KYLIE

The making of a beauty icon

Pregnancy completely changed my body at a super young age,” Kylie confides to me one-onone, cross-legged on a bed in Los Angeles, US, referring to the birth of her daughter, Stormi Webster. “But I really don’t care.” Welcome to the world of Kylie Jenner; where insecurities are turned into power and sensational levels of scrutiny are shrugged off. “So many negative things come at me all the time,” she concedes. “Of course it does affect me, but you develop a thick skin. Nothing has lasted so long that I haven’t gotten through it, so whenever a new bad story or rumour emerges, I know it will pass, too. Everything in life is transient.”

Just as the world hangs off her every makeup application, I’m entranced by her every word. Serving girl-pal warmth, empowerment and attention, what strikes me most about this beauty icon – back at work on shoot after just a few months of maternity leave – is her sense of, dare I say it, normality. She turned up without fanfare, on time, wearing a simple white T-shirt and jeans, no makeup, just a post-pregnancy glow. Kris Jenner’s arrival, however, was true Kardashian proportions: dressed in a monochrome two-piece emblazoned with Fendi logos, with larger-than-life momager sunglasses and, of course, the iconic ‘Kris cut’ that singlehandedly relaunched the pixie do. But that’s exactly the type of cheerleader outfit you’d expect when your family are your biggest supporters, which is how Kylie warmly describes her grounding crew.

Back on our king-sized cloud, Kylie bounces animatedly through our interview, and the surprises continue as her phone lies completely abandoned. Yes, the same Kylie who’s reaped 117 million Instagram followers – and counting – has mastered the now rare art of being present. “As soon as I’m in a meeting, I put my phone down and you can’t reach me for up to eight hours. My brain hurts by the end of it, but I’m passionate about my work and give it my full attention when I’m in the zone.”

It’s endearing to think that this ambitious, badass businesswoman was once a nine-year-old making her first tentative appearance on Keeping Up with the Kardashians. But after navigating those tricky teenage years in the public eye, Kylie emerged from the show with a level of fame that makes her arguably the most prominent face of our social-media age. And while she might be blasé about her global impact – refreshingly remarking, “I know in the back of my mind I’m not ‘normal’, but I never live my life thinking I’m not,” – not only does she make social-media platforms, she can break them, too. In February, she asked her 25.7 million Twitter followers, “Does anyone else not open Snapchat any more? Or is it just me?” – and casually wiped around $1.3 billion (R18.4 billion) off the company’s stock-market value overnight. Despite her online influence, a clothing line with sister Kendall and lucrative endorsements, including a new ambassadorship for adidas Originals (in a campaign aptly themed around fearless females) it was actually a ➻

After turning her biggest insecurity, her lips, into an almost billion- dollar company, Kylie Jenner, 21, is more than just a businesswoman. She’s a socialmedia queen and a cool mom, smashing one beauty record at a time. Words by Josh newis-smith

real-life hang-up that led to her biggest success: Kylie Cosmetics. “I was really insecure about my lips,” she says. But the products she was using to create a plumper pout didn’t tick her makeup box. So, using only her own money and platform for marketing, Kylie poured over the formulas of 15 000 nude, pink and brown lip products, and in November 2015, brought out her first Kylie Lip Kit. “We sold out on my site in, like, three seconds – before I could refresh the page,” she beams proudly, with boardroom prowess. Then, in February 2016, Kylie Cosmetics was born.

Her legions of fans, along with beauty vloggers and journalists worldwide, praised the brands ability to produce on-trend colours at Instaspeed, via a factory that worked 24/7 to keep up with demand. Now, boasting family collaborations with her mom, and sisters Kim, Kourtney and Khloé, what started out as Kylie’s biggest insecurity is imminently set to become a billion-dollar company. After amassing $800 thousand (R11.3 million) worth of sales in less than three years, Kylie’s net worth is now estimated almost $900 million (R12.8 billion). To put this into jawdropping perspective, in another year (according to Forbes), this will make Kylie the youngest self-made billionaire ever, eclipsing Facebook’s founder, Mark Zuckerberg, who achieved the feat at 23.

