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Paula's Choice vs Estée Lauder

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

Paula's Choice and Estée Lauder are American skincare brands offering diverse products for different skin needs. The former features serums, cleansers, moisturizers, toners, and more with hyaluronic acid, glycerin, and vitamin c, suiting oily skin and acne-prone skin best. Meanwhile, the latter is beloved for moisturizers, serums, eye products, cleansers, and more formulated with hydrating hyaluronic acid and glycerin, suiting acne-prone skin and mature skin best. Both brands differ in their founding dates, corporate ownership, and specific targeted solutions like toners, treatments, essences, and primers.

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

unilever.comtracxn.com

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 Paula's Choice and Estée Lauder products; for every product of both brands, with a fit score for your own skin, use the Lovi app.

Popular Paula's Choice vs Estée Lauder products

People Say

Paula's ChoiceEstée Lauder
  • Fast Absorption and Lightweight Feel Mostly MentionedOften Mentioned
    • “Absorbs quickly and leaves no greasy residue behind. — Paula's Choice Clear Oil-Free Moisturizer”
    • “absorbs instantly — Paula's Choice C15 Super Booster”
    • “watery consistency — Paula's Choice 10% Niacinamide Booster”
    • “Absorbs quickly into the skin — Estée Lauder Revitalizing Supreme+”
  • Smoothing Skin Texture Mostly MentionedSometimes Noted
    • “skin becomes very smooth — Paula's Choice 1% Retinol Treatment”
    • “skin is insanely soft — Paula's Choice Weightless Body Treatment 2% BHA”
    • “skin never been this silky — Paula's Choice Skin-Smoothing Retinol Body Treatment”
    • “skin feels like a baby's bottom — Estée Lauder Advanced Night Repair”
  • Deep Hydration and Plumping Not notedMostly 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”
  • Non-Irritating and Gentle Formulas 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”
    • “doesn't strip the skin — Estée Lauder Advanced Night Cleansing Gelée”
    • “Doesn't strip my skin — Estée Lauder Soft Clean Moisture Rich Foaming Cleanser”
  • Glow, Radiance, and Brightening Often MentionedSometimes 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”
    • “gives me that glass skin look — Estée Lauder Advanced Night Repair”
  • Anti-Aging and Firming Results Sometimes NotedSometimes Noted
    • “skin looks plumper — Paula's Choice Pro-Collagen Multi-Peptide Booster”
    • “softens lines and wrinkles — Paula's Choice 1% Retinol Treatment”
    • “Helps with skin firmness and reduces the appearance of lines. — Estée Lauder Re-Nutriv”
    • “Instantly blurs fine lines. — Estée Lauder Revitalizing Supreme+ Youth Power Eye Balm”
  • High Price Point and Value Mostly MentionedMostly Mentioned
    • “tiny tube — Paula's Choice 10% Azelaic Acid Booster”
    • “Sooooo expensive — Paula's Choice 25% Vitamin C + Glutathione Clinical Serum”
    • “way too expensive for the size — Estée Lauder Advanced Night Repair”
    • “too pricey — Estée Lauder Micro Essence Treatment Lotion”
  • Unpleasant Smell or Scent Complaints Often MentionedOften Mentioned
    • “smells like grain — Paula's Choice 10% Azelaic Acid Booster”
    • “smells like hot dog water — Paula's Choice C15 Super Booster”
    • “Scent is too overpowering — Estée Lauder Revitalizing Supreme+”
    • “strong scent — Estée Lauder Advanced Night Cleansing Gelée”
  • Packaging Issues and Leaks Sometimes NotedSometimes Noted
    • “dropper leaks — Paula's Choice C15 Super Booster”
    • “dropper can be unpredictable — Paula's Choice Pro-Collagen Multi-Peptide Booster”
    • “lid is hard to open — Estée Lauder Advanced Night Cleansing Gelée”
    • “Please make a jar or refill that is not as big and heavy. — Estée Lauder Re-Nutriv”
  • Purging and Breakouts Sometimes NotedRarely Noted
    • “gave me tiny red bumps — Estée Lauder Advanced Night Repair”
    • “Caused small bumps on forehead — Estée Lauder Revitalizing Supreme+”
    • “cystic acne — Estée Lauder Micro Essence Treatment Lotion”
    • “skin purged — Paula's Choice Skin Perfecting 2% BHA Liquid Exfoliant”

Paula's Choice vs Estée Lauder routines for dry skin

Buy Paula's Choice routine · £210.78 · 86% fitBuy Estée Lauder routine · £132.10 · 74% fitSee multi-brand routine · 99% fit

Paula's Choice vs Estée Lauder routines for oily skin

Buy Paula's Choice routine · £280.77 · 92% fitBuy Estée Lauder routine · £242.09 · 75% fitSee multi-brand routine · 97% fit

Paula's Choice vs Estée Lauder routines for combination skin

Buy Paula's Choice routine · £235.40 · 90% fitBuy Estée Lauder routine · £204.59 · 75% fitSee multi-brand routine · 96% fit

Questions and answers

Paula's Choice or Estée Lauder: which is better?

