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Paula's Choice vs Neutrogena

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

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

unilever.comtracxn.com

Neutrogena is an American skincare brand founded in 1930 and owned by Kimberly-Clark Corporation since 2026.

investor.kimberly-clark.comen.wikipedia.orginvestors.kenvue.com

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

Popular Paula's Choice vs Neutrogena products

People Say

Paula's ChoiceNeutrogena
  • Lightweight and fast absorbing Mostly MentionedMostly Mentioned
    • “Absorbs quickly and leaves no greasy residue behind. — Paula's Choice Clear Oil-Free Moisturizer”
    • “absorbs instantly — Paula's Choice C15 Super Booster”
    • “Absorbs instantly without sticky residue — Neutrogena Hydro Boost Water Gel”
    • “absorbs instantly — Neutrogena COLLAGEN BANK Moisturizer”
  • Smoothes skin texture and 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”
    • “Skin is looking smoother — Neutrogena Rapid Wrinkle Repair Regenerating Cream”
  • Glow, radiance, and brightening Often MentionedRarely Noted
    • “visible glow — Paula's Choice C15 Super Booster”
    • “Discoloration almost gone — Paula's Choice 25% Vitamin C + Glutathione Clinical Serum”
    • “spots barely visible — Paula's Choice Skin-Smoothing Retinol Body Treatment”
    • “Spots have definitely lightened — Neutrogena Rapid Wrinkle Repair Regenerating Cream”
  • Deeply hydrating Not notedOften Mentioned
    • “Skin looked plumper and radiant — Neutrogena HYDRO BOOST WATER CREAM”
    • “It also hydrates my skin. This cream has been so easy to add to my routine. — Neutrogena Retinol Regenerating Cream”
    • “Quenches dry skin instantly — Neutrogena Hydro Boost Hydrating Hydrogel Mask”
  • Anti-aging and firming Sometimes NotedSometimes Noted
    • “skin looks plumper — Paula's Choice Pro-Collagen Multi-Peptide Booster”
    • “softens lines and wrinkles — Paula's Choice 1% Retinol Treatment”
    • “improved neck texture — Paula's Choice Skin-Smoothing Retinol Body Treatment”
    • “Deep lines have softened — Neutrogena Rapid Wrinkle Repair Regenerating Cream”
  • Fragrance-free formula Not notedOften Mentioned
    • “love that it has no scent — Neutrogena Ultra Gentle Daily Cleanser”
    • “Perfect for sensitive eyes, no stinging — Neutrogena Hydro Boost Eye Gel-Cream”
    • “Perfect for sensitive skin — Neutrogena HYDRO BOOST WATER CREAM”
  • High price and value Mostly MentionedRarely Noted
    • “Jar is too small for the price — Neutrogena Hydro Boost Water Gel”
    • “Runs out quickly — Neutrogena HYDRO BOOST WATER CREAM”
    • “Pricey for just one mask — Neutrogena Hydro Boost Hydrating Hydrogel Mask”
    • “surprisingly small bottle — Paula's Choice Skin-Smoothing Retinol Body Treatment”
  • Unpleasant smell or strong fragrance Often MentionedSometimes Noted
    • “Smell is too overpowering and lingering — Neutrogena Hydro Boost Water Gel”
    • “Scent is so off-putting — Neutrogena Rapid Wrinkle Repair Regenerating Cream”
    • “has a weird plastic smell — Neutrogena Ultra Gentle Daily Cleanser”
    • “smells like grain — Paula's Choice 10% Azelaic Acid Booster”
  • Drying and flaking Sometimes NotedSometimes Noted
    • “peeling and flaking — Paula's Choice 1% Retinol Treatment”
    • “Not hydrating enough for winter. — Paula's Choice Clear Oil-Free Moisturizer”
    • “Not moisturizing enough for winter months — Neutrogena Hydro Boost Water Gel”
    • “balls up under foundation — Neutrogena Ultra Sheer Dry-Touch Sunscreen”
  • Skin irritation and burning Rarely NotedOften Mentioned
    • “burnt skin off — Paula's Choice 1% Retinol Treatment”
    • “ruined my skin barrier — Paula's Choice Skin Perfecting 2% BHA Liquid Exfoliant”
    • “stung my face — Paula's Choice 10% Azelaic Acid Booster”
    • “burns my eyes terribly — Neutrogena Ultra Sheer Dry-Touch Sunscreen”