Being classed as a modern-day beauty icon suits Kylie as well as her signature red lipstick, but it still doesn’t register with the woman herself. Blushing, she simply says, “It’s flattering, but I’m not reaching for it. It doesn’t feel like a real thing to me.” There perhaps lies, behind the pixels, her billion-dollar success: she is always just authentically Kylie.

Money-making lips aside – back firmly in reality – it’s clear that everything in Kylie’s life revolves around her new family: boyfriend Travis Scott and 10-month-old Stormi. Such was the fanatic interest around Kylie’s secretive pregnancy that Stormi broke Instagram records for ‘ likes’ (18 million to date) when she made her digital debut in February. Like mother, like daughter, right?

But since Stormi’s social media storm, Kylie is nurturing her baby away from the public eye. Having removed all images of Stormi from her platforms in June, Kylie is, and rightly so, safeguarding her daughter from exposure. “I wanted to take a break. I feel very protective over her, she is growing and changing every day.” But rest assured the cuteness is just on pause, “I’d love to share with my fans soon,” Kylie promises.

Speaking of family, her mom enters the room and we Facetime her two sisters, Khloé and Kourtney, to trace exactly how Kylie became a makeup mogul who’s changed the beauty business blueprint. And, given that they are the world’s most photographed family, could there be a better way to review Kylie’s billiondollar recipe than through pictures?

Me, My selfie and i

KYLIE Kendall introduced me to Instagram back in 2011. No one was on it at school, so it was just me and her following each other. I uploaded photos of my lifestyle, and didn’t think much about it. I’m more cautious now, but I don’t feel pressured – it’s just me being me. It always has been. Khloé I love that Kylie experimented with makeup. [Especially when she was in] her Goth phase. None of us were like that, so she was kind of rebelling. I think our mom freaked out because she loved dressing us up in bows – and then along came Kylie, who went completely against the grain and did things her own way.

The original glam squad

KYLIE I’ve known Jordyn Woods, Anastasia Karanikolaou and Justine Skye for such a long time. I even taught Jordyn and Stas to do their makeup.

Khloé Makeup has always been Kylie’s world and I’ve learnt lots from her, even though I’m 13 years older. From a young age, she would suggest products for me, or say things like, “You should really contour.” She has such a great eye for other people’s faces, and when she gives you a critique, it’s coming from a helpful place. She’s not trying to sabotage you.

sister, sister

KYLIE There is no one I look up to more than my family. I think life would be completely different if I was in this by myself. My sisters are my security blanket. As soon as one of us gets out of line or goes through something hard, we have one another to ground us again. We also relate to each other a lot more now that we are mothers. Kourtney We’re all very protective, so when people criticise my sisters, it feels worse than if they are doing it to me. But I’ve tried to teach Kylie not to worry about what other people think, and that it’s easy for people to judge from behind a screen. I’m proud of how she handles her fame and what a strong woman she is. Khloé I remember when we started out, people would ask us, “Are you jealous of each other?” And they didn’t believe us when we’d say, “No, we’re not.” We’re never jealous of each other. We’re each other’s biggest cheerleaders, building one another up and being the boost of confidence that person needs. If one sister is succeeding it just makes the rest of us hungrier. It’s a healthy motivation.

Kendall: The chief accomplice

KYLIE Kendall and I have always been partners in crime, digging through our mom’s makeup and running off with our favourites. As a kid, I was obsessed with her Chanel blue and pink sparkly eyeshadow. Kendall used to try to cut my hair. She would say, “We’re going to the playhouse,” take the scissors and then just start cutting my hair off. And, of course, I just listened to her because she was my older sister. We started our clothing line, Kendall + Kylie, in 2015 and I got so comfortable working with her, it made work days easier. But when we started to get older, Kendall was practically living in New York, US, because of her modelling, and it was my time to pursue what was my passion: beauty. We still work on the line together, but I love having my own business where I can be creative on my own, too. Kris They were always playing beauty shop or watching me get ready. Kylie was the lipstick queen, she was forever playing with my lipstick. Kylie and Kendall were always so excited to go somewhere. I started first on the hair with half up, half down, and then it was all about the bows.

