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The Ordinary vs La Roche-Posay

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

The Ordinary and La Roche-Posay are two well-regarded skincare brands with distinct approaches to daily care. The Ordinary, founded in 2016 and owned by The Estée Lauder Companies Inc., offers targeted serums, moisturizers, cleansers, and toners built around hyaluronic acid, glycerin, and squalane that fit dry skin and dry sensitive skin best. Conversely, La Roche-Posay is a French brand founded in 1975 and owned by L'Oréal S.A. that is loved for its nourishing serums, rich moisturizers, gentle cleansers, and targeted eye products formulated with glycerin, soothing thermal water, and niacinamide to suit mature skin and skin with dark spots best. While the Canadian line excels with single-ingredient formulations like niacinamide, mandelic acid, and lactic acid for specific needs, the French brand relies on carefully balanced active ingredients such as the Anthelios, Pure Vitamin C Cream, and MELA B3 Facial Gel Cleanser.

The Ordinary is a Canadian skincare brand founded in 2016 and owned by The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. since 2021.

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

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

Popular The Ordinary vs La Roche-Posay products

People Say

The OrdinaryLa Roche-Posay
  • Other Product Benefits and Features Mostly MentionedOften Mentioned
    • “eliminated armpit odor — The Ordinary Glycolic Acid 7% Toning Solution”
    • “pores look significantly smaller — The Ordinary Niacinamide 10% + Zinc 1%”
    • “deflates morning bags — The Ordinary Caffeine Solution 5% + EGCG”
    • “zero scent — La Roche-Posay Toleriane Double Repair Face Moisturizer”
  • Texture Improvement and Smoothing Often MentionedOften Mentioned
    • “glass skin effect — The Ordinary Glycolic Acid 7% Toning Solution”
    • “skin feels baby butt smooth — The Ordinary AHA 30% + BHA 2% Peeling Solution”
    • “lightweight and absorbs quickly — La Roche-Posay Mela B3 Serum”
    • “Skin feels smoother — La Roche-Posay Retinol B3 Serum”
  • Hydration and Moisture Sometimes NotedMostly Mentioned
    • “absorbs instantly — La Roche-Posay Toleriane Double Repair Face Moisturizer”
    • “skin feels plump — La Roche-Posay Hyalu B5 Serum”
    • “legs stopped flaking — La Roche-Posay Lipikar AP+M Triple Repair Moisturizing Cream”
    • “skin feels immediately hydrated — The Ordinary Hyaluronic Acid 2% + B5”
  • Sensitive Skin Friendly Sometimes NotedMostly Mentioned
    • “Great retinol for beginners — La Roche-Posay Retinol B3 Serum”
    • “Only cream that doesn't sting — La Roche-Posay Toleriane Dermallergo Eye Cream”
    • “no stinging — La Roche-Posay Toleriane Double Repair Face Moisturizer”
    • “Finally a cleanser that doesn't sting my face. — The Ordinary Squalane Cleanser”
  • Value and Pricing Mostly MentionedNot noted
    • “lasts forever — The Ordinary Glycolic Acid 7% Toning Solution”
    • “can't beat the price — The Ordinary Salicylic Acid 2% Solution”
    • “extremely affordable — The Ordinary Niacinamide 10% + Zinc 1%”
  • Acne Clearing and Prevention Often MentionedSometimes Noted
    • “pimples disappear within a day — The Ordinary Salicylic Acid 2% Solution”
    • “scars and hormonal acne faded — The Ordinary Azelaic Acid Suspension 10%”
    • “faded dark spots — The Ordinary Glycolic Acid 7% Toning Solution”
    • “clears acne blemishes — La Roche-Posay Effaclar Medicated Gel Cleanser”
  • Texture and Pilling Issues Mostly MentionedOften Mentioned
    • “pills like crazy — La Roche-Posay Toleriane Double Repair Face Moisturizer”
    • “Very sticky — La Roche-Posay Pure Vitamin C10 Serum”
    • “leaves a tacky residue — La Roche-Posay Hyalu B5 Serum”
    • “crumbles and piles under moisturizer — The Ordinary Azelaic Acid Suspension 10%”
  • Other Product Issues and Inefficiencies Sometimes NotedSometimes Noted
    • “Turns orange fast — La Roche-Posay Pure Vitamin C10 Serum”
    • “didn't see any significant improvement — La Roche-Posay Mela B3 Serum”
    • “Weaker retinol product — La Roche-Posay Retinol B3 Serum”
    • “no change in pigment — The Ordinary Caffeine Solution 5% + EGCG”
  • Skin Irritation and Stinging Often MentionedRarely Noted
    • “burned my face — La Roche-Posay Toleriane Double Repair Face Moisturizer”
    • “dried my skin out — La Roche-Posay Mela B3 Serum”
    • “burning sensation — La Roche-Posay Effaclar Medicated Gel Cleanser”
    • “irritated AF the next day — The Ordinary AHA 30% + BHA 2% Peeling Solution”
  • Packaging and Pump Issues Rarely NotedOften Mentioned
    • “The 50ml tube runs out way too fast. — The Ordinary Squalane Cleanser”
    • “Wish it came in a pump — The Ordinary Natural Moisturizing Factors + HA”
    • “pump stops working — La Roche-Posay Lipikar AP+M Triple Repair Moisturizing Cream”

