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Makeup Artist's Choice Mandelic Acid Toner Versus Paula's Choice Skin Perfecting 6% Mandelic Acid + 2% Lactic Acid Liquid Exfoliant

Makeup Artist's Choice Mandelic Acid Toner Versus Paula's Choice Skin Perfecting 6% Mandelic Acid + 2% Lactic Acid Liquid Exfoliant This smoothing toner is formulated around Mandelic Acid to refine skin texture and clear breakouts. This smoothing exfoliator is

By Peptide Skincare & Beauty Editorial TeamPublished

Makeup Artist's Choice Mandelic Acid Toner Versus Paula's Choice Skin Perfecting 6% Mandelic Acid + 2% Lactic Acid Liquid Exfoliant

This smoothing toner is formulated around Mandelic Acid to refine skin texture and clear breakouts.

This smoothing exfoliator is formulated around Mandelic Acid and Lactic Acid to refine skin texture and brighten dull-looking skin.

What's inside

Key Ingredients

Benefits

Concerns

Ingredients Side-by-side

Water

Alcohol Denat.

Propylene Glycol

Mandelic Acid 5%

Camellia Sinensis Extract

Polysorbate 20

Butylene Glycol

Hydrastis Canadensis Extract

Malic Acid

Humulus Lupulus Extract

Equisetum Hyemale Extract

Cymbopogon Schoenanthus Extract

Hamamelis Virginiana Extract

Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Extract

Phytic Acid

Ascorbyl Methylsilanol Pectinate

Water, Alcohol Denat., Propylene Glycol, Mandelic Acid 5%, Camellia Sinensis Extract, Polysorbate 20, Butylene Glycol, Hydrastis Canadensis Extract, Malic Acid, Humulus Lupulus Extract, Equisetum Hyemale Extract, Cymbopogon Schoenanthus Extract, Hamamelis Virginiana Extract, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Extract, Phytic Acid, Ascorbyl Methylsilanol Pectinate

2,3-Butanediol

Mandelic Acid

Lactic Acid

Sodium Hydroxide

Myrica Cerifera Fruit Extract

Akebia Quinata Stem Extract

Prunus Lannesiana Flower Extract

Lactobacillus Ferment Lysate

Saccharomyces Lysate

Achillea Millefolium Extract

Saccharide Isomerate

Arginine

Hydroxyacetophenone

Sodium Phytate

Pentylene Glycol

Xanthan Gum

Citric Acid

Sodium Citrate

1,2-Hexanediol

Caprylyl Glycol

Sodium Benzoate

Water, 2,3-Butanediol, Mandelic Acid, Lactic Acid, Sodium Hydroxide, Myrica Cerifera Fruit Extract, Akebia Quinata Stem Extract, Prunus Lannesiana Flower Extract, Lactobacillus Ferment Lysate, Saccharomyces Lysate, Achillea Millefolium Extract, Saccharide Isomerate, Arginine, Hydroxyacetophenone, Butylene Glycol, Sodium Phytate, Pentylene Glycol, Xanthan Gum, Citric Acid, Sodium Citrate, 1,2-Hexanediol, Caprylyl Glycol, Sodium Benzoate

Reviews

Alternatives

Ingredients Explained

These ingredients are found in both products.

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

Butylene Glycol (or BG) is used within cosmetic products for a few different reasons:

Overall, Butylene Glycol is a safe and well-rounded ingredient that works well with other ingredients.

Though this ingredient works well with most skin types, some people with sensitive skin may experience a reaction such as allergic rashes, closed comedones, or itchiness.

Mandelic Acid is an alpha hydroxy acid (AHA).

Like other AHAs, it helps exfoliate the surface of the skin by breaking down the bonds that hold dead skin cells together. This helps reveal smoother and brighter skin underneath.

Mandelic acid helps with:

Due to it having a larger molecular size than glycolic acid, mandelic acid is able to penetrate the skin more slowly and evenly. This makes it gentler and less irritating, making it a great option for sensitive or beginner skin.

Despite being milder, mandelic acid is still an effective exfoliant that improves skin texture and tone over time.

What makes mandelic acid stand out from other AHAs? It has antibacterial and antioxidant properties.