Paula's Choice is better than Estée Lauder on this page, achieving superior routine fit levels for oily, combination, sensitive, acne-prone, mature, and dark spot skin types. Lovi finds Paula's Choice to have superior fit for dry skin, whereas Estée Lauder has an average fit for dry skin.

What is the difference between Paula's Choice and Estée Lauder?

Paula's Choice delivers Superior routine fit for oily, combination, sensitive, acne-prone, mature, and dark-spot-prone skin, whereas Estée Lauder provides High fit for those same types. Reviewers note that Paula's Choice excels in fast absorption, texture smoothing, and brightening, while Estée Lauder offers deep hydration and plumping.

Paula's Choice or Estée Lauder for dry skin?

Paula's Choice is better for dry skin, offering a High routine fit compared to Estée Lauder's Average routine fit on this page.

Paula's Choice or Estée Lauder: which cleanser is better?

Paula's Choice is better for most skin types on this page, offering superior cleansers for oily, combination, and acne-prone skin, while every product on its page lists no fragrance. Estée Lauder also provides highly rated options, such as the Advanced Night Cleansing Gelée and Soft Clean Moisture Rich Foaming Cleanser, though some of its cleansers contain fragrance.

Which is more affordable, Paula's Choice or Estée Lauder?

Both Paula's Choice and Estée Lauder feature a high price point as a mostly mentioned drawback, so neither brand is more affordable on the products on this page.

Which brand has better fragrance-free options?

Paula's Choice has better fragrance-free options because every single product on the products on this page lists no fragrance in its ingredients, whereas Estée Lauder includes fragrance in some of its formulas.

Paula's Choice or Estée Lauder for dark spots?

Paula's Choice is a better fit for skin with dark spots, earning a Superior routine fit compared to Estée Lauder's High fit level. The products on this page help brighten skin with key ingredients like niacinamide and vitamin C.

The British Journal of Dermatology, 2002Antioxidants, 2021

Paula's Choice or Estée Lauder for oily skin?

Paula's Choice is the better choice for oily skin, offering a Superior routine fit compared to Estée Lauder's High fit level. The products on this page for Paula's Choice help control oil while maintaining fragrance-free formulations.

Paula's Choice or Estée Lauder: which moisturizer is better?

Paula's Choice offers a better moisturizer selection overall on the products on this page, achieving higher routine fit ratings for drier and oily skin types compared to Estée Lauder. Formulations from Paula's Choice avoid added fragrance entirely, whereas certain Estée Lauder moisturizers contain fragrance which may cause irritation.

Paula's Choice or Estée Lauder for sensitive skin?

Paula's Choice is a Superior fit for sensitive skin on Lovi, whereas Estée Lauder is a High fit. Every Paula's Choice product on this page is formulated without fragrance, helping minimize irritation risks.

Paula's Choice or Estée Lauder: which sunscreen is better?

Paula's Choice offers the Youth-Extending Daily Hydrating Fluid SPF 50, and Estée Lauder offers the DayWear Moisturizer, with the products on this page for both brands providing solid sun protection. Estée Lauder's DayWear Moisturizer achieves a Superior fit level for dry skin, dry sensitive skin, sensitive skin, and mature skin.

Paula's Choice or Estée Lauder for acne-prone skin?

Paula's Choice is better for acne-prone skin, as Lovi rates the routine fit for this brand as Superior compared to Estée Lauder's High fit level. The products on this page help target breakouts effectively with key ingredients like salicylic acid and niacinamide.

Paula's Choice or Estée Lauder for mature skin?

Paula's Choice is a better fit for mature skin, achieving a Superior routine fit compared to Estée Lauder's High fit on this page. Retinol helps reduce signs of aging and stimulates collagen accumulation in naturally aged human skin.

The Journal of Investigative Dermatology, 2000

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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