The 13 Best Paula’s Choice Products of 2024

It’s finally time to share my thoughts on another skincare brand. Chances are that you, a family member, or a friend have heard about Paula’s Choice.

Over the past few months, I’ve tried some of Paula’s Choice top products. While I can’t promise the results, I can share my thoughts on the best Paula’s Choice products worth trying.

Paula’s Choice was founded by, you guessed it, Paula Begoun in 1995. At the heart of Paula’s Choice skincare brand is their desire to create effective skincare with scientifically backed, fragrance-free, non-irritating ingredients.

The 13 Best Paula’s Choice Products

There is so much hype around beauty and skincare products that it’s sometimes nauseating! I spent several hours on Tarte Cosmetics trying to figure out what I wanted.

I ended up scheduling an appointment with their skincare expert. It is a great brand and a great product, but it was an exhausting first-time shopping experience.

Don’t want to end up exhausted like me? These are the best cruelty-free and fragrance-free Paula’s Choice skincare products that are effective, safe, and backed by scientific research.

1. PEPTIDE BOOSTER

Paula’s Choice Peptide Booster was the brand’s first product I used consistently.

This serum is packed with eight peptides, amino acids, and repairing ingredients that promise to reduce the appearance of lines, wrinkles, and discoloration.

I most especially loved the lightweight texture and quick-absorbing serum. As a gal with combination-oily skin, I have no desire to look super greasy.

The Peptide Booster remains a bestselling anti-aging serum from Paula’s Choice.

The Peptide Booster rejuvenates dull skin cells and reactivates the features of the skin that make it look young. Aimed at unlocking a firmer-looking skin, here are some added benefits:

• Increasing collagen production
• Reducing wrinkles
• Enhancing skin suppleness
• Improving uneven skin tones
• Repairing damaged skin
• Protecting the skin’s barrier
• Increasing natural resilience
• Strengthening skin surfaces. 

The Peptide Booster works on all skin types and is fragrance-free, sulfate-free, certified cruelty-free, and clean.

2. 2% BHA LIQUID EXFOLIANT

The Skin Perfecting 2% BHA Liquid Exfoliant this season has been my go-to exfoliant. And when I break out, I feel this product reduces the acne duration.

As described, this product is lightweight and absorbs quickly. I recommend using the Resist Youth-Extending Daily Hydrating Fluid SPF 50 right after using this exfoliating liquid every morning.

This cult favorite has garnered over 2,500 reviews on the brand’s website alone. But why is the Skin Perfecting 2% BHA Liquid Exfoliant so popular?

Beta Hydroxy Acid (BHA), also known as salicylic acid, is the main ingredient in this skin-perfecting product. It exfoliates dead skin cells, smooths skin, reduces wrinkles, unclogs pores, improves skin texture, and leaves the skin hydrated.

It is also suitable for anti-aging, treats blackheads and skin redness, accelerates skin renewal, evens out skin tones, and reduces skin pores. All at a price that won’t break the bank.

Not only is the Skin Perfecting 2% BHA Liquid Exfoliant gentle on the skin, it has powerful exfoliation that will leave your skin looking and feeling healthier than ever.

The formulation is perfect for all skin types, especially acne-prone skin, oily skin, blemishes, dark spots, and redness.

3. YOUTH-EXTENDING DAILY HYDRATING FLUID SPF 50

Meet the high SPF, non-greasy moisturizer from Paula’s Choice skincare products that provides UVA/UVB protection plus hydration for a healthier and youthful complexion.

The Resist Youth-Extending Daily Hydrating Fluid SPF 50 acts as a foundation that protects the skin from the sun and other environmental hazards that may affect the skin.

It is also amazing how the plant-based antioxidants in this product help fight the signs of aging for a hydrated, flawless, and smoother skin!

This lightweight, fragrance-free, fast-absorbing moisturizer can be worn under makeup for a flawless complexion.

4. OMEGA+ COMPLEX MOISTURIZER

The Omega+ Complex Moisturizer is a top seller to nourish and moisturize your face daily.

This product works wonders for dry, thirsty, and lackluster skin types. During the winter (or even summer), this will be the perfect nourishing serum to improve skin health.

