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Medicube vs Kiehl's

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

Medicube and Kiehl's are distinct skincare brands founded in South Korea in 2016 and America in 1851, respectively. The Korean brand is known for moisturizers, serums, toners, and masks using niacinamide, collagen, and hyaluronic acid to best suit dry and oily acne-prone skin, while the American brand relies on glycerin and squalane across similar product types to primarily suit skin with dark spots and combination skin. Both brands differ in their specific targeted formulations and corporate ownership, with the former favoring clinical device-adjacent care and the latter emphasizing heritage botanicals.

Medicube is a Korean skincare brand founded in 2016 and owned by APR Corp..

medicubereviews.co.ukglossy.co

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 Medicube and Kiehl's products; for every product of both brands, with a fit score for your own skin, use the Lovi app.

Popular Medicube vs Kiehl's products

People Say

MedicubeKiehl's
  • Hydration and Moisture Mostly MentionedMostly Mentioned
    • “skin feels bouncier and hydrated — Medicube PDRN Pink Peptide Serum”
    • “glass skin — Medicube PDRN Pink Collagen Gel Mask”
    • “Keeps skin moisturized for 24+ hours — Kiehl's Ultra Facial Cream”
    • “Feels like a drink of water — Kiehl's Hydro-Plumping Serum Concentrate”
  • Miscellaneous Positive Attributes Mostly MentionedMostly Mentioned
    • “dries super fast — Medicube Zero Pore Blackhead Mud Mask”
    • “active breakouts look less inflamed — Medicube Red Succinic Acid Peeling Pad”
    • “skin feels incredibly soft afterwards — Kiehl's Rare Earth Deep Pore Cleansing Masque”
    • “perfect for retinol newbies — Kiehl's Retinol Skin-Renewing Daily Micro-Dose Serum”
  • Smooth Skin Texture Often MentionedSometimes Noted
    • “gives my skin a smooth, glass-like finish — Medicube Zero Pore Pad”
    • “skin feels smoother — Medicube PDRN Pink Peptide Serum”
    • “leaves skin feeling silky — Kiehl's Powerful-Strength Line-Reducing Concentrate”
    • “skin feels smoother — Kiehl's Retinol Skin-Renewing Daily Micro-Dose Serum”
  • Gentle and Sensitive Formula Sometimes NotedOften Mentioned
    • “experienced zero irritation — Kiehl's Retinol Skin-Renewing Daily Micro-Dose Serum”
    • “fragrance-free — Kiehl's Ultra Facial Cream”
    • “doesn't irritate sensitive eyes — Kiehl's Creamy Eye Treatment with Avocado”
    • “Did not cause any irritation — Medicube Red Foam Cleanser”
  • Lightweight Texture Not notedOften Mentioned
    • “feels like nothing — Kiehl's Better Screen UV Serum”
    • “works on dark skin — Kiehl's Better Screen UV Serum”
    • “absorbs instantly without residue — Kiehl's Ultra Facial Oil-Free Gel Cream”
  • Glow and Radiance Often MentionedSometimes Noted
    • “gave me instant glass skin — Medicube Collagen Jelly Cream”
    • “woke up with glowing skin — Medicube Collagen Night Wrapping Mask”
    • “healthy, dewy glow — Medicube PDRN Pink Peptide Serum”
    • “woke up glowing — Kiehl's Midnight Recovery Concentrate”
  • High Price and Value Sometimes NotedMostly Mentioned
    • “tube is tiny for the price — Medicube Collagen Night Wrapping Mask”
    • “price is steep — Medicube PDRN Pink Collagen Gel Mask”
    • “price is a bit steep — Medicube Red Succinic Acid Peeling Pad”
    • “pricy daily staple — Kiehl's Ultra Facial Cream”
  • Sticky or Greasy Residue Often MentionedSometimes Noted
    • “oil slick in summer — Kiehl's Ultra Facial Cream”
    • “too radiant for oily skin — Kiehl's Better Screen UV Serum”
    • “leaves a tacky film — Kiehl's Ultra Facial Oil-Free Gel Cream”
    • “hair sticks to my face — Medicube Collagen Jelly Cream”
  • Packaging and Application Issues Sometimes NotedSometimes Noted
    • “messy — Medicube PDRN Pink Collagen Gel Mask”
    • “lifted around the nose/eyes — Medicube PDRN Pink Collagen Gel Mask”
    • “dipping fingers is unsanitary — Kiehl's Ultra Facial Cream”
    • “hard to spread — Kiehl's Creamy Eye Treatment with Avocado”
  • Breakouts and Acne Sometimes NotedSometimes Noted
    • “caused redness and sensitivity — Medicube Zero Pore Pad”
    • “woke up with whiteheads — Medicube Collagen Night Wrapping Mask”
    • “caused cystic acne — Kiehl's Midnight Recovery Concentrate”
    • “cystic acne for some — Kiehl's Ultra Facial Cream”

