[INFLUENCER REVIEW] Mediocre millionaire products – millions of followers keep Kylie Jenner’s brand afloat

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Fair Use Image: @kyliejenner on Instagram

CRAFTING AN EMPIRE. Kylie utilizes her massive Instagram following to promote the launch of new products, such as Kylie Cosmetics’ new clean and vegan makeup formulas, which she first teased via Instagram in late June 2021.

Balenciaga, Bentleys, and beauty products; all things that you’ll find lavishly displayed on Instagram mogul Kylie Jenner’s feed.

The now 24-year-old mom of two got her start on her family’s hit show Keeping Up with the Kardashians, which she first appeared on when she was just nine years old. At the age of 14, Kylie started building her brand through collaborations and the launch of a clothing line with her sister, Kendall Jenner. What really catapulted Kylie’s career, however, was the 2015 release of her now-famous Kylie Lip Kits, a liquid lipstick and liner duo that helps users achieve the perfect Kylie Jenner pout for just $29. After rebranding her expanding makeup line under the name Kylie Cosmetics, the business mogul and growing internet superstar began releasing a series of other products and business ventures, including Kylie Skin, Kylie Baby, and most recently, Kylie Swim.

When these products are promoted by the infamous Kardashian-Jenner clan, it’s easy to get swept up in the glamor of it all without stopping to ask if Kylie’s products, or even her brand as a whole, are really worth the time and money.

Let’s start with her Instagram account: Kylie Jenner is the second most followed person on the app with around 315 million followers on her personal account and a total of 348.6 million followers, including all of her brand-specific accounts. Her feed mainly consists of promotions for her newest products, photos and videos of her family, snippets of her ridiculously fabulous life (i.e. expensive clothes, shoes, and accessories), and most recently, her second pregnancy.

While these lavish posts are fun to look at, the items and experiences that she displays are rather unattainable for the rest of the population. Kylie has also continuously come under fire for photoshopping her Instagram photos in order to enhance her face and her body. Numerous posts have been filled with comments such as: “It’s so annoying how much she edits herself. Embarrassing and downright not necessary,” “Stop photoshopping!… Just be you if the world doesn’t like it, it’s ok,” or simply “photoshop fail.”

As for Kylie’s products themselves, her cosmetic collections all seem to have average ratings. Reviewers either praise the brand for selling the best products they’ve ever used or scold the brand for selling mediocre products that are accompanied by even worse customer service and a finicky no returns policy. Many reviewers on TrustPilot cited damaged products or missing packages in their reviews of the brand, adding that customer service refused to do anything about it even after multiple calls and emails. One reviewer wrote, “Never received my order. I contacted them multiple times, by email & phone, but they never got back to me. I spent over $200 on products for them to not show up, then had no chance of getting my money back. I won’t be shopping on this website again,” while another said, “This whole company is just a big cash grab.”

Reviewers either praise the brand for selling the best products they’ve ever used or scold the brand for selling mediocre products that are accompanied by even worse customer service and a finicky no returns policy.

However, it should be emphasized that when customers do have a good experience with customer service or don’t feel the need to return products, the items garner a lot of praise. One Kylie Skin user said that the line’s products left their skin feeling “refreshed, tighter and clearer,” while a purchaser of a Kylie Lip Kit said that the product was “Amazing” and is their “new favorite lip [product].”

But the launch of Kylie Swim in 2021 dealt some major blows to the brand’s already shaky reputation. For months, Kylie had teased the brightly colored swimsuits and sarongs on Instagram, sharing pictures of herself and several other models dressed to the nines. But once customers started to receive their products, they raced to the internet to express their disgust and disappointment in the products’ quality or lack thereof. Several TikTok videos cited issues with stitching, see-through fabric, and the suits being made for unrealistic body types as reasons why they were unhappy with their purchases. Almost all of these review videos criticized Kylie for even launching the products knowing that the quality was so bad, saying that Kylie and her brand had a “lack of integrity” and calling the products “a big mistake.”

So what’s the final verdict? Are Kylie Jenner’s products, or even just her Instagram feed, worth the time and money? Skip buying any of her products unless you have some cash to spare and are willing to take the risk of getting a mediocre product or engaging in a battle with customer service.

As for her Instagram account, as long as you acknowledge that her photos are most likely edited and that the lifestyle she’s promoting isn’t a standard you should be holding yourself to, following her account can be entertaining. After all, who wouldn’t mind a glimpse into a luxurious family vacation or what it’s like to run a multi-million dollar business?

Overall Brand Rating: ★★★

Want more of Kylie Jenner?
Check out her Instagram account here
Watch her YouTube videos here
Buy her products here

If you’re not a big fan of Kylie’s products but want something similar, check out Anastasia Beverly Hills for cosmetics, Too Faced for lip product duos, Glow Recipe for skincare, or Frankie’s Bikinis for swimwear.