This product is a powerful but gentle moisturizer with a creamy, soft, whipped texture rich in non-fragrant plant oil, Omega 3, 6, and 9 superfoods, ceramides, and botanical antioxidants.

These components provide barrier-strengthening nutrients for maintaining a healthy skin barrier and address dehydrated, flaky skin. 

It also helps retain moisture to keep your face plumped while extracts of guava and passion fruit shield from attack by skin-aging free radicals.

This moisturizer is brimming with extracts that strengthen, replenish, and help to recalibrate skin overnight. It provides long-lasting skin comfort with a profound nourishing effect.

5. SUPER-LIGHT WRINKLE DEFENSE SPF 30

Need a little airbrush finish? You’d love this Resist Super-Light Wrinkle Defense SPF 30. This product has a unique blend of lightly tinted mineral-based sunscreen and antioxidants.

This product might be what you want to ramp up your morning skincare routine.

The water-based formula also contains SPF 30 to protect the skin.

How does this product compare to the Resist Youth-Extending Daily Hydrating Fluid SPF 50? The Resist Super-Light Wrinkle Defense SPF 30 is a sunscreen lotion, while the latter feels more like a moisturizer designed to penetrate the skin.

What makes the $33 Super-Light Wrinkle Defense lotion with SPF 30 a bestseller from Paula’s Choice with over 1,200 reviews?

This daytime tinted lotion protects the skin from sun damage and fortifies it with potent antioxidants to fight premature aging and repair and stimulate collagen production for firmer skin and a healthy-looking glow.

Its mineral-based broad spectrum shields skin from wrinkles and brown spots, leaving a soft matte finish perfect for all skin tones. 

6. C15 SUPER BOOSTER

The C15 Super Booster is one of the best Paula’s Choice products to maintain youthful looks.

Concentrated with 15% pure vitamin C, antioxidants, and peptides for smoothing and replenishing the skin, the C15 Super Booster improves uneven skin tone and reduces wrinkles.

This hydrating formula can be used on its own or added to moisturizer.

Additionally, this product contains hyaluronic acid, a key player in keeping skin moist and hydrated sans the artificial orange fragrance that you are present in many vitamin C serums.

The C15 Super Booster absorbs quickly into the skin without leaving any residues. The ferulic acid present helps diminish visible signs of aging, too!

I’ve finished my first bottle of this Paula’s Choice vitamin C product – great stuff!

7. 1% RETINOL TREATMENT

Retinol products (also known as vitamin A) are powerful anti-aging multitaskers that exfoliate, aid in collagen production, fight free radicals, and refine the skin surface.

Elle named the Clinical 1% Retinol Treatment from Paula’s Choice the best product for breakouts and acne scars.

The $58 Clinical 1% Retinol Treatment is the ideal serum product for stubborn skincare issues.

This treatment is concentrated with a generous amount of retinol combined with vitamin C, peptides, antioxidants, and other soothing ingredients to take on stubborn skin issues.

Its advanced, lightweight formula firms skin, improves skin elasticity and helps in evening out skin tone for brighter skin.

The added oat and licorice extract minimize irritation some people experience with retinol-infused products, leaving the skin smooth and soothed.

8. INTENSIVE WRINKLE-REPAIR RETINOL SERUM

The Resist Intensive Wrinkle-Repair Retinol Serum is a next-level luxury beauty product that addresses problems like acne, wrinkles, age spots, sun-damaged skin, and more.

It’s cruelty-free, 100% fragrance-free, and contains scientifically-backed researched ingredients that work.

This retinol serum is a powerhouse product garnished with a potent blend of highly stabilized retinol, anti-aging ingredients, and antioxidants with skin-soothing elements, and restores skin to a soft texture and smooth complexion.

At the same time, it nourishes and hydrates the skin. It is mild and doesn’t irritate the skin. 

9. WEIGHTLESS BODY TREATMENT 2% BHA

This is a crowd favorite for bump-free skin: the Weightless Body Treatment 2% BHA is a unique anti-aging body lotion that exfoliates, moisturizes, improves skin texture and structure, and softens rough skin.

Staying true to its name, this product is weightless and formulated with a concentration of salicylic acid, responsible for exfoliation, boosting collagen production, and skin repair.

Certified cruelty-free and fragrance-free, the lotion contains rich antioxidants and vitamin E for nourished, youthful, radiant skin.

