🇮🇪Ireland

La Roche-Posay vs Olay

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

La Roche-Posay and Olay are two respected skincare brands known for their nourishing serums, rich moisturizers, gentle cleansers, and targeted eye products formulated with glycerin, soothing thermal water, and niacinamide. Both brands suit mature skin, skin with dark spots, and acne-prone skin best, addressing varied needs with gentle efficacy. While La Roche-Posay is a French skincare brand founded in 1975 and owned by L'Oréal S.A. since 1989, its carefully balanced active ingredients focus on targeted concerns like those addressed by Anthelios, the Pure Vitamin C Cream, and the MELA B3 Facial Gel Cleanser. Conversely, the other brand provides thoughtful selections such as the Super Eyes Daily Eye Serum, the Regenerist Luminous Tone Perfecting Cream, and the Brightening Eye Cream to improve wrinkles, pigmentation, and skin aging.

La Roche-Posay is a French skincare brand founded in 1975 and owned by L'Oréal S.A. since 1989.

laroche-posay.com.aufr.wikipedia.org

This page compares some of the most popular La Roche-Posay and Olay products; for every product of both brands, with a fit score for your own skin, use the Lovi app.

Popular La Roche-Posay vs Olay products

People Say

La Roche-PosayOlay
  • Fragrance-Free and Gentle Formulas Mostly MentionedMostly Mentioned
    • “Great retinol for beginners — La Roche-Posay Retinol B3 Serum”
    • “Only cream that doesn't sting — La Roche-Posay Toleriane Dermallergo Eye Cream”
    • “doesn't strip my skin — Olay Regenerating Cream Cleanser”
    • “fragrance-free — Olay Eye Lifting Serum”
  • Hydration and Moisture Mostly MentionedMostly Mentioned
    • “absorbs instantly — La Roche-Posay Toleriane Double Repair Face Moisturizer”
    • “skin feels plump — La Roche-Posay Hyalu B5 Serum”
    • “Instantly smoother, softer, and more hydrated — Olay Regenerist Micro-Sculpting Cream”
    • “light and smooth — Olay Ultimate Eye Cream”
  • Good Texture and Absorption Often MentionedMostly Mentioned
    • “sinks in quickly — Olay Super Serum”
    • “absorbs quickly — Olay Vitamin C Serum”
    • “Absorbs so quickly! — Olay Regenerist Regenerating Serum”
    • “lightweight and absorbs quickly — La Roche-Posay Mela B3 Serum”
  • Texture Improvement and Skin Smoothing Often MentionedMostly Mentioned
    • “skin feels baby soft — Olay Retinol24”
    • “Skin feels like silk — Olay Regenerist Retinol 24 Night Moisturizer”
    • “velvety soft skin — Olay Super Serum Night Repair”
    • “Skin feels smoother — La Roche-Posay Retinol B3 Serum”
  • Brightening and Dark Spot Fading Sometimes NotedOften Mentioned
    • “iridescent glow — Olay Super Serum”
    • “hides dark shadows — Olay Ultimate Eye Cream”
    • “skin looks brighter — Olay Vitamin C Serum”
    • “skin looks brighter — La Roche-Posay Mela B3 Serum”
  • Skin Soothing and Redness Reduction Often MentionedNot noted
    • “Calmed my skin after a chemical peel — La Roche-Posay Thermal Spring Water”
    • “no stinging — La Roche-Posay Toleriane Double Repair Face Moisturizer”
    • “Calms redness instantly — La Roche-Posay Cicaplast Baume B5+”
  • Packaging and Pump Issues Often MentionedOften Mentioned
    • “pump stops working — La Roche-Posay Lipikar AP+M Triple Repair Moisturizing Cream”
    • “Pump stopped working halfway — La Roche-Posay Toleriane Dermallergo Eye Cream”
    • “hard to dispense — Olay Super Serum”
    • “dropper is frustrating — Olay Super Serum Night Repair”
  • Strong or Disliked Fragrance Sometimes NotedSometimes Noted
    • “scent is awful — La Roche-Posay Mela B3 Serum”
    • “overwhelming floral smell — La Roche-Posay Hyalu B5 Serum”
    • “Fragrance can be an irritant — Olay Regenerist Micro-Sculpting Cream”
    • “floral scent — Olay Super Serum”
  • Heavy, Greasy, or Sticky Feel Sometimes NotedSometimes Noted
    • “Wake up feeling a bit greasy — Olay Regenerist Micro-Sculpting Cream”
    • “feels like a coating — Olay Regenerating Cream Cleanser”
    • “feels sticky — Olay Vitamin C Serum”
    • “Very sticky — La Roche-Posay Pure Vitamin C10 Serum”

