🇬🇧United Kingdom

Some By Mi vs Paula's Choice

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

Some By Mi and Paula's Choice are well-regarded skincare brands that offer serums, cleansers, toners, and moisturizers built around distinct active ingredients. The Korean brand features niacinamide, centella asiatica, and salicylic acid to suit dry sensitive and sensitive skin, whereas the American brand utilizes hyaluronic acid, glycerin, and vitamin c for oily and acne-prone skin. While both labels address concerns like acne, dark spots, and aging, the former relies on ingredients like niacinamide and salicylic acid, and the latter incorporates hydrating components like glycerin.

Some By Mi is a Korean skincare brand founded in 2016 and owned by JKL Partners since 2021.

kedglobal.compreqin.comtracxn.com

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

Popular Some By Mi vs Paula's Choice products

People Say

Some By MiPaula's Choice
  • Texture Smoothing Often 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 never been this silky — Paula's Choice Skin-Smoothing Retinol Body Treatment”
    • “Skin became smoother — Some By Mi AHA-BHA-PHA 30 Days Miracle Toner”
  • Lightweight and Fast Absorbing Often 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”
    • “watery consistency — Paula's Choice 10% Niacinamide Booster”
    • “absorbs quickly — Some By Mi Yuja Niacin Brightening Moisture Gel Cream”
  • Brightening and Glow Often MentionedOften Mentioned
    • “Fades dark spots — Some By Mi Galactomyces Pure Vitamin C Glow Serum”
    • “skin looks visibly brighter — Some By Mi Yuja Niacin Anti Blemish Serum”
    • “visible glow — Paula's Choice C15 Super Booster”
    • “acne scars faded — Paula's Choice 10% Azelaic Acid Booster”
  • Gentle Formula Often MentionedOften Mentioned
    • “Zero irritation or redness — Some By Mi Retinol Intense Reactivating Serum”
    • “doesn't strip dry my skin — Some By Mi Super Matcha Pore Clean Clay Mask”
    • “Surprisingly gentle — Some By Mi AHA-BHA-PHA 30 Days Miracle Toner”
    • “Finally a vitamin C product I can use — Paula's Choice 25% Vitamin C + Glutathione Clinical Serum”
  • Acne and Blemish Control Often MentionedOften Mentioned
    • “Reduces pimples — Some By Mi AHA-BHA-PHA 30 Days Miracle Toner”
    • “cleared my cystic acne — Some By Mi AHA-BHA-PHA 30 Days Miracle Acne Clear Foam”
    • “Helped clear my cystic acne — Paula's Choice CLEAR Pore Normalizing Cleanser”
    • “heals blemishes faster — Paula's Choice Skin Perfecting 2% BHA Liquid Exfoliant”
  • Hydration and Moisture Often MentionedSometimes Noted
    • “Lasts 100 hours as claimed — Some By Mi Beta Panthenol Repair Cream”
    • “Absorbs quickly — Some By Mi Galactomyces Pure Vitamin C Glow Serum”
    • “lightweight texture — Some By Mi Retinol Intense Advanced Triple Action Eye Cream”
    • “Provides an internal level of hydration without leaving any heavy finish. — Paula's Choice Skin Balancing Pore-Reducing Toner”
  • Strong Scent and Fragrance Often MentionedOften Mentioned
    • “smells like grain — Paula's Choice 10% Azelaic Acid Booster”
    • “smells like hot dog water — Paula's Choice C15 Super Booster”
    • “weird glue-like smell — Paula's Choice Weightless Body Treatment 2% BHA”
    • “overwhelming citrus fragrance — Some By Mi V10 Hyal Air Fit Sunscreen”
  • High Price Point Rarely NotedMostly Mentioned
    • “expensive — Some By Mi Super Matcha Pore Clean Clay Mask”
    • “Too expensive for 50ml — Some By Mi Beta Panthenol Repair Cream”
    • “tiny tube — Paula's Choice 10% Azelaic Acid Booster”
  • Drying and Dehydration Often MentionedSometimes Noted
    • “not moisturizing enough — Some By Mi Yuja Niacin Brightening Moisture Gel Cream”
    • “Skin felt tight — Some By Mi AHA-BHA-PHA 30 Days Miracle Toner”
    • “peeling and flaking — Paula's Choice 1% Retinol Treatment”
    • “Not hydrating enough for winter. — Paula's Choice Clear Oil-Free Moisturizer”

