Kylie Cosmetics
Kylie Cosmetics, LLC is an American cosmetics company founded by Kylie Jenner.[1] The company began selling Kylie Lip Kits, a liquid lipstick and lip liner set, on November 30, 2015.[2] Formerly known as Lip Kit by Kylie, the company was renamed Kylie Cosmetics in 2016.
Formerly
Lip Kit by Kylie (2014–2016)
2014
Worldwide
Kylie Jenner (chairperson)
Anna von Bayern (CEO)
Coty (51%)
Kylie Jenner (49%)
In 2018, Forbes reported that the company was valued at $800 million and in March 2019 valued the company at $900 million.[3][4] Coty bought a 51% controlling stake in the company for $600 million in November 2019 valuing the company at approximately $1.2 billion.[5][6] However, in early 2020 Forbes reported—citing documentation from the Coty deal—that Kylie Cosmetics had overvalued itself.[7]
Background[edit]
In 2014, Jenner and her mother Kris Jenner founded Kylie Cosmetics in partnership with Seed Beauty.[8] The company's first product named Lip Kits, consisting of a liquid lipstick and lip liner, were released on November 30, 2015.[2] The first 15,000 lip kits were produced by Seed Beauty and funded by Jenner at a cost of $250,000 from her modelling earnings.[3] The company was renamed Kylie Cosmetics in February 2016, and production was increased to 500,000 kits.[3] By the end of 2016, the company's total revenue was over $300 million.[3]
Jenner has used her former insecurity about her lip size as an inspiration for the brand, saying, "It's the most authentic thing I've done in my career".[9] Many attribute the brand's success to Jenner's cosmetically altered lips.[10]
Business[edit]
Collaborations and collections[edit]
In April 2017, Jenner announced her collaboration with Kim Kardashian, called KKW X Kylie.[11][12] In May, it was announced that Khloé Kardashian would be collaborating once again with the brand for a collection titled Koko.[13] In a month long pop-up event in November of the same year, seven TopShop stores across the US sold Kylie Cosmetics products.[14] In November 2018, Kylie Cosmetics products were made available for purchase at Ulta.
In April 2018, Jenner announced a collaboration with her half-sister Kourtney Kardashian, named Kourt X Kylie.[15] On May 9, 2018, Kylie and Kris Jenner announced their collaboration called the Kris Kollection via Instagram. The Mini Lip Set in the Kris Kollection, which includes eight mini liquid lipsticks, is aptly named “Momager”, a title in which Kris Jenner has personally taken on, and attempted to trademark, in recent years.[16] In addition to the "Momager" Lip Kit, the Kris Kollection includes lip glosses and a four pan pressed powder highlight/blush palette, which has created a lot of controversy online with both good and bad reviews.[17] The collection was released just prior to Mother's Day.[18]
In 2019, Kylie announced her collaboration with Oliver Rousteing named Kylie X Balmain. It launched on September 27 of that year.[19] In 2020, Kylie Cosmetics released a collaboration with The Grinch for Christmas.[20] In October 2021, Kylie Cosmetics released a A Nightmare on Elm Street collaboration for Halloween.[21][22] On October 19, 2022, Kylie Cosmetics released a collaboration with Batman named Batman x Kylie.[23]
Criticism[edit]
"Luxury" brush scandal[edit]
In an occurrence dubbed by Cosmopolitan Australia as the "Kylie makeup brush scandal of 2017", Jenner received backlash from fans, makeup gurus, and Internet users alike after Kylie Cosmetics launched a set of 16 luxury makeup brushes, priced at $360.[31] After a few prominent YouTubers, including James Charles and Jeffree Star weighed in with their negative opinions on the price of the brush kit, Jenner responded via her personal Twitter, telling fans, "I hear you guys".[32]