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Clarins vs The INKEY List

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

Clarins and The INKEY List are well-regarded skincare brands that offer a variety of moisturizers, serums, toners, and eye products. The French brand is loved for luxurious formulations enriched with shea and squalane that suit sensitive and dry sensitive skin best, while the British brand is built around glycerin to fit combination and sensitive skin. These labels differ as the heritage European house provides targeted anti-aging and botanical treatments, whereas the younger UK line focuses on single-ingredient utility.

Clarins is a French skincare brand founded in 1954 and owned by Famille C (Groupe Clarins).

groupeclarins.comen.wikipedia.orghappi.com

The INKEY List is a British skincare brand founded in 2018 and owned by Brand Evangelists for Beauty Limited.

cosmeticsbusiness.comprnewswire.comtheinkeylist.comtracxn.com

This page compares some of the most popular Clarins and The INKEY List products; for every product of both brands, with a fit score for your own skin, use the Lovi app.

Popular Clarins vs The INKEY List products

People Say

ClarinsThe INKEY List
  • Hydration and moisture Mostly MentionedOften Mentioned
    • “skin drinks it up — Clarins Double Serum”
    • “keeps skin moist — Clarins Multi-Active Jour”
    • “woke up with baby soft skin — Clarins Multi-Active Nuit”
    • “Super hydrating — The INKEY List Polyglutamic Acid Serum”
  • Lightweight and fast-absorbing texture Often MentionedMostly Mentioned
    • “sits beautifully under makeup — The INKEY List Caffeine Eye Cream”
    • “Gel consistency — The INKEY List Tranexamic Acid Serum”
    • “feels like applying straight up water to the skin — The INKEY List Omega Water Cream”
    • “absorbs immediately — Clarins Double Serum Eye”
  • Affordable price and value Not notedMostly Mentioned
    • “Good for the price — The INKEY List Salicylic Acid Cleanser”
    • “One of the best balms for quality and also price — The INKEY List Oat Cleansing Balm”
    • “unbeatable value — The INKEY List Hyaluronic Acid Serum”
  • Good makeup base and primer Sometimes NotedSometimes Noted
    • “concealer glides on smoothly — Clarins Total Eye Lift”
    • “Perfect primer for any foundation, which all glide on smoothly. — Clarins Beauty Flash Balm”
    • “concealer sits better — Clarins Double Serum Eye”
    • “Brilliant makeup base — The INKEY List Polyglutamic Acid Serum”
  • Texture smoothing and exfoliation Sometimes NotedSometimes Noted
    • “Great for sensitive skin — The INKEY List PHA Toner”
    • “Skin feels softer — The INKEY List PHA Toner”
    • “Glass skin — The INKEY List Polyglutamic Acid Serum”
    • “makes skin silky smooth — Clarins Hydrating Toning Lotion”
  • Acne clearing and blemish control Not notedOften Mentioned
    • “Free of active acne — The INKEY List Salicylic Acid Cleanser”
    • “calms redness instantly — The INKEY List 10% Azelaic Acid Serum”
    • “Skin instantly looks less oily — The INKEY List Salicylic Acid Cleanser”
  • Fragrance and scent issues Often MentionedSometimes Noted
    • “Smells like BBQ/meat — The INKEY List Tranexamic Acid Serum”
    • “Smells like chemicals — The INKEY List Polyglutamic Acid Serum”
    • “smells plasticky — The INKEY List ECTOIN HYDRO-BARRIER SERUM”
    • “smells like perfume — Clarins Multi-Active Jour”
  • Packaging and pump design flaws Often MentionedOften Mentioned
    • “dispenses too much product — Clarins Total Eye Lift”
    • “dispenses too much — Clarins Double Serum Eye”
    • “Pump breaks easily — The INKEY List Tranexamic Acid Serum”
    • “Very difficult to squeeze out at first — The INKEY List Oat Cleansing Balm”
  • High price point Mostly MentionedNot noted
    • “way too expensive — Clarins Double Serum”
  • Skin irritation and breakouts Sometimes NotedSometimes Noted
    • “caused cystic acne — Clarins Double Serum”
    • “caused redness — Clarins Double Serum Eye”
    • “made my face burn — Clarins Cryo-Flash Cream-Mask”
    • “did cause major breakouts — The INKEY List Omega Water Cream”

