The Crème Shop opened in Los Angeles in 1988, founded by Theresa and Lawrence Kim, two Korean Americans, for young Americans curious about Korean beauty. The Business of Fashion told that story in April 2022, when LG Household and Health Care took a 65 percent stake in the company. The products are made in South Korea, and the brand is cruelty-free.

Most people know it for something else, though. On October 1, 2018, The Crème Shop and Sanrio launched their first Hello Kitty skin care collection, and a year later came an eight-piece collection for Hello Kitty's 45th birthday. The brand has since worked with BT21, Disney and Miffy too. That is the charm of the creme shop: sheet masks with a cat face, patches shaped for a quick morning fix, and small formats that make trying one easy.

Under the packaging, the formulas are simple and gentle. Hyaluronic acid shows up in almost everything, with fruit extracts like peach, yuzu and strawberry, and a newer ingredient, PDRN, in the eye patches.

The first grid is Crème Shop skin care, from masks and patches to a cleanser, a cream, a serum and blotting paper. The second grid is lip care, four Crème Shop balms and oils next to four of the lip products people usually compare them with. My tip: keep sheet masks in the fridge, then use one on a Sunday night for ten to fifteen minutes and pat the extra serum into your neck.

Glow Check Sheet Mask is a single-use hydrating mask with hyaluronic acid, and it fits snugly, which matters more than people think. Leave it on for ten to fifteen minutes. The Hello Kitty Moisture Boost Animated Sheet Mask does the same job with a character face printed on it, and it has one of the higher ratings in this grid.

For eyes, the Gelly Brightening Under Eye Patches come thirty pairs to a jar, with PDRN and strawberry, for puffiness in minutes. The Hello Kitty Under Eye Patches are a single pair, a good way to try patches before you commit to a jar.

The Hello Kitty and Friends Dewy Peachy line has two pieces here. The Enriched Cream is a simple moisturizer, and the Hyaluronic Cleanser is mild, with peach extract, and it has the highest rating in this grid. The Bright Yuzu Capsule Serum adds vitamin C and niacinamide in small capsules that melt as you spread it.

The Hello Kitty Mattifying Blotting Paper comes in a reusable mirror case, and it is sweet to carry, but its rating is the lowest here.

What I would skip: stacking every piece at once. Pick a mask or patches first, and add the serum only if your skin still feels dull after a week.

The Crème Shop X Hello Kitty Moisture Remedy Lip Balm is a shea butter balm in a strawberry scent, and it shares the top rating in this edit. The Kiss and Blush Lip and Cheek Balm is the most reviewed Crème Shop lip product, a creamy two-in-one with aloe and squalane that I would dab on cheeks too. The Miffy Tinted Lip Oil has jojoba oil and a little sparkle, and the Overnight Glaze Lip Masque is shea, hyaluronic acid and mango butter in a berry scent.

The other four are the lip products people compare them with. LANEIGE Lip Sleeping Mask is the most reviewed product in this edit, with more than twenty thousand ratings, and it is the classic overnight lip mask the Glaze Masque is up against. Summer Fridays Lip Butter Balm is soft and vegan, Tower 28 ShineOn Lip Jelly is a non-sticky lip oil, and Glossier Balm Dotcom doubles as a salve for dry spots.

If you want color, choose the Kiss and Blush balm. If you want repair overnight, pick either lip mask. If you want shine, the Miffy oil and the Tower 28 jelly are the ones.

What I would skip: a scented balm on cracked, sore lips. Go for Balm Dotcom or a plain lip mask until they heal.

I think the creme shop is at its best when you treat it as a small, fun ritual rather than a full routine. Start with the Glow Check mask or the Gelly patches, keep the Hello Kitty pieces for gifts or for your own shelf, and add a lip mask at night. If you already love LANEIGE, the Overnight Glaze Masque is a good one to test next to it. Keep the rest simple: a gentle cleanser, a moisturizer and sunscreen every morning.