News that Kim Kardashian West is launching a beauty line will shock no one. Last week, the 36-year-old trailed KKWBeauty on Instagram to her 101 million followers. Today, it launches worldwide. The first product is a $48 (£38) contour and highlighting stick that comes in light, medium, dark and deep dark and is packaged in a millennial-pink box.
On first reflection, the branding is pretty cool, coming from somebody who, if we are honest, is pretty uncool. But does West’s launch come a little late? In 2016, she said she was moving on from contouring: “I think right now it’s more about nontouring, like real skin with less makeup on it.” This is a bizarre statement for somebody about to launch a contouring wand. Furthermore, Victoria Buchanan, beauty trends forecaster at the Future Laboratory, thinks contouring is on its way out: “The market for contour kits is now incredibly saturated,” she says. “In a new era defined by ‘fake news’, contouring seems more like a Photoshop technique.”
West has successfully positioned herself as the face of Instagram-friendly, mannequin-style makeup, but there has been a definite movement towards natural, non-conformist beauty, led by Alicia Keys and the hashtag #effyourbeautystandards. Likewise, beauty brands such as Glossier (launching soon in the UK) and US brand Milk endorse more “authentic” beauty looks.
This isn’t the reality TV star’s first foray into beauty. West has already collaborated with sister and beauty mogul Kylie Jenner on a KKW x Kylie lip kit of four baby pink shades this year. The Kardashian name has also been used for an averagely successful tanning and haircare line. Last week, however, it was announced that Kendall Jenner’s collaboration with Estée Lauder (called the Estée Edit – which was genuinely very good) is to fold.
West probably doesn’t need to lose any sleep. According to industry sources, 300,000 of the $45 KKW x Kylie lip kits sold out in minutes, generating of $13.5m in sales.
This was the green light that she and her manufacturer, Seed Beauty, needed for the KKW Beauty launch. In her first interview about the line, West told WWD that it was all go: “We have a good model, and even from our lip kit, we have a really good general idea of what our customer is going to be like.”
At any rate, what’s known is that the KKW line (there are concealers launching in two months’ time) does come in shades for the darkest and lightest skins, tones that are often ignored by commercial brands – and that’s a good thing. Although it will undoubtedly sell out, many times over, the proof will be in the quality of the range – and where she goes from here.