Clarins vs The INKEY List routines for dry skin

Buy The INKEY List routine · SAR 1,013.85 · 80% fitBuy Clarins routine · SAR 1,448.55 · 73% fitSee multi-brand routine · 96% fit

Clarins vs The INKEY List routines for oily skin

Buy The INKEY List routine · SAR 1,267.37 · 87% fitBuy Clarins routine · SAR 1,548.77 · 71% fitSee multi-brand routine · 97% fit

Clarins vs The INKEY List routines for combination skin

Buy The INKEY List routine · SAR 1,056.73 · 90% fitBuy Clarins routine · SAR 1,389.25 · 74% fitSee multi-brand routine · 97% fit

Questions and answers

Clarins or The INKEY List: which is better?

Both brands perform well, but The INKEY List is a better choice for shoppers seeking affordable hydration and targeted blemish control, whereas Clarins is better suited for luxurious textures and glowing moisturizers. For dry skin specifically, The INKEY List offers a High routine fit while Clarins is Average.

What is the difference between Clarins and The INKEY List?

The INKEY List tends to be more affordable and is often noted for lightweight textures and blemish control, whereas Clarins is generally higher in price and focuses on luxurious hydrating and smoothing moisturizers.

Clarins or The INKEY List for dry skin?

The INKEY List is a better fit for dry skin, offering a High routine fit compared to Clarins's Average fit. The products on this page help deliver lightweight hydration and moisture without heavy fragrance.

Clarins or The INKEY List: which cleanser is better?

The INKEY List does better for acne clearing and blemish control, while Clarins is better known for its luxury textures.

Which is more affordable, Clarins or The INKEY List?

The INKEY List is more affordable than Clarins, as its serums and moisturizers offer better value according to reviewers on the page.

Between Clarins and The INKEY List, which brand has better options that contain no fragrance?

The INKEY List offers better options with no fragrance, as every product on their page lists no fragrance in its ingredients. In contrast, almost all products on the Clarins page contain fragrance.

Which brand performs better for texture smoothing and exfoliation?

The INKEY List performs better for texture smoothing and exfoliation. The products on this page offer superior exfoliating options like the PHA Toner and Glycolic Acid Toner.

What are the main differences in where the two brands were founded and who owns them?

Clarins was founded in 1954 in France and is owned by Famille C through Groupe Clarins, whereas The INKEY List was founded in 2018 in the United Kingdom and is owned by Brand Evangelists for Beauty Limited.

Clarins or The INKEY List for oily skin?

The INKEY List is a better choice for oily skin, offering a High routine fit compared to Clarins's Average fit. Reviewers note that The INKEY List delivers lightweight and fast-absorbing moisturizers, whereas Clarins products on this page often feature heavy or fragrant formulas.

Clarins or The INKEY List: which moisturizer is better?

The INKEY List offers better moisturizers than Clarins, as seen in their superior routine fit for dry and combination skin types. Reviewers also note that the products on this page by The INKEY List provide more affordable hydration and lightweight textures.

Clarins or The INKEY List for sensitive skin?

Both brands fit sensitive skin well, but The INKEY List reaches a Superior level compared to Clarins at High. The products on this page for The INKEY List are also entirely fragrance-free, whereas Clarins formulas frequently contain fragrance.

Clarins or The INKEY List for acne-prone skin?

Both Clarins and The INKEY List fit acne-prone skin well, with Lovi fit levels of High for the products on this page. Clarins focuses on sensitive skin, dry sensitive skin, and mature skin, whereas The INKEY List centers on combination, sensitive, and oily acne-prone skin.

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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