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La Roche-Posay vs Paula's Choice

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

La Roche-Posay and Paula's Choice are two distinct skincare options that offer targeted serums, nourishing moisturizers, gentle cleansers, and soothing eye products. The French brand relies on hydrating glycerin, mineral-rich thermal water, and brightening niacinamide to best suit mature skin and dry skin, while the American brand builds its selections around hyaluronic acid, glycerin, and vitamin c to suit oily skin and acne-prone skin best. These two brands differ primarily in their core formulations and skin type affinities, giving shoppers distinct paths toward targeted skincare.

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

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

Popular La Roche-Posay vs Paula's Choice products

People Say

La Roche-PosayPaula's Choice
  • Fragrance-free and Gentle Formulas Mostly MentionedOften Mentioned
    • “Great retinol for beginners — La Roche-Posay Retinol B3 Serum”
    • “Only cream that doesn't sting — La Roche-Posay Toleriane Dermallergo Eye Cream”
    • “zero scent — La Roche-Posay Toleriane Double Repair Face Moisturizer”
    • “Finally a vitamin C product I can use — Paula's Choice 25% Vitamin C + Glutathione Clinical Serum”
  • Skin Texture Improvement Often MentionedMostly Mentioned
    • “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”
    • “Skin feels smoother — La Roche-Posay Retinol B3 Serum”
  • Hydration and Moisture Mostly MentionedSometimes Noted
    • “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”
    • “Provides an internal level of hydration without leaving any heavy finish. — Paula's Choice Skin Balancing Pore-Reducing Toner”
  • Acne Clearing and Oil Control Sometimes NotedMostly Mentioned
    • “cleared my bumps — Paula's Choice Skin Perfecting 2% BHA Liquid Exfoliant”
    • “Helped clear my cystic acne — Paula's Choice CLEAR Pore Normalizing Cleanser”
    • “pores look smaller — Paula's Choice 10% Niacinamide Booster”
    • “clears acne blemishes — La Roche-Posay Effaclar Medicated Gel Cleanser”
  • Good Texture Sometimes NotedOften Mentioned
    • “absorbs instantly — Paula's Choice C15 Super Booster”
    • “absorbs quickly — Paula's Choice Weightless Body Treatment 2% BHA”
    • “Absorbs like a dream — Paula's Choice 25% Vitamin C + Glutathione Clinical Serum”
    • “lightweight and absorbs quickly — La Roche-Posay Mela B3 Serum”
  • Brightening and Fading Dark Spots Sometimes 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”
    • “skin looks brighter — La Roche-Posay Mela B3 Serum”
  • Price vs Size Value Sometimes NotedMostly Mentioned
    • “expensive for the size — La Roche-Posay Hyalu B5 Serum”
    • “Too expensive for the size — La Roche-Posay Toleriane Dermallergo Eye Cream”
    • “Tube is tiny for the price — La Roche-Posay Cicaplast Gel B5”
    • “surprisingly small bottle — Paula's Choice Skin-Smoothing Retinol Body Treatment”
  • Strong Fragrance and Scents Sometimes NotedOften Mentioned
    • “scent is awful — La Roche-Posay Mela B3 Serum”
    • “overwhelming floral smell — La Roche-Posay Hyalu B5 Serum”
    • “smells like grain — Paula's Choice 10% Azelaic Acid Booster”
    • “smells like hot dog water — Paula's Choice C15 Super Booster”
  • Packaging Issues and Faulty Pumps Often MentionedSometimes Noted
    • “dropper leaks — Paula's Choice C15 Super Booster”
    • “dropper can be unpredictable — Paula's Choice Pro-Collagen Multi-Peptide Booster”
    • “Cap broke immediately — Paula's Choice CLEAR Pore Normalizing Cleanser”
    • “pump stops working — La Roche-Posay Lipikar AP+M Triple Repair Moisturizing Cream”
  • Product Texture and Pilling Often MentionedRarely Noted
    • “sticky, oily film — Paula's Choice Skin Perfecting 2% BHA Liquid Exfoliant”
    • “pills under makeup — Paula's Choice 10% Azelaic Acid Booster”
    • “pills like crazy — La Roche-Posay Toleriane Double Repair Face Moisturizer”

La Roche-Posay vs Paula's Choice routines for dry skin

See multi-brand routine · 99% fit

La Roche-Posay vs Paula's Choice routines for oily skin

See multi-brand routine · 95% fit

La Roche-Posay vs Paula's Choice routines for combination skin

See multi-brand routine · 95% fit

Questions and answers

La Roche-Posay or Paula's Choice: which is better?

