So, the Kylie Lip Kits are from the same makers of ColourPop
Makeup is so much more than what it makes you look like or how well it works. It's about what it makes you feel. Even if you're a casual makeup user, what you put on for the day reflects what you want to feel like. Natural, bright, and professional like Bobbi Brown? Trendy and intense like MAC? Sublime and elegant but with an edge, like NARS? Practical but classy, like L'Oreal? Brands sell more than product. They also sell an image that you buy to feel like a different, better version of yourself in varying degrees.
As such, this image - a story, if you may - is part of the price you pay when you purchase a piece of makeup. The more expensive a product is, the stronger the brand has to be in order to justify the cost. Formulation and packaging are better than cheaper versions, but for many of us the difference to cover the jump in pricing is not enough. Brands have to be able to convince us that a 30 dollar lipstick is better than a six dollar one.
There's a squad of strategies they use to capture our imagination. One of them is simply putting a name on it - could be a person with decades of beauty expertise (Bobbi Brown, Laura Mercier, Elizabeth Arden, Francois Nars, Estee Lauder etc.), a celebrity, or even something as abstract as a narrative that their market can intensely relate with (MAC, Urban Decay, Benefit, Happy Skin, etc.).
So don't be surprised that Kylie Lip Kits, which sell for 29 dollars, are almost identical to ColourPop liquid lipsticks which are only 6 dollars. The founders of the manufacturing company admitted to it already, which of course made some people feel salty because they've been "duped" into buying (or even just wanting) something so expensive when they could've gotten it for much less.
But think of it this way: if people just wanted a superb formula in pretty colors, then there are so many cheaper products out there to love. Perhaps they already even own a few! If they wanted to be cool(er) though - someone who owns a sold-out color at a certain price level, hand-picked by one of the most famous celebrities in the world - then they get exactly that in a Kylie kit.
Will I buy one for myself? I've been sent a couple, and I loved the formula of the lip liner and liked the liquid lipstick well enough. Magazine editors, beauty biz owners, and other friends never fail to ask what my lip color is even if they didn't know it was the coveted Kylie Lip Kit! At 29 dollars, they're not too bad since each product is essentially just 14.50 dollars (outside of shipping and taxes). You can even buy the lip liner and liquid lippie separately now at 14 usd!
But at local reseller prices, well, only get it if you badly want it. At P2,200- P2,500, you must be totally into the cool factor of the product before it makes sense. Otherwise, just get a ColourPop lippie. Or a Sleek Matte Me at P450. Or even Pink Sugar at P349. There are options. Go for the one that makes you feel the way you want to feel, is my advice.
