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Paula's Choice vs Clinique

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

Paula's Choice and Clinique are established American skincare brands offering diverse ranges of serums, cleansers, moisturizers, and toners built around hyaluronic acid, glycerin, and vitamin c or caffeine. Paula's Choice features formulations centered on glycerin and vitamin c that suit oily and acne-prone skin best, while Clinique incorporates hydrating hyaluronic acid, nourishing glycerin, and invigorating caffeine to comfortably suit dry sensitive skin and oily skin. The brands differ primarily in their founding years, parent companies, and specific active ingredients like caffeine and vitamin c, though both utilize barrier-restoring glycerin to significantly increase skin hydration.

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

unilever.comtracxn.com

Clinique is an American skincare brand founded in 1968 and owned by The Estée Lauder Companies Inc..

en.wikipedia.orgelcompanies.combusinesswire.comglossy.co

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

Popular Paula's Choice vs Clinique products

People Say

Paula's ChoiceClinique
  • 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”
    • “absorbs instantly — Paula's Choice C15 Super Booster”
    • “sinks in immediately — Clinique moisture surge”
  • Gentle and non-irritating Often MentionedMostly Mentioned
    • “never irritated my eyes — Clinique All About Eyes”
    • “No stinging eyes — Clinique Take The Day Off Cleansing Balm”
    • “cools the heat in my cheeks — Clinique Redness Solutions Daily Relief Cream”
    • “Finally a vitamin C product I can use — Paula's Choice 25% Vitamin C + Glutathione Clinical Serum”
  • Smoothes texture and refines pores Mostly MentionedRarely Noted
    • “skin becomes very smooth — Paula's Choice 1% Retinol Treatment”
    • “pores look smaller — Paula's Choice 10% Niacinamide Booster”
    • “bumps be gone — Paula's Choice Weightless Body Treatment 2% BHA”
    • “leaves face porcelain smooth — Clinique 7 Day Scrub Cream Rinse-Off Formula”
  • Glow and radiance Often MentionedRarely Noted
    • “visible glow — Paula's Choice C15 Super Booster”
    • “softens lines and wrinkles — Paula's Choice 1% Retinol Treatment”
    • “acne scars faded — Paula's Choice 10% Azelaic Acid Booster”
    • “wake up glowing — Clinique Moisture Surge Overnight Mask”
  • Unclogs pores and clears acne Often 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”
    • “heals blemishes faster — Paula's Choice Skin Perfecting 2% BHA Liquid Exfoliant”
  • Firms and plumps Sometimes NotedSometimes Noted
    • “skin looks plumper — Paula's Choice Pro-Collagen Multi-Peptide Booster”
    • “improved neck texture — Paula's Choice Skin-Smoothing Retinol Body Treatment”
    • “glass skin look — Clinique moisture surge”
    • “visibly plumped up — Clinique Smart Clinical Repair Wrinkle Correcting Serum”
  • High price and small size Mostly MentionedOften Mentioned
    • “surprisingly small bottle — Paula's Choice Skin-Smoothing Retinol Body Treatment”
    • “tiny tube — Paula's Choice 10% Azelaic Acid Booster”
    • “jar is too small for the cost — Clinique moisture surge”
    • “quite pricey — Clinique Smart Clinical Repair Wrinkle Correcting Serum”
  • Causes purging or breakouts Often MentionedSometimes Noted
    • “peeling and flaking — Paula's Choice 1% Retinol Treatment”
    • “skin purged — Paula's Choice Skin Perfecting 2% BHA Liquid Exfoliant”
    • “Woke up with whiteheads on my chin — Clinique Dramatically Different Moisturizing Lotion+”
    • “gave me tiny bumps — Clinique moisture surge”
  • Unpleasant smell or scent Often MentionedSometimes Noted
    • “Smells like nail polish remover — Clinique Clarifying Lotion 2”
    • “Smells like old oil — Clinique Take The Day Off Cleansing Balm”
    • “Has a weird plastic-like smell — Clinique Dramatically Different Moisturizing Lotion+”
    • “smells like grain — Paula's Choice 10% Azelaic Acid Booster”
  • Drying and flaking Sometimes NotedOften Mentioned
    • “Not hydrating enough for winter. — Paula's Choice Clear Oil-Free Moisturizer”
    • “dryness and scaliness — Paula's Choice Skin Perfecting 2% BHA Liquid Exfoliant”
    • “Made my skin flaky — Paula's Choice CLEAR Pore Normalizing Cleanser”
    • “skin felt tight — Clinique Dramatically Different Moisturizing Gel”

