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Paula's Choice vs Lancôme

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

Paula's Choice and Lancôme are skincare brands respectively founded in America in 1995 and France in 1935. The American brand is known for serums, cleansers, moisturizers, and toners built around glycerin, hyaluronic acid, and vitamin C, suiting dry and oily acne-prone skin best. Meanwhile, the French brand offers sophisticated moisturizers, eye products, serums, and toners formulated with glycerin, hyaluronic acid, and adenosine, catering ideally to sensitive and acne-prone skin. While both incorporate hydration-boosting glycerin, they differ in their heritage and targeted formulations.

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

unilever.comtracxn.com

Lancôme is a French skincare brand founded in 1935 and owned by L'Oréal S.A. since 1964.

loreal.comen.wikipedia.orgcosmeticsbusiness.com

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

Popular Paula's Choice vs Lancôme products

People Say

Paula's ChoiceLancôme
  • Texture and Absorption Mostly MentionedMostly Mentioned
    • “absorbs quickly — Lancôme RÉNERGIE”
    • “absorbs almost instantly — Lancôme Génifique Ultimate”
    • “absorbs instantly — Lancôme Advanced Génifique Eye Cream”
    • “absorbs instantly — Paula's Choice C15 Super Booster”
  • Skin Smoothing and Texture Improvement 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 cushiony soft — Lancôme Advanced Génifique Youth Activating Concentrate”
  • Hydration and Moisture Sometimes NotedMostly Mentioned
    • “gives my skin an instant dewy glow — Lancôme Tonique Confort”
    • “keeps the skin soft and hydrated — Lancôme HYDRA ZEN”
    • “The product provides deep hydration and visible rejuvenation. — Lancôme Advanced Génifique Night Cream”
    • “Provides an internal level of hydration without leaving any heavy finish. — Paula's Choice Skin Balancing Pore-Reducing Toner”
  • Brightening, Radiance, and Tone Mostly MentionedSometimes Noted
    • “visible glow — Paula's Choice C15 Super Booster”
    • “acne scars faded — Paula's Choice 10% Azelaic Acid Booster”
    • “calmed redness immediately — Paula's Choice 10% Azelaic Acid Booster”
    • “Skin looks lit from within — Lancôme Advanced Génifique Youth Activating Concentrate”
  • Gentle and Sensitive Skin Care 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”
    • “instantly soothed my skin — Lancôme Génifique Ultimate”
    • “Doesn't sting my eyes — Lancôme Bi-Facil Double Action Eye Makeup Remover”
  • Acne Clearing and Pores Mostly MentionedNot noted
    • “cleared my bumps — Paula's Choice Skin Perfecting 2% BHA Liquid Exfoliant”
    • “Helped clear my cystic acne — Paula's Choice CLEAR Pore Normalizing Cleanser”
    • “pores look smaller — Paula's Choice 10% Niacinamide Booster”
  • High Price and Value Issues Mostly MentionedMostly Mentioned
    • “tiny tube — Paula's Choice 10% Azelaic Acid Booster”
    • “Sooooo expensive — Paula's Choice 25% Vitamin C + Glutathione Clinical Serum”
    • “super expensive — Lancôme Absolue Precious Oil”
    • “expensive as hell — Lancôme RÉNERGIE”
  • Irritation, Dryness, and Breakouts Mostly MentionedOften Mentioned
    • “didn't notice much change in wrinkles — Lancôme Génifique Ultimate”
    • “Leaves a greasy film — Lancôme Bi-Facil Double Action Eye Makeup Remover”
    • “Did absolutely nothing — Lancôme Advanced Génifique Youth Activating Concentrate”
    • “peeling and flaking — Paula's Choice 1% Retinol Treatment”
  • Scent, Residue, and Texture Flaws Often MentionedOften Mentioned
    • “smells like grain — Paula's Choice 10% Azelaic Acid Booster”
    • “smells like hot dog water — Paula's Choice C15 Super Booster”
    • “My only issue with it is the fragrance. — Lancôme Hydra Zen Gel Cream”
    • “scent is too strong — Lancôme Absolue Revitalizing Eye Cream”

