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Kiehl's vs Estée Lauder

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

Kiehl's and Estée Lauder are American skincare brands known for their thoughtful arrays of moisturizers, serums, eye products, and more. Kiehl's is cherished for nourishing ingredients like glycerin and squalane, suiting skin with dark spots and mature skin best. Meanwhile, the beloved Estée Lauder relies on hydrating hyaluronic acid and glycerin, suiting acne-prone skin and mature skin best. They differ primarily in their standout formulations, targeted concerns, and specific active ingredients.

Kiehl's is an American skincare brand founded in 1851 and owned by L'Oréal S.A. since 2000.

loreal.comen.wikipedia.org

Estée Lauder is an American skincare brand founded in 1946 and owned by The Estée Lauder Companies Inc..

en.wikipedia.orgelcompanies.com

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

Popular Kiehl's vs Estée Lauder products

People Say

Kiehl'sEstée Lauder
  • Deep hydration and moisturization Often MentionedMostly Mentioned
    • “skin drinks it up immediately — Estée Lauder Advanced Night Repair”
    • “The formula is incredibly hydrating and leaves my skin feeling smooth. — Estée Lauder Re-Nutriv”
    • “texture is dreamy — Estée Lauder Advanced Night Repair Eye Supercharged Gel-Creme”
    • “Keeps skin moisturized for 24+ hours — Kiehl's Ultra Facial Cream”
  • Lightweight and non-greasy texture Often MentionedSometimes Noted
    • “feels like nothing — Kiehl's Better Screen UV Serum”
    • “works on dark skin — Kiehl's Better Screen UV Serum”
    • “absorbs instantly without residue — Kiehl's Ultra Facial Oil-Free Gel Cream”
    • “Absorbs quickly into the skin — Estée Lauder Revitalizing Supreme+”
  • Gentle on skin and sensitive formulas Often MentionedOften Mentioned
    • “experienced zero irritation — Kiehl's Retinol Skin-Renewing Daily Micro-Dose Serum”
    • “fragrance-free — Kiehl's Ultra Facial Cream”
    • “doesn't strip the skin — Estée Lauder Advanced Night Cleansing Gelée”
    • “Doesn't strip my skin — Estée Lauder Soft Clean Moisture Rich Foaming Cleanser”
  • Skin barrier and texture improvement Often MentionedOften Mentioned
    • “leaves skin feeling silky — Kiehl's Powerful-Strength Line-Reducing Concentrate”
    • “skin feels smoother — Kiehl's Retinol Skin-Renewing Daily Micro-Dose Serum”
    • “skin feels like a baby's bottom — Estée Lauder Advanced Night Repair”
    • “silky smooth — Estée Lauder Micro Essence Treatment Lotion”
  • Brightening and dark spot fading Often MentionedSometimes Noted
    • “Acne marks are gone — Kiehl's Clearly Corrective™ Dark Spot Solution”
    • “woke up glowing — Kiehl's Midnight Recovery Concentrate”
    • “Skin looks radiant — Kiehl's Clearly Corrective™ Dark Spot Solution”
    • “gives me that glass skin look — Estée Lauder Advanced Night Repair”
  • Makeup compatibility and primer benefits Sometimes NotedSometimes Noted
    • “concealer glides on smoothly — Kiehl's Creamy Eye Treatment with Avocado”
    • “no pilling — Kiehl's Ultra Facial Cream”
    • “no pilling — Kiehl's Better Screen UV Serum”
    • “doesn't pill — Estée Lauder Advanced Night Repair Eye Supercharged Gel-Creme”
  • High price point and expensive value Mostly MentionedMostly Mentioned
    • “pricy daily staple — Kiehl's Ultra Facial Cream”
    • “Very expensive product — Kiehl's Clearly Corrective™ Dark Spot Solution”
    • “way too expensive for the size — Estée Lauder Advanced Night Repair”
    • “too pricey — Estée Lauder Micro Essence Treatment Lotion”
  • Packaging and application challenges Sometimes NotedSometimes Noted
    • “dipping fingers is unsanitary — Kiehl's Ultra Facial Cream”
    • “hard to spread — Kiehl's Creamy Eye Treatment with Avocado”
    • “Dropper doesn't reach bottom — Kiehl's Clearly Corrective™ Dark Spot Solution”
    • “lid is hard to open — Estée Lauder Advanced Night Cleansing Gelée”
  • Unpleasant scent or fragrance complaints Rarely NotedSometimes Noted
    • “smells clinical — Kiehl's Retinol Skin-Renewing Daily Micro-Dose Serum”
    • “faint lab smell — Kiehl's Better Screen UV Serum”
    • “smell is overpowering — Kiehl's Midnight Recovery Concentrate”
    • “Scent is too overpowering — Estée Lauder Revitalizing Supreme+”
  • Ineffective formula or slow results Rarely NotedSometimes Noted
    • “Did absolutely nothing — Kiehl's Clearly Corrective™ Dark Spot Solution”
    • “Takes months to see — Kiehl's Clearly Corrective™ Dark Spot Solution”
    • “results were subtle — Kiehl's Retinol Skin-Renewing Daily Micro-Dose Serum”
    • “didn't notice any difference — Estée Lauder Advanced Night Repair”

