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Kiehl's vs Elemis

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

Kiehl's and Elemis are established skincare brands that offer thoughtfully formulated moisturizers, serums, toners, and cleansers for various skin needs. The American brand features trusted ingredients like glycerin and squalane, making it best suited for dry skin and skin with dark spots. Meanwhile, the British brand harnesses nourishing components like glycerin and shea butter, tailoring its products best to mature skin and dry sensitive skin. While both rely on glycerin to significantly increase hydration and improve barrier function, they differ in their targeted formulations and secondary key ingredients.

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

loreal.comen.wikipedia.org

Elemis is a British skincare brand founded in 1989 and owned by L'Occitane Group since 2019.

elemis.comau.elemis.comen.wikipedia.org

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

Popular Kiehl's vs Elemis products

People Say

Kiehl'sElemis
  • Deep hydration Often MentionedOften Mentioned
    • “Keeps skin moisturized for 24+ hours — Kiehl's Ultra Facial Cream”
    • “Feels like a drink of water — Kiehl's Hydro-Plumping Serum Concentrate”
    • “The cream really hydrates and my face looks amazing. — Elemis Pro-Collagen Night Cream”
    • “Quenches thirsty skin... immediate improvement. — Elemis Pro-Collagen Marine Cream”
  • Brightening and radiance Often MentionedOften Mentioned
    • “Acne marks are gone — Kiehl's Clearly Corrective™ Dark Spot Solution”
    • “woke up glowing — Kiehl's Midnight Recovery Concentrate”
    • “healthy glow — Elemis Dynamic Resurfacing Facial Pads”
    • “instantly fresh glow — Elemis Dynamic Resurfacing Facial Wash”
  • Lightweight texture Often MentionedOften Mentioned
    • “feels like nothing — Kiehl's Better Screen UV Serum”
    • “Absorbs quickly — Kiehl's Ultra Facial Cream”
    • “Absorbs almost immediately, and my skin feels well hydrated all day. — Elemis Pro-Collagen Marine Cream”
    • “weightless serum — Elemis Pro-Collagen Advanced Eye Treatment”
  • 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”
    • “baby soft — Elemis Dynamic Resurfacing Facial Pads”
    • “skin feels baby soft — Elemis Papaya Enzyme Peel”
  • Relaxing or spa-like scent Rarely NotedOften Mentioned
    • “smells like a spa — Elemis Pro-Collagen Cleansing Balm”
    • “smells like a holiday — Elemis Papaya Enzyme Peel”
    • “smells like a tropical cocktail — Elemis Superfood Midnight Facial”
    • “calming lavender smell — Kiehl's Midnight Recovery Concentrate”
  • Gentle for sensitive skin Often MentionedSometimes Noted
    • “experienced zero irritation — Kiehl's Retinol Skin-Renewing Daily Micro-Dose Serum”
    • “fragrance-free — Kiehl's Ultra Facial Cream”
    • “doesn't irritate sensitive eyes — Kiehl's Creamy Eye Treatment with Avocado”
    • “no stinging or redness — Elemis Papaya Enzyme Peel”
  • High price Mostly MentionedMostly Mentioned
    • “pricy daily staple — Kiehl's Ultra Facial Cream”
    • “Very expensive product — Kiehl's Clearly Corrective™ Dark Spot Solution”
    • “Complete waste of money for me. — Elemis Pro-Collagen Marine Cream”
    • “very expensive — Elemis Pro-Collagen Cleansing Balm”
  • Burning, stinging, and irritation Sometimes NotedSometimes Noted
    • “burned my face immediately — Kiehl's Rare Earth Deep Pore Cleansing Masque”
    • “stings my face and feels like burning — Kiehl's Super Multi-Corrective Cream”
    • “blurry vision — Elemis Pro-Collagen Cleansing Balm”
    • “Developed milia and closed comedones. — Elemis Pro-Collagen Marine Cream”
  • 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 difference — Elemis Papaya Enzyme Peel”
    • “didn't see difference — Elemis Dynamic Resurfacing Facial Wash”