Paula's Choice vs Lancôme routines for dry skin

Buy Paula's Choice routine · S$289.57 · 95% fitBuy Lancôme routine · S$174.71 · 89% fitSee multi-brand routine · 99% fit

Paula's Choice vs Lancôme routines for oily skin

Buy Paula's Choice routine · S$531.12 · 91% fitBuy Lancôme routine · S$288.82 · 87% fitSee multi-brand routine · 96% fit

Paula's Choice vs Lancôme routines for combination skin

Buy Paula's Choice routine · S$393.15 · 92% fitBuy Lancôme routine · S$254.55 · 87% fitSee multi-brand routine · 97% fit

Questions and answers

Paula's Choice or Lancôme: which is better?

Paula's Choice outperforms Lancôme across most categories on this page, offering superior fit levels for nearly all skin types and better results for acne clearing and brightening. Meanwhile, Lancôme matches Paula's Choice for sensitive and acne-prone skin and may provide better deep hydration and texture absorption.

What is the difference between Paula's Choice and Lancôme?

Paula's Choice has a superior fit for mature skin, dry skin, and skin with dark spots compared to Lancôme. Furthermore, the products on this page from Paula's Choice list no fragrance in their ingredients, whereas several Lancôme products include fragrance.

Paula's Choice or Lancôme for dry skin?

For dry skin, Paula's Choice is a Superior fit and Lancôme is a High fit. Paula's Choice offers fragrance-free products on the page and helps improve skin texture.

Paula's Choice or Lancôme: which cleanser is better?

Paula's Choice is better for cleansers because the products on this page have a Superior fit for oily, acne-prone, and combination skin, whereas Lancôme cleansers receive lower ratings or warnings.

Which is more affordable, Paula's Choice or Lancôme?

Reviewers note that high prices are a drawback for both Paula's Choice and Lancôme, so neither brand stands out as more affordable.

Paula's Choice or Lancôme: which brand is better for addressing skin with dark spots?

Paula's Choice is better for addressing skin with dark spots, as the products on this page achieve a Superior routine fit for this skin type while Lancôme achieves a High fit. Paula's Choice also does better in review themes for brightening, radiance, and tone.

Do Paula's Choice products or Lancôme products contain fragrance?

Every product on the Paula's Choice page lists no fragrance in its ingredients, whereas most products on the Lancôme page contain fragrance. Topical use of retinol helps with skin aging.

Archives of Dermatology, 2007

Paula's Choice or Lancôme for oily skin?

For oily skin, Paula's Choice is a better fit than Lancôme as it achieves a Superior routine fit compared to Lancôme's High level. The products on this page for Paula's Choice list no fragrance, which helps reduce the likelihood of irritation for oily skin.

Paula's Choice or Lancôme: which moisturizer is better?

Paula's Choice is a better choice for moisturizers on this page because every product lists no fragrance, whereas most Lancôme moisturizers contain fragrance. Paula's Choice also achieves a Superior routine fit for dry, oily, and combination skin, compared to High for Lancôme.

Paula's Choice or Lancôme for sensitive skin?

Both Paula's Choice and Lancôme are a Superior fit for sensitive skin. Paula's Choice formulates every product on this page without fragrance, while Lancôme includes fragrance in most of its products on this page.

Paula's Choice or Lancôme for acne-prone skin?

Paula's Choice is better for acne-prone skin because the products on this page achieve a Superior routine fit, whereas Lancôme achieves a High routine fit. Lovi rates Paula's Choice as Superior for acne-prone skin.

Paula's Choice or Lancôme for mature skin?

Paula's Choice is a better fit for mature skin, achieving a Superior routine fit compared to Lancôme's High fit level. Furthermore, the products on this page for Paula's Choice help target aging signs with key ingredients like retinol, which stimulates collagen accumulation to help improve naturally aged skin.

The Journal of Investigative Dermatology, 2000Archives of Dermatology, 2007

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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