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Kiehl's vs Estée Lauder

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

Kiehl's and Estée Lauder are American skincare brands known for their thoughtful arrays of moisturizers, serums, eye products, and more. Kiehl's is cherished for nourishing ingredients like glycerin and squalane, suiting skin with dark spots and mature skin best. Meanwhile, the beloved Estée Lauder relies on hydrating hyaluronic acid and glycerin, suiting acne-prone skin and mature skin best. They differ primarily in their standout formulations, targeted concerns, and specific active ingredients.

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

loreal.comen.wikipedia.org

Estée Lauder is an American skincare brand founded in 1946 and owned by The Estée Lauder Companies Inc..

en.wikipedia.orgelcompanies.com

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

Popular Kiehl's vs Estée Lauder products

People Say

Kiehl'sEstée Lauder
  • Deep hydration and moisturization Often MentionedMostly Mentioned
    • “skin drinks it up immediately — Estée Lauder Advanced Night Repair”
    • “The formula is incredibly hydrating and leaves my skin feeling smooth. — Estée Lauder Re-Nutriv”
    • “texture is dreamy — Estée Lauder Advanced Night Repair Eye Supercharged Gel-Creme”
    • “Keeps skin moisturized for 24+ hours — Kiehl's Ultra Facial Cream”
  • Lightweight and non-greasy texture Often MentionedSometimes Noted
    • “feels like nothing — Kiehl's Better Screen UV Serum”
    • “works on dark skin — Kiehl's Better Screen UV Serum”
    • “absorbs instantly without residue — Kiehl's Ultra Facial Oil-Free Gel Cream”
    • “Absorbs quickly into the skin — Estée Lauder Revitalizing Supreme+”
  • Gentle on skin and sensitive formulas Often MentionedOften Mentioned
    • “experienced zero irritation — Kiehl's Retinol Skin-Renewing Daily Micro-Dose Serum”
    • “fragrance-free — Kiehl's Ultra Facial Cream”
    • “doesn't strip the skin — Estée Lauder Advanced Night Cleansing Gelée”
    • “Doesn't strip my skin — Estée Lauder Soft Clean Moisture Rich Foaming Cleanser”
  • 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”
    • “skin feels like a baby's bottom — Estée Lauder Advanced Night Repair”
    • “silky smooth — Estée Lauder Micro Essence Treatment Lotion”
  • Brightening and dark spot fading Often MentionedSometimes Noted
    • “Acne marks are gone — Kiehl's Clearly Corrective™ Dark Spot Solution”
    • “woke up glowing — Kiehl's Midnight Recovery Concentrate”
    • “Skin looks radiant — Kiehl's Clearly Corrective™ Dark Spot Solution”
    • “gives me that glass skin look — Estée Lauder Advanced Night Repair”
  • Makeup compatibility and primer benefits Sometimes NotedSometimes Noted
    • “concealer glides on smoothly — Kiehl's Creamy Eye Treatment with Avocado”
    • “no pilling — Kiehl's Ultra Facial Cream”
    • “no pilling — Kiehl's Better Screen UV Serum”
    • “doesn't pill — Estée Lauder Advanced Night Repair Eye Supercharged Gel-Creme”
  • High price point and expensive 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 for the size — Estée Lauder Advanced Night Repair”
    • “too pricey — Estée Lauder Micro Essence Treatment Lotion”
  • Packaging and application challenges Sometimes NotedSometimes Noted
    • “dipping fingers is unsanitary — Kiehl's Ultra Facial Cream”
    • “hard to spread — Kiehl's Creamy Eye Treatment with Avocado”
    • “Dropper doesn't reach bottom — Kiehl's Clearly Corrective™ Dark Spot Solution”
    • “lid is hard to open — Estée Lauder Advanced Night Cleansing Gelée”
  • Unpleasant scent or fragrance complaints Rarely NotedSometimes Noted
    • “smells clinical — Kiehl's Retinol Skin-Renewing Daily Micro-Dose Serum”
    • “faint lab smell — Kiehl's Better Screen UV Serum”
    • “smell is overpowering — Kiehl's Midnight Recovery Concentrate”
    • “Scent is too overpowering — Estée Lauder Revitalizing Supreme+”
  • Ineffective formula or slow results Rarely NotedSometimes Noted
    • “Did absolutely nothing — Kiehl's Clearly Corrective™ Dark Spot Solution”
    • “Takes months to see — Kiehl's Clearly Corrective™ Dark Spot Solution”
    • “results were subtle — Kiehl's Retinol Skin-Renewing Daily Micro-Dose Serum”
    • “didn't notice any difference — Estée Lauder Advanced Night Repair”

