diverse products for different skin needs. The former features serums, cleansers, moisturizers, toners, and more with hyaluronic acid, glycerin, and vitamin c, suiting oily skin and acne-prone skin best. Meanwhile, the latter is beloved for moisturizers, serums, eye products, cleansers, and more formulated with hydrating hyaluronic acid and glycerin, suiting acne-prone skin and mature skin best. Both brands differ in their founding dates, corporate ownership, and specific targeted solutions like toners, treatments, essences, and primers.

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

unilever.comtracxn.com

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 Paula's Choice and Estée Lauder products; for every product of both brands, with a fit score for your own skin, use the Lovi app.

Popular Paula's Choice vs Estée Lauder products

People Say

Paula's ChoiceEstée Lauder
  • Fast Absorption and Lightweight Feel Mostly MentionedOften Mentioned
    • “Absorbs quickly and leaves no greasy residue behind. — Paula's Choice Clear Oil-Free Moisturizer”
    • “absorbs instantly — Paula's Choice C15 Super Booster”
    • “watery consistency — Paula's Choice 10% Niacinamide Booster”
    • “Absorbs quickly into the skin — Estée Lauder Revitalizing Supreme+”
  • Smoothing Skin Texture 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”
    • “skin feels like a baby's bottom — Estée Lauder Advanced Night Repair”
  • Deep Hydration and Plumping Not notedMostly 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”
  • Non-Irritating and Gentle Formulas 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”
    • “doesn't strip the skin — Estée Lauder Advanced Night Cleansing Gelée”
    • “Doesn't strip my skin — Estée Lauder Soft Clean Moisture Rich Foaming Cleanser”
  • Glow, Radiance, and Brightening Often MentionedSometimes Noted
    • “visible glow — Paula's Choice C15 Super Booster”
    • “acne scars faded — Paula's Choice 10% Azelaic Acid Booster”
    • “Discoloration almost gone — Paula's Choice 25% Vitamin C + Glutathione Clinical Serum”
    • “gives me that glass skin look — Estée Lauder Advanced Night Repair”
  • Anti-Aging and Firming Results Sometimes NotedSometimes Noted
    • “skin looks plumper — Paula's Choice Pro-Collagen Multi-Peptide Booster”
    • “softens lines and wrinkles — Paula's Choice 1% Retinol Treatment”
    • “Helps with skin firmness and reduces the appearance of lines. — Estée Lauder Re-Nutriv”
    • “Instantly blurs fine lines. — Estée Lauder Revitalizing Supreme+ Youth Power Eye Balm”
  • High Price Point and Value Mostly MentionedMostly Mentioned
    • “tiny tube — Paula's Choice 10% Azelaic Acid Booster”
    • “Sooooo expensive — Paula's Choice 25% Vitamin C + Glutathione Clinical Serum”
    • “way too expensive for the size — Estée Lauder Advanced Night Repair”
    • “too pricey — Estée Lauder Micro Essence Treatment Lotion”
  • Unpleasant Smell or Scent Complaints Often MentionedOften Mentioned
    • “smells like grain — Paula's Choice 10% Azelaic Acid Booster”
    • “smells like hot dog water — Paula's Choice C15 Super Booster”
    • “Scent is too overpowering — Estée Lauder Revitalizing Supreme+”
    • “strong scent — Estée Lauder Advanced Night Cleansing Gelée”
  • Packaging Issues and Leaks Sometimes NotedSometimes Noted
    • “dropper leaks — Paula's Choice C15 Super Booster”
    • “dropper can be unpredictable — Paula's Choice Pro-Collagen Multi-Peptide Booster”
    • “lid is hard to open — Estée Lauder Advanced Night Cleansing Gelée”
    • “Please make a jar or refill that is not as big and heavy. — Estée Lauder Re-Nutriv”
  • Purging and Breakouts Sometimes NotedRarely Noted
    • “gave me tiny red bumps — Estée Lauder Advanced Night Repair”
    • “Caused small bumps on forehead — Estée Lauder Revitalizing Supreme+”
    • “cystic acne — Estée Lauder Micro Essence Treatment Lotion”
    • “skin purged — Paula's Choice Skin Perfecting 2% BHA Liquid Exfoliant”

Paula's Choice vs Estée Lauder routines for dry skin

See multi-brand routine · 98% fit

Paula's Choice vs Estée Lauder routines for oily skin

See multi-brand routine · 97% fit

Paula's Choice vs Estée Lauder routines for combination skin

See multi-brand routine · 96% fit

Questions and answers

Paula's Choice or Estée Lauder: which is better?