school days

KYLIE In 2015, my mom threw me a high school graduation party. It was important for me to have these ‘normal’ milestones as I grew up. It was amazing because, at one point, I didn’t think I’d even graduate. Working on the show, on my collection with Kendall was so much work. After grade nine, my parents decided to homeschool me as we were constantly travelling. It was actually harder as it was just me and a teacher – I couldn’t get away with anything. Kris Around this time, the best piece of advice I gave Kylie was, and still is, “If somebody says no, you’re talking to the wrong person. Just keep trying and never give up.”

red-carpet game changers

KYLIE The Met Gala is always inspiring, but it’s definitely a long process. We do a whole glam test ➻

before the event, and at my first one, in 2016, I spent eight hours in makeup! I only tried on my dress two days before. I was going with Balmain and we flew into New York, and creative director Olivier Rousteing said, “This is cool, you have to wear it!” That was also the birth of the Kylie bob – my short black hair look. We didn’t invent the bob, obviously, but me and my glam team gave it a new name. Kourtney My favourite Kylie beauty moment has to be her blonde Met look from 2017. I also love Kylie with no makeup, with her cute little freckles and long lashes.

from self doubt To billion-dollar beauty icon

KYLIE I had the idea for Kylie Cosmetics two years before it launched. I was super insecure about my lips. I really wanted the illusion of bigger lips, so I overlined mine like crazy, and then people started getting obsessed. Even Kim would get asked what colour my lipstick was in interviews. I put the money I earned from the show and our clothing line into the lip kits. If it didn’t work, I was OK with that; I only really cared about the formula and getting three perfect shades, but then it took off. My biggest wow moment was definitely when it launched – I was constantly ordering more kits; it was an amazing experience. Most importantly, the business has given me a purpose. I love to work, as my mom has instilled such a great work ethic in all of us. If I didn’t have that, I don’t know what I would do. I get to create, it exercises my mind and I’m continually thinking of how to make the formulas or develop new products. Kris One day, Kylie just came to me and said, “I’ve got this all figured out, this is what I want to do.” But she didn’t just give me her idea for the collection, she gave me an entire marketing plan, which was fascinating because she was just 16. She had unbelievable vision. I said, “You better be really sure about this because you’re using your own money; you don’t have an investor, and this is incredibly brave. So, you better pick some lip colours you really like, because it’s either going to be sold out quickly or you’re going to be wearing this lip colour for the rest of your life!” Khloé Kylie has taken an insecurity she had with her lips into something so positive. She didn’t just slap her name on a product. It’s motivational to see how hard she works at just 21, while juggling a baby and a family. I can’t imagine having that level of responsibility at her age, and that’s what makes me proud of her. Turning an insecurity into a beautiful thing is inspirational to anyone.

she’s not a regular MOM, she’s a cool MOM

KYLIE Being a mom hasn’t changed my approach to beauty – I don’t do anything differently. But body wise, it has for sure. Being pregnant takes a toll on your body physically, mentally and emotionally. I think people thought it was super easy for me, and that I bounced back a lot quicker than other people do. But nothing is the same. I can’t fit into my clothes from before, not even one pair of jeans. But when you have your baby, you have the most incredible gift and nothing else matters. I work hard for Stormi, and being able to pass Kylie Cosmetics onto her – if she’s interested – would be such a cool thing to do. Khloé Never in a million years did I ever think that Kylie and I would be pregnant at the same time. It was so special, and now having Chicago, Stormi and True as cousins so close together in age is the coolest thing ever. I hope they get to grow up almost like triplets. Kourtney It’s amazing to see her so in love with her daughter. When you have a child, it makes you want to be the best version of yourself. Kris Watching my children have their own has shown me what great human beings they are; they’re kind, patient, understanding and give so much love. Life is so short, and these precious family moments are everything to us.