One-click auto-correction vs hands-on skin retouching - an honest look at what each is really for.
Perfectly Clear is a one-click image corrector - exposure, contrast, colour, noise, and an automatic "Beautify" pass for skin and eyes, across Photoshop and Lightroom. It is built for speed and batches. But its skin work is automatic and light; it is not a retoucher. RetouchLab Skin Pro is dedicated to skin - a brush with frequency separation, dodge & burn and tone evening, for €79 lifetime - when you need real control, not a one-click pass. Many photographers auto-correct with one, then retouch skin with the other.
| RETOUCHLAB SKIN PRO ✦ | PERFECTLY CLEAR | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | €79 lifetime | Paid - around $150 (Complete) |
| Purpose | Skin retouching - built for it FOCUSED | Overall auto image correction + beautify |
| Skin techniques | Freq sep + dodge & burn + tone YES | Automatic "Beautify" pass, light |
| Control | Brush - targeted, 7 sliders MORE CONTROL | Presets + auto adjustments |
| Skin texture | Preserved BETTER | Not its focus |
| Runs in | Adobe Photoshop | Photoshop + Lightroom |
| Best for | Real skin retouching | Fast one-click correction across a batch |
Perfectly Clear is genuinely good at what it does: analyse an image and fix exposure, contrast, colour and noise in one click, with a light automatic "Beautify" for skin and eyes. For fast, consistent corrections across a whole shoot, it is a real time-saver.
But that automatic beautify is a pass, not a retouch. There is no frequency separation, no dodge & burn, and no brush to decide exactly where and how much. For a hero portrait, "auto-improve the whole photo" is not the same as retouching the skin.
RetouchLab Skin Pro is built for that one job - controlled, natural skin retouching in Photoshop. The two work well together: correct the file with Perfectly Clear if you like, then retouch the skin with RetouchLab.
You are comparing a €79 dedicated retoucher to a paid one-click corrector:
If your goal is retouching skin, RetouchLab is focused and costs less. If your goal is fast one-click correction of a whole shoot, that is Perfectly Clear's job.
You want to retouch skin with control - even tone, fix blotches and eye bags, keep texture - inside Photoshop, at a one-time price.
You want fast, automatic correction of exposure, colour and noise across a whole shoot, with a light beautify pass, and you value batch speed.
Get it for €39 (6 months), or go lifetime for €79 - one payment, all future updates included.
GET SKIN PRO — €39 →Available on Adobe Exchange · Instant download · Works in Photoshop 2022+
Comparing other tools? See vs Topaz Photo AI, vs Portraiture, and our full roundup of the best Photoshop skin retouching plugins.
Perfectly Clear has an automatic "Beautify" pass, but it is a one-click image corrector (exposure, colour, noise) rather than a dedicated retoucher - no frequency separation, dodge and burn, or brush control. For real skin retouching, RetouchLab Skin Pro is purpose-built.
RetouchLab is a brush-based Photoshop skin-retouching plugin (frequency separation, dodge and burn, tone evening). Perfectly Clear is a broad auto-correction plugin with a light beautify pass. Different jobs - many photographers use both.
For skin retouching specifically, RetouchLab Skin Pro is €39 for 6 months or €79 lifetime and is built for that job, with full brush control and real texture.
They solve different problems - one auto-corrects the whole image, the other retouches skin by hand. Correct with Perfectly Clear if you like, then retouch skin with RetouchLab.