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Kiehl's vs Shiseido

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

Kiehl's and Shiseido are historic skincare houses rooted in centuries-old pharmacy and botanical traditions. Kiehl's is beloved for a thoughtful array of moisturizers, serums, toners, eye products, and more that feature trusted ingredients like glycerin and squalane, while the Japanese brand offers cleansers, sunscreens, and similar essentials formulated with glycerin. The American line suits dry skin and skin with dark spots best, whereas its counterpart suits sensitive skin and mature skin best. Ultimately, they differ through their distinct heritage, targeted skin type benefits, and specialized standout products.

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

loreal.comen.wikipedia.org

Shiseido is a Japanese skincare brand founded in 1872 and owned by Shiseido Company, Limited.

corp.shiseido.comen.wikipedia.orgmarketscreener.com

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

Popular Kiehl's vs Shiseido products

People Say

Kiehl'sShiseido
  • Deep hydration and moisturization Often MentionedMostly Mentioned
    • “Immediate sensation of comfort — Shiseido Benefiance Wrinkle Smoothing Eye Cream”
    • “skin feels plump, soft and nourished, eliminates dryness, bouncy feel — Shiseido VITAL PERFECTION”
    • “Skin feels more hydrated — Shiseido Activating Essence”
    • “Keeps skin moisturized for 24+ hours — Kiehl's Ultra Facial Cream”
  • Lightweight and non-greasy texture Mostly MentionedOften Mentioned
    • “feels like nothing — Kiehl's Better Screen UV Serum”
    • “absorbs instantly without residue — Kiehl's Ultra Facial Oil-Free Gel Cream”
    • “Absorbs quickly — Kiehl's Ultra Facial Cream”
    • “Airy-soft texture — Shiseido Essential Energy Hydrating Cream”
  • Skin barrier and texture improvement Often MentionedOften Mentioned
    • “Velvety smooth — Shiseido FUTURE SOLUTION LX”
    • “makes skin baby soft — Shiseido Benefiance Wrinkle Smoothing Cream Enriched”
    • “smoothes rough skin — Shiseido Eudermine Revitalizing Essence”
    • “leaves skin feeling silky — Kiehl's Powerful-Strength Line-Reducing Concentrate”
  • Radiance and relaxing experience Sometimes NotedOften Mentioned
    • “Skin looks brighter, more radiant, and "glowy." — Shiseido Ultimune Power Infusing Concentrate”
    • “Pleasant floral fragrance, relaxing, luxurious smell. — Shiseido Ultimune Power Infusing Concentrate”
    • “spa-like scent, high-quality packaging, little goes a long way — Shiseido VITAL PERFECTION”
    • “woke up glowing — Kiehl's Midnight Recovery Concentrate”
  • Luxurious texture and formula Not notedOften Mentioned
    • “silky smooth, rich but non-greasy, absorbs quickly, melts into skin — Shiseido VITAL PERFECTION”
    • “Velvety, rich cream texture — Shiseido Benefiance Wrinkle Smoothing Eye Cream”
    • “Velvety texture — Shiseido FUTURE SOLUTION LX”
  • Plumping and anti-aging Rarely NotedSometimes Noted
    • “Smoothed out crow's feet — Shiseido Benefiance Wrinkle Smoothing Eye Cream”
    • “tighter jawline, lifted appearance, improved elasticity, less sagging — Shiseido VITAL PERFECTION”
    • “wrinkles look softer — Shiseido Benefiance Wrinkle Smoothing Cream Enriched”
    • “Skin looks noticeably more plump — Kiehl's Hydro-Plumping Serum Concentrate”
  • High price and cost value Mostly MentionedMostly Mentioned
    • “pricy daily staple — Kiehl's Ultra Facial Cream”
    • “Very expensive product — Kiehl's Clearly Corrective™ Dark Spot Solution”
    • “Very expensive for the size — Shiseido Benefiance Wrinkle Smoothing Eye Cream”
    • “Expensive, pricey, high cost for the amount. — Shiseido Ultimune Power Infusing Concentrate”
  • Unpleasant or strong scent Rarely NotedOften Mentioned
    • “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”
    • “old lady smell — Shiseido Eudermine Revitalizing Essence”
  • Greasy residue and oiliness Sometimes NotedRarely Noted
    • “Stays tacky and shiny — Shiseido Benefiance Wrinkle Smoothing Eye Cream”
    • “feels a bit oily — Shiseido Benefiance Wrinkle Smoothing Cream Enriched”
    • “A little too much (too greasy) — Shiseido Bio-Performance Advanced Super Revitalizing Cream”
    • “oil slick in summer — Kiehl's Ultra Facial Cream”
  • Lack of results or effectiveness Sometimes NotedRarely Noted
    • “No change in deep wrinkles — Shiseido Benefiance Wrinkle Smoothing Eye Cream”
    • “No noticeable difference, not moisturizing enough on its own. — Shiseido Ultimune Power Infusing Concentrate”
    • “no visible lifting, just a moisturizer, didn't erase deep wrinkles — Shiseido VITAL PERFECTION”
    • “Did absolutely nothing — Kiehl's Clearly Corrective™ Dark Spot Solution”

