🇳🇱Netherlands

Paula's Choice vs Trilogy

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

Paula's Choice and Trilogy are established skincare brands known for distinctly different formulations and skin type benefits. The American brand features serums, cleansers, moisturizers, and toners built around hyaluronic acid, glycerin, and vitamin c, while the other offers thoughtful moisturizers and gentle cleansers. Both brands suit various complexions, though the first fits acne-prone skin and oily skin best, and the second suits dry, balanced, and sensitive skin types best.

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

Popular Paula's Choice vs Trilogy products

People Say

Paula's ChoiceTrilogy
  • Hydrating formula Not notedMostly Mentioned
    • “Keeps skin moisturized — Trilogy Vitamin C Ceramide Night Cream”
    • “Leaves skin thoroughly moisturised — Trilogy Line Smoothing Day Cream”
    • “Feels moisturizing — Trilogy Rosehip Cream Cleanser”
  • Non-irritating and gentle Often MentionedMostly Mentioned
    • “Doesn't irritate my sensitive skin — Trilogy Rosehip Cream Cleanser”
    • “Nothing irritated my skin — Trilogy Line Smoothing Day Cream”
    • “Finally a vitamin C product I can use — Paula's Choice 25% Vitamin C + Glutathione Clinical Serum”
  • Glow, radiance, and even skin tone Mostly MentionedOften 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”
    • “Wake to a glowing complexion — Trilogy Vitamin C Ceramide Night Cream”
  • Pleasant gel or cream texture Rarely NotedMostly Mentioned
    • “Silky cream consistency — Trilogy Rosehip Cream Cleanser”
    • “Luxuriously rich — Trilogy Vitamin C Ceramide Night Cream”
    • “Silky gel feel — Paula's Choice CLEAR Pore Normalizing Cleanser”
  • Texture smoothing and softening Mostly MentionedNot noted
    • “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”
  • Lightweight and fast absorption Mostly MentionedNot noted
    • “Absorbs quickly and leaves no greasy residue behind. — Paula's Choice Clear Oil-Free Moisturizer”
    • “absorbs instantly — Paula's Choice C15 Super Booster”
    • “watery consistency — Paula's Choice 10% Niacinamide Booster”
  • High price and value concerns Mostly MentionedRarely Noted
    • “Price to be high relative to performance — Trilogy Rosehip Cream Cleanser”
    • “tiny tube — Paula's Choice 10% Azelaic Acid Booster”
  • Unpleasant smell and scent issues Often MentionedSometimes Noted
    • “If you are sensitive to fragrances, you might find it irritating — Trilogy Rosehip Cream Cleanser”
    • “Scent is awful — Trilogy Line Smoothing Day Cream”
    • “smells like grain — Paula's Choice 10% Azelaic Acid Booster”
  • Heavy for oily skin Rarely NotedOften Mentioned
    • “Extremely greasy — Paula's Choice 25% Vitamin C + Glutathione Clinical Serum”
    • “A little bit too thick — Trilogy Vitamin C Ceramide Night Cream”

Questions and answers

Paula's Choice or Trilogy: which is better?

Paula's Choice offers a much wider range of fragrance-free products that provide superior and high fit levels for acne-prone and oily skin, whereas Trilogy provides hydrating moisturizers with mostly mentioned formulation complaints. Reviewers note that Paula's Choice delivers better results for texture smoothing, while Trilogy tends to be more hydrating.

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

Paula's Choice offers a much wider range of fragrance-free products that fit acne-prone, oily, and combination skin best, whereas Trilogy features a smaller selection of moisturizers and cleansers. Paula's Choice tends to excel at texture smoothing and brightening, while Trilogy is often noted for providing hydrating and gentle formulas.

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

Paula's Choice offers a wider range of cleansers specifically suited for oily and acne-prone skin, whereas Trilogy features options like the Rosehip Cream Cleanser that are well-suited for dry and sensitive skin. Reviewers note that Trilogy cleansers tend to provide a more hydrating formula.

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

Reviewers note that both Paula's Choice and Trilogy have concerns regarding high price.

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

Paula's Choice fits acne-prone skin best, as the products on this page target this concern directly, whereas Trilogy does not focus on acne-prone skin in its brand routines.

Paula's Choice or Trilogy: which brand offers fragrance-free products?

Paula's Choice offers fragrance-free products, as every product on its page lists no fragrance in its ingredients, whereas only one of three Trilogy products on this page is fragrance-free.

When was each company founded and who owns them?

Paula's Choice was founded in 1995 in the United States and has been owned by Unilever since 2021. Trilogy was founded in 2002 and has been owned by CITIC Capital Holdings Limited since 2018.

Paula's Choice or Trilogy: which brand is better for hydrating formulas according to reviewers?

According to reviewers, Trilogy does better for hydrating formulas.

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

Paula's Choice offers a wider range of moisturizers with specialized formulas, such as the Clinical Ceramide-Enriched Firming Moisturizer and Clear Oil-Free Moisturizer, achieving average to high fit levels across various skin types. Reviewers note that Trilogy provides hydrating and brightening moisturizers, but Paula's Choice is better for targeted texture smoothing and lightweight absorption.

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?

Scan your face, then any product: Lovi shows how well it fits you and what fits even better.

QR code: get the Lovi app
Download on theApp Store Get it onGoogle Play