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SKIN1004 vs Paula's Choice

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

SKIN1004 and Paula's Choice are two distinct skincare lines known for formulating effective products with targeted ingredients. SKIN1004, the Korean brand, relies on centella asiatica, hyaluronic acid, and niacinamide within its toners, moisturizers, and sunscreens to suit sensitive and dry skin. Conversely, the American brand utilizes hyaluronic acid, glycerin, and vitamin c in its serums, cleansers, and toners to best fit oily and mature skin. Ultimately, they differ through their foundational ingredients and regional approaches to addressing skin concerns.

SKIN1004 is a Korean skincare brand founded in 2012 and owned by Goodai Global Inc. since 2024.

mk.co.krpitchbook.comtracxn.comgoodai-global.com

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 SKIN1004 and Paula's Choice products; for every product of both brands, with a fit score for your own skin, use the Lovi app.

Popular SKIN1004 vs Paula's Choice products

People Say

SKIN1004Paula's Choice
  • Lightweight texture Mostly MentionedOften Mentioned
    • “sunk in like a dream — SKIN1004 Madagascar Centella Hyalu-Cica Water-Fit Sun Serum”
    • “Texture is on the thinner side... surprisingly lightweight. — SKIN1004 Madagascar Centella Light Cleansing Oil”
    • “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”
  • Hydration and soothing Mostly MentionedRarely Noted
    • “calmed my angry skin — SKIN1004 Madagascar Centella Toning Toner”
    • “Gives my dehydrated skin a moisture surge — SKIN1004 Madagascar Centella Watergel Sheet Ampoule Mask”
    • “Eliminated redness on my easily irritated skin — SKIN1004 Madagascar Centella Watergel Sheet Ampoule Mask”
    • “instantly hydrates — Paula's Choice Pro-Collagen Multi-Peptide Booster”
  • Skin smoothing and texture Sometimes NotedMostly Mentioned
    • “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 super soft — SKIN1004 Zombie Pack”
  • Brightening and complexion Rarely NotedOften 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”
    • “Gives a nice glow — SKIN1004 Madagascar Centella Tone Brightening Boosting Toner”
  • Effective cleansing Sometimes NotedSometimes Noted
    • “doesn't strip my skin — SKIN1004 Madagascar Centella Tone Brightening Cleansing Gel Foam”
    • “Dissolves waterproof mascara and sunscreen effortlessly. — SKIN1004 Madagascar Centella Light Cleansing Oil”
    • “cleared my bumps — Paula's Choice Skin Perfecting 2% BHA Liquid Exfoliant”
    • “Removes all my makeup easily — Paula's Choice CLEAR Pore Normalizing Cleanser”
  • Gentle formulation Sometimes NotedSometimes Noted
    • “doesn't burn my eyes — SKIN1004 Probio-Cica Bakuchiol Eye Cream”
    • “Does not sting my eyes or irritate my sensitive skin. — SKIN1004 Madagascar Centella Light Cleansing Oil”
    • “Finally a vitamin C product I can use — Paula's Choice 25% Vitamin C + Glutathione Clinical Serum”
    • “Doesn't strip my skin — Paula's Choice CLEAR Pore Normalizing Cleanser”
  • Small size or high price Rarely NotedMostly Mentioned
    • “Price is quite steep — SKIN1004 Madagascar Centella Watergel Sheet Ampoule Mask”
    • “wish it came in larger size — SKIN1004 Madagascar Centella Poremizing Light Gel Cream”
    • “Pricey for daily use — SKIN1004 Madagascar Centella Quick Calming Pad”
    • “surprisingly small bottle — Paula's Choice Skin-Smoothing Retinol Body Treatment”
  • Scent dislikes Sometimes NotedOften Mentioned
    • “smells like wet dog — SKIN1004 Zombie Pack”
    • “Has a strong herbal/citrus scent I didn't enjoy. — SKIN1004 Madagascar Centella Light Cleansing Oil”
    • “smells a bit like plastic — SKIN1004 Madagascar Centella Tone Brightening Cleansing Gel Foam”
    • “smells like grain — Paula's Choice 10% Azelaic Acid Booster”
  • Insufficient hydration or dryness Sometimes NotedSometimes Noted
    • “not enough for dry skin — SKIN1004 Madagascar Centella Poremizing Light Gel Cream”
    • “not moisturizing enough — SKIN1004 Madagascar Centella Toning Toner”
    • “peeling and flaking — Paula's Choice 1% Retinol Treatment”
    • “Not hydrating enough for winter. — Paula's Choice Clear Oil-Free Moisturizer”
  • Irritation and eye discomfort Sometimes NotedSometimes Noted
    • “Made my vision blurry/foggy for a while after rinsing. — SKIN1004 Madagascar Centella Light Cleansing Oil”
    • “painful tightness — SKIN1004 Zombie Pack”
    • “burnt skin off — Paula's Choice 1% Retinol Treatment”
    • “caused cystic acne — Paula's Choice 10% Niacinamide Booster”

SKIN1004 vs Paula's Choice routines for dry skin

See multi-brand routine · 98% fit

SKIN1004 vs Paula's Choice routines for oily skin

See multi-brand routine · 96% fit

SKIN1004 vs Paula's Choice routines for combination skin

See multi-brand routine · 95% fit

Questions and answers

SKIN1004 or Paula's Choice: which is better?