Kiehl's vs Estée Lauder routines for dry skin

See multi-brand routine · 98% fit

Kiehl's vs Estée Lauder routines for oily skin

See multi-brand routine · 95% fit

Kiehl's vs Estée Lauder routines for combination skin

See multi-brand routine · 94% fit

Questions and answers

Kiehl's or Estée Lauder: which is better?

Kiehl's and Estée Lauder both offer strong routines, but Kiehl's generally provides better results for brightening dark spots and maintaining a lightweight texture, while Estée Lauder excels in acne-prone skin care.

What is the difference between Kiehl's and Estée Lauder?

Kiehl's and Estée Lauder both offer effective options, but Kiehl's generally provides better fit levels for skin with dark spots, dry skin, and combination skin on the products on this page. Estée Lauder often stands out for acne-prone skin routines, while both brands achieve a High routine fit for mature, sensitive, and oily acne-prone skin.

Kiehl's or Estée Lauder for dry skin?

Both Kiehl's and Estée Lauder show a High routine fit level on the products on this page for dry skin. Kiehl's offers lightweight, non-greasy moisturizers and deep hydration, while Estée Lauder provides deep hydration and gentle cleansers.

Kiehl's or Estée Lauder: which cleanser is better?

Both Kiehl's and Estée Lauder offer effective cleansers on this page, with Kiehl's achieving a Superior fit for oily skin and oily acne-prone skin, while Estée Lauder provides options like the Advanced Night Cleansing Gelée with High fit for acne-prone skin.

Which is more affordable, Kiehl's or Estée Lauder?

Both brands frequently receive reviewer complaints about a high price point.

Which brand is better for fading dark spots and brightening, Kiehl's or Estée Lauder?

Kiehl's is better for brightening and fading dark spots, as the products on this page are rated High for skin with dark spots compared to Estée Lauder which is mostly rated Average. Review themes also show that Kiehl's performs better for brightening and dark spot fading.

Kiehl's or Estée Lauder: which offers better deep hydration according to reviewers?

Estée Lauder does better for deep hydration and moisturization according to reviewers.

Which brand has more products formulated without fragrance, Kiehl's or Estée Lauder?

Kiehl's has more products formulated without fragrance, with 26 of its 28 products on this page listing no fragrance compared to 12 of 14 products for Estée Lauder.

Kiehl's or Estée Lauder for oily skin?

For oily skin, Lovi finds that Kiehl's has a High routine fit while Estée Lauder has an Average routine fit.

Kiehl's or Estée Lauder: which moisturizer is better?

When it comes to moisturizers, Kiehl's offers a higher Lovi routine fit for oily and combination skin types on the products on this page, while both brands reach a High fit for dry skin. Kiehl's is often noted for providing lightweight and non-greasy moisturizers, whereas Estée Lauder leans towards deep hydration.

Kiehl's or Estée Lauder for sensitive skin?

Both Kiehl's and Estée Lauder achieve a High Lovi fit level for sensitive skin based on the products on this page.

Kiehl's or Estée Lauder: which sunscreen is better?

For sunscreens on this page, Kiehl's Better Screen UV Serum achieves a High fit level for skin with dark spots, combination skin, sensitive skin, acne-prone skin, and mature skin. Estée Lauder DayWear Moisturizer achieves a Superior fit level for dry sensitive skin, dry skin, sensitive skin, and mature skin, and a High fit level for combination skin, acne-prone skin, skin with dark spots, oily skin, and oily acne-prone skin.

Kiehl's or Estée Lauder for acne-prone skin?

For acne-prone skin, Estée Lauder is a better choice on this page because Lovi rates its routine fit as High compared to Kiehl's Average. Estée Lauder's products on this page include several options that help manage breakouts effectively.

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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