Paula's Choice vs Clinique routines for dry skin

Buy Paula's Choice routine · £210.78 · 86% fitBuy Clinique routine · £210.11 · 74% fitSee multi-brand routine · 99% fit

Paula's Choice vs Clinique routines for oily skin

Buy Paula's Choice routine · £280.77 · 92% fitBuy Clinique routine · £194.06 · 78% fitSee multi-brand routine · 97% fit

Paula's Choice vs Clinique routines for combination skin

Buy Paula's Choice routine · £235.40 · 90% fitBuy Clinique routine · £151.87 · 72% fitSee multi-brand routine · 96% fit

Questions and answers

Paula's Choice or Clinique: which is better?

Paula's Choice is generally better for oily, acne-prone, and mature skin types on this page, offering superior Lovi fit levels across multiple targeted products. Clinique provides a high routine fit for sensitive and dry sensitive skin, but Paula's Choice tends to excel more in smoothing texture and clearing acne.

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

Paula's Choice offers a superior fit for oily, combination, acne-prone, and mature skin compared to Clinique, while both brands perform similarly for dry sensitive skin. Paula's Choice stands out for smoothing texture, unclogging pores, and providing a glow, whereas Clinique is noted for gentle, hydrating formulas.

Paula's Choice or Clinique for dry skin?

Paula's Choice is a better choice for dry skin, offering a High routine fit compared to Clinique's Average level. The products on this page help hydrate and restore moisture barrier lipids.

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

Paula's Choice cleansers perform better on this page, achieving a Superior routine fit for oily, acne-prone, and combination skin types. Clinique cleansers, by comparison, earn lower fit ratings across most skin categories.

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

Both brands are noted by reviewers for having a high price point, so neither stands out as more affordable. High price and packaging issues are mostly mentioned for Paula's Choice, while a high price point is often mentioned for Clinique.

Between Paula's Choice and Clinique, which brand is better suited for mature skin?

Paula's Choice is better suited for mature skin, achieving a Superior routine fit compared to Clinique's High fit. Retinol stimulates collagen accumulation in naturally aged human skin.

The Journal of Investigative Dermatology, 2000

How do Paula's Choice and Clinique compare when it comes to routine fit for dry sensitive skin?

Both Paula's Choice and Clinique offer a High routine fit for dry sensitive skin on the products on this page.

Which brand offers better results for addressing skin with dark spots?

Paula's Choice offers better results for skin with dark spots, as the products on this page achieve a Superior Lovi fit level for this concern compared to Clinique's average fit. Niacinamide helps reduce cutaneous pigmentation and suppresses melanosome transfer.

The British Journal of Dermatology, 2002Antioxidants, 2021

Paula's Choice or Clinique for oily skin?

Paula's Choice is better for oily skin, as the products on this page achieve a Superior routine fit compared to Clinique's High fit level. Reviewers note that Paula's Choice is particularly effective for lightweight and fast-absorbing formulas, as well as unclogging pores and clearing acne.

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

Paula's Choice is a better choice for moisturizers on this page, as its products achieve a Superior fit for specific skin types compared to Clinique's average ratings. Paula's Choice Clear Oil-Free Moisturizer and Replenishing Moisturizer help target oily and mature skin effectively.

Paula's Choice or Clinique for sensitive skin?

Paula's Choice is a better fit for sensitive skin, achieving a Superior routine fit compared to Clinique's High fit level.

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

Paula's Choice is a better choice for acne-prone skin, as the products on this page have a Superior routine fit for this skin type while Clinique has an Average fit. Paula's Choice also does better in reviews for unclogging pores and clearing acne.

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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