Paula's Choice vs Neutrogena routines for dry skin

Buy Neutrogena routine · £135.42 · 87% fitBuy Paula's Choice routine · £210.78 · 86% fitSee multi-brand routine · 99% fit

Paula's Choice vs Neutrogena routines for oily skin

Buy Paula's Choice routine · £280.77 · 92% fitBuy Neutrogena routine · £154.72 · 77% fitSee multi-brand routine · 97% fit

Paula's Choice vs Neutrogena routines for combination skin

Buy Paula's Choice routine · £235.40 · 90% fitBuy Neutrogena routine · £177.52 · 80% fitSee multi-brand routine · 96% fit

Questions and answers

Paula's Choice or Neutrogena: which is better?

Paula's Choice is better for overall skin texture, anti-aging, and brightening, while Neutrogena is better for deep hydration and value. Lovi fit for Paula's Choice is Superior for oily, acne-prone, mature, and combination skin, whereas Neutrogena has a High fit for these skin types.

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

Paula's Choice offers a superior Lovi fit for most skin types and excels in smoothing skin texture, brightening, and anti-aging. Neutrogena is noted for being deeply hydrating, and the products on this page are more often fragrance-free.

Paula's Choice or Neutrogena for dry skin?

Both Paula's Choice and Neutrogena offer a High routine fit for dry skin. However, Paula's Choice provides targeted fragrance-free formulations with active ingredients like hyaluronic acid and ceramides that help hydrate and support the skin barrier.

Dermatologic Therapy, 2022

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

Paula's Choice offers a Superior Lovi fit for cleansers across oily, acne-prone, and combination skin types. Neutrogena also provides strong options, such as the Ultra Gentle Daily Cleanser which has a Superior fit for mature, acne-prone, sensitive, and combination skin.

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

Neutrogena is more affordable, whereas high price and packaging issues are mostly mentioned drawbacks for Paula's Choice.

Paula's Choice or Neutrogena: which brand has more fragrance-free options?

Paula's Choice offers a fully fragrance-free selection across the products on this page, whereas Neutrogena includes fragrance in a small portion of its line. This makes Paula's Choice the better option for avoiding scented formulas.

Which brand performs better for anti-aging and firming according to reviewers?

Paula's Choice performs better for anti-aging and firming according to reviewers. Topical retinol helps stimulate collagen accumulation in aged skin.

The Journal of Investigative Dermatology, 2000

Paula's Choice or Neutrogena for oily skin?

Paula's Choice is a superior fit for oily skin, whereas Neutrogena has a high fit level for this skin type. Paula's Choice features fragrance-free formulas with active key ingredients like salicylic acid and niacinamide that help manage excess oil.

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

Paula's Choice and Neutrogena both offer moisturizers that help hydrate the skin. Neutrogena is often noted for deeply hydrating and lightweight moisturizers, while Paula's Choice provides options like the Clear Oil-Free Moisturizer and Replenishing Moisturizer with a Superior fit for mature skin.

Paula's Choice or Neutrogena for sensitive skin?

Paula's Choice is a Superior fit for sensitive skin, whereas Neutrogena is a High fit on this page. Paula's Choice helps deliver fragrance-free formulas across all its products, while Neutrogena is noted for occasional strong fragrances.

Paula's Choice or Neutrogena: which sunscreen is better?

Neutrogena has superior sunscreens like the Ultra Gentle Daily Sunscreen and Clear Face Liquid Lotion Sunscreen, which offer high fit levels for various skin types. Paula's Choice offers fewer sunscreen options on this page, with the Youth-Extending Daily Hydrating Fluid SPF 50 achieving a High fit for dry and combination skin types.

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

Paula's Choice is a Superior fit for acne-prone skin, while Neutrogena is a High fit. Both brands feature salicylic acid across their products to help target breakouts.

Paula's Choice or Neutrogena for mature skin?

Paula's Choice is rated as a Superior fit for mature skin, whereas Neutrogena is rated as a High fit. Paula's Choice helps smooth skin texture and improve anti-aging results with potent retinols and peptides.

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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