Kiehl's vs Elemis routines for dry skin

Buy Kiehl's routine · SAR 2,309.98 · 84% fitBuy Elemis routine · SAR 3,641.86 · 82% fitSee multi-brand routine · 96% fit

Kiehl's vs Elemis routines for oily skin

Buy Kiehl's routine · SAR 2,172.23 · 80% fitBuy Elemis routine · SAR 2,382.67 · 77% fitSee multi-brand routine · 97% fit

Kiehl's vs Elemis routines for combination skin

Buy Kiehl's routine · SAR 2,149.18 · 83% fitBuy Elemis routine · SAR 2,337.01 · 79% fitSee multi-brand routine · 97% fit

Questions and answers

Kiehl's or Elemis: which is better?

Kiehl's and Elemis are both good options, as both brands match well for dry, oily, combination, sensitive, mature, and dark spot skin types on their respective pages. Kiehl's is noted as being more gentle for sensitive skin, while Elemis offers a more relaxing, spa-like scent.

What is the difference between Kiehl's and Elemis?

Kiehl's and Elemis both offer effective routines across most skin types, but Kiehl's tends to be gentler for sensitive skin while Elemis is often noted for a relaxing or spa-like scent. Kiehl's lists no fragrance in the vast majority of the products on this page, whereas most Elemis products on this page include fragrance.

Kiehl's or Elemis for dry skin?

Both Kiehl's and Elemis are great options for dry skin, as Lovi rates their routines as High for this skin type. The products on this page for both brands offer deep hydration, though Kiehl's is noted as being more gentle for sensitive skin.

Kiehl's or Elemis: which cleanser is better?

Both Kiehl's and Elemis offer effective cleansers, but Kiehl's is particularly well-suited as a cleanser for oily and acne-prone skin, achieving a Superior fit level for those skin types on this page. Reviewers note that Kiehl's tends to be gentler for sensitive skin, while Elemis leans toward a relaxing or spa-like scent.

Which is more affordable, Kiehl's or Elemis?

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

Between Kiehl's and Elemis, which brand offers more fragrance-free products?

Kiehl's offers significantly more fragrance-free products on the products on this page, with 26 out of 28 products listing no fragrance. In contrast, Elemis includes fragrance in 18 out of 22 products on the products on this page.

How do Kiehl's and Elemis compare for someone looking for products suitable for mature skin?

Both Kiehl's and Elemis offer products on this page that are well-suited for mature skin, with both brands achieving a High routine fit level for this skin type.

Which brand performs better for acne-prone skin according to the routine fit levels?

Elemis performs better for acne-prone skin, as Lovi rates its routine fit as High compared to Kiehl's Average fit level.

Kiehl's or Elemis for oily skin?

Both Kiehl's and Elemis achieve a High routine fit for oily skin on the products on this page. Kiehl's features many lightweight, non-greasy moisturizers and dedicated oil-free and pore-cleansing products, whereas Elemis offers choices like the Balancing Lavender Toner that helps manage oil.

Kiehl's or Elemis: which moisturizer is better?

When comparing moisturizers, Kiehl's is often noted for lightweight, non-greasy options, while Elemis is praised for luxurious texture and hydration. Both brands offer products that help maintain skin moisture, though Lovi rates their fit levels based on specific skin types.

Kiehl's or Elemis for sensitive skin?

Both Kiehl's and Elemis have a High routine fit for sensitive skin, but Kiehl's does better in reviews for being gentle for sensitive skin. The products on this page for Kiehl's are also much less likely to contain added fragrance.

Kiehl's or Elemis for acne-prone skin?

Elemis is a better fit for acne-prone skin on this page, achieving a High routine fit compared to Kiehl's Average level. Elemis also features fewer products containing fragrance than Kiehl's, which helps reduce the risk of irritation for sensitive breakout-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

How does it fit your skin?

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