Medicube vs Kiehl's routines for dry skin

See multi-brand routine · 98% fit

Medicube vs Kiehl's routines for oily skin

See multi-brand routine · 97% fit

Medicube vs Kiehl's routines for combination skin

See multi-brand routine · 96% fit

Questions and answers

Medicube or Kiehl's: which is better?

Medicube offers superior fit levels for dry skin compared to Kiehl's, while both brands deliver high routine fits for oily, combination, and sensitive skin. Medicube focuses on hydrating and plumping properties with ingredients like hyaluronic acid, whereas Kiehl's emphasizes lightweight and gentle formulas.

Dermatologic Therapy, 2022

What is the difference between Medicube and Kiehl's?

Medicube offers a Superior fit for dry skin routines, whereas Kiehl's provides a High fit. Medicube focuses best on dry skin, oily acne-prone skin, and oily skin, while Kiehl's targets skin with dark spots, combination skin, and mature skin.

Medicube or Kiehl's for dry skin?

Medicube offers a Superior routine fit for dry skin, whereas Kiehl's provides a High routine fit. The products on this page for Medicube help deliver deep hydration moisturizers.

Medicube or Kiehl's: which cleanser is better?

Both Medicube and Kiehl's offer highly rated cleansers, but Kiehl's Calendula Herbal-Extract Toner and Calendula Deep Cleansing Foaming Face Wash achieve a Superior fit for oily skin. Reviewers note that Kiehl's provides gentle and sensitive formulas with a lightweight texture, while Medicube's cleansers feature key ingredients like niacinamide and salicylic acid.

Which is more affordable, Medicube or Kiehl's?

Medicube is noted by reviewers for high price and value issues among the products on this page, while Kiehl's is frequently cited for a high price point.

Medicube or Kiehl's: which brand is better for reducing dark spots?

Both Medicube and Kiehl's offer products on this page that achieve a high fit level for skin with dark spots. Niacinamide helps reduce cutaneous pigmentation and melanosome transfer, an ingredient featured across Medicube's range.

The British Journal of Dermatology, 2002

Medicube or Kiehl's: which brand is better suited for mature skin?

Both Medicube and Kiehl's offer a High routine fit for mature skin among the products on this page. Reviewers note that Medicube helps provide deep hydration and a radiant glow, while Kiehl's is often praised for lightweight moisturizers and gentle serums.

Medicube or Kiehl's: which brand is better for sensitive skin?

Both Medicube and Kiehl's are a High fit for sensitive skin on this page, but Kiehl's is noted by reviewers for having a gentler formula. Lovi rates Medicube as a High fit and Kiehl's as a High fit for sensitive skin.

Medicube or Kiehl's for oily skin?

Medicube and Kiehl's offer an equal High routine fit for oily skin based on the products on this page. Reviewers note that Medicube helps provide a radiant glow, while Kiehl's is known for lightweight, non-greasy moisturizers.

Medicube or Kiehl's: which moisturizer is better?

Medicube offers a routine fit for dry skin that Lovi rates as Superior, whereas Kiehl's routine fit for dry skin is rated as High. Both brands feature highly rated moisturizers on their respective pages, such as Medicube's Collagen Jelly Cream and Kiehl's Super Multi-Corrective Cream.

Medicube or Kiehl's for sensitive skin?

Both brands offer a High routine fit for sensitive skin, but Kiehl's does better on gentle and sensitive formulas overall. Medicube products on this page are mostly fragrance-free with key ingredients like Niacinamide, which helps reduce pigmentation.

The British Journal of Dermatology, 2002

Medicube or Kiehl's for acne-prone skin?

Medicube fits acne-prone skin better than Kiehl's, offering a High routine fit compared to an Average fit for Kiehl's. The products on this page help target breakouts with key ingredients like salicylic acid and niacinamide.

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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