L'Oreal Revitalift vs Olay Regenerist (The Definitive Guide)

We're positive you've seen L'Oreal Revitalift and Olay Regenerist on the shelves at your local beauty store before. But which is best? And which brand should you choose?

Come with us as we compare these best-sellers side-by-side to help you decide which are the best for you and your skincare routine!

Moisturizers

Serums

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L'Oreal Revitalift vs. Olay Regenerist

Though both brands offer loads of different skincare products, let's be honest, we're all here for their best-selling anti-aging products. So let's dive straight in!

Moisturizer comparison

A good moisturizer is one that deeply moisturizes & hydrates while offering long-lasting protection from daily environmental-aggressors. An even better moisturizer includes a complex of potent ingredients that actively reduce wrinkles, firm skin, and even out your skin tone.

Two such moisturizers that fall neatly into the category of even better are: the L'Oreal Revitalift Triple Power Anti-Aging Moisturizer and Olay Regenerist Micro-Sculpting Cream Moisturizer, but which is the best?

Though both moisturizers arrive similarly in their signature red jars, and both promise youthful, radiant results in a matter of weeks, the similarities more or less end there. The key differences between the two lie with their formulas, and more specifically: the potent actives each brand entrusts with the task of delivering age-defying results.

Both the L'Oreal Revitalift Moisturizer and the Olay Regenerist Moisturizer active ingredients can be broken down into the three main anti-aging steps:

1. Exfoliation: removes dull skin, encourages blood circulation, and yields a healthy, bright, and silky smooth skin surface.
   • Vitamin B3 in Olay's moisturizer
   • Vitamin C & Pro-retinol in L'Oreal's moisturizer
2. Antioxidation: protects the skin from environmental stressors, allowing the skin to repair itself and correct visible damage/aging.
   • Vitamin B3 in Olay's moisturizer
   • Vitamin C & Pro-retinol in L'Oreal's moisturizer
3. Collagen stimulation: helps stimulate natural collagen production, meaning the skin starts to regain its youthful structure and volume.
   • Amino Peptides in Olay's moisturizer
   • Pro-retinol in L'Oreal's moisturizer

Note how some ingredients float between categories, serving multiple purposes in one - this is evidence of good formulation practices by both brands.

"I thought we were meant to be finding differences?" I hear you ask. Well, in a roundabout way, we have... While Olay uses Vitamin B3 as their "unicorn" ingredient (their words, not ours!), L'Oreal uses Pro-retinol as theirs.

Strictly speaking, Pro-retinol is far better suited to the task of anti-aging than Vitamin B3 on its own. That said, when combined with collagen-stimulating peptides, Vitamin B3 can really give Pro-retinol a run for its money in terms of efficacy.

As a bit of a double uno-reverse, though, L'Oreal's Revitalift Moisturizer also contains Vitamin B3, labelled instead by its more commonly-known name: Niacinamide. Combined with Retinol, Niacinamide also lessens the common side-effects of Retinol such as irritation and dryness.

With Olay's Regenerist Micro-Sculpting Moisturizer clocking in at around the same price per fluid ounce of its L'Oreal counterpart, we are definitely erring on the side of L'Oreal's Revitalift Moisturizer. However, there is a matter of preference to attend to before making a final decision.

If you've had success with retinol in the past (or want to give it a go for the first time in a milder form), we'd encourage you to give the cult-favorite L'Oreal Revitalift Moisturizer a try. If you have sensitive skin, or a particular aversion to retinol, then Olay's Regenerist Micro-Sculpting Moisturizer would be the way to go!

Serum comparison

A serum is a lightweight moisturizer that penetrates deeper to deliver high concentrations of active ingredients to the skin. The L'Oreal Revitalift and Olay Regenerist lines both include concentrated serums designed to complement the moisturizers and improve the effectiveness of the anti-aging treatments.

For this match-up, we’ll be comparing L'Oreal Revitalift Triple Power Concentrated Serum to Olay Regenerist Micro-Sculpting Serum.

The L'Oreal Revitalift Triple Power Face Serum helps transform the look of aging skin by delivering highly-concentrated anti-aging super ingredients deep below the skin's surface. The formula can be simply described in three steps:

1. Repairs Wrinkles: Hyaluronic Acid rapidly penetrates skin to help fight each wrinkle.
2. Redensifies Skin: Pro-Xylane re-volumizes to strengthen skin.
3. Resurfaces Skin Texture: LHA smoothes skin and evens skin tone.

Note that there's quite a bit of difference ​between the L'Oreal Revitalift serum's ingredients compared to its sister moisturizer. Rather contrastingly, the Olay Regenerist serum is an almost perfect mirror-match of its sister moisturizer, containing: Vitamin B3 (Niacinamide), Vitamin B5, and Amino Peptides.

Ideally, you should pick the serum that will best complement your full skincare routine. So if you're already committed to the L'Oreal Revitalift range, then the L'Oreal Revitalift Concentrated Serum is the one for you (and vice versa for the Olay Regenerist Micro-Sculpting Serum). However, if you're looking for a standalone anti-aging treatment serum, you'll be better off choosing the Olay Regenerist Micro-Sculpting Serum, as it contains a more potent blend of actives.