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Kiehl's vs Clinique

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

Kiehl's and Clinique are two American skincare brands offering thoughtful selections of moisturizers, serums, eye products, and more. Kiehl's features trusted ingredients like glycerin and squalane, suiting dry skin and skin with dark spots best, whereas the latter incorporates hyaluronic acid, glycerin, and caffeine to suit dry sensitive skin and oily skin best. While both brands are widely beloved for their dependable formulas, they differ in their specific ingredient profiles and targeted benefits.

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

loreal.comen.wikipedia.org

Clinique is an American skincare brand founded in 1968 and owned by The Estée Lauder Companies Inc..

en.wikipedia.orgelcompanies.combusinesswire.comglossy.co

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

Popular Kiehl's vs Clinique products

People Say

Kiehl'sClinique
  • Lightweight and Non-Greasy Texture Often MentionedMostly Mentioned
    • “feels like nothing — Kiehl's Better Screen UV Serum”
    • “works on dark skin — Kiehl's Better Screen UV Serum”
    • “sinks in immediately — Clinique moisture surge”
    • “sinks in instantly — Clinique Dramatically Different Moisturizing Gel”
  • Gentle for Sensitive Skin Often MentionedMostly Mentioned
    • “never irritated my eyes — Clinique All About Eyes”
    • “No stinging eyes — Clinique Take The Day Off Cleansing Balm”
    • “doesn't dry out — Clinique all about clean”
    • “experienced zero irritation — Kiehl's Retinol Skin-Renewing Daily Micro-Dose Serum”
  • Deep Hydration and Moisture Often MentionedSometimes Noted
    • “Keeps skin moisturized for 24+ hours — Kiehl's Ultra Facial Cream”
    • “Feels like a drink of water — Kiehl's Hydro-Plumping Serum Concentrate”
    • “savior for dry patches — Kiehl's Creamy Eye Treatment with Avocado”
    • “Keeps my dry patches at bay all day — Clinique Dramatically Different Moisturizing Lotion+”
  • 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”
    • “skin feels silky smooth — Clinique Smart Clinical Repair Wrinkle Correcting Serum”
    • “leaves face porcelain smooth — Clinique 7 Day Scrub Cream Rinse-Off Formula”
  • Makeup Compatibility and Base Sometimes NotedOften Mentioned
    • “concealer glides on smoothly — Kiehl's Creamy Eye Treatment with Avocado”
    • “no pilling — Kiehl's Ultra Facial Cream”
    • “foundation glides on — Clinique moisture surge”
    • “holds concealer in place — Clinique All About Eyes”
  • Radiance and Glow Sometimes NotedRarely Noted
    • “woke up glowing — Kiehl's Midnight Recovery Concentrate”
    • “doubles as moisturizer — Kiehl's Better Screen UV Serum”
    • “gives a very nice radiance — Kiehl's Super Multi-Corrective Cream”
    • “wake up glowing — Clinique Moisture Surge Overnight Mask”
  • High Price and Cost Mostly MentionedOften Mentioned
    • “jar is too small for the cost — Clinique moisture surge”
    • “quite pricey — Clinique Smart Clinical Repair Wrinkle Correcting Serum”
    • “Expensive for cleanser — Clinique Take The Day Off Cleansing Balm”
    • “pricy daily staple — Kiehl's Ultra Facial Cream”
  • Insufficient Hydration or Dryness Rarely NotedOften Mentioned
    • “skin felt tight after an hour — Kiehl's Ultra Facial Oil-Free Gel Cream”
    • “some extremely dry skin types need a thicker balm or oil on top — Kiehl's Ultra Facial Cream”
    • “skin felt tight — Clinique Dramatically Different Moisturizing Gel”
  • Causes Breakouts and Acne Sometimes NotedSometimes Noted
    • “caused cystic acne — Kiehl's Midnight Recovery Concentrate”
    • “cystic acne for some — Kiehl's Ultra Facial Cream”
    • “Woke up with whiteheads on my chin — Clinique Dramatically Different Moisturizing Lotion+”
    • “gave me tiny bumps — Clinique moisture surge”
  • 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 help dark circles — Clinique All About Eyes”
    • “don't expect miracles overnight — Clinique Smart Clinical Repair Wrinkle Correcting Serum”

