Versus

Topicals Faded Serum Versus Paula's Choice Regular Strength Daily Skin Clearing Treatment with 2.5% Benzoyl Peroxide

Serum
Facial Treatment
American Brand United States
American Brand United States

Updated on March 17, 2025

Overview

What they are

These products are both cruelty-free and reef safe . They have a total of 3 ingredients in common

Suited For

They're both likely to be good for fighting acne, dry skin, sensitive skin, scar healing and dark spots

Free From

They both do not contain any harsh alcohols, common allergens, fragrances, parabens, silicones or sulfates

We independently verify ingredients, and our claims are backed by peer-reviewed research. Spot a product that needs an update? Let us know.

Ingredient Info

Click any item below to learn more and see relevant ingredients

What's inside (and what isn't)

What's inside (and what isn't)

At a glance

Click on any of the items below to learn more

Key Ingredients

Benefits

Concerns

Key Ingredients

Benefits

Concerns

Ingredients Side-by-side

found in both products
Faded Serum

Ingredients Explained

These ingredients are found in both products.

Ingredients higher up in an ingredient list are typically present in a larger amount.

Skin Conditioning, Solvent

Water. It's the most common cosmetic ingredient of all. You'll usually see it at the top of ingredient lists, meaning that it makes up the largest part of the product.

So why is it so popular? Water most often acts as a solvent - this means that it helps dissolve other ingredients into the formulation.

You'll also recognize water as that liquid we all need to stay alive. If you see this, drink a glass of water. Stay hydrated!

Learn more about Water
Preservative

Phenoxyethanol is a preservative that has germicide, antimicrobial, and aromatic properties. Studies show that phenoxyethanol can prevent microbial growth. By itself, it has a scent that is similar to that of a rose.

It's often used in formulations along with Caprylyl Glycol to preserve the shelf life of products.

Skin Conditioning, Skin Protecting, Soothing

Allantoin plays a role in soothing and moisturizing the skin. Because of this, it is often added to products with strong active ingredients.

Some studies have shown this ingredient can promote wound healing with higher concentrations.

Allantoin is derived from the comfrey plant but produced synthetically for cosmetic products to ensure purity.

Learn more about Allantoin

When to use

945 Routines
32% use in am
68% use in pm
70% use every day
When to use See routines that use it ->
183 Routines
39% use in am
61% use in pm
74% use every day
When to use See routines that use it ->

Reviews

Here's what our community thinks

Topicals Faded Serum 35 ingredients

3.8 /5
from 12 ratings
Works Well (5) Strong Scent (5) Great Value (3)
AshN.'s avatar

AshN.

1 year ago
Review

(Tried Nov 2022) One of the few brightening creams that I tried where I actually saw results. I only ever applied this as a spot treatment and not all over. Giving it 4 stars because I did find it slightly irritating and the smell was rather strong, so I ended up switching over to applying it as needed. I think the $18 Mini version was more than enough for me!

#great value
#irritating
#strong scent
#works well
bsabrina's avatar

bsabrina

2 years ago
Review

give it time to fade dark spots-glowy skin comes faster
Love this product. I was worried about all the actives in it because of my sensitive skin, but I had no reactions or breakouts. It takes some time to fade dark spots & acne scars but after a few weeks (3-4) they should be noticeably lighter or almost gone. I noticed my skin seemed glowier and more clarified within a week or two. No noticeable Show more

Paula's Choice Regular Strength Daily Skin Clearing Treatment with 2.5% Benzoyl Peroxide 14 ingredients

4.8 /5
from 4 ratings
Absorbs Well (2) No Scent (2) Works Well (2)
joji_blossom_tree's avatar

joji_blossom_tree

5 months ago
Review

genuinely stabilized my acne, don’t get much too any breakouts anymore and i have oily acne prone skin (only con would be that it has lightened my skin over time)

#great value
#absorbs well
#no scent
#works well