No. 57 Kylie Jenner’s winning formula
Kylie Jenner Founder, Kylie Cosmetics
The reality star’s lip kits generate fanatic demand.
Seconds after Kylie Jenner launched her first three lines of lipstick, on November 30, 2015, all three sold out online. Less than two years later, Kylie Cosmetics is a fullservice, direct-to-consumer beauty brand, with offerings that include its signature lip kits (lipstick and liner) plus eye shadows, blushes, and tools. The 19-year-old Jenner, famous for her own perfectly plump pout, continues to draw upwards of 10 million people to her Snapchat makeup tutorials and has led the brand to a reported $400 million in revenue since its launch.
Why go into makeup? I can’t leave the house without lipstick. Everyone was so interested in the color I was wearing. But nothing was ever perfect for me. I just thought, Why not make my own lip kit with a liner and lipstick?
You sign off on every decision at your company, plus you’ve got season 13 of Keeping Up
With the Kardashians and personal social media accounts to maintain. What’s a typical day on the job for you? I wake up and immediately check in—what orders are coming in, what’s selling the best. My manufacturer brings me products every day. I have a spot in my house, my creative room, and we just have meetings after meetings.
What goes into creating a new lipstick? I’m always thinking about what I want, and what I think people want. For example, the smell of the lipsticks—i knew I wanted something sweet. I was in the lab, and they gave me 12 options, and I picked my favorite. Then we did the percentage: “Do you want 50% or 75% smell? Do you want it strong or weak?” It took a long time. Then on Instagram, I’m on my Kylie Cosmetics [page] all day curating it. It has to be perfect.
How has social media played into your marketing strategy? I don’t pay for advertisements. I don’t do commercials. Social media is the only way I push it: Snapchat, Instagram.
Kylie Cosmetics products aren’t sold in traditional stores, but your pop-up shops draw tens of thousands of visitors. How do you prepare to release a new product? Everyone knows when I’m releasing a product on Snapchat that I will be MIA for the next hour and a half. I’m running around my house, finding the perfect lighting, the perfect swatches. I care a lot about what my products look like when people first see them.
What’s it been like to have something that distinguishes you from your high-profile family?
I used to ask my mom, “What’s my thing?” Kendall has modeling, what’s my thing? And I’m just so happy that now I have this. It motivates me every day. I want to expand into a full cosmetics line— foundations, concealers, everything under the sun.