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The first thing you see is blue. Not Olive Young green, not Hello Kitty pink. A tall cobalt endcap with "OLIVE YOUNG × Sanrio" printed across the top in white, and a Cinnamoroll cushion compact staring at you from the top shelf.
I walked into an Olive Young in Seoul on a Sunday evening at the end of September, and the whole store had been taken over. Sanrio banners ran the full length of the skincare wall. There was a pink stand selling Kuromi underwear. A Hello Kitty plush in a red raincoat. A bag of Hello Kitty bagel chips next to a box of Bacchus energy drinks, also Sanrio. I didn't buy anything this time. I only looked, took about thirty photos, and tried to work out which of these boxes had good skincare inside and which were just cute.
Medical Disclaimer: The information provided in this article is for educational and informational purposes only and is not intended as medical advice. Everyone's skin is unique, and what works for one person may not work for another. If you have specific skin concerns, underlying health conditions, or are experiencing persistent skin issues, please consult with a licensed dermatologist or healthcare professional before starting any new skincare routine. This content does not constitute a diagnosis or treatment recommendation.
The campaign was called OLIVE YOUNG City Log. It ran from August 30 to September 30, 2026, and Olive Young says it was its biggest Sanrio collab yet: 81 brands, 321 products. It wasn't a one-off, either. There was a summer Sanrio collab in July 2025, and the two were set up almost the same way. So this post is really a guide to how an Olive Young x Sanrio collab works, using City Log as the example. The campaign officially ended September 30, but several shelf tags I photographed listed set prices running to November 30, so some sets may still be around while stock lasts.
So, to be upfront: nothing below is a product we tested for this post. Every card is marked formulation, which means we're going off the label, the ingredient list and what the brand says. (Here's how we decide what counts as tested.) What I can tell you is what was actually on the shelves, what's skincare versus merch, and which sets are the same product you can buy any day with a character slapped on the box.
How an Olive Young x Sanrio collab is laid out
There are really three different things going on, and they're easy to mix up.
The blue "OLIVE YOUNG × Sanrio" endcaps. These hold the beauty sets: real skincare and makeup from brands Olive Young already stocks, repackaged with a character and usually bundled with a freebie (a pouch, a sticker pack, a keyring, a card case). A lot of the boxes carry a green "ONLY 올리브영 단독기획" badge, which means the set is an Olive Young exclusive. The formula inside is the regular one.
The pink "내 일상의 큐티ON" stand. Roughly "cutie ON in my daily life." This is the merch: plush keyrings, mini figures, a Kuromi version of Nareun's cotton boxer briefs, a lunchbox, Fillimilli hair clips and puffs. Half the price strip was stamped 소진완료, sold out, and that was the last day of Olive Day, the three-day members' sale.
The "City Log" banners. Sanrio characters wander a little pixel city along the top of every skincare bay. I took it for decoration at first, but City Log turned out to be the name of the whole campaign. It's why the store felt themed instead of having one promo corner. There was also a City Tour pop-up at Olive Young N Seongsu for the month, which I didn't make it to.
Every beauty set I saw, at a glance
Prices are the sale price on the shelf tag on September 27, with the regular price where the tag showed it. A dash means I couldn't read the tag in my photo, not that it was free. "Exclusive" means the box carried Olive Young's green ONLY badge.
| Set | Character | Freebie or extra | Exclusive | Shelf tag |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Goodal Green Tangerine Vita-C serum + refill | Pompompurin | Refill | – | |
| Goodal TXA mist, 100 ml x 2 | Pompompurin | Second bottle | – | |
| Anua PDRN Hyaluronic Acid Capsule 100 Serum | Cinnamoroll | – | ||
| S.NATURE Aqua Squalane serum, x 2 refill | Hello Kitty | Pouch | ✓ | – |
| Abib Heartleaf TECA serum, 50 ml x 2 | Pochacco | Spot patches + case | – | |
| Medicube PDRN pink moisture cream, 100 ml x 2 | Hangyodon | Second tube | ✓ | ₩31,500 |
| Biodance Bio-Collagen Real Deep Mask | Hello Kitty | Mouse pad | ✓ | – |
| Anua heartleaf pore control cleansing oil, 350 ml | Pochacco | Larger size | – | |
| S.NATURE rice cleansing milk, 380 ml | My Melody | Hair clip | ✓ | – |
| Naming layered fit cushion mini | Cinnamoroll | ✓ | ₩11,500 (reg. ₩15,000) | |
| Wakemake lip blur tint set | Hello Kitty | Mirror keyring | ₩12,800 (reg. ₩16,000) | |
| My Melody eye palette set | My Melody | ₩20,900 (reg. ₩28,000) |
The pattern is the same across the board: regular formula, character box, and either a freebie or a second unit. The discounts I could read ran about 20 to 25 percent off the regular price.
The skincare sets worth looking at
These are the ones I'd have picked up, if I'd been buying. They're all products Olive Young stocks without the characters, so the only question is whether the bundle beats the regular box. Every product below is also sold in its normal packaging, so you can still get the formula after the Sanrio sets are gone.
Goodal Green Tangerine Vita-C serum (Pompompurin)
The poster at the front of the store was an Olive Young Pick display, "빛나는 피부로 GO!", and the Goodal vitamin C serum got the biggest spot. Pompompurin is on the bottle. The set I saw was a serum plus refill, and there's a matching Goodal TXA mist double pack and a 70+70 toner-pad set on the blue endcap with the same character.
