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Paula's Choice vs Anessa

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

Paula's Choice and Anessa are established skincare lines offering targeted solutions for daily care. The American brand provides serums, cleansers, moisturizers, toners, and more, built around hyaluronic acid, glycerin, and vitamin c, while the Japanese brand is widely loved for its advanced sunscreens and sophisticated formulas. Paula's Choice products fit oily skin and acne-prone skin best, whereas the sunscreens suit all skin types best, offering reliable daily protection. They differ primarily in their core offerings and specific ingredient focuses, with glycerin significantly increasing skin hydration and restoring barrier function in the former, and thoughtful formulations working to shield and care for the complexion in the latter.

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

unilever.comtracxn.com

Anessa is a Japanese skincare brand founded in 1992 and owned by Shiseido Company, Limited.

anessaco.comen.wikipedia.orgcorp.shiseido.comhappi.com

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

Popular Paula's Choice vs Anessa products

Questions and answers

Paula's Choice or Anessa: which is better?

Paula's Choice offers a much wider variety of skincare products on this page with High or Superior Lovi fit levels across many skin types, while Anessa focuses strictly on sunscreens.

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

Paula's Choice offers a wide range of serums, exfoliants, and moisturizers that fit oily, acne-prone, and mature skin best, whereas Anessa focuses exclusively on sunscreens with high to average Lovi fit levels across various skin types.

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

Paula's Choice offers a wide range of sunscreens and skincare products on this page, while Anessa provides specialized sunscreens like Perfect UV Sunscreen Skincare Milk and Perfect UV Sunscreen Skincare Gel. Lovi fit levels for the Anessa sunscreens range from High for oily and acne-prone skin to Average for sensitive and dry skin types.

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

Reviewers note that Paula's Choice products have a high price, while no affordability information is available for Anessa.

Which causes fewer breakouts, Paula's Choice or Anessa?

Paula's Choice offers a wide selection of products on this page rated with a Superior or High Lovi fit for acne-prone skin, whereas Anessa features only sunscreens.

When were Paula's Choice and Anessa founded, and which parent companies own them?

Paula's Choice was founded in the United States in 1995 and is owned by Unilever, while Anessa was founded in Japan in 1992 and is owned by Shiseido Company, Limited.

Do Paula's Choice and Anessa products contain fragrance?

Every product on this page for both Paula's Choice and Anessa lists no fragrance in its ingredients.

What are some of the key ingredients found across Paula's Choice products?

The products on this page for Paula's Choice feature key ingredients such as hyaluronic acid, glycerin, vitamin C, licorice root, niacinamide, salicylic acid, green tea, and vitamin E. These components help provide antioxidant protection and improve skin quality, which may reduce signs of aging.

Drug Delivery, 2017Dermatologic Therapy, 2022

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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