Some By Mi vs Paula's Choice routines for dry skin

Buy Some By Mi routine · £90.42 · 91% fitBuy Paula's Choice routine · £210.78 · 86% fitSee multi-brand routine · 99% fit

Some By Mi vs Paula's Choice routines for oily skin

Buy Paula's Choice routine · £280.77 · 92% fitBuy Some By Mi routine · £120.03 · 87% fitSee multi-brand routine · 97% fit

Some By Mi vs Paula's Choice routines for combination skin

Buy Paula's Choice routine · £235.40 · 90% fitBuy Some By Mi routine · £126.95 · 88% fitSee multi-brand routine · 96% fit

Questions and answers

Some By Mi or Paula's Choice: which is better?

Some By Mi is better for hydration and gentle formulas, whereas Paula's Choice excels at texture smoothing and lightweight absorption. Both brands perform equally well for brightening, acne control, and overall results on sensitive skin and skin with dark spots.

What is the difference between Some By Mi and Paula's Choice?

Some By Mi fits dry sensitive skin with a Superior level, whereas Paula's Choice fits it with a High level. Paula's Choice focuses more on oily, acne-prone, and mature skin types with Superior routine fits, while Some By Mi excels best for dry sensitive skin, sensitive skin, and skin with dark spots.

Some By Mi or Paula's Choice for dry skin?

Some By Mi is better for dry skin because Lovi rates its routine fit as Superior, whereas Paula's Choice is rated as High.

Some By Mi or Paula's Choice: which cleanser is better?

When it comes to cleansers on this page, both brands offer good options, but Some By Mi tends to provide deeper pore cleansing and gentler formulas while Paula's Choice focuses more on clearing blemishes.

Which is more affordable, Some By Mi or Paula's Choice?

Paula's Choice has a high price point while Some By Mi features a high price point as well, with reviewers noting high prices for Paula's Choice products.

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

Paula's Choice is better suited for mature skin, achieving a Superior routine fit compared to Some By Mi's High fit level. Both brands include key anti-aging ingredients like retinol and niacinamide across the products on this page, which helps support collagen accumulation and manage skin pigmentation.

The Journal of Investigative Dermatology, 2000The British Journal of Dermatology, 2002

How do the brands compare when it comes to hydration and moisture?

When it comes to hydration and moisture, Some By Mi does better than Paula's Choice. Lovi rates the routine fit for dry skin as Superior for Some By Mi and High for Paula's Choice.

Which brand performs better for addressing skin with dark spots?

Both brands achieve a Superior fit level for skin with dark spots. Niacinamide helps reduce pigmentation as shown in studies.

The British Journal of Dermatology, 2002Antioxidants, 2021

Some By Mi or Paula's Choice for oily skin?

Paula's Choice is better for oily skin, offering a Superior routine fit compared to Some By Mi's High fit.

Some By Mi or Paula's Choice: which moisturizer is better?

When choosing a moisturizer, Some By Mi is better for dry and sensitive skin types, while Paula's Choice works well for oilier or mature skin. Some By Mi focuses on gentle, hydrating formulas, whereas Paula's Choice emphasizes targeted anti-aging and pore-clearing ingredients.

Some By Mi or Paula's Choice for sensitive skin?

Both brands are a great match for sensitive skin, as Lovi rates both Some By Mi and Paula's Choice as Superior for this skin type. Reviewers note that Some By Mi offers a gentler formula, while Paula's Choice stands out for smoothing textures.

Some By Mi or Paula's Choice: which sunscreen is better?

Some By Mi provides the V10 Hyal Air Fit Sunscreen and Paula's Choice provides the Youth-Extending Daily Hydrating Fluid SPF 50 on the products on this page. Lovi finds that the V10 Hyal Air Fit Sunscreen has a High fit for oily skin, acne-prone skin, sensitive skin, dry sensitive skin, dry skin, mature skin, oily acne-prone skin, combination skin, and skin with dark spots, whereas the Youth-Extending Daily Hydrating Fluid SPF 50 has a High fit for dry skin, combination skin, and dry sensitive skin, and an Average fit for acne-prone skin, oily skin, oily acne-prone skin, skin with dark spots, sensitive skin, and mature skin.

Some By Mi or Paula's Choice for acne-prone skin?

Paula's Choice is a better fit for acne-prone skin, as Lovi rates its routine as Superior compared to High for Some By Mi.

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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