La Roche-Posay and Paula's Choice both fit mature skin, skin with dark spots, and dry sensitive skin at a High level, while Paula's Choice reaches a Superior fit for oily, combination, sensitive, and acne-prone skin. Paula's Choice offers entirely fragrance-free products on this page, whereas La Roche-Posay includes fragrance in some of its formulas.

What is the difference between La Roche-Posay and Paula's Choice?

La Roche-Posay is focused on hydration, moisture, and gentle formulas that fit mature, dry, and sensitive skin best, while Paula's Choice is focused on skin texture improvement, acne clearing, and oil control that fit oily, acne-prone, and mature skin best. Both brands feature fragrance-free options, though La Roche-Posay includes fragrance in some of the products on this page while every Paula's Choice product on this page is fragrance-free.

La Roche-Posay or Paula's Choice for dry skin?

Both La Roche-Posay and Paula's Choice fit dry skin well, with Lovi giving each a High fit level. La Roche-Posay stands out for hydration and moisture, while Paula's Choice features fragrance-free formulas across all products on this page.

La Roche-Posay or Paula's Choice: which cleanser is better?

La Roche-Posay and Paula's Choice both offer effective cleansers, with Lovi fit levels varying by skin type. Paula's Choice excels for oily and acne-prone skin with options like the CLEAR Pore Normalizing Cleanser, while La Roche-Posay provides strong soothing and moisturizing cleanser options.

Which is more affordable, La Roche-Posay or Paula's Choice?

Both La Roche-Posay and Paula's Choice face price, value, and size concerns from reviewers on this page, with Paula's Choice also frequently noted for packaging and pump issues.

Between La Roche-Posay and Paula's Choice, which brand offers a better selection of fragrance-free products?

Paula's Choice offers a better selection of fragrance-free products, as every product on its page lists no fragrance in its ingredients. In comparison, La Roche-Posay features fragrance in 14 of the 35 products on its page.

How do La Roche-Posay and Paula's Choice compare when it comes to fading dark spots and brightening skin?

Paula's Choice does better than La Roche-Posay for brightening and fading dark spots, as supported by review themes on this page. Paula's Choice features every product on its page without fragrance, while La Roche-Posay includes some scented formulas.

Which brand performs better for improving skin texture and controlling acne and oil?

Paula's Choice performs better for improving skin texture and controlling acne and oil. Reviewers favor this brand for its skin texture improvement as well as its acne clearing and oil control.

La Roche-Posay or Paula's Choice for oily skin?

Paula's Choice is a better choice for oily skin, as Lovi rates its routine as Superior compared to High for La Roche-Posay. Reviewers also note that Paula's Choice does better for acne clearing and oil control.

La Roche-Posay or Paula's Choice: which moisturizer is better?

La Roche-Posay helps with hydration and dry skin through products like its High-fit Toleriane Double Repair Face Moisturizer, while Paula's Choice is better for oily and acne-prone skin with options like the High-fit Clear Oil-Free Moisturizer.

La Roche-Posay or Paula's Choice for sensitive skin?

Both brands are great choices for sensitive skin, with Lovi fit levels of High for La Roche-Posay and Superior for Paula's Choice. La Roche-Posay is known for fragrance-free and gentle formulas, while Paula's Choice offers advanced active ingredients like hyaluronic acid to help improve skin quality.

Dermatologic Therapy, 2022

La Roche-Posay or Paula's Choice: which sunscreen is better?

Both brands offer solid sunscreens on this page, with Anthelios from La Roche-Posay achieving a Superior fit level for skin with dark spots, sensitive skin, combination skin, acne-prone skin, mature skin, and oily skin.

La Roche-Posay or Paula's Choice for acne-prone skin?

Both brands are great for acne-prone skin, with Lovi giving Paula's Choice a Superior fit and La Roche-Posay a High fit. Paula's Choice stands out specifically for acne clearing and oil control.

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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