The Ordinary vs La Roche-Posay routines for dry skin

See multi-brand routine · 98% fit

The Ordinary vs La Roche-Posay routines for oily skin

See multi-brand routine · 96% fit

The Ordinary vs La Roche-Posay routines for combination skin

See multi-brand routine · 95% fit

Questions and answers

The Ordinary or La Roche-Posay: which is better?

The Ordinary offers better value and superior routine fit for dry and combination skin types, while La Roche-Posay provides better hydration and sensitive-skin friendly moisturizers.

What is the difference between The Ordinary and La Roche-Posay?

The Ordinary provides better value and acne-clearing benefits, whereas La Roche-Posay excels in hydration and sensitive-skin care. Lovi rates The Ordinary as Superior for dry skin routines, while La Roche-Posay reaches a High fit level for dry skin.

The Ordinary or La Roche-Posay for dry skin?

For dry skin, Lovi finds The Ordinary has a Superior routine fit, while La Roche-Posay reaches a High fit level. Topical hyaluronic acid helps improve skin quality and signs of aging.

Dermatologic Therapy, 2022

The Ordinary or La Roche-Posay: which cleanser is better?

The Ordinary offers better value with its cleansers on this page, while La Roche-Posay provides gentler formulas for sensitive skin. Lovi rates the cleansers from both brands as High for dry skin and oily acne-prone skin.

Which is more affordable, The Ordinary or La Roche-Posay?

The Ordinary offers better value and is more affordable, as reflected in shopper reviews on value and pricing.

How do the fragrance options differ between The Ordinary and La Roche-Posay products?

The products on this page by The Ordinary list no fragrance across the entire range, whereas several La Roche-Posay items contain added fragrance. This means shoppers looking for strictly fragrance-free options may find a more consistent selection with The Ordinary.

Which brand performs better for texture improvement and smoothing according to reviewers?

According to reviewers, both The Ordinary and La Roche-Posay perform equally well for texture improvement and smoothing.

What are the founding years and parent companies of The Ordinary and La Roche-Posay?

The Ordinary was founded in Canada in 2016 and is owned by The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. La Roche-Posay was founded in France in 1975 and is owned by L'Oréal S.A.

The Ordinary or La Roche-Posay for oily skin?

For oily skin, Lovi finds The Ordinary has a Superior routine fit, while La Roche-Posay has a High fit.

The Ordinary or La Roche-Posay: which moisturizer is better?

The Ordinary provides a superior routine fit for dry skin compared to La Roche-Posay. Topical hyaluronic acid, found in moisturizers from both brands, helps improve skin quality and signs of skin aging.

Dermatologic Therapy, 2022

The Ordinary or La Roche-Posay for sensitive skin?

For sensitive skin, Lovi finds The Ordinary has a Superior routine fit compared to a High fit for La Roche-Posay. Every product on The Ordinary page lists no fragrance, whereas several La Roche-Posay products contain added fragrance.

The Ordinary or La Roche-Posay for acne-prone skin?

Both The Ordinary and La Roche-Posay offer products that fit acne-prone skin well, with Lovi fit levels reaching High for both brands.

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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