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Paula's Choice vs Trilogy

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

Paula's Choice and Trilogy are established skincare brands offering distinct approaches to daily care. The American enterprise, founded in 1995 and owned by Unilever since 2021, focuses on serums, cleansers, moisturizers, and toners built around hyaluronic acid, glycerin, and vitamin c, while the latter is deeply loved for thoughtful moisturizers and gentle cleansers based on high-performing formulas. Both lines suit different complexions, as the first fits oily and acne-prone skin best, and its counterpart suits dry, balanced, and sensitive skin types. They primarily differ in their ingredient philosophies and target concerns, where glycerin significantly increases skin hydration and restores barrier function for the former.

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

unilever.comtracxn.com

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

Popular Paula's Choice vs Trilogy products

People Say

Paula's ChoiceTrilogy
  • Hydrating formula Not notedMostly Mentioned
    • “Keeps skin moisturized — Trilogy Vitamin C Ceramide Night Cream”
    • “Leaves skin thoroughly moisturised — Trilogy Line Smoothing Day Cream”
    • “Feels moisturizing — Trilogy Rosehip Cream Cleanser”
  • Non-irritating and gentle Often MentionedMostly Mentioned
    • “Doesn't irritate my sensitive skin — Trilogy Rosehip Cream Cleanser”
    • “Nothing irritated my skin — Trilogy Line Smoothing Day Cream”
    • “Finally a vitamin C product I can use — Paula's Choice 25% Vitamin C + Glutathione Clinical Serum”
  • Glow, radiance, and even skin tone Mostly MentionedOften Mentioned
    • “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”
    • “Wake to a glowing complexion — Trilogy Vitamin C Ceramide Night Cream”
  • Pleasant gel or cream texture Rarely NotedMostly Mentioned
    • “Silky cream consistency — Trilogy Rosehip Cream Cleanser”
    • “Luxuriously rich — Trilogy Vitamin C Ceramide Night Cream”
    • “Silky gel feel — Paula's Choice CLEAR Pore Normalizing Cleanser”
  • Texture smoothing and softening Mostly MentionedNot noted
    • “skin becomes very smooth — Paula's Choice 1% Retinol Treatment”
    • “bumps be gone — Paula's Choice Weightless Body Treatment 2% BHA”
    • “skin is insanely soft — Paula's Choice Weightless Body Treatment 2% BHA”
  • Lightweight and fast absorption Mostly MentionedNot noted
    • “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”
  • High price and value concerns Mostly MentionedRarely Noted
    • “Price to be high relative to performance — Trilogy Rosehip Cream Cleanser”
    • “tiny tube — Paula's Choice 10% Azelaic Acid Booster”
  • Unpleasant smell and scent issues Often MentionedSometimes Noted
    • “If you are sensitive to fragrances, you might find it irritating — Trilogy Rosehip Cream Cleanser”
    • “Scent is awful — Trilogy Line Smoothing Day Cream”
    • “smells like grain — Paula's Choice 10% Azelaic Acid Booster”
  • Heavy for oily skin Rarely NotedOften Mentioned
    • “Extremely greasy — Paula's Choice 25% Vitamin C + Glutathione Clinical Serum”
    • “A little bit too thick — Trilogy Vitamin C Ceramide Night Cream”

Questions and answers

Paula's Choice or Trilogy: which is better?

Paula's Choice offers a much wider range of fragrance-free products that Lovi rates as having superior fit for oily and acne-prone skin, while Trilogy is noted for hydrating formulas. Paula's Choice helps improve skin texture and tone with key ingredients like retinol and niacinamide, which studies show stimulate collagen and reduce pigmentation.

The Journal of Investigative Dermatology, 2000The British Journal of Dermatology, 2002

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

Paula's Choice offers a much larger selection of fragrance-free products that help target acne and oily skin, whereas Trilogy features hydrating and brightening moisturizers that may carry a scent.

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

Paula's Choice offers a wider range of cleansers with high fit levels for oily and acne-prone skin, whereas Trilogy features hydrating options like the Rosehip Cream Cleanser that may suit dry and sensitive skin.

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

Reviewers note that Trilogy has high price and value concerns, while Paula's Choice reviewers mostly mention high price and packaging issues.

Which causes fewer breakouts, Paula's Choice or Trilogy?

Paula's Choice fits acne-prone and oily acne-prone skin best, and the products on this page list no fragrance, whereas Trilogy includes fragrance in most of its products and features no specific brand-focused routines for acne-prone skin.

When were Paula's Choice and Trilogy founded?

Paula's Choice was founded in 1995 in the United States, while Trilogy was founded in 2002.

Which brand has more fragrance-free products, Paula's Choice or Trilogy?

Paula's Choice has more fragrance-free products, as every product on the products on this page lists no fragrance in its ingredients, whereas only 1 of 3 products on this page list no fragrance for Trilogy.

Which brand performs better for hydrating formulas according to reviewer themes?

According to reviewer themes, Trilogy performs better for hydrating formulas.

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

Paula's Choice and Trilogy both offer high moisture for dry skin, but Paula's Choice provides a wider variety of targeted options with no fragrance across all products on this page. Trilogy is often noted for its hydrating formulas, while Paula's Choice focuses heavily on active ingredients like hyaluronic acid and ceramides to help support the skin barrier.

Drug Delivery, 2017

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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