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Beauty of Joseon vs Kiehl's

Rated by Lovi · Unbiased, science-based skincare AI trained on real user outcomes · How the Fit score works

Beauty of Joseon and Kiehl's are two distinct skincare lines known for gentle yet effective daily care and expert formulations, respectively. The Korean brand is celebrated for thoughtful serums, masks, moisturizers, and sunscreens featuring niacinamide, glycerin, and hyaluronic acid, while the American label offers nourishing moisturizers, serums, toners, and eye products incorporating glycerin and squalane. The former suits dry skin and sensitive skin best, whereas the latter is tailored for combination skin and mature skin. They differ fundamentally in their heritages, founding eras, and signature ingredient profiles, allowing both to address specific concerns like acne, dark spots, and aging through purposeful, barrier-supporting science.

Beauty of Joseon is a Korean skincare brand founded in 2016 and owned by Goodai Global Inc. since 2019.

kbeautywiki.combeautymatter.comprnewswire.comgoodai-global.com

Kiehl's is an American skincare brand founded in 1851 and owned by L'Oréal S.A. since 2000.

loreal.comen.wikipedia.org

This page compares some of the most popular Beauty of Joseon and Kiehl's products; for every product of both brands, with a fit score for your own skin, use the Lovi app.

Popular Beauty of Joseon vs Kiehl's products

People Say

Beauty of JoseonKiehl's
  • Unique or Pleasant Texture and Absorption Mostly MentionedMostly Mentioned
    • “feels like a light moisturizer — Beauty of Joseon Relief Sun: Rice + Probiotics”
    • “sinks in instantly — Beauty of Joseon Ginseng Essence Water”
    • “feels like nothing — Kiehl's Better Screen UV Serum”
    • “Absorbs quickly — Kiehl's Ultra Facial Cream”
  • Deep Hydration and Moisture Mostly MentionedMostly Mentioned
    • “Saved my dry winter skin — Beauty of Joseon Dynasty Cream”
    • “doesn't dry my skin like other cleansers — Beauty of Joseon Radiance Cleansing Balm”
    • “Keeps skin moisturized for 24+ hours — Kiehl's Ultra Facial Cream”
    • “Feels like a drink of water — Kiehl's Hydro-Plumping Serum Concentrate”
  • Gentle and Non-Irritating Formulation Mostly MentionedOften Mentioned
    • “no irritation at all — Beauty of Joseon Revive Eye Serum”
    • “cleansed my face gently without making my skin feel irritated — Beauty of Joseon Green Plum Refreshing Cleanser”
    • “doesn't irritate my sensitive skin — Beauty of Joseon Apricot Blossom Peeling Gel”
    • “experienced zero irritation — Kiehl's Retinol Skin-Renewing Daily Micro-Dose Serum”
  • Radiant Skin and Glow Sometimes NotedOften Mentioned
    • “gives a glass skin look — Beauty of Joseon Glow Serum”
    • “Gives me that chok-chok dewy look — Beauty of Joseon Dynasty Cream”
    • “woke up glowing — Kiehl's Midnight Recovery Concentrate”
    • “Skin looks radiant — Kiehl's Clearly Corrective™ Dark Spot Solution”
  • Gentle Exfoliation and Texture Smoothing Sometimes NotedSometimes Noted
    • “leaves skin feeling silky — Kiehl's Powerful-Strength Line-Reducing Concentrate”
    • “skin feels smoother — Kiehl's Retinol Skin-Renewing Daily Micro-Dose Serum”
    • “skin looked & felt smoother — Kiehl's Super Multi-Corrective Cream”
    • “skin feels baby soft — Beauty of Joseon Apricot Blossom Peeling Gel”
  • Pore and Oil Control Sometimes NotedSometimes Noted
    • “less shiny by noon — Beauty of Joseon Red Bean Water Gel”
    • “pores look cleaner — Beauty of Joseon Red Bean Refreshing Pore Mask”
    • “pores look smaller — Beauty of Joseon Glow Serum”
    • “keeps my oils at bay — Kiehl's Rare Earth Deep Pore Cleansing Masque”
  • High Price Point Not notedMostly Mentioned
    • “pricy daily staple — Kiehl's Ultra Facial Cream”
  • Causes Breakouts and Acne Sometimes NotedSometimes Noted
    • “caused cystic acne — Kiehl's Midnight Recovery Concentrate”
    • “cystic acne for some — Kiehl's Ultra Facial Cream”
    • “dealing with cystic acne — Kiehl's Retinol Skin-Renewing Daily Micro-Dose Serum”
    • “Broke me out in cystic acne — Beauty of Joseon Dynasty Cream”
  • Scent and Fragrance Issues Often MentionedRarely Noted
    • “smells clinical — Kiehl's Retinol Skin-Renewing Daily Micro-Dose Serum”
    • “faint lab smell — Kiehl's Better Screen UV Serum”
    • “smell is overpowering — Kiehl's Midnight Recovery Concentrate”
    • “smells like cooking oil — Beauty of Joseon Ginseng Cleansing Oil”

Beauty of Joseon vs Kiehl's routines for dry skin

See multi-brand routine · 97% fit

Beauty of Joseon vs Kiehl's routines for oily skin

See multi-brand routine · 95% fit

Beauty of Joseon vs Kiehl's routines for combination skin

See multi-brand routine · 96% fit

Questions and answers

Beauty of Joseon or Kiehl's: which is better?

