Clinique vs Kiehl's: Fragrance, Cleansers, Moisturizers and Eye Creams Compared

Choose Clinique if fragrance bothers your skin or you want a light, oil-free gel moisturizer: every Clinique product is labeled 100% fragrance free. Choose Kiehl's if you want a richer, silkier cream like Ultra Facial Cream, which costs less per ounce than Moisture Surge. The cleansing oils are where they differ most: Clinique's is fragrance-free, and Kiehl's contains lavender oil.

To see how a specific product from either brand fits your skin type, scan its barcode or label with the ingredient scanner in Pori. Pori flags ingredients; it doesn't diagnose skin conditions.

Below we compare who makes each brand, how their fragrance policies differ, and the cleansers, moisturizers and eye creams head to head. We compared published ingredient lists, brand claims and listed prices; we did not test these products on skin. Prices are Ulta list prices as of November 2026 and change often.

Who makes Clinique and Kiehl's?

Clinique belongs to The Estée Lauder Companies. It launched at Saks Fifth Avenue in New York in 1968, after a 1967 Vogue article by beauty editor Carol Phillips with dermatologist Norman Orentreich, and it still calls itself "dermatologist guided." Its signature is the 3-Step routine of soap, Clarifying Lotion and moisturizer, matched to four skin types.

Kiehl's belongs to L'Oréal. It began as a pharmacy in Manhattan's East Village in 1851, was run by the Morse family for most of the 20th century, and L'Oréal agreed to buy it in April 2000. Its signature is the apothecary look: plain labels and long, descriptive product names.

So this is a contest between department-store brands from L'Oréal and Estée Lauder. Both sell at Ulta, department stores and their own sites, and their core products sit in a similar price band.

Which brand is fragrance-free?

Clinique has a brand-wide policy; Kiehl's decides product by product.

• Clinique labels its skincare and makeup "allergy tested, 100% fragrance free." That covers every product in this comparison. The policy doesn't cover every irritant: the Clarifying Lotions list alcohol denat. second, and some moisturizers contain dyes.
• Kiehl's mixes scented and unscented formulas. Ultra Facial Cream is labeled fragrance-free, and Creamy Eye Treatment with Avocado lists no fragrance. The Midnight Recovery products list lavender oil and other essential oils, plus fragrance allergens such as linalool and limonene.

If you've had a reaction to perfume in skincare, Clinique is the simpler brand to shop because you don't have to check each label for scent. With Kiehl's, read the full list every time; our Kiehl's guide shows which products to watch. Our guide to fragrance and essential oils explains why it matters for reactive skin.

How do Clinique and Kiehl's compare product by product?

Which cleanser is better, Clinique or Kiehl's?

For a daily foaming wash, Clinique's Charcoal Face Wash is the gentler formula on paper. Its list opens with cocamidopropyl hydroxysultaine, coco-betaine, sodium lauroyl oat amino acids and decyl glucoside, all mild surfactants, and Ulta's listing says it is made without SLS, SLES or fragrance. Ulta lists it for all skin types. The charcoal is further down and rinses off within seconds.

Kiehl's Ultra Facial Oil-Free Cleanser is soap chemistry: myristic, palmitic, stearic and lauric acids with potassium hydroxide, plus kaolin clay. A review of soaps and syndets notes that soap-based cleansers are more alkaline than synthetic detergents. Oily skin often likes that squeaky finish; dry or reactive skin may feel tight.

For removing makeup and water-resistant sunscreen, both brands make a cleansing oil. Clinique's Take The Day Off is a short list of esters and emulsifiers with no plant or essential oils. Kiehl's Midnight Recovery oil adds lavender and other essential oils, which many people enjoy and reactive skin may not. Clinique's own answer on Ulta says not to use its oil in the eye area. Our double cleansing guide explains when an oil step is worth it.

Moisture Surge vs Ultra Facial Cream: which moisturizer should you buy?

They suit different skin. Moisture Surge 100H is an oil-free, fragrance-free gel-cream. Its hydration comes from dimethicone, butylene glycol, glycerin, the sugars trehalose and sucrose, and hydroxyethyl urea. It sinks in fast and leaves little film, which makes it the better pick for oily and combination skin. The "100 hours" claim has no footnote on Ulta's page; our Moisture Surge review covers it.

Ultra Facial Cream is a classic lotion-cream. Its list opens with water, glycerin, dimethicone and squalane, followed by emulsifiers, fatty alcohols and plant oils. It feels more cushioned and suits normal, dry and combination skin. Our Ultra Facial Cream review goes through it line by line.

On price, Kiehl's is the better deal: about $23 an ounce against about $31 for Moisture Surge in the 1.0 oz jar. If your skin is properly dry, Clinique's Dramatically Different Moisturizing Lotion+ is cheaper still at about $8 an ounce. It relies on mineral oil and petrolatum, which slow water loss very well, and it contains three dyes. Our guide to types of moisturizers explains gels, lotions and creams.

Which eye cream is better: All About Eyes or Creamy Eye Treatment?

They cost almost the same per ounce and do different jobs.

• Clinique All About Eyes ($39 for 0.5 oz) is a light, silicone-based cream. Ulta's list starts with cyclopentasiloxane, water and isostearyl palmitate, with mulberry root extract and caffeine in the top ten. Clinique says it visibly depuffs and reduces the look of dark circles in 4 weeks, based on a test with 32 women. It's labeled 100% fragrance free.
• Kiehl's Creamy Eye Treatment with Avocado ($40 for 0.51 oz) is a rich, bland cream built on shea butter, emollient esters and avocado oil, with no fragrance on the list. Kiehl's own 4-week tests report less puffiness, but its real strength is comfort for dry, flaky under-eye skin.

Pick Clinique for puffiness and a lighter feel under makeup, and Kiehl's for dryness. Neither will fade pigmented dark circles; our guide to eye creams for dark circles covers what does.

Is Clinique or Kiehl's more expensive?

They're close. The table above shows the face washes and oils at about $4.60 to $6.40 an ounce and both eye creams at about $78. The real gap is in moisturizers, where Ultra Facial Cream costs less per ounce than Moisture Surge, while Clinique's Lotion+ is the cheapest moisturizer in this comparison. Ulta often lists sale prices below these, so check before you buy.

Neither brand is cheap next to the drugstore. CeraVe and similar brands cover cleansing and basic moisture for $15 to $20; see our CeraVe guide or CeraVe vs Cetaphil. With Clinique and Kiehl's you pay mainly for texture, testing and a consistent routine.

Who should pick Clinique, and who should pick Kiehl's?

Pick Clinique if

• Fragrance or essential oils have irritated your skin before.
• Your skin is oily or combination and you want a light, oil-free moisturizer.
• You wear makeup and want a fragrance-free cleansing oil.
• You like a set routine matched to your skin type. If your skin is dry or sensitive, skip or test the alcohol-based Clarifying Lotion.

Pick Kiehl's if

• Your skin is normal to dry and you want a cushiony daily cream at a lower price per ounce.
• Your under-eyes are dry and flaky.
• Your skin is oily and you like a squeaky-clean soap-based wash.
• You enjoy scented products and your skin tolerates essential oils.

You can also mix them. Clinique's Take The Day Off oil followed by Kiehl's Ultra Facial Cream, for example, is a fragrance-free pairing for normal to dry skin. Our full Clinique guide and Kiehl's guide cover each brand's wider range, and you can compare more options in our cleanser and moisturizer catalogues.