The queen of reality TV relaunches her makeup brand this week - cue 9m TikTok fans lining up for this lip pencil. But is it worth the hype?
This Friday sees the relaunch of Kim Kardashian’s makeup range, three years after she halted production in the wake of her divorce from Kanye West. It begins with a small edit of just three products, the Lip Liner, £22, that comes in 15 nude shades, the Soft Matte Lip Color, £31, that comes in 10 nude shades and a 12 pan Classic Mattes Eyeshadow Palette, £49, that also contains - surprise surprise - all nude and tonal hues. Everything is in muted, flesh shades, including the packaging. These are the colours that have become synonymous with the 43-year-old’s makeup looks, the contents of her wardrobe and her uber-successful underwear and shapewear business, Skims. It's the same palette used in her minimalist LA mansion's decor, ditto both the exterior and interior of her private jet - thus taking matchy-matchy to new heights (literally).
The makeup products will be available on Sknn by Kim, her skincare and bathroom accessories site. UK readers take note: shipping is free when you spend over $175 (£137), with a flat rate of about £19 when you spend less. We reckon you'd have to be a big KK fan to spend £19 for shipping on a £22 lip liner.
But it is the lipliners that people are most excited about. Kim teased them to her 9.4 million TikTok followers in a video in which she self-deprecatingly mocks her business success, showing off her in-office sun bed (yep) and her desk adorned with a model of her brain and one of her private jet, before showcasing the bundle of new liners.
Why the fuss? Because the first time round, they were good. Really good. They were super creamy, didn’t drag around the lips and were a cinch to use. Plus, she's a pro at getting her flesh colours spot-on. She’s done it superbly well with Skims, which makes me think that Kim K makeup 2.0 is going to be even better.
Her first makeup brand launched in 2017 under the name KKW Beauty, with contour and highlighting palettes, her first fragrance, lipsticks and lip liners. And while it didn’t do badly, it certainly didn’t garner the same success as Skims or reached the dizzying heights of her younger sister Kylie Jenner’s makeup brand, Kylie Cosmetics.
Her first cosmetics line also used her married name so it’s not surprising that only a few months after divorcing Kanye West in February 2021, her KKW Beauty team announced, "We're currently away working on a new, more modern, elevated, and sustainable brand and customer experience — the way Kim has always envisioned. Thank you so much for being on this incredible journey with us. We promise we won't be gone for too long."
And now that time has come. Many of the comments under the post announcing the return of the makeup ask which of the new shades match their favourites from the old range. And the brand is obviously preempting its popularity as there are restrictions on the number of products you can buy in one order - 10 lip liners, 10 lip colours and 3 eyeshadow palettes max.
We'll revert with a full review once we've got our mitts on it all!