Photo: Instagram.com/kimkardashian
After parting ways with her estranged husband Kanye West in a legal battle, it’s no big surprise, that Kim Kardashian is trying as much as possible to rename her KKW brands. It was reported in December last year that the reality star “will relaunch KKW Beauty” without the letter “W’ as a mark of independence from Kanye West.
However, on the first day of June, Kim officially announced the rebranding with SKKN BY KIM, a skincare line that comes with a rejuvenating and refillable nine products. “I’m excited to finally introduce to you SKKN BY KIM, a rejuvenating nine-product skincare ritual that I have developed from start to finish,” she wrote in a press release posted on Instagram.
As per the statement, the reality star is particularly involved in the production process, having gathered all the knowledge of skincare from world-renowned dermatologists. “I’ve been so privileged to learn about skin and skin care over the years from the world’s top dermatologists and estheticians, and every bottle from my new line is filled with the knowledge I’ve accumulated along the way.”
Photo: Instagram.com/kimkardashian She continued: “You will experience refillable packaging, and clean, science-backed ingredients designed to nourish all skin types, tones, and textures at all stages of maturity. I created this line so that everyone can feel confident in their skin, and I can’t wait to finally be able to share it with you!”
However, as the excitement is palpable amongst the Kardashian fans, Kim is also receiving a serious backlash for the similarity of her line’s name to that of two Black-owned beauty brands: SKKN+ and Lori Harvey’s skin-care line SKN by LH. Twitter users have called out the mother-of-four with a claim that she’s stealing the name from Lori Harvey, who launched the SKN by LH in 2021.
Kim naming her skincare brand SKKN when Lori Harvey’s skincare brand name is SKN doesn’t sit right with me. Seems like they’re stealing from a black woman for the thousandth time.
— kay (@makaylamdavis) June 1, 2022
SKKN by Kim?? What happened to SKN by Lori Harvey??? One thing the Kardashians gon do is take from black women chileee, pic.twitter.com/aWxS7MuFRi
— bigLo (@CallMeBigLo) June 1, 2022
So Lori Harvey launched a skincare line called SKN and not long after that Kim K launches a skin care line with the same/similar products called SKKN???? One thing the Kardashian’s will always do is steal from black culture/creators for a profit
— Erin Cella (@ErinCella) June 3, 2022
https://twitter.com/BecahJayy/status/1532035109167108096?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1532035109167108096%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.harpersbazaar.com%2Fbeauty%2Fskin-care%2Fa40167680%2Fkim-kardashian-relaunching-skincare-line-skkn-by-kim%2F
Uhhh sounds close to SKN By Lori Harvey. Awkward😬 https://t.co/pv3ivzmAfb
— Ashley Wash (@ashleyulloaa) June 1, 2022
Harvey explained to Vogue the need for SKN by LH, which she cited her struggle with rosacea and the challenge of finding the right products for the skin disease. “I have rosacea and would struggle to find the right products to use,” she told Vogue in October 2021. “Then I got into modeling, and between shoots and backstage at runway shows you have so much makeup being put on your face. My skin was constantly going through it. So after using, like, 20 different products on my face at one time, I felt like there had to be a simpler way for me to get my skin looking the way I wanted it to.”
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There are no words from Harvey regarding the controversies surrounding the SKKN BY KIM. But Forbes had, in August 2021 reported that aesthetician Cyndie Lunsford filed a cease and desist letter after Kardashian’s Kimsaprincess Inc. filed to trademark “SKKN” for her upcoming beauty line.
Back in August 2021, Forbes reported that aesthetician Cyndie Lunsford filed a cease and desist letter after Kardashian’s Kimsaprincess Inc. filed to trademark “SKKN” for her upcoming beauty line. According to Lunsford’s legal team, Lunsford established SKKN+ in 2018 and filed for a trademark of her own in 2021. Documents show that Lunsford filed for the trademark on March 28, 2021.
“I have painstakingly built my successful small business with my own sweat equity, hard work, and research. It’s clear that I established my brand first,” Lunsford said in an email to Forbes at the time. “As a young black woman, my mission with SKKN+ is to provide quality skincare and curated full-body experiences to enhance each client’s self-care regimen. The (+) represents a hands-on transformative aesthetic experience that elevates the body, mind, and spirit.”
Her attorney Erik M. Pelton further added, “It is hard to believe that Kardashian’s team either did not know about the prior use of SKKN+ or knew and adopted the SKKN brand name anyways to steamroll a small minority business.”
However, Kim has yet to address the name war but for sure, SKKN by K is set for the launch on June 21 on SKKNBYKIM.COM.
