Let’s Talk About “Self-Made” Billionaire Kylie Jenner.

You might have seen Kylie Jenner in the news recently because she was on the cover of Forbes as the youngest self-made billionaire. Yes. You read that correctly.

I know it’s popular to hate the Kardashians. My husband feels Quite Strongly about the fact that they are what’s wrong with America. I don’t feel that way – tho I definitely wouldn’t consider myself a “fan” of any of them. I was asking Jill about her thoughts about Kylie and she feels very indifferent, and that’s exactly how I feel. I don’t have any strong feelings about them whatsoever. From a business/marketing point of view, the Kardashians were incredibly smart and took advantage of a moment in time and were able to build an empire on kind of… nothing. (Some might say it was built on a porno, but that’s not here nor there.) I mean, I have to admit that if I had been presented with the same opportunities, I probably would have done the same thing.

But let’s be clear – the Kardashians DO have an empire. So, Forbes, let’s not pretend that Kylie Jenner is a “self-made” billionaire. Before she started her cosmetics line, she already had millions and millions of built-in fans. Let’s not pretend that she started with $100 and a dream. Let’s not pretend that she wasn’t already a millionaire many times over when she started Kylie Cosmetics, and had thousands of advantages that others don’t have.

I think it’s rad that a woman has been so successful in the beauty industry. I’m not mad at her success at all. But I think the only person in the world who thinks that Kylie Jenner is a self-made billionaire is Kris Jenner, her mom. And somehow, she got Forbes to print it. I guess we are living in the world we deserve.

But let’s get into Kylie Cosmetics, the reason Kylie is a “self-made” (lol) billionaire. Every season, she releases a collection or two but I haven’t yet purchased any of it. For one, her products are kind of expensive – they are on par with products from Sephora. But unfortunately, if you don’t like the products you’ve purchased, there is no recourse. You can’t return them – you are just out the money. Colourpop is the same way, but their products are very affordable so I’m not as mad if a $5 lipstick doesn’t look great on me. (Coincidentally, Kylie Cosmetics and Colourpop Cosmetics are made at the same factory, leading to conspiracy theories they are the same formulas.)

So while I haven’t purchased anything yet, I do keep my eye on her releases and I imagine someday I’ll make a purchase.

Her latest collection is sort of incredible to look at – the packaging is really eye-catching and poppy. Whoever she has doing the design work on her products is amazing. Say what you will about Kylie, but she does seem to have a great team. I am just so attracted to that bright, pop-art/comic book-ish look of the packaging of the products. However, the products themselves don’t really interest me.

Specifically, The Summer Palette ($44). The packaging is so bright and graphic but on the inside, it’s essentially an extremely basic neutral palette with a pop of color. I would much rather have the Melt Baby Girl stack ($58), which is mostly corals, or the Huda Beauty Coral Obsessions palette ($27), which has corals and a bright pop of yellow, and is more affordable than both of those.

But I decided to delve deeper into the Kylie Cosmetics website and there ARE actually a few products I am interested in.

First of all, I really, really love the look of The Wet Set Highlighter ($62). It’s a cream-based highlighter palette, which sort of looks like it has a similar formula to the signature Colourpop shadows//highlighters. The shades look beautiful, and it appears to give a bright, glossy look to the cheeks. If I get anything from Kylie Cosmetics, it’s likely going to start with this palette.

I have always been a little interested in the Kylie Cosmetics blushes ($20/each). I don’t have my eye on a specific shade (maybe X-Rated?) but these look so soft and nice. I like them because they DON’T look very pigmented. Influencers are constantly relating pigment to quality, when in some cases, too much pigment is a bad thing. For example, Subculture or blushes. When you have a blush with too much pigment, it’s hard to blend out and you can get to clown cheeks really fast, and that’s not a great look. These blushes from Kylie look REALLY nice. A nice wash of color that is easily blend-able. This would likely be the second thing I buy after The Wet Set.

I’ve always heard really great things about the Kylie lip glosses ($15). I don’t know which one I would start with but there are definitely a few that I like!

Next up is the KKW Crème Liquid Lipstick Set ($45). These aren’t the typical, matte liquid lipsticks. These are basically a little thicker and more pigmented than glosses. They are more like an actual lipstick that has been liquified. There is nothing long-lasting about them. I don’t tend to wear nudes but this set seems like it has every tone of nude a gal could need for various looks. I don’t know if I would get these or not but they def caught my eye.

A lovely reader suggested I try the Kylie Velvet Liquid Lipstick formula, and I had my eye on them anyway, so I would def try the Rosie Velvet Lip Kit ($27). I feel like the Lip Kits are what put Kylie on the map, and while I don’t tend to like the dry, matte formula, I think the velvets sound really beautiful and comfortable. They def aren’t transfer-proof, but that’s the price you pay for comfort, y’all. Rosie is described as a warm, deep rose, which sounds nice for the fall.

So who knows when I will make my first Kylie Cosmetics purchase. But you can bet your ass I won’t be donating to that GoFundMe to make her an actual billionaire. However, when I do, y’all will be the first to know what I think about them!

xo,
Lauren

laurenelectro

A self-proclaimed beauty junkie/hoarder with a serious Sephora problem. This blog is a total rationalization of that problem. Everything is TOTALLY fine. Her free time is a mixed combination of making fun of reality TV with her husband, hanging out with cats and finally trying to figure out how to do her hair.