La Roche-Posay vs Olay routines for dry skin

See multi-brand routine · 98% fit

La Roche-Posay vs Olay routines for oily skin

See multi-brand routine · 96% fit

La Roche-Posay vs Olay routines for combination skin

See multi-brand routine · 95% fit

Questions and answers

La Roche-Posay or Olay: which is better?

Both brands offer a High routine fit for almost all skin types and tie with a Superior fit for mature skin. Olay may perform better for brightening and texture smoothing, while La Roche-Posay helps more with skin soothing and redness reduction.

What is the difference between La Roche-Posay and Olay?

La Roche-Posay and Olay both offer high fit levels for all main skin types, but they differ in their formulation approaches and reviewer feedback. La Roche-Posay is known for targeted skin soothing and redness reduction with key ingredients like thermal water and niacinamide, whereas Olay stands out for texture improvement, skin smoothing, and brightening using ingredients like niacinamide and peptides.

The British Journal of Dermatology, 2002Antioxidants, 2021

La Roche-Posay or Olay for dry skin?

Both La Roche-Posay and Olay provide a High routine fit for dry skin, though they differ in their specific product strengths and formulations. La Roche-Posay features fragrance-free options across most of its line alongside soothing thermal water, while Olay offers intense hydration and superior texture improvement through key ingredients like niacinamide and glycerin.

The British Journal of Dermatology, 2002Antioxidants, 2021

La Roche-Posay or Olay: which cleanser is better?

Both La Roche-Posay and Olay offer cleansers that fit oily acne-prone skin at a High level on this page. Reviewers report that Olay cleansers help improve texture and smoothness, while La Roche-Posay cleansers help soothe skin and reduce redness.

Which is more affordable, La Roche-Posay or Olay?

Price is not mentioned on this page for either La Roche-Posay or Olay, so affordability cannot be compared here. However, reviews frequently mention price, value, and size concerns for La Roche-Posay.

Between La Roche-Posay and Olay, which brand offers more fragrance-free products?

Olay offers more fragrance-free products on this page, with 26 out of 27 items listing no fragrance compared to 14 out of 35 for La Roche-Posay.

How do the founding years and parent companies of La Roche-Posay and Olay compare?

La Roche-Posay was founded in France in 1975 and has been owned by L'Oréal S.A. since 1989. In comparison, Olay was founded earlier in 1952 and has been owned by The Procter & Gamble Company since 1985.

Which brand performs better for texture improvement and skin smoothing?

Olay performs better for texture improvement and skin smoothing. Reviewers on this page frequently mention improved texture and smoothness as a positive attribute for Olay products.

La Roche-Posay or Olay for oily skin?

Both La Roche-Posay and Olay achieve a High routine fit for oily skin. Reviewers find that Olay delivers good texture and absorption, while La Roche-Posay offers targeted options like Anthelios with a Superior fit level for oily skin.

La Roche-Posay or Olay: which moisturizer is better?

Both La Roche-Posay and Olay offer moisturizers with a High or Superior fit for dry skin and other skin types on this page. Reviewers report that Olay moisturizers frequently provide better texture and intense hydration, whereas La Roche-Posay products on this page often help soothe skin and reduce redness.

La Roche-Posay or Olay for sensitive skin?

Both La Roche-Posay and Olay achieve a High routine fit for sensitive skin. La Roche-Posay features strong skin-soothing options like Cicaplast Gel B5, which is rated Superior for sensitive skin, while Olay offers largely fragrance-free formulations.

La Roche-Posay or Olay: which sunscreen is better?

La Roche-Posay and Olay both offer effective sunscreens, but La Roche-Posay achieves a Superior Lovi fit level for sunscreen use on sensitive skin and skin with dark spots. Reviewers also note that Olay provides fragrance-free options across most of its products on this page.

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?

Scan your face, then any product: Lovi shows how well it fits you and what fits even better.

QR code: get the Lovi app
Download on theApp Store Get it onGoogle Play