Kiehl's vs Clinique routines for dry skin

Buy Kiehl's routine · SAR 2,309.98 · 84% fitBuy Clinique routine · SAR 1,700.45 · 66% fitSee multi-brand routine · 96% fit

Kiehl's vs Clinique routines for oily skin

Buy Kiehl's routine · SAR 2,172.23 · 80% fitBuy Clinique routine · SAR 1,198.78 · 79% fitSee multi-brand routine · 97% fit

Kiehl's vs Clinique routines for combination skin

Buy Kiehl's routine · SAR 2,149.18 · 83% fitBuy Clinique routine · SAR 1,205.12 · 75% fitSee multi-brand routine · 97% fit

Questions and answers

Kiehl's or Clinique: which is better?

Both Kiehl's and Clinique offer strong options, with Kiehl's having an edge in deep hydration and radiance on the products on this page. Clinique tends to be better for sensitive skin, while Kiehl's achieves a High routine fit for dry skin compared to Clinique's Average fit.

What is the difference between Kiehl's and Clinique?

Kiehl's offers a high routine fit for dry skin and skin with dark spots on this page, whereas Clinique fits dry sensitive skin, oily skin, and sensitive skin best.

Kiehl's or Clinique for dry skin?

For dry skin, Kiehl's achieves a High routine fit level while Clinique reaches an Average level. Kiehl's offers products on this page like the Hydro-Plumping Serum Concentrate with a Superior fit for dry skin, and the brand is noted for providing deep hydration.

Dermatologic Therapy, 2022

Kiehl's or Clinique: which cleanser is better?

When comparing cleansers on the products on this page, Kiehl's generally achieves higher Lovi fit levels across skin types, such as the Calendula Deep Cleansing Foaming Face Wash rated Superior for oily and oily acne-prone skin. Clinique also offers gentle cleansers like the Redness Solutions Soothing Cleanser, but its all about clean cleanser receives lower fit levels.

Which is more affordable, Kiehl's or Clinique?

Both brands share a high price point as a common drawback mentioned by reviewers, so neither stands out as more affordable on the products on this page.

Between Kiehl's and Clinique, which brand is better suited for addressing dark spots?

Kiehl's is better suited for addressing dark spots, as the products on this page achieve a High routine fit for skin with dark spots while Clinique achieves an Average fit. Kiehl's features targeted treatments like Clearly Corrective Dark Spot Solution, which has a High fit for oily and acne-prone skin with dark spots.

How do Kiehl's and Clinique compare in terms of fragrance options across their product lines?

Kiehl's offers fragrance options for select products on this page, whereas Clinique lists no fragrance across all products on this page.

Which brand performs better for providing deep hydration and moisture according to review themes?

According to the review themes on this page, Kiehl's performs better than Clinique for providing deep hydration and moisture.

Kiehl's or Clinique for oily skin?

Both Kiehl's and Clinique are a High fit for oily skin. Reviewers note that both brands offer lightweight, oil-controlling, or fast-absorbing products on this page.

Kiehl's or Clinique: which moisturizer is better?

When comparing moisturizers, Kiehl's offers better deep hydration and has a High routine fit for dry skin, whereas Clinique is generally better for sensitive skin and features 100 percent fragrance-free products on the page. Hyaluronic acid is a key ingredient in Clinique's moisturizers, helping to improve skin quality and signs of aging.

Dermatologic Therapy, 2022

Kiehl's or Clinique for sensitive skin?

Both Kiehl's and Clinique provide products that fit sensitive skin well on this page, with Kiehl's offering a High routine fit and Clinique also achieving a High routine fit. Clinique performs better overall for sensitive skin according to reviewer themes.

Kiehl's or Clinique for acne-prone skin?

Both Kiehl's and Clinique are a High fit for acne-prone skin on the products on this page, offering targeted solutions like Kiehl's Clearly Corrective Dark Spot Solution and Clinique's Clarifying Do-Over Peel.

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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