Kylie Jenner on Plastic Surgery, Her Lip Kit, and the Perfect Selfie
Kylie Jenner debuts her Lip Kit by Kylie, here wearing True Brown K. (Photo: Lip Kit by Kylie)
Just eight hours after posting her first Instagram, Kylie Jenner’s @lipkitbykylie account had more than 261,000 followers. On day two, there were over 416,000. When the Lip Kit launched on Monday, it sold out in under a minute and the site crashed. (Sources tell us there are more shipments to come, so if you didn’t get your hands on one you can breathe easy — or you can try to snag one on eBay, where one Kit is currently going for $1,150.) To celebrate the momentous occasion, Jenner invited a handful of beauty bloggers, editors, and influencers to her family’s LA Dash boutique for a launch party, complete with lip-shaped candy and personalized Sprinkles cupcakes. There, we spoke to the newly green-haired member of the Kardashian-Jenner clan about when she first started experimenting with makeup, how it felt to surpass her sisters on social media, where she gets her confidence, and what future plastic surgery plans she may have.
Kathryn Romeyn: When did you first become interested in makeup and beauty?
Kylie Jenner: I’ve always enjoyed [it]. Literally ever since I was really young and I would look up YouTube videos online and just try to do my makeup the best I could. And I was always getting my makeup done, so I feel like I was always learning tricks from the makeup artists and stuff.
Who first taught you to do makeup? One of your sisters, or your mom?
I taught myself, honestly. Who helped me a lot was Khloe, because Khloe’s always been great at makeup. When I was younger I just wanted to wear makeup all the time. And my mom is way tanner than me, so I would sneak into her makeup kit and I was using her foundation but it was way too orange and so not my color. And I was seven and I went out and Khloe was like, ‘Are you wearing makeup right now?’ And I was like, ‘No…’ She was like, ‘Kylie it’s not your color.’
Most celebrities wouldn’t dare to do their own makeup. But you’re one of the few who does and is amazing at it. Have you ever thought about being a makeup artist?
I feel like I would want to be a makeup artist if I wasn’t already doing what I’m doing. I have so much on my plate.
How often do you do your own makeup versus using your glam squad?
I like to do my own makeup if I’m not doing an event because I just know how I like it, but if I’m doing an event or something like this, then I for sure want to get my makeup done.
Jenner wearing Lip Kit by Kylie in Dolce K. (Photo: Instagram)
How long does it take to do it yourself?
It depends what I’m doing. It can take anywhere from 10 minutes to an hour and a half.
What’s your favorite product for hydrating your lips or prepping for your lipstick?
I just like to use any Chapstick, honestly, and I just soak it into my lips. Because the thing about matte lipsticks is they can get drying after a few hours, but they’re so great because they stay on all day every day, but you definitely need a Chapstick in your bag just in case.
What inspired you to make the Lip Kit? Is it your personal can’t-leave-home-without-it item?
I can’t leave home without it. I just feel like I went to lip liners as a security thing and I would always over-line my lips, and I couldn’t go out of the house without a lip liner or lipstick, so I feel like my fans and followers kind of knew me for that. And every time I would tell everybody what color I was using and then go back in to buy more it’d be completely sold out. And at stores, it’s like, ‘Oh, you want the Kylie Jenner lip color? This is exactly what she uses,’ and they’ll just say whatever. So I’m like, I’m going to take matters into my own hands and just make my own. So I don’t have to run out.
What was the process like of developing the three Lip Kit colors? I know you were very hands-on.
Honestly, I really am passionate about it and wanted to be super involved. It’s all me. I put everything into this. I’m not doing it for anybody else. I was visiting factories and seeing exactly how it’s made, piece-by-piece, and just sitting with the chemist and figuring out. I would give them an example of what I wanted and they would make it, and then I’d sit there and try it on, then I’d be like, ‘Ah, it needs more gray or it needs more pink or this.’ And then they’d go back and I’d wait there for 15 minutes, and they’d make a whole new one right in front of me. I changed my mind a million times with what I wanted, but it’s cool and it’s fun. I already have ideas for new things I want to do.
The Lip Kit by Kylie is available in three shades. (Photo: Instagram)
The colors, especially the brown, are somewhat retro — almost ’90s. Was that intentional? What’s your favorite?
Yeah, I feel like I’ve been known and made the neutral colors really popular so it’s kind of my thing and I felt like I needed to do it. I think I like Candy K [the best]. But it’s definitely picking between my kids.
Growing up did you always feel confident in your looks and body?
Yeah, I was always confident. I never felt, like, ugly I guess. I always felt good about myself. But everyone has their insecurities.
What did you feel insecure about? Did you compare yourself to your sisters, or other people?
I would compare myself to my sisters all the time. I’d be like, 12, and my sisters are bombshells and so pretty. So I feel like every human does that.
What’s your advice for trying to boost your confidence? What makes you confident?
What makes me confident is honestly doing whatever I want to do. Like today I really wanted green hair. Everyone was like, ‘Don’t do that. Just do blue hair or something.’ And I’m like, ‘You guys, this is what I need to do for myself.’ And I just like to do different things and explore with my look, and I feel like I change my style all the time and it makes me feel good. So if you’re feeling a little not confident, maybe try cutting your hair, or dyeing it, or just doing something different.
Your sisters and mom have been open about plastic surgery, and you’ve talked about your lip injections. What are your feelings about plastic surgery, and would you ever do more?
I’m not against it, I just don’t crave it right now. I’ve never been under the knife or put down or anything, which honestly scares me. But if it came to the point where I really wanted something I’m not against anything. I just don’t want to do anything right now.
A recent selfie posted to Jenner’s Instagram account. (Photo: Instagram)
You’ve gained so many social media followers in the last year and blown up on Instagram. How does it feel? Was it surprising?
It was very unexpected to surpass Kendall on Instagram and stuff. I never ever thought. Kendall used to be like three million followers ahead of me. And I just one day woke up, like I have more followers than Kendall now and they just keep growing.
And your app had more subscribers than Kim’s!
Number one, yeah. It’s so awesome. I feel like I just get really personal with my fans, and I’m always on Snapchat and I teach everybody the things that I know or just beauty tips, so it’s cool.
What’s your routine for taking selfies? Do you take them yourself?
I take so many selfies. I usually like photos when other people take them. I don’t really edit and filter that much. I haven’t been into over-editing or anything like that. Good lighting is very important.
Related:
