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Kiehl's vs Clarins

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

Kiehl's and Clarins are two esteemed skincare houses, with the American brand founded in 1851 and the French brand established in 1954. Kiehl's is celebrated for trusted moisturizers, serums, toners, and eye products featuring glycerin and squalane, whereas Clarins is loved for luxurious moisturizers, potent serums, soothing eye products, and gentle toners enriched with shea and squalane. The former suits dry skin and skin with dark spots best, while the latter caters ideally to sensitive skin and dry sensitive skin. Ultimately, they differ in their origin, ownership, and specific formulation approaches, though both utilize squalane to support the complexion.

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

loreal.comen.wikipedia.org

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

groupeclarins.comen.wikipedia.orghappi.com

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

Popular Kiehl's vs Clarins products

People Say

Kiehl'sClarins
  • Deep hydration Often MentionedMostly 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”
    • “Keeps skin moisturized for 24+ hours — Kiehl's Ultra Facial Cream”
  • Lightweight and non-greasy texture Often MentionedOften Mentioned
    • “feels like nothing — Kiehl's Better Screen UV Serum”
    • “absorbs instantly without residue — Kiehl's Ultra Facial Oil-Free Gel Cream”
    • “absorbs immediately — Clarins Double Serum Eye”
    • “sinks in immediately — Clarins Double Serum Light Texture”
  • No white cast and glowing skin Sometimes NotedOften Mentioned
    • “works on dark skin — Kiehl's Better Screen UV Serum”
    • “woke up glowing — Kiehl's Midnight Recovery Concentrate”
    • “skin looks brighter immediately — Clarins Cryo-Flash Cream-Mask”
    • “Gives off the most stunning natural radiance I've ever come across. — Clarins Beauty Flash Balm”
  • Skin barrier and texture improvement Often MentionedSometimes Noted
    • “leaves skin feeling silky — Kiehl's Powerful-Strength Line-Reducing Concentrate”
    • “skin feels smoother — Kiehl's Retinol Skin-Renewing Daily Micro-Dose Serum”
    • “neck feels smoother — Clarins Extra-Firming Neck & Décolleté Cream”
    • “visibly tighter, lifted skin — Clarins Super Restorative Night Cream”
  • Makeup base and primer compatibility Sometimes NotedSometimes Noted
    • “concealer glides on smoothly — Kiehl's Creamy Eye Treatment with Avocado”
    • “no pilling — Kiehl's Ultra Facial Cream”
    • “concealer glides on smoothly — Clarins Total Eye Lift”
    • “Perfect primer for any foundation, which all glide on smoothly. — Clarins Beauty Flash Balm”
  • Rich and creamy texture Rarely NotedOften Mentioned
    • “melting non-oily texture — Clarins Extra-Firming Neck & Décolleté Cream”
    • “Creamy texture feels luxurious upon application — Clarins Extra-Firming Day Cream”
    • “feels like silk — Clarins Double Serum”
    • “feels luxurious and thick — Kiehl's Creamy Eye Treatment with Avocado”
  • High price point and poor 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 — Clarins Double Serum”
    • “too expensive for results — Clarins Total Eye Lift”
  • Scent and fragrance complaints Rarely NotedOften Mentioned
    • “smells clinical — Kiehl's Retinol Skin-Renewing Daily Micro-Dose Serum”
    • “faint lab smell — Kiehl's Better Screen UV Serum”
    • “smells like perfume — Clarins Multi-Active Jour”
  • Breakouts and skin irritation Often MentionedSometimes Noted
    • “caused cystic acne — Clarins Double Serum”
    • “caused redness — Clarins Double Serum Eye”
    • “made my face burn — Clarins Cryo-Flash Cream-Mask”
    • “burned my face immediately — Kiehl's Rare Earth Deep Pore Cleansing Masque”
  • Ineffective or slow results Sometimes NotedSometimes Noted
    • “Did absolutely nothing — Kiehl's Clearly Corrective™ Dark Spot Solution”
    • “Takes months to see — Kiehl's Clearly Corrective™ Dark Spot Solution”
    • “didn't see a lift — Clarins Total Eye Lift”
    • “no change in circles — Clarins Double Serum Eye”

Kiehl's vs Clarins routines for dry skin

Buy Kiehl's routine · SAR 2,309.98 · 84% fitBuy Clarins routine · SAR 1,448.55 · 73% fitSee multi-brand routine · 96% fit

Kiehl's vs Clarins routines for oily skin

Buy Kiehl's routine · SAR 2,172.23 · 80% fitBuy Clarins routine · SAR 1,548.77 · 71% fitSee multi-brand routine · 97% fit

Kiehl's vs Clarins routines for combination skin

Buy Kiehl's routine · SAR 2,149.18 · 83% fitBuy Clarins routine · SAR 1,389.25 · 74% fitSee multi-brand routine · 97% fit

Questions and answers

Kiehl's or Clarins: which is better?

Both Kiehl's and Clarins are strong skincare options, with Kiehl's offering better routine fits for dry, oily, and combination skin on the products on this page. Reviewers report that Kiehl's has fewer scent complaints due to its largely fragrance-free formulations, whereas Clarins is often noted for providing deeper hydration.

What is the difference between Kiehl's and Clarins?

Clarins does better for deep hydration, while the products on this page for Kiehl's perform better for avoiding fragrance issues.

Kiehl's or Clarins for dry skin?

For dry skin, Kiehl's is a better choice because Lovi rates its routine as High while Clarins is Average. Reviewers often mention that Kiehl's provides deep hydration.

Kiehl's or Clarins: which cleanser is better?

Both Kiehl's and Clarins offer effective cleansers, but Kiehl's may be better for shoppers wanting fragrance-free options since almost all products on the page list no fragrance, whereas almost all Clarins cleansers contain fragrance.

Which is more affordable, Kiehl's or Clarins?

Both Kiehl's and Clarins share a high price point according to reviewers on the products on this page.

Kiehl's or Clarins: which brand has more fragrance-free products?

Kiehl's has more fragrance-free products on this page, with 26 out of 28 products listing no fragrance, compared to Clarins which has only 1 fragrance-free product.

Between Kiehl's and Clarins, which brand has a longer history?

Kiehl's has a longer history, having been founded in the United States in 1851, while Clarins was founded in France in 1954.

Kiehl's or Clarins: which brand performs better for deep hydration?

Clarins performs better for deep hydration compared to Kiehl's. The products on this page provide hydrating and smoothing moisturizers and luxurious textures.

Kiehl's or Clarins for oily skin?

For oily skin, Kiehl's is a better fit with a High routine fit compared to Clarins's Average routine fit. Reviewers mention that Kiehl's offers lightweight, non-greasy moisturizers and a higher percentage of fragrance-free products on this page.

Kiehl's or Clarins: which moisturizer is better?

Clarins delivers better deep hydration for moisturizers among the products on this page, while Kiehl's provides lighter, non-greasy textures.

Kiehl's or Clarins for sensitive skin?

Both Kiehl's and Clarins are good options for sensitive skin, as Lovi rates the routine fit for both brands as High. Kiehl's features fragrance-free options across nearly all the products on this page, whereas Clarins frequently includes added fragrance.

Kiehl's or Clarins for acne-prone skin?

Clarins fits acne-prone skin better than Kiehl's. Lovi rates the routine fit for Clarins as High and for Kiehl's as Average.

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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