🇬🇧United Kingdom

La Roche-Posay vs MAC

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

La Roche-Posay and MAC are distinct beauty brands with dedicated followers, as the French skincare line established in 1975 features comforting serums, moisturizers, cleansers, and eye products with glycerin, thermal water, and niacinamide to suit mature skin and skin with dark spots, while the Canadian counterpart founded in 1984 offers reliable daily moisturizers and makeup removers tailored for balanced skin. Through consistent use, the first brand employs targeted ingredients like glycerin for hydration and niacinamide for hyperpigmentation, whereas the second brand relies on balanced formulas for daily maintenance. Ultimately, both offer thoughtful standalone options, from Anthelios and Mineralize Timecheck Lotion for acne-prone skin to the Pure Vitamin C Cream and Hyper Real Fresh Canvas Cleansing Oil for dark spots.

La Roche-Posay is a French skincare brand founded in 1975 and owned by L'Oréal S.A. since 1989.

laroche-posay.com.aufr.wikipedia.org

MAC is a Canadian skincare brand founded in 1984 and owned by The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. since 1994.

elcompanies.comen.wikipedia.org

This page compares some of the most popular La Roche-Posay and MAC products; for every product of both brands, with a fit score for your own skin, use the Lovi app.

Popular La Roche-Posay vs MAC products

People Say

La Roche-PosayMAC
  • Hydration and Moisture Mostly MentionedMostly Mentioned
    • “absorbs quickly — MAC Hyper Real Serumizer”
    • “Absorbs in a snap — MAC Mineralize Timecheck Lotion”
    • “Leaves skin feeling soft and supple, never tight. — MAC Hyper Real Fresh Canvas Cleansing Oil”
    • “absorbs instantly — La Roche-Posay Toleriane Double Repair Face Moisturizer”
  • Makeup Base and Primer Rarely NotedMostly Mentioned
    • “foundation glides on — MAC Hyper Real Serumizer”
    • “Sits beautifully under makeup — MAC Mineralize Timecheck Lotion”
    • “Reduces appearance of pores — MAC Mineralize Timecheck Lotion”
    • “makeup sits perfectly — La Roche-Posay Anthelios”
  • Sensitive Skin Care and Soothing Mostly MentionedSometimes Noted
    • “Only cream that doesn't sting — La Roche-Posay Toleriane Dermallergo Eye Cream”
    • “Calmed my skin after a chemical peel — La Roche-Posay Thermal Spring Water”
    • “no stinging — La Roche-Posay Toleriane Double Repair Face Moisturizer”
    • “Does not cause breakouts — MAC Mineralize Timecheck Lotion”
  • Skin Texture Improvement Often MentionedSometimes Noted
    • “Skin feels smoother — La Roche-Posay Retinol B3 Serum”
    • “softens forehead lines — La Roche-Posay Hyalu B5 Serum”
    • “Skin feels softer — La Roche-Posay Pure Vitamin C10 Serum”
    • “petal-soft skin — MAC Hyper Real Serumizer”
  • Price and Value Sometimes NotedMostly Mentioned
    • “expensive for the size — La Roche-Posay Hyalu B5 Serum”
    • “Too expensive for the size — La Roche-Posay Toleriane Dermallergo Eye Cream”
    • “Tube is tiny for the price — La Roche-Posay Cicaplast Gel B5”
    • “too expensive — MAC Hyper Real Serumizer”
  • Fragrance and Scent Sometimes NotedOften Mentioned
    • “scent is awful — La Roche-Posay Mela B3 Serum”
    • “overwhelming floral smell — La Roche-Posay Hyalu B5 Serum”
    • “scent is overpowering — MAC Hyper Real Serumizer”
    • “Has a scent that might irritate very sensitive noses. — MAC Hyper Real Fresh Canvas Cleansing Oil”
  • Product Pilling and Texture Issues Often MentionedRarely Noted
    • “Felt sticky to me — MAC Mineralize Timecheck Lotion”
    • “pills like crazy — La Roche-Posay Toleriane Double Repair Face Moisturizer”
  • Skin Irritation and Stinging Sometimes NotedSometimes Noted
    • “burns my eyes — La Roche-Posay Anthelios”
    • “burned my face — La Roche-Posay Toleriane Double Repair Face Moisturizer”
    • “caused acne — MAC Hyper Real Serumizer”
    • “Stings if it accidentally gets into the eyes. — MAC Hyper Real Fresh Canvas Cleansing Oil”
  • Packaging and Pump Issues Often MentionedNot noted
    • “pump stops working — La Roche-Posay Lipikar AP+M Triple Repair Moisturizing Cream”

Questions and answers

La Roche-Posay or MAC: which is better?

La Roche-Posay does better for sensitive skin care and soothing as well as skin texture improvement, while MAC does better for hydration and moisture and makeup base and primer.

What is the difference between La Roche-Posay and MAC?

La Roche-Posay does better for sensitive skin care and soothing, while MAC does better for hydration and moisture as well as makeup bases and primers. La Roche-Posay offers many fragrance-free options among the products on this page, whereas all products from MAC on this page list fragrance.

La Roche-Posay or MAC: which moisturizer is better?

La Roche-Posay does better for sensitive skin care and soothing moisturizers, while MAC offers lightweight moisturizers with strong makeup bases and primers. For dry skin, the products on this page show that La Roche-Posay's Pure Vitamin C Cream has a Superior fit level.

Which is more affordable, La Roche-Posay or MAC?

La Roche-Posay does better than MAC on price and value according to the review themes on this page.

Between La Roche-Posay and MAC, which brand offers better options for sensitive skin and soothing care?

La Roche-Posay offers better options for sensitive skin and soothing care. Review themes on this page show that La Roche-Posay does better than MAC for sensitive skin care and soothing.

How do the fragrance-free product offerings compare between La Roche-Posay and MAC?

La Roche-Posay offers significantly more fragrance-free options, with 21 out of 35 products on this page listing no fragrance, whereas MAC has none.

Which brand is better suited for improving skin texture based on the review themes?

La Roche-Posay does better than MAC for skin texture improvement.

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