Kiehl's vs Estée Lauder routines for dry skin

Buy Kiehl's routine · £181.95 · 82% fitBuy Estée Lauder routine · £132.10 · 74% fitSee multi-brand routine · 99% fit

Kiehl's vs Estée Lauder routines for oily skin

Buy Kiehl's routine · £283.08 · 83% fitBuy Estée Lauder routine · £242.09 · 75% fitSee multi-brand routine · 97% fit

Kiehl's vs Estée Lauder routines for combination skin

Buy Kiehl's routine · £285.07 · 84% fitBuy Estée Lauder routine · £204.59 · 75% fitSee multi-brand routine · 96% fit

Questions and answers

Kiehl's or Estée Lauder: which is better?

Both Kiehl's and Estée Lauder are effective skincare brands, with Kiehl's offering better lightweight hydration and brightening while Estée Lauder excels in deep moisture. Lovi rates Kiehl's routine fit for dry skin as High and Estée Lauder's as Average.

What is the difference between Kiehl's and Estée Lauder?

Kiehl's focuses on lightweight, non-greasy textures and brightening dark spots, whereas Estée Lauder emphasizes deep hydration. For dry skin, Lovi's routine fit is High for Kiehl's and Average for Estée Lauder. Both brands offer equally strong routines for oily, combination, sensitive, acne-prone, and mature skin.

Kiehl's or Estée Lauder for dry skin?

For dry skin, Kiehl's is the better choice because Lovi rates its routine as High while Estée Lauder receives an Average fit. Kiehl's offers lightweight, non-greasy moisturizers and deep hydration.

Kiehl's or Estée Lauder: which cleanser is better?

Both Kiehl's and Estée Lauder offer effective cleansers, but Kiehl's is often preferred for specialized targeted concerns while Estée Lauder stands out for gentle, non-drying daily cleansing. Lovi rates the routine fit for dry skin as High for Kiehl's and Average for Estée Lauder.

Which is more affordable, Kiehl's or Estée Lauder?

Both Kiehl's and Estée Lauder face frequent customer complaints regarding their high price points, with neither brand emerging as clearly more affordable than the other on the products on this page.

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

Kiehl's features a higher proportion of fragrance-free products on the products on this page, with 26 out of 28 products listing no fragrance compared to Estée Lauder's 12 out of 14.

Which brand performs better for brightening and fading dark spots?

Kiehl's performs better for brightening and fading dark spots according to the products on this page.

What are the recommended morning routines for dry skin for each brand?

For dry skin, the Kiehl's morning routine includes the Calendula Deep Cleansing Foaming Face Wash, Ultra Facial Toner, Hydro-Plumping Serum Concentrate, and Better Screen UV Serum. The Estée Lauder morning routine uses the Advanced Night Cleansing Gelée, Micro Essence Treatment Lotion, Revitalizing Supreme+, and DayWear Moisturizer.

Kiehl's or Estée Lauder for oily skin?

Both Kiehl's and Estée Lauder offer products on this page that achieve a High routine fit for oily skin. Reviewers state that Kiehl's helps by providing lightweight and non-greasy textures, while Estée Lauder helps by delivering deep hydration.

Kiehl's or Estée Lauder: which moisturizer is better?

Kiehl's does better for lightweight and non-greasy texture among the products on this page. Estée Lauder stands out for deep hydration and moisturization.

Kiehl's or Estée Lauder for sensitive skin?

Both Kiehl's and Estée Lauder offer products on this page that are a High fit for sensitive skin. Lovi rates the routine fit for sensitive skin as High for both brands.

Kiehl's or Estée Lauder: which sunscreen is better?

For sunscreens on this page, Kiehl's Better Screen UV Serum achieves a High fit level for skin with dark spots, combination skin, sensitive skin, acne-prone skin, and mature skin. Estée Lauder DayWear Moisturizer achieves a Superior fit level for dry sensitive skin, dry skin, sensitive skin, and mature skin.

Kiehl's or Estée Lauder for acne-prone skin?

Both Kiehl's and Estée Lauder offer high routine fit for acne-prone skin based on the products on this page. Kiehl's may be a good choice for lightweight texture, while Estée Lauder provides gentle cleansing.

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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