How Kylie Jenner Transformed from Reality TV Teen to Beauty Mogul
It's undeniable that Kylie Jenner founded one of the most successful celebrity beauty brands of all time.
When Kylie Jenner debuted on Keeping Up With The Kardashians as a gangly nine-year-old, no one could have guessed that the kid sister of Paris Hilton's former assistant would go on to build a beauty empire. Years later, Jenner is now the mother of two, the fourth-most popular person on Instagram with 398 million followers, and the founder of a cosmetics company with a $900 million net worth.
Makeup lines are to celebrities like controversies are to TikTok stars, so what set Kylie Cosmetics apart? In the past, celeb beauty brands have existed with varying degrees of success—Fenty Beauty by Rihanna and Rare Beauty by Selena Gomez have thrived in the industry, while Bella Thorne's cosmetic line inevitably flopped.
From the very first Kylie Lip Kit, the reality star-turned-businesswoman stood out from the pack by making her professional brand a natural extension of her personal brand. She used her own image to promote her products, modeling them for Kylie Cosmetics campaigns and drawing her audience in with engaging Instagram lives. Whether through the entrepreneurial prowess of Jenner herself or the work of a killer marketing team, Kylie Cosmetics made the youngest Jenner more personable.
Jenner capitalized on the Kardashian's popularity by having her sisters sprinkle their social medias with Kylie Cosmetics and appear in campaigns, and her brand continued to skyrocket. Lip Kits named after Jenner's sisters—Khloe's Koko collection, Kourtney's Kourt X Kylie, Kim's KKW by Kylie Cosmetics, and Kendall's the Kendall collection—only added to the hype. By buying into Jenner's brand, consumers could strive towards the unattainable goal of looking more like the Kardashians.
Even the brand's many controversies have been used to an advantage. When Jenner faced backlash for denying having lip fillers in May 2015, she used the bad press to launch her brand six months later. Love her or loathe her, this tactic worked. During Kylie Cosmetics' initial launch, the $29 Lip Kits sold out completely in under a minute. The beauty mogul has since found a way to put a relatable spin on the scandal, stating that her insecurities over her previously thin lips inspired her passion for the cosmetics field.
Since its 2015 debut, Kylie Cosmetics has managed to stay afloat in an oversaturated market. This is due in part to Jenner's own ability to stay relevant in pop culture, and the genuine quality of her products. Youtube makeup mavens NikkieTutorials and Carli Bybel posted rave reviews of the lip kits, and the brand's eye and skin makeup has received overall positive feedback. NikkieTutorials even urged her followers not to knock Kylie Cosmetics because of the name, framing the youngest Kardashian-Jenner as almost an underdog in the cosmetics world.
Although Jenner herself is no longer the primary shareholder of Kylie Cosmetics—she sold her 51 percent stake to major beauty brand Coty for a cool $600 million in 2019—she continues to serve as the face of the brand. The sale to Coty, whose portfolio includes CoverGirl and Max Factor, cemented Jenner as the youngest self-made billionaire in 2019. While the title "self-made" is dubious, and the validity of Jenner's billionaire status was hotly debated, there's no denying the feat of Jenner once surpassing even Kim Kardashian in wealth.
As Jenner matures—she started Kylie Cosmetics at just 18—so does her brand. She constantly keeps up with current beauty demands, launching Kylie Skin in 2022 when a skincare-based approach became popular and capitalizing on the blush craze. A relaunch of her iconic Lip Kits with a vegan and cruelty-free formula appealed to a wider consumer audience.
In honor of her 24th birthday in 2021, the mega-influencer teased a 24K gold-themed collection, featuring ultra-trendy body shimmer, a massive eyeshadow palette with charming names, glitter eyeliner, gilded highlighter, high-shine lip lacquer, and a multi-purpose face gloss. We can't wait to see what the star does this year.
Even though Kylie Cosmetics has gone through some major transformations in the last seven years, Jenner still introduced her new launch with her trademark self-narrated swatch videos. "These are all-new formulas that I can't wait to share with you guys," Jenner said as she introduced the collection via her personal Instagram story. "I hope you guys are as obsessed as I am."