This $28 leave-on body exfoliant is very gentle on application with skin-smoothing benefits that remove built-up layers of dead skin, leaving the skin super soft and fresh.

10. BHA 9 SPOT TREATMENT

The Skin-Perfecting BHA 9 Spot Treatment is a game-changer. With over 1,000 reviews, it’s no surprise that this 9% salicylic acid treatment is a cult favorite.

This product is a powerful spot treatment designed for the most stubborn skin imperfections.

This BHA 9 skincare product is a concentrated spot treatment formulated for all skin types.

The BHA 9 technology allows for sustained, controlled release of salicylic acid to target problem areas without causing dryness or irritation or reducing effectiveness.

Though it sells for $43, this treatment’s result is second to none when nothing else has worked. It unclogs pores, minimizes skin bumps, reduces the appearance of stubborn spots, restores the skin’s moisture barrier, and improves the look and feel of the skin.

To achieve maximum results, apply as a leave-on treatment at night and watch those skin imperfections fade away over time.

11. REPLENISHING MOISTURIZER

The Skin Recovery Replenishing Moisturizer is an all-in-one cream that deeply nourishes dehydrated skin.

Specially formulated with hyaluronic acid and peptides, this cream strengthens, retains moisture, restores skin texture, calms and soothes inflammation, and stimulates collagen production for a firmer, youthful look.

Nicknamed Paula’s Choice Best Cream for Dry Skin, you will see results with this small-but-mighty skincare product. Prepare for a renewed skin radiance that feels dewy, non-flaky, and plump. This $29 product was designed to be 100% fragrance-free and colorant-free.

12. TRIPLE ALGAE POLLUTION SHIELD

The $31 Defense Triple Algae Pollution Shield is an invisible shield that protects the skin from environmental stressors without affecting the skin’s natural look and feel.

According to Paula’s Choice, The Defense Triple Algae Pollution Shield combines the power of nature and technology.

Specially formulated with three types of algae that form a natural, invisible, and flexible shield, this product offers instant protection and impressive strengthening properties to support your skin’s natural barriers and defenses over time.

The lightweight, silicon-free treatment packs a powerful punch of 16 natural antioxidants that work together beautifully.

The moisturizer protects the skin and helps repair already damaged skin, combat signs of aging, and keeps the skin looking healthier and radiant. 

13. 10% NIACINAMIDE BOOSTER

Rounding off this list of the best Paula’s Choice products is the 10% Niacinamide Booster.

The 10% Niacinamide Booster hydrates skin, minimizes and refines pores, treats wrinkles, acne, and dryness, reduces the roughness of the skin surface, and improves skin appearance.

Niacinamide, or Vitamin B3, is the Most Versatile Skincare Ingredient for skincare products that work on uneven skin tones, reduce pore size, and enhance skin barrier preservation. 

Niacinamide also helps to reduce the feeling of irritation that can occur when you use retinol, and that’s a great bonus.

Paula’s Choice recommends using the 10% Niacinamide Booster every night, alone or mixed with one of their other serums.

This is a serum booster that is perfect for all skin types. It contains vitamins, skin-replenishing ingredients, soothing agents, and antioxidants.

Frequently Asked Questions About Paula’s Choice

How to use Paula’s Choice 2% BHA Liquid Exfoliant

To ensure you use the 2% BHA Liquid Exfoliant correctly, follow these directions: Dispense a dime-sized amount onto a cotton ball or pad and stroke over clean skin, including around the eyes (do not apply to eyelids or along the lower lash line).

Do not rinse. For daytime, follow with a broad-spectrum sunscreen rated SPF 30 or higher. Apply once or twice daily after cleansing and/or toning.

Conclusion

Paula’s Choice has been at the forefront of skincare backed by science. While I cannot speak to every single product from the brand, I can say that Paula’s Choice products I’ve tried are worth the money.

Many of the brand’s products, especially the 2% BHA Liquid Exfoliant, are worth the hype. Paula’s Choice’s products are not only 100% fragrance-free but cruelty-free.

Investing in yourself and taking good care of your skin is one of the most important things you can do for yourself, and with a little assistance, your skincare goal can be reached in no time.

I hope you found this detailed review of the best Paula’s Choice products helpful. If you liked this post, you’d love these related posts:

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