🇸🇦Saudi Arabia

Paula's Choice vs The INKEY List

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

Paula's Choice and The INKEY List are skincare brands offering serums, cleansers, moisturizers, toners, and more. The American brand is known for hyaluronic acid, glycerin, and vitamin c, suiting oily skin and combination skin best. Meanwhile, the British brand focuses on glycerin and fits combination skin and sensitive skin best. While both feature glycerin to significantly increase skin hydration and restore barrier function, they differ in their specific formulations and targeted skin needs.

Paula's Choice is an American skincare brand founded in 1995 and owned by Unilever since 2021.

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

Popular Paula's Choice vs The INKEY List products

People Say

Paula's ChoiceThe INKEY List
  • Lightweight and fast-absorbing Mostly MentionedMostly Mentioned
    • “Provides an internal level of hydration without leaving any heavy finish. — Paula's Choice Skin Balancing Pore-Reducing Toner”
    • “Absorbs quickly and leaves no greasy residue behind. — Paula's Choice Clear Oil-Free Moisturizer”
    • “sits beautifully under makeup — The INKEY List Caffeine Eye Cream”
    • “Gel consistency — The INKEY List Tranexamic Acid Serum”
  • Improves texture and smoothness Mostly MentionedSometimes 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”
    • “Skin feels softer — The INKEY List PHA Toner”
  • Gentle and non-irritating formula Often MentionedOften Mentioned
    • “Finally a vitamin C product I can use — Paula's Choice 25% Vitamin C + Glutathione Clinical Serum”
    • “no stinging — Paula's Choice C15 Super Booster”
    • “Great for sensitive skin — The INKEY List PHA Toner”
    • “Never tight or stripped — The INKEY List Salicylic Acid Cleanser”
  • 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”
  • Radiance, glow, and dark spots Often MentionedRarely Noted
    • “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”
    • “Visibly reduces acne scars — The INKEY List Tranexamic Acid Serum”
  • Reduces redness and soothes skin Sometimes NotedOften Mentioned
    • “Safe and gentle especially for my dry, sensitive skin — The INKEY List Oat Cleansing Balm”
    • “calmed my menopausal redness — The INKEY List ECTOIN HYDRO-BARRIER SERUM”
    • “calms redness instantly — The INKEY List 10% Azelaic Acid Serum”
    • “calmed redness immediately — Paula's Choice 10% Azelaic Acid Booster”
  • Packaging issues and small size Often MentionedOften Mentioned
    • “surprisingly small bottle — Paula's Choice Skin-Smoothing Retinol Body Treatment”
    • “dropper leaks — Paula's Choice C15 Super Booster”
    • “Pump breaks easily — The INKEY List Tranexamic Acid Serum”
    • “Very difficult to squeeze out at first — The INKEY List Oat Cleansing Balm”
  • High price and poor value Mostly MentionedNot noted
    • “tiny tube — Paula's Choice 10% Azelaic Acid Booster”
  • Unpleasant smell or scent 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 grain — Paula's Choice 10% Azelaic Acid Booster”

Paula's Choice vs The INKEY List routines for dry skin

Buy The INKEY List routine · SAR 1,013.85 · 80% fitBuy Paula's Choice routine · SAR 1,588.72 · 79% fitSee multi-brand routine · 96% fit

Paula's Choice vs The INKEY List routines for oily skin

Buy Paula's Choice routine · SAR 1,883.71 · 89% fitBuy The INKEY List routine · SAR 1,267.37 · 87% fitSee multi-brand routine · 97% fit

Paula's Choice vs The INKEY List routines for combination skin

Buy The INKEY List routine · SAR 1,056.73 · 90% fitBuy Paula's Choice routine · SAR 1,601.99 · 89% fitSee multi-brand routine · 97% fit

Questions and answers

Paula's Choice or The INKEY List: which is better?

Both brands are great choices depending on your budget and skin goals, with Paula's Choice excelling in radiance and texture while The INKEY List offers superior affordability and soothing benefits. For combination and sensitive skin types, Lovi finds that The INKEY List achieves a Superior fit level.

What is the difference between Paula's Choice and The INKEY List?

Paula's Choice and The INKEY List both offer fragrance-free skincare products, but Lovi shows that The INKEY List has a Superior fit for combination skin and sensitive skin compared to Paula's Choice's High fit for those skin types.

Paula's Choice or The INKEY List for dry skin?

Both Paula's Choice and The INKEY List achieve a High routine fit for dry skin, though Paula's Choice features fragrance-free formulas with key ingredients like hyaluronic acid and glycerin. Topical hyaluronic acid helps improve skin quality and signs of skin aging.

Dermatologic Therapy, 2022Journal of Pharmacy & Pharmaceutical Sciences, 2015

Paula's Choice or The INKEY List: which cleanser is better?

Both brands offer effective cleansers, but Paula's Choice is a better fit for oily, acne-prone, and combination skin with Superior Lovi ratings across multiple options like the CLEAR Pore Normalizing Cleanser. The INKEY List provides popular options like the Salicylic Acid Cleanser and Oat Cleansing Balm, but fits best for specific skin types or concerns.

Which is more affordable, Paula's Choice or The INKEY List?

The INKEY List is more affordable, as reviewers mostly mention its affordable serums and moisturizers compared to the high price often noted for Paula's Choice.

Between Paula's Choice and The INKEY List, which brand does better for reducing redness and soothing skin?

The INKEY List does better for reducing redness and soothing skin compared to Paula's Choice.

Which brand offers better results for radiance, glow, and dark spots?

Paula's Choice offers better results for radiance, glow, and dark spots compared to The INKEY List.

How do the founding years and corporate ownerships of Paula's Choice and The INKEY List compare?

Paula's Choice was founded in 1995 in the United States and has been owned by Unilever since 2021, while The INKEY List was founded later in 2018 in the United Kingdom and is owned by Brand Evangelists for Beauty Limited.

Paula's Choice or The INKEY List for sensitive skin?

Lovi finds that The INKEY List is Superior for sensitive skin, whereas Paula's Choice is High. Reviewers note that The INKEY List helps reduce redness and soothes skin.

Paula's Choice or The INKEY List: which moisturizer is better?

Both brands offer solid moisturizer options, but shoppers looking for affordable hydration generally prefer The INKEY List for its budget-friendly and fast-absorbing creams. Meanwhile, Paula's Choice provides targeted treatments like the Clinical Ceramide-Enriched Firming Moisturizer and Clear Oil-Free Moisturizer, which help maintain skin health across various skin types.

Paula's Choice or The INKEY List for acne-prone skin?

Both Paula's Choice and The INKEY List fit acne-prone skin well, with the products on this page achieving a High routine fit level for both brands. Reviewers note that Paula's Choice provides targeted texture improvement, while The INKEY List offers affordable hydration.

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