by Kim Kardashian is bringing back color cosmetics, introducing Skkn by Kim Makeup on January 26.
“That’s my heart and soul and that’s where I started,” Kardashian said of the color cosmetics, calling from her home in advance of an exclusive interview with WWD. She had just returned from a ski trip with her children. “With four kids, it’s never cold,” she laughed, from the holiday break. “No, it was great. we ski I’m glad they got that time in. But I’m very happy to be back at work.”
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In between shooting “American Horror Story: Delicate” — her biggest acting role to date — Kardashian is expanding her body of beauty, applying the learnings from her previous endeavors when it comes to color.
“It’s always using the expertise I’ve learned over 20 years of doing my makeup almost every day and making the most user-friendly products,” she continued. “And even having two makeup lines before.”
It was in 2012 that Kardashian, along with her sisters Kourtney and Khloé, ventured into beauty by launching Khroma Beauty, later renamed Kardashian Beauty, with makeup and hair products. It was short-lived, and in 2017 – with Kardashian alone – she introduced KKW Beauty and KKW Fragrance, with Coty taking a 20 percent stake in the business in 2020.
Kardashian closed both brands in 2022, with plans to return with “an entirely new brand with new formulas that are more modern, more innovative and packaged in a new, elevated and sustainable look,” she said in a statement at the time. It was reported last year that she was considering buying back a minority stake in her business from Coty.
The result was Skkn by Kim, a complete skin care line created with helpful esthetician Joanna Czech, unveiled in 2022.
Now makeup comes with a collection of lip liners ($22), lipsticks ($32) and an eye shadow palette ($50), all in shades of nude. It will be available at skknbykim.com.
“I think you know how you want to do things even better,” she said of the first insight. “The lip liner moves a little better. Everything is in the details. As a perfectionist and in the laboratory…[I’m] trying sample after sample and making sure it’s perfection. So, those little details, I think the customer feels the lift.”
She described the texture of the products as “velvety mats”. The lip liners promise long wear, with a formula that blends and glides on easily. They come in 15 colors, from Light Beige to Deep Chocolate. The lipsticks, in 10 colors, offer full coverage with a “smooth” and “brushed blur” finish. Colors range from light beige to Rich Mahogany. And the eyeshadow palette, with 12 nudes from “creamy beige matte” to “black matte,” “ultra-light,” is made to blend, build and crease-free.
“I’m the classic neutral at heart,” Kardashian said. “I wanted Skkn to be everything that fully complements you as your best self and that starts with your skin. So, we won’t be doing any bold colors or anything that I don’t personally use and wear,” she said. “The difference between this line and KKW Beauty is that it will be all the most amazing formulas, even higher than before, but it will be all our classic nudges and everything that will make your skin look its best . So that starts with skin care, then develops into color cosmetics, and then it will be perfume and anything you put on your skin.”
Fragrances are in the works, a Kardashian category that includes KKW Beauty, as is complex, including foundations, which is new territory.
“Hopefully we can be super innovative and bring something that I’ve never done before, which is a foundation,” Kardashian continued. “And we’re bringing back our concealers and our powders and our contours. Every product I use, I want to bring that to the market.”
That said, there will be some differences, including texture and finish. “My way of doing makeup is — I don’t know if it’s the time, I don’t know if it’s old — it’s just a different style than what I used to have [do]. I used to be, like, super matte. Now, I like a little more dewy, lighter,” she said. “So I’m bringing the newer techniques that I use. I’m excited for people to see my beauty up there, still with all the classics, but I’m excited to get more products out there.”
The plan has always been to bring all the beauty categories together under one master brand, Kardashian said. “If you think about it, I’d have KKW Beauty, KKW Fragrance, I’d have KKW Skin,” she said. “I wanted everything on one website, one brand, super integrated.”
The current color packaging isn’t the final version of what she has in mind, she said, but she was keen to let it out: “I’m just, like, guys we’re shipping, and we’re going to keep perfection while we are doing. go.”
Her team is very diverse, she said. In the center is a close friend, who she does not name.
“I have a wonderful Armenian friend who is so knowledgeable and has been in the beauty business for over 20 years,” Kardashian said. “We test colors all day. She travels with me when I go to Milan and New York, and we go to see all the factories. I love having a small team, because it’s really important that people know what you want and need.”
Kardashian wants to focus on staying true to herself as she grows the brand, she said, and that’s reflected in this launch. These days she’s a big fan of lip liner: “It’s the only thing I’ll put on. If I can’t find anything, I’ll just do a little lip liner and gloss, or even a stick cap. If I had to take one thing with me it would be lip liner.”
With some concealer maybe? “Lately I’ve been doing blush instead and just letting the dark circles go for a minute. That’s the way.”
She also pays close attention to the consumers and their needs, working to exceed their expectations. “I’m delighted that our customer for Skkn is such a loyal returning customer and the data shows that the people who use it and use the whole system really understand how great and powerful the formulas are,” a she said. nine step routine. “So, I’m really proud of that. It’s my favorite thing ever, even with Skims [her shapewear and clothing company valued at $4 billion in 2023 and said to be interested in an initial public offering], that is when someone gets a product and it is 10 times better than they ever imagined. That’s always the dream. You want to overdeliver.”
Looking ahead, in terms of distribution, she looks to expand beyond her direct-to-consumer channel: “Obviously our goal is to be in retail and be all over the place so it’s as accessible and possible,” Kardashian said. “That’s something we’re always talking about and working on. That is a huge priority.”
Approaching it, she revealed that it was her first interview of the year.
“My first job,” she said. “It felt good.”
Launch Gallery: Inside Kim Kardashian Skkn Launch by Kim Makeup
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