Paula's Choice is better for oily skin, acne-prone skin, and mature skin where Lovi rates its routine fit as Superior compared to High for SKIN1004. Both brands offer an equal routine fit for dry, combination, sensitive, dark spots, dry sensitive, and oily acne-prone skin types.

What is the difference between SKIN1004 and Paula's Choice?

Paula's Choice is better for oily skin, acne-prone skin, and mature skin, while both brands are equal for dry skin, sensitive skin, combination skin, skin with dark spots, and dry sensitive skin. Paula's Choice focuses on skin smoothing and brightening, whereas SKIN1004 focuses on hydration and soothing. Niacinamide helps reduce cutaneous pigmentation and suppress melanosome transfer.

The British Journal of Dermatology, 2002Antioxidants, 2021

SKIN1004 or Paula's Choice for dry skin?

Both SKIN1004 and Paula's Choice fit dry skin at a High level on this page. SKIN1004 products on this page help provide hydration and soothing, while Paula's Choice provides targeted skin smoothing and anti-aging serums.

SKIN1004 or Paula's Choice: which cleanser is better?

Both SKIN1004 and Paula's Choice offer cleansers with strong performance, as the products on this page for both brands achieve high or superior Lovi fit levels for cleansing across multiple skin types. Paula's Choice leans toward superior results for oily and acne-prone skin, while SKIN1004 provides fragrance-free options featuring Centella asiatica.

Which is more affordable, SKIN1004 or Paula's Choice?

Reviewers note that SKIN1004 has small size or high price issues, while Paula's Choice frequently mentions high price and packaging issues.

Between SKIN1004 and Paula's Choice, which brand is better for addressing mature skin and anti-aging?

Paula's Choice is better for mature skin and anti-aging because Lovi rates its routine fit for mature skin as Superior, compared to High for SKIN1004. Paula's Choice also does better on the review themes for skin smoothing and texture and for brightening and complexion.

The Journal of Investigative Dermatology, 2000

How do the key active ingredients compare between SKIN1004 and Paula's Choice product lines?

SKIN1004 features centella asiatica, hyaluronic acid, niacinamide, and panthenol across the products on this page, while Paula's Choice relies on hyaluronic acid, glycerin, vitamin c, licorice root, niacinamide, salicylic acid, green tea, and vitamin e. Hyaluronic acid helps improve skin hydration, and niacinamide may help reduce pigmentation.

Journal of Pharmacy & Pharmaceutical Sciences, 2015The British Journal of Dermatology, 2002

Which brand performs better for brightening and complexion improvement according to review themes?

Paula's Choice performs better for brightening and complexion improvement according to the review themes.

SKIN1004 or Paula's Choice for oily skin?

Paula's Choice is better for oily skin, as Lovi rates its routine as Superior compared to High for SKIN1004. Paula's Choice features specialized exfoliants like salicylic acid that help manage oil and smooth texture.

SKIN1004 or Paula's Choice: which moisturizer is better?

Both SKIN1004 and Paula's Choice offer moisturizers with various fit levels depending on your skin type. For dry skin, the products on this page help provide hydration with ingredients like hyaluronic acid and panthenol.

Journal of Pharmacy & Pharmaceutical Sciences, 2015American Journal of Clinical Dermatology, 2002

SKIN1004 or Paula's Choice for sensitive skin?

Both SKIN1004 and Paula's Choice achieve a High Lovi fit level for sensitive skin. SKIN1004 features a fragrance-free lineup focusing on soothing ingredients like Centella asiatica and hyaluronic acid, whereas Paula's Choice offers gentle options such as the CALM Ultra-Gentle Cleanser.

Journal of Pharmacy & Pharmaceutical Sciences, 2015Dermatologic Therapy, 2022

SKIN1004 or Paula's Choice: which sunscreen is better?

SKIN1004 is better for sensitive, dry, and combination skin, as its Madagascar Centella Hyalu-Cica Water-Fit Sun Serum achieves a Superior fit for those skin types, whereas Paula's Choice offers fewer options like the Youth-Extending Daily Hydrating Fluid SPF 50 that achieves a High fit for dry and combination skin and an Average fit for sensitive skin.

SKIN1004 or Paula's Choice for acne-prone skin?

Paula's Choice is superior for acne-prone skin, offering a Superior routine fit compared to the High fit level of SKIN1004. Both brands feature products like niacinamide, which helps reduce pigmentation and regulate skin activity.

The British Journal of Dermatology, 2002Antioxidants, 2021

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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