Kylie Jenner’s Beauty Empire: How the Mogul Built Her Fortune

Only a Few women have made history in the beauty industry like Kylie Jenner. Soon after launching her makeup business, she became one of the youngest billionaires ever. Her cosmetics company, Kylie Cosmetics, hit the $1 billion mark in 2019 after only four years in business.

If you’re looking to invest in a startup, you should take a page from Kylie’s book, no matter the industry. So let’s take a trip down memory lane to see how she built her lucrative beauty brand before taking a peek into her upcoming endeavors.

From a $29 Lip Kit to a $1.2 Billion Cosmetics Company

Kylie Jenner founded Kylie Cosmetics in 2014 but launched her first product line a year later when she turned 18. She owned 100% of the company at the time.
Thanks to her social media reach and influence, the entire world knew about her new makeup business long before she made the first sale.

And then came the long-awaited $29 Kylie Lip Kit, consisting of a liquid lipstick and a matching lip liner. It sold out in minutes, making the company work at full steam to make a new batch and meet consumer demand.

In 2016, Kylie launched a set of eye shadows, naming it the Kyshadow palette. The sales went up again, so she continued expanding the line with sets of makeup brushes and bags.
To promote her brand beyond social media, she started setting up pop-up shops nationwide.
In 2017, she introduced her Kylighter, a set of makeup highlighters.

Around that time, less than two years after the launch, her cosmetics company had made $420 million in sales.
Thanks to that incredible success, she made the Forbes 100 list of the highest-paid celebrities, being the youngest one ever to join it.
Next year, she treated her loyal fans with a mobile app to streamline their shopping experience. In 2019, she expanded her beauty brand even further by launching a skincare line, Kylie Skin.

Becoming the Youngest Self-Made Billionaire

After four busy years, Kylie had already built a powerful beauty empire. With a $900 million net worth at the time, she made another Forbes list, this time as one of America’s Richest Self-Made Women.

Being only 20 at the time, she became a household name. Everyone was talking about the “youngest self-made billionaire” that trumped even Mark Zuckerberg, who became one at 23.

Soon after, Kylie Cosmetics hit $1 billion, which was an estimate for 2022.

But is she a self-made billionaire, really?

She was born into wealth and became world-famous years before her makeup business was on the horizon. Thanks to “Keeping Up with the Kardashians,” “Life of Kylie,” and her entire family’s fame, Kylie had no problems building her online presence, expanding her reach, and supercharging her sales.

Then again, she did build her brand on her own. However, it was her unique connection with social media followers and other fans that turned her into a beauty mogul and helped her make a fortune.

Team-Ups and Retail Partnerships

Even superheroes need help sometimes, right? Kylie has teamed up with many collaborators over the years, which helped lift purchase intent.

She joined forces with Khloé Kardashian, Kim Kardashian, and Kris Jenner for several makeups and fragrance collections. She also teamed up with fashion designer Olivier Rousteing for the Kylie x Balmain Collection.

Her most notable retail partnerships include Topshop and Ulta Beauty, which led to many successful pop-up shows nationwide.

Not to mention that she endorses various reputable brands, such as Adidas, Puma, Quay Australia, and PacSun.

Growing the Empire

Kylie Jenner is nothing if not ambitious, resourceful, assertive, and forward-thinking. Most of all, she’s passionate about her beauty business, which is why she keeps climbing to the top.

In November 2019, Kylie sold a 51% stake in her cosmetics company to Coty Inc. in a $600 million deal, intending to expand the business globally. At the time, her beauty powerhouse was estimated at $1.2 billion.

But not having 100% ownership doesn’t mean she’s any less invested in the brand. She has an upcoming hair care line and plans to get into baby products. Her empire keeps growing, and its future looks incredibly bright.

Conclusion

Kylie Jenner is an inspiration to women worldwide.  Anyone who is starting a new business or is trying to grow their existing company value, has a lot to learn from this young entrepreneur.  I would recommend following the beauty stock Coty which is one of the top-performing companies in the beauty sector, thanks to Kylie.