🇬🇧United Kingdom

Paula's Choice vs Olay

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

Paula's Choice and Olay are two skincare brands offering serums, cleansers, moisturizers, and toners. Paula's Choice relies on hyaluronic acid, glycerin, and vitamin c, suiting oily and acne-prone skin best. Olay pairs niacinamide and glycerin to suit acne-prone and mature skin best. While both brands use glycerin, the American brand founded in 1995 differs through its specific formulation approaches and targeted product selections.

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

unilever.comtracxn.com

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

Popular Paula's Choice vs Olay products

People Say

Paula's ChoiceOlay
  • Improves Skin Texture Mostly MentionedMostly Mentioned
    • “skin becomes very smooth — Paula's Choice 1% Retinol Treatment”
    • “skin is insanely soft — Paula's Choice Weightless Body Treatment 2% BHA”
    • “skin feels baby soft — Olay Retinol24”
    • “Skin feels like silk — Olay Regenerist Retinol 24 Night Moisturizer”
  • Lightweight and Fast Absorption 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”
    • “sinks in quickly — Olay Super Serum”
    • “absorbs quickly — Olay Vitamin C Serum”
  • Glow, Brightening and Even Tone Mostly MentionedOften Mentioned
    • “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”
    • “iridescent glow — Olay Super Serum”
  • Gentle and Non-Irritating Formula 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 my skin — Olay Regenerating Cream Cleanser”
    • “fragrance-free — Olay Eye Lifting Serum”
  • Intense and Deep Hydration Not notedOften Mentioned
    • “Instantly smoother, softer, and more hydrated — Olay Regenerist Micro-Sculpting Cream”
    • “hydrates the skin — Olay Advanced Eye Cream”
    • “My skin feels so hydrated and plump. — Olay Regenerist Regenerating Serum”
  • 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”
    • “clears up puffiness — Olay Advanced Eye Cream”
    • “Helps my skin and eye wrinkles — Olay Regenerist Micro-Sculpting Cream”
  • High Price Point Mostly MentionedSometimes Noted
    • “expensive for drugstore — Olay Super Serum”
    • “expensive — Olay Super Serum Night Repair”
    • “small quantity (0.5 oz) — Olay Eye Lifting Serum”
    • “tiny tube — Paula's Choice 10% Azelaic Acid Booster”
  • Packaging Issues and Flaws Sometimes NotedOften Mentioned
    • “dropper leaks — Paula's Choice C15 Super Booster”
    • “dropper can be unpredictable — Paula's Choice Pro-Collagen Multi-Peptide Booster”
    • “Cap broke immediately — Paula's Choice CLEAR Pore Normalizing Cleanser”
    • “hard to dispense — Olay Super Serum”
  • Unpleasant Smell and Scent Issues Often MentionedRarely Noted
    • “smells like plastic — Olay Retinol24”
    • “Smells like plastic — Olay Regenerist Retinol 24 Night Moisturizer”
    • “too perfumey — Olay Vitamin C Serum”
    • “smells like grain — Paula's Choice 10% Azelaic Acid Booster”

Paula's Choice vs Olay routines for dry skin

Buy Paula's Choice routine · £210.78 · 86% fitBuy Olay routine · £83.22 · 82% fitSee multi-brand routine · 99% fit

Paula's Choice vs Olay routines for oily skin

Buy Paula's Choice routine · £280.77 · 92% fitBuy Olay routine · £195.17 · 86% fitSee multi-brand routine · 97% fit

Paula's Choice vs Olay routines for combination skin

Buy Paula's Choice routine · £235.40 · 90% fitBuy Olay routine · £188.48 · 86% fitSee multi-brand routine · 96% fit

Questions and answers

Paula's Choice or Olay: which is better?

Paula's Choice achieves a Superior Lovi fit for more skin types than Olay, including oily, combination, sensitive, mature, dark spots, and oily acne-prone skin, while both brands reach a Superior fit for acne-prone skin. Paula's Choice features fragrance-free products on this page, whereas Olay has one fragranced toner. For anti-aging and hydration, retinol helps stimulate collagen accumulation in naturally aged skin, and niacinamide may reduce cutaneous pigmentation,.

The Journal of Investigative Dermatology, 2000Archives of Dermatology, 2007

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

Paula's Choice achieves a Superior Lovi fit for oily, combination, sensitive, and mature skin, whereas Olay reaches a High fit for those skin types. Both brands show a Superior fit for acne-prone skin.

Paula's Choice or Olay for dry skin?

Paula's Choice and Olay both achieve a High routine fit level for dry skin. Paula's Choice features fragrance-free products across its entire range, while Olay is noted by reviewers for providing intense and deep hydration.

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

Both Paula's Choice and Olay offer strong options for cleansers, with Paula's Choice achieving a Superior Lovi fit for oily, acne-prone, and combination skin types. Reviewers note that Olay cleansers sometimes involve scent issues, while Paula's Choice products on this page list no fragrance.

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

Olay does better on price point, as Paula's Choice has a high price.

Paula's Choice or Olay: which brand is better for reducing skin dark spots?

Paula's Choice is better for reducing skin dark spots because Lovi rates its overall routine fit for skin with dark spots as Superior, compared to High for Olay. Niacinamide helps reduce cutaneous pigmentation and suppress melanosome transfer.

The British Journal of Dermatology, 2002Antioxidants, 2021

Which brand has more fragrance-free products, Paula's Choice or Olay?

Paula's Choice has more fragrance-free products on the page, as every single one of its products lists no fragrance in its ingredients, compared to Olay where 26 of 27 products are fragrance-free.

Paula's Choice or Olay for oily skin?

Paula's Choice is a better fit for oily skin, with a Superior routine fit compared to Olay's High fit level.

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

Paula's Choice and Olay both offer effective moisturizers, with Paula's Choice providing a Superior routine fit for oily and combination skin, and Olay providing intense hydration as noted by reviewers. Both brands feature fragrance-free options across most of their products on this page.

Paula's Choice or Olay for sensitive skin?

Paula's Choice is a better fit for sensitive skin, achieving a Superior routine fit compared to Olay's High level. Paula's Choice products on this page list no fragrance in their ingredients.

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

Paula's Choice and Olay both offer effective sunscreens on this page, with Paula's Choice achieving a High fit level for dry skin and combination skin, and Olay providing options like Regenerist Whip Face Moisturizer SPF 25 which achieves a High fit level across all listed skin types. Both brands feature fragrance-free sunscreen products to help protect against UV damage while maintaining skin compatibility.

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

Both Paula's Choice and Olay offer a Superior routine fit for acne-prone skin, meaning they perform equally well for this skin type based on the products on this page. Ingredients like niacinamide and salicylic acid found across the page help improve skin clarity and reduce breakouts.

The British Journal of Dermatology, 2002

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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