In a new series titled Woman Made, VIOLET GREY profiles 50 female beauty entrepreneurs who are considered industry game changers for their individual approach to business.
Each one entered the conversation in her own manner and maintained a steady, if not unparalleled, trajectory with her indomitable spirit.
The pioneers, handpicked by VIOLET GREY, the industry’s beauty edit, will include renowned makeup artist Charlotte Tilbury (founder of Charlotte Tilbury beauty), Jen Atkin (celebrity hairstylist and founder of OUAI), Kristen Noel Crawley (founder of cult lip mask KNC beauty), Emily Weiss (founder of Into The Gloss and Glossier), the Streicher sisters (of the beauty studio STRIIIKE), Rosie Huntington-Whiteley (creator of the cosmetics collection Rosie for Autograph) and Bobbi Brown (author and founder of Bobbi Brown Cosmetics), plus many more.
The first Woman Made profile studies how the all-powerful influence of social media led to Kylie Jenner turning a “teenage insecurity” into the fastest-growing cosmetics empire in the history of the beauty industry.
VIOLET GREY speaks to the 19-year-old Jenner about her disruptive business model, the story behind the sellout success of her “Lip Kit” and mentorship from the unfaltering Kardashian matriarch, Kris Jenner.
How one 19-year-old harnessed the power of her “teenage insecurity” to become a beauty industry game changer?
“I always knew I wanted to create my own lipstick. I said, ‘We need to trademark Kylie Lip Kit’—that was what I wanted to call it. I was obsessed with lips, in general, and making my lips bigger before I got my lips injected.” – stated Kylie.
You could say that Kylie Jenner changed the beauty game in November 2015 with just one Kylie Cosmetics “Lip Kit.” You could also say the markings of an industry shift started before then with a teenage girl whose insecurity (common at that age) was only amplified under the glare of the spotlight tracking the most famous family in the world.
You could say all of that—and it might be true. But the precise moment that rocked the beauty world was the chain reaction caused by the launch announcement of “Lip Kit” on @KylieJenner, which led to a complete sellout on kyliecosmetics.com—all within mere seconds. Her fans opened the doors and gave her a seat at the head of the table in that split-second moment.
Images: Courtesy of Violet Grey
WRITTEN by CASSANDRA HUYSENTRUYT GREY
Photographer: BEN HASSETT @benhassett | Makeup: ARIEL TEJADA @makeupbyariel | Hair: TOKYO STYLEZ @tokyostylez | Nails: Salina Néou @_linadoll | Styled: MONICA ROSE @monicarosestyle | Creative Direction: CASSANDRA HUYSENTRUYT GREY @cassandragrey