Both brands are great, but Beauty of Joseon is better for gentle, non-irritating formulas and acne-prone skin, while Kiehl's stands out for mature skin and texture smoothing. Every product on the Beauty of Joseon page lists no fragrance, whereas a couple of Kiehl's products contain fragrance.

What is the difference between Beauty of Joseon and Kiehl's?

Beauty of Joseon is noted for being more gentle and better for acne-prone skin, whereas Kiehl's excels in mature skin care and gentle exfoliation texture smoothing. Both brands offer equal routine fit levels for dry, oily, combination, sensitive, dark spot, dry sensitive, and oily acne-prone skin types.

Beauty of Joseon or Kiehl's for dry skin?

Both Beauty of Joseon and Kiehl's are a High fit for dry skin. Every product on the Beauty of Joseon page lists no fragrance, while Kiehl's includes fragrance in two of its products.

Beauty of Joseon or Kiehl's: which cleanser is better?

Beauty of Joseon is better for gentle, non-irritating formulations and pore and oil control, whereas Kiehl's is noted for gentle exfoliation and texture smoothing. Both brands offer products on this page with high Lovi fit levels for cleansing.

Which is more affordable, Beauty of Joseon or Kiehl's?

Beauty of Joseon is more affordable, as Kiehl's is frequently noted by reviewers for its high price point.

Beauty of Joseon or Kiehl's for sensitive dry skin?

Both Beauty of Joseon and Kiehl's are a High fit for dry sensitive skin. Beauty of Joseon features every product on this page with no fragrance in its ingredients.

Beauty of Joseon or Kiehl's for oily skin?

Both Beauty of Joseon and Kiehl's are a High fit for oily skin. Reviewers note that Beauty of Joseon is better for pore and oil control, while Kiehl's features lightweight, non-greasy moisturizers.

Beauty of Joseon or Kiehl's: which moisturizer is better?

Beauty of Joseon and Kiehl's both offer quality moisturizers, but Beauty of Joseon is formulated entirely without added fragrance across the products on this page. Reviewers note that Kiehl's moisturizers often come with a higher price point and are more frequently associated with breakouts and skin irritation.

Beauty of Joseon or Kiehl's for sensitive skin?

Both Beauty of Joseon and Kiehl's offer a High routine fit for sensitive skin, but Beauty of Joseon stands out for being more gentle and less irritating. Every product on the Beauty of Joseon page lists no fragrance in its ingredients.

Beauty of Joseon or Kiehl's: which sunscreen is better?

Beauty of Joseon and Kiehl's both offer sunscreens on this page that fit dry skin, sensitive skin, and skin with dark spots at a High level.

Beauty of Joseon or Kiehl's for acne-prone skin?

Beauty of Joseon fits acne-prone skin with a High routine level, whereas Kiehl's fits it at an Average level. Reviewers note that Kiehl's may cause breakouts and skin irritation.

Beauty of Joseon or Kiehl's for mature skin?

Kiehl's fits mature skin better with a High routine fit level, whereas Beauty of Joseon has an Average fit for this skin type. Kiehl's features dedicated products like the Retinol Skin-Renewing Daily Micro-Dose Serum that help stimulate collagen accumulation in naturally aged human skin.

The Journal of Investigative Dermatology, 2000

Beauty of Joseon or Kiehl's for skin with dark spots?

Both brands offer a High fit for skin with dark spots. Beauty of Joseon features niacinamide across the products on this page to help reduce pigmentation, while Kiehl's uses ingredients like vitamin C.

The British Journal of Dermatology, 2002Antioxidants, 2021

Research behind their key ingredients

Behind this comparison

Lovi compares products by their fit scores, calculated from the full ingredient list with brand-independent rules our dermatologists and cosmetic chemists build and review, and personalizes every pick with AI trained on the real results of millions of users. Lovi trains its fit score models on a proprietary dataset built from more than 10,000 expert-labeled products and more than 100,000 simulated examples, following an internally consistent methodology presented at Cosmoprof, AMWC, and Skin of Color Update.

  • Nadia Kapleva, MS

    Nadia Kapleva, MS

    Co-founder, Medical Director

    Cosmetic chemist, cosmetologist, aesthetic products developer

  • Alexey Shagraev, PhD

    Alexey Shagraev, PhD

    Co-founder, CEO and CTO

    PhD in computer science, 3x US patent holder, ex-Google, ex-Yandex

  • Dr. Sofía Perea Pérez, MD, MSc

    Dr. Sofía Perea Pérez, MD, MSc

    Medical Board

    Aesthetic medicine practitioner, MSc in Longevity and Anti-Aging Medicine

  • Aishani Shah, MD

    Aishani Shah, MD

    Medical Board

    Specialist dermatologist, MBBS, MD, IFAAD

  • Asya Zubkova, MS

    Asya Zubkova, MS

    Medical Board

    Cosmetic chemist, SCS, IFSCC member

  • Hanna Kurets, MD

    Hanna Kurets, MD

    Medical Board, Medical Advisor

    Dermatology MD

  • Elina Nazarenko, MD

    Elina Nazarenko, MD

    Medical Board

    Dermatology and diagnostic consultant

  • Victoria Derkova, MS

    Victoria Derkova, MS

    Medical Board

    Cosmetic chemist, cosmetic development technologist

How does it fit your skin?

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