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Paula's Choice vs Medik8

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

Paula's Choice and Medik8 are established skincare brands offering serums, cleansers, moisturizers, toners, and more. The American brand is built around hyaluronic acid, glycerin, and vitamin c, fitting oily skin and mature skin best, while the British brand is built around hyaluronic acid, fitting dry skin and dry sensitive skin best. Glycerin significantly increased skin hydration and restored barrier function in the former, whereas hyaluronic acid lengthens toxin wrinkle effect duration in the latter. Both differ fundamentally in their origins, ownership timelines, and specific formulations.

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

unilever.comtracxn.com

Medik8 is a British skincare brand founded in 2009 and owned by L'Oréal Groupe since 2025.

loreal.commedik8.comtracxn.com

This page compares some of the most popular Paula's Choice and Medik8 products; for every product of both brands, with a fit score for your own skin, use the Lovi app.

Popular Paula's Choice vs Medik8 products

People Say

Paula's ChoiceMedik8
  • Hydration and Moisture Mostly MentionedMostly Mentioned
    • “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”
    • “Restores moisture — Medik8 Liquid Peptides”
    • “absorbed effortlessly — Medik8 Total Moisture Daily Facial Cream”
  • Texture and Pores Mostly MentionedOften Mentioned
    • “cleared my bumps — Paula's Choice Skin Perfecting 2% BHA Liquid Exfoliant”
    • “skin becomes very smooth — Paula's Choice 1% Retinol Treatment”
    • “pores look smaller — Paula's Choice 10% Niacinamide Booster”
    • “smoother skin — Medik8 Surface Radiance Cleanse”
  • Gentle Formulation Often MentionedMostly Mentioned
    • “zero irritation or peeling — Medik8 CRYSTAL RETINAL 3”
    • “only Vitamin C my sensitive skin can tolerate — Medik8 C-Tetra Serum”
    • “Best retinol replacement — Medik8 Bakuchiol Peptides”
    • “Finally a vitamin C product I can use — Paula's Choice 25% Vitamin C + Glutathione Clinical Serum”
  • Glow and Brightening Often MentionedOften Mentioned
    • “visible glow — Paula's Choice C15 Super Booster”
    • “acne scars faded — Paula's Choice 10% Azelaic Acid Booster”
    • “I wake up glowing. It adds back that youthful bloom that I've lost. — Medik8 Sleep Glycolic”
    • “unlocked a serious glow — Medik8 C-Tetra Serum”
  • Anti-Aging and Firming Sometimes NotedOften Mentioned
    • “skin looks plumper — Paula's Choice Pro-Collagen Multi-Peptide Booster”
    • “softens lines and wrinkles — Paula's Choice 1% Retinol Treatment”
    • “Reduces fine lines — Medik8 Liquid Peptides”
    • “Plumps skin with moisture — Medik8 Bakuchiol Peptides”
  • Acne and Cleansing Often MentionedRarely Noted
    • “Helped clear my cystic acne — Paula's Choice CLEAR Pore Normalizing Cleanser”
    • “heals blemishes faster — Paula's Choice Skin Perfecting 2% BHA Liquid Exfoliant”
    • “Removes all my makeup easily — Paula's Choice CLEAR Pore Normalizing Cleanser”
    • “pores feel cleaner — Medik8 Surface Radiance Cleanse”
  • High Price Point Mostly MentionedOften Mentioned
    • “Expensive per bottle — Medik8 Liquid Peptides”
    • “very expensive for amount — Medik8 CRYSTAL RETINAL 3”
    • “hefty price tag — Medik8 C-Tetra Serum”
    • “tiny tube — Paula's Choice 10% Azelaic Acid Booster”
  • Dryness and Flaking Sometimes NotedSometimes Noted
    • “slightly drying — Medik8 Surface Radiance Cleanse”
    • “need a thick moisturizer — Medik8 CRYSTAL RETINAL 3”
    • “need more moisture — Medik8 Crystal Retinal Ceramide Eye 3”
    • “peeling and flaking — Paula's Choice 1% Retinol Treatment”
  • Packaging Issues Sometimes NotedSometimes Noted
    • “dropper leaks — Paula's Choice C15 Super Booster”
    • “dropper can be unpredictable — Paula's Choice Pro-Collagen Multi-Peptide Booster”
    • “Glass bottle breaks easily — Medik8 Liquid Peptides”
    • “hard to get last bit — Medik8 CRYSTAL RETINAL 3”

Paula's Choice vs Medik8 routines for dry skin

See multi-brand routine · 98% fit

Paula's Choice vs Medik8 routines for oily skin

See multi-brand routine · 96% fit

Paula's Choice vs Medik8 routines for combination skin

See multi-brand routine · 95% fit

Questions and answers

Paula's Choice or Medik8: which is better?

Paula's Choice fits oily, oily acne-prone, and mature skin best, while Medik8 fits dry, dry sensitive, and sensitive skin best. Paula's Choice does better for texture, pores, acne, and cleansing, whereas Medik8 does better for gentle formulation.

What is the difference between Paula's Choice and Medik8?

Paula's Choice is an American brand founded in 1995 that features a wide range of fragrance-free products with active ingredients like niacinamide and salicylic acid, fitting best for oily, mature, and oily acne-prone skin. In contrast, Medik8 is a British brand founded in 2009 that focuses on gentle, non-irritating formulations with hyaluronic acid, fitting best for dry, dry sensitive, and sensitive skin.

Paula's Choice or Medik8 for dry skin?

Medik8 is a superior fit for dry skin with its dedicated routines, while Paula's Choice also offers high-level options like the Replenishing Moisturizer. Hyaluronic acid helps boost moisture levels in dry skin.

Dermatologic Therapy, 2022

Paula's Choice or Medik8: which cleanser is better?

Paula's Choice is better for acne and cleansing, with its products on this page fitting oily acne-prone skin, oily skin, and acne-prone skin at a Superior level. Medik8 also performs well, but reviewers note that Paula's Choice does better for texture and pores.

Which is more affordable, Paula's Choice or Medik8?

Medik8 has a high price point that is often mentioned by reviewers, while high price is mostly mentioned for Paula's Choice.

Paula's Choice or Medik8 for anti-aging and firming?

Both Paula's Choice and Medik8 perform equally well for anti-aging and firming, with top anti-aging ingredients like retinol that help stimulate collagen accumulation and improve naturally aged skin.

The Journal of Investigative Dermatology, 2000Archives of Dermatology, 2007

Do Paula's Choice products contain fragrance?

Every product on the Paula's Choice page lists no fragrance in its ingredients.

When was Medik8 founded and who owns it?

Medik8 was founded in 2009 in the United Kingdom and is owned by L'Oréal Groupe.

Paula's Choice or Medik8 for oily skin?

Paula's Choice fits oily skin better, with Lovi fit levels reaching Superior across multiple products on this page. Medik8 also fits oily skin well, reaching a High level.

Paula's Choice or Medik8: which moisturizer is better?

Both Paula's Choice and Medik8 offer effective moisturizers, with Paula's Choice fitting oily skin better and Medik8 fitting dry and sensitive skin better.

Paula's Choice or Medik8 for sensitive skin?

Medik8 is the better choice for sensitive skin, as Lovi rates its routine fit as Superior compared to High for Paula's Choice. Reviewers note that Medik8 formulas tend to be gentle and non-irritating.

Paula's Choice or Medik8 for acne-prone skin?

For acne-prone skin, Paula's Choice is a superior fit compared to Medik8 based on the products on this page. Reviewers note that Paula's Choice does better for acne and cleansing.

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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