Kiehl's vs Shiseido routines for dry skin

Buy Kiehl's routine · SAR 2,309.98 · 84% fitBuy Shiseido routine · SAR 2,211.82 · 81% fitSee multi-brand routine · 96% fit

Kiehl's vs Shiseido routines for oily skin

Buy Shiseido routine · SAR 2,494.74 · 84% fitBuy Kiehl's routine · SAR 2,172.23 · 80% fitSee multi-brand routine · 97% fit

Kiehl's vs Shiseido routines for combination skin

Buy Shiseido routine · SAR 2,213.02 · 84% fitBuy Kiehl's routine · SAR 2,149.18 · 83% fitSee multi-brand routine · 97% fit

Questions and answers

Kiehl's or Shiseido: which is better?

Both Kiehl's and Shiseido offer products on this page that fit most skin types well, but they shine in different areas. Shiseido does better for deep hydration, skin barrier improvement, and anti-aging, while Kiehl's is often noted for lightweight, non-greasy textures.

What is the difference between Kiehl's and Shiseido?

Both brands offer products with a High routine fit for dry, oily, combination, sensitive, mature, dark spot-prone, and dry sensitive skin, but Shiseido does better for acne-prone skin. Reviewers note that Kiehl's provides lightweight and non-greasy textures, whereas Shiseido excels in deep hydration, skin barrier improvement, radiance, and luxury.

Kiehl's or Shiseido for dry skin?

Both Kiehl's and Shiseido offer a High routine fit for dry skin, making them equally good options depending on your preference for lightweight formulas or deep hydration.

Kiehl's or Shiseido: which cleanser is better?

Shiseido is often noted for its deep-cleansing and efficient cleansers, while Kiehl's cleansers tend to offer lightweight cleansing options.

Which is more affordable, Kiehl's or Shiseido?

Both Kiehl's and Shiseido offer similar value, as reviewers frequently mention a high price point for the products on this page from both brands.

Between Kiehl's and Shiseido, which brand has more fragrance-free products?

Kiehl's has significantly more fragrance-free products on the products on this page, with 26 out of 28 products listing no fragrance, compared to only 5 out of 20 for Shiseido.

How do the founding years and corporate ownerships of Kiehl's and Shiseido compare?

Kiehl's was founded in 1851 in the United States and has been owned by L'Oréal S.A. since 2000, whereas Shiseido was founded in 1872 in Japan and is owned by Shiseido Company, Limited.

Which brand performs better for radiance and relaxing experience according to reviewers?

Shiseido performs better for radiance and relaxing experience according to reviewers.

Kiehl's or Shiseido for oily skin?

Both Kiehl's and Shiseido fit oily skin at a High level on Lovi. Kiehl's features mostly fragrance-free products with key ingredients like glycerin and squalane, while Shiseido offers deep hydration and luxurious textures.

Kiehl's or Shiseido: which moisturizer is better?

Both Kiehl's and Shiseido offer moisturizers with a High routine fit for dry skin, with Shiseido specifically recognized for deep hydration and moisturization among the products on this page.

Kiehl's or Shiseido for sensitive skin?

Both Kiehl's and Shiseido fit sensitive skin with a High routine level on this page. Kiehl's features fragrance in only two of its products, whereas Shiseido includes fragrance in most formulas on this page.

Kiehl's or Shiseido: which sunscreen is better?

Both Kiehl's and Shiseido offer sunscreens on this page, but Kiehl's Better Screen UV Serum has a high fit for skin with dark spots, combination skin, sensitive skin, acne-prone skin, and mature skin. Shiseido has options like Benefiance Wrinkle Smoothing Day Cream and Essential Energy Hydrating Day Cream which have a superior fit for mature skin.

Kiehl's or Shiseido for acne-prone skin?

Shiseido is a better fit than Kiehl's for acne-prone skin, as Shiseido achieves a High routine fit compared to Kiehl's Average fit level.

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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