Paula's Choice is generally better for oily and acne-prone skin types, whereas Estée Lauder excels in providing deep hydration. Lovi rates the routine fit for Paula's Choice as Superior for acne-prone skin, while Estée Lauder achieves a High fit for the same skin type.

What is the difference between Paula's Choice and Estée Lauder?

Paula's Choice delivers superior routine fit for oily, combination, sensitive, acne-prone, and mature skin types, whereas Estée Lauder achieves a high fit for most of these categories. Reviewers note that Paula's Choice excels in fast absorption and smoothing skin texture, while Estée Lauder stands out for deep hydration.

Paula's Choice or Estée Lauder for dry skin?

Paula's Choice is a better fit for dry skin, offering a High routine fit compared to Estée Lauder's Average level. The products on this page help deliver deep hydration with key ingredients like hyaluronic acid.

Dermatologic Therapy, 2022

Paula's Choice or Estée Lauder: which cleanser is better?

Paula's Choice is better for most skin types due to superior cleanser options like the CLEAR Pore Normalizing Cleanser, whereas Estée Lauder provides a gentle alternative in its Advanced Night Cleansing Gelée. Both brands offer fragrance-free cleanser choices on this page.

Which is more affordable, Paula's Choice or Estée Lauder?

Both brands share the same negative review theme regarding a high price point and value, so neither is more affordable than the other on the products on this page.

Which brand has a stronger fragrance, Paula's Choice or Estée Lauder?

Estée Lauder has a stronger fragrance, with strong fragrance sometimes noted by reviewers and some products listing fragrance, whereas Paula's Choice lists no fragrance in the ingredients of any product on this page.

Paula's Choice or Estée Lauder for dark spots?

Paula's Choice and Estée Lauder both offer effective options for dark spots, with Paula's Choice providing a High routine fit and Estée Lauder also achieving a High routine fit. Niacinamide, featured prominently in Paula's Choice products, helps reduce cutaneous pigmentation.

The British Journal of Dermatology, 2002Antioxidants, 2021

Paula's Choice or Estée Lauder for oily skin?

Paula's Choice is a superior fit for oily skin compared to Estée Lauder, which is a high fit. The products on this page from Paula's Choice help manage oil effectively with key ingredients like salicylic acid and niacinamide.

Paula's Choice or Estée Lauder: which moisturizer is better?

Paula's Choice offers a wider range of moisturizers with specialized formulas for different skin concerns, whereas Estée Lauder provides options focused on deep hydration and luxury feel. When comparing specific products on this page, Paula's Choice Clear Oil-Free Moisturizer has a High fit for oily and acne-prone skin, while Estée Lauder DayWear Moisturizer achieves a Superior fit for dry and sensitive skin.

Paula's Choice or Estée Lauder for sensitive skin?

Paula's Choice is a better choice for sensitive skin, offering a Superior routine fit compared to Estée Lauder's High fit on the products on this page.

Paula's Choice or Estée Lauder: which sunscreen is better?

Paula's Choice offers the Youth-Extending Daily Hydrating Fluid SPF 50, while Estée Lauder offers the DayWear Moisturizer, which has a Superior fit level for dry skin, dry sensitive skin, sensitive skin, and mature skin. Both sunscreens help protect the skin with high fit levels for combination skin, acne-prone skin, skin with dark spots, oily skin, and oily acne-prone skin.

Paula's Choice or Estée Lauder for acne-prone skin?

Paula's Choice is a better fit for acne-prone skin, achieving a Superior routine fit compared to Estée Lauder's High fit on this page.

Paula's Choice or Estée Lauder for mature skin?

Paula's Choice is a better fit for mature skin, achieving a Superior routine fit compared to Estée Lauder's Average level. The products on this page help improve firmness and smooth texture, and retinol may stimulate collagen accumulation in aging skin.

The Journal of Investigative Dermatology, 2000

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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