Goodal builds the line around vitamin C and green tangerine extract and sells it for dark spots and dullness. If you're already curious about vitamin C, this is a reasonable way in. We wrote about how vitamin C serums compare if you want to know how it stacks up. The TXA mist is the more interesting one to me, because tranexamic acid in a spray is an unusual format.
Goodal Green Tangerine Vita-C Dark Spot Care Serum
Not tested by us — included on formulationVitamin C serum sold for dark spots and dullness. The Sanrio set bundles it with a refill.
Anua PDRN Hyaluronic Acid Capsule 100 Serum (Cinnamoroll)
Second spot on the poster. This is Anua's PDRN capsule serum, and Cinnamoroll is printed on the bottle. If you've been following the PDRN thing, we have a whole hub on it. The short version: PDRN is a DNA-derived ingredient, and in this serum it's paired with hyaluronic acid for hydration.
Anua PDRN Hyaluronic Acid Capsule 100 Serum
Not tested by us — included on formulationHydrating serum with PDRN and hyaluronic acid. Same formula as the regular bottle.
S.NATURE Aqua Squalane (Hello Kitty)
S.NATURE had the most Hello Kitty of anyone. The Aqua Squalane moisturizing cream is on the poster, and on a round stand near the register there were stacks of the Aqua Squalane serum in a "x2 refill" box with a Hello Kitty pouch thrown in. The box calls it "화잘먹 수분세럼", roughly "makeup-sits-well hydrating serum," and an Olive Young exclusive.
Squalane is a light, stable oil that mostly helps keep water from leaving your skin. A squalane cream plus a squalane serum is a very easy, unexciting routine, and honestly that's a compliment.
S.NATURE Aqua Squalane Serum
Not tested by us — included on formulationSqualane hydrating serum sold in a two-bottle refill set with a Hello Kitty pouch.
Abib Heartleaf TECA calming serum (Pochacco)
Two 50 ml bottles, Pochacco in a yellow raincoat on the box, and a free set of Sanrio spot patches with a case. Abib pairs heartleaf (houttuynia cordata) with TECA, a centella extract, and sells it for redness and breakouts. The patches make this one of the better freebies in the whole collab, because you'd actually use them.
Abib Heartleaf TECA Capsule Serum Calming Drop
Not tested by us — included on formulationHeartleaf and centella (TECA) serum for redness, bundled as 2 x 50 ml with Sanrio spot patches.
Medicube PDRN cream (Hangyodon) and Biodance (Hello Kitty)
Same round stand. Medicube had a "수분흔적크림 더블기획", two 100 ml tubes of their PDRN cream with Hangyodon on them. That's 200 ml of moisturizer, which is a lot of cream for one person. Fine if you're splitting it.
Under it, Biodance's collagen gel masks in Hello Kitty boxes, with a Hello Kitty mouse pad as the gift. We have a full review of the Biodance mask. Same mask, different box. On the same tier were Torriden's Dive-In sheet masks with Hello Kitty on the box, and the bottom ring was all Makeprem in yellow Pompompurin packaging.
Biodance Bio-Collagen Real Deep Mask
Not tested by us — included on formulationOvernight hydrogel sheet mask. The Sanrio box adds a Hello Kitty mouse pad.
Anua and Goodal on the lower shelves
The bottom of the blue endcap is where the bigger value sets were. Anua's heartleaf line had Pochacco all over it: a "10+1" heartleaf sheet mask pack and the 350 ml heartleaf pore control cleansing oil, which is the big size (the regular bottle is 200 ml). S.NATURE had a 380 ml rice cleansing milk with a My Melody hair clip. Goodal had a capsule cream with a Pompompurin card case.
And then, right next to the skincare: Bacchus-O drinks, LactoFit probiotics and Hello Kitty bagel chips, all in Sanrio packaging. Olive Young sells snacks and supplements too, so the collab went everywhere.
The merch, and what was already gone
The pink stand is where the crowd was. The rainy-day plush keyrings (Hello Kitty, Pompompurin, Hangyodon in little raincoats) were ₩12,900. The blind-box mini figures you stick on your phone were also ₩12,900. Both had the 소진완료 sold-out stamp, as did an Olive Young UV umbrella. What was left: the Kuromi boxer briefs, a 4-in-1 lunchbox, Fillimilli's Hello Kitty leopard hair clips and a cushion puff set.
If merch is what you're after, go early in the campaign. The skincare sets were well stocked. The things that sold out were the ones with no skincare in them at all.
Is any of it worth buying for the skincare?
The City Log campaign itself is over, but Olive Young runs these often enough that it's worth knowing how to read them. Here's my honest take, as someone who walked the whole store and bought nothing:
- Worth it if you already wanted the product. Most sets are the regular formula plus a freebie, sometimes at a sale price. If Anua's heartleaf cleansing oil or the S.NATURE squalane serum was already on your list, the Sanrio version is the same thing with a bonus.
- Not a reason to try something new. A character doesn't make a vitamin C serum a better match for your skin. If you're not sure what you need, our skin type quiz is a better starting point than the cutest box.
- Watch the sizes. Several bundles are doubles (2 x 50 ml serum, 2 x 100 ml cream). Good value per milliliter, but only if you'll finish them before they go off.
If you liked this, Amuse did its own Hello Kitty run at Olive Young earlier this year, and we covered that collab too. Also, our Olive Young sunscreen aisle walk-through is still the best guide to that wall.
Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply to the purchase of this product.
Medical disclaimer. This article is for educational purposes and is not medical advice. Everyone’s skin is different, and what works for one person may not work for another. If you have persistent or painful skin concerns, please see a licensed dermatologist or healthcare professional.