by Elizabeth Brenner
Contributing Writer
Kylie Jenner. Her name conjurers all types of images and words including “Kylie Lip Kits”. I will admit for a while I didn’t see the big deal about her cosmetics, and to be honest, I really assumed she had just slapped her name on there and I would be paying basically for her brand and not quality products. However, once I tried it I finally understood. I found out that the actual makeup is, generally, very good quality and the prices are reasonable in comparison to prestigious brands at Sephora and Ulta.
Lets’ start with the company and the customer service:
I have had some issues with the quality of the packaging such as the lip gloss container coming cracked. Their customer service department is horrible. You may remember a while back it took Jeffreee Starr, who has his own line (which had a better policy, in my opinion) speaking out on behalf of consumers, for Kylie Cosmetics to address an issue with their brushes. Not only does customer service take a long time to respond, but they also have about every excuse possible on why a damaged product or a product that came dried-out and unusable can’t be replaced or exchanged. A recent order where the lip gloss container came with cracks in multiple places could not be exchanged or replaced because it supposedly does not have anything to do with the gloss. A container that is cracked when it is supposed to be brand new isn’t exactly great, especially when purchased as a gift. I have no way of knowing if any micro particles made it into the gloss rendering it unsafe. I am also paying for a new product that should look pristine. Even if it is just cosmetic, it still makes you wonder how it is handled prior to shipping.
Return Policy:
Then there’s the return policy, or rather lack thereof. You can’t return or exchange anything regardless of it was opened or previously tested. So, if you buy something you have to make sure that you actually want it. Given how good the cosmetics are, they might want to change that policy. I think Kylie’s name will only carry the products so far. Kylie Cosmetics is now being sold at Ulta, where you can return products you have bought and tried.
The products and their presentation:
Kylie started out with just lip kits, but has expanded to items such as highlighters and eyeshadows. Kylie’s lip products are matte, glossy and velvet. My favorite lip product she sells is the high gloss. It is very moisturizing and the colors compliment every skin tone.
For a long time I didn’t try her eyeshadows. In my opinion, they were slightly pricey and the fact that you couldn’t return the items was a huge turn off. But now that Ulta carries a variety of her products including the eyeshadowaws, I decided to give it a try. I found the eyeshadow, or rather KyShadow, to be smooth, highly pigmented, easily blendable and AMAZING. I am in love with the palette. It is probably one of the best shadows I have ever tried, and definitely the best shadow formula when it comes to blending.
However, I do have one concern. Most companies have been using people of different skin colors to promote different shades of their products from very fair, light, tan brown and darker brown, or at least fair, tan and brown. Kylie Cosmetic website generally has two models, either brown/dark skinned, or fair, making it hard to judge colors. Furthermore, there isn’t a general swatch of the colors against the skin like what all the other companies do. Instead, it just shows the products on the lips or a general swatch against a white background.
Lip kits:
She has a variety of lip kits including lip liners, lip glosses and lip sticks. Depending on the product, the prices are slightly lower than Urban Decay, Too Faced and other prestige brands at Sephora and Ulta. The shipping however is around 8 dollars, so it balances out. Traditional kits are $29. This includes a lip stick and lip gloss, so using “girl math” you are actually only paying $14.50 for each which is a steal! The velvet color formula is one of my particular favorites. It goes on smooth and is not as drying as the matte colors can be.
Kylie has two different types of glosses; regular glosses and high glosses
The regular glosses are not sticky but smooth, and are more opaque than the high gloss. I found Posie K to be one of my favorite. Somehow it always looks different on everyone, but I found this shade of pink to be very flattering. The high glosses are amazing. For example, crystal, which is a clear gloss made to be non sticky and extremely moisturizing. They have great colors; basically on the shimmer side, but they are fantastic!
Kylie’s lipsticks are great. They are smooth and apply evenly. The colors are opaque and stay on nicely.
Is there hype around it simply because because of her name? Yes. Does she take advantage of it? Yes. She would be a bad business woman not to. I believe that the products in general are of good quality, but the only downside is the customer service, and the lack of a exchange/return policy. Still, A good product is a good product. If you are going to spend good money on a product you should make sure you are getting your money’s worth. I believe that at Kylie Cosmetics you do get your money’s worth and in fact, in some cases I like Kylie’s products better than brands such as Urban Decay and Too Faced.