These traits make it a great option for acne-prone or problem skin by reducing active breakouts and fading post-acne marks. Studies show that mandelic acid (especially when combined with salicylic acid) can significantly reduce pimples and hyperpigmentation while causing fewer side effects than stronger acids.

Mandelic acid is effective in concentrations of 5% and up with an ideal pH range of 3-4 for at-home use.

Like other AHAs, it’s important to wear sunscreen daily to protect your newly exfoliated skin.

However, unlike glycolic acid, mandelic acid is light-sensitive. Be sure your mandelic acid is packaged in opaque containers to ensure it stays stable and effective.

In short, mandelic acid is a gentle yet powerful AHA that exfoliates, brightens, and helps clarify skin while keeping irritation low. Its antibacterial action makes it especially beneficial for those with acne-prone, sensitive, or uneven skin, offering smoother, clearer, and more even-toned results over time.

Read more about some other popular AHA's here:

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. Remember to stay hydrated!

Similar Comparisons

The reference edit

Ingredients, questions
& further reading.

Connected source records selected through this article’s public topic index.

01

Formula cabinet

Ingredients & structured notes

Ingredient index

Paula's Choice Earth Sourced Perfectly Natural Cleansing GelIngredients explained

  1. 01Good old water, aka H2O. The most common skincare ingredient of all. You can usually find it right in the very first spot of the ingredient list, meaning it’s the biggest thing out of all the stuff that makes up the product.
  2. 02It’s mainly a solvent for ingredients that do not like to dissolve in oils but rather in water.
  3. 03Expand to read more
  4. 04Once inside the skin, it hydrates, but not from the outside - putting pure water on the skin (hello long baths!) is drying.
  5. 05One more thing: the water used in cosmetics is purified and deionized (it means that almost all of the mineral ions inside it is removed). Like this, the products can stay more stable over time.
  6. 06A vegetable origin (coconut or palm kernel oil and glucose) cleansing agent with great foaming abilities. It's also mild to the skin and readily biodegradable.
  7. 07A natural moisturizer that’s also in our skin
  8. 08A super common, safe, effective and cheap molecule used for more than 50 years
  9. 09Not only a simple moisturizer but knows much more: keeps the skin lipids between our skin cells in a healthy (liquid crystal) state, protects against irritation, helps to restore barrier
  10. 10Effective from as low as 3% with even more benefits for dry skin at higher concentrations up to 20-40%
  11. 11High-glycerin moisturizers are awesome for treating severely dry skin
  12. 12A clear, yellowish liquid that works as a cleansing agent. It has so-called amphoteric structure meaning that its head contains both a positively and a negatively charged part (surfactants are most commonly anionic meaning their head has a negative …
  13. 13A 100% vegetable origin, biodegradable, mild cleansing agent that gives moderate to high amount of foam. It's happy to work together with other surfactants (in general, that helps to create milder formulas).
  14. 14It's one of the most commonly used thickeners and emulsion stabilizers. If the product is too runny, a little xanthan gum will make it more gel-like. Used alone, it can make the formula sticky and it is a good team player so it is usually combined w…
  15. 15Btw, Xanthan gum is all natural, a chain of sugar molecules (polysaccharide) produced from individual sugar molecules (glucose and sucrose) via fermentation. It’s approved by Ecocert and also used in the food industry (E415).
  16. 16A vegetable origin (coconut/palm kernel oil, glucose) cleansing agent that gives moderate to high stable foam. It's also biodegradable and mild to the skin.
  17. 17A fancy name for sugar. Luckily when you put it on your skin it's good for you not like when you eat it. :) It has water-binding properties, which means that it helps to keep your skin nice and hydrated.
  18. 18A vegetable based co-surfactant that helps to create mild cleansing formulas.
  19. 19We don't have description for this ingredient yet.
  20. 20The attachment of glycerin and oleic acid that works mainly as a co-emulsifier and stabilizer to create stable water-oil mixes, aka emulsions. It is also popular in cleansing products as it helps to thicken them up and has some refatting and skin-sm…
Source · incidecoder.com ⟶
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Product index

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03

Comparison edit

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