An Honest Review Of SKKN By Kim Nude Lip Liners & Lipsticks

KKW Beauty fans, rejoice. Kim Kardashian's beloved nude lip liners and lipsticks are back, but according to the beauty entrepreneur herself, they are better than ever. "I would see all the social media [posts] about everything [fans] wanted to bring back and I made sure we did that times 10. I really think they'll see [it] in the formulas and the packaging. I really hope that they love it just like they did KKW Beauty," Kardashian tells Refinery29 in an interview.

Those fans are now able to shop SKKN By Kim Makeup, a collection of 15 velvety lip liners, 10 smooth, soft matte lipsticks, and one neutral matte eyeshadow palette, packaged in her signature griege color scheme. Just the essentials. "I'm just not trying to do anything that I don't really love and that I wouldn't really use," she shares. For this reason, you're never going to see a bright pink lip or a purple eyeshadow in her color cosmetics line. She knows the haters out there will call it boring or basic, but for Kardashian, keeping things neutral is authentic to her, and she knows that there is a customer base for it.

"We got that the first time with KKW Beauty — we would get, 'Oh, another nude palette, more nude lips' and then it would be our best sellers and they would sell right out," Kardashian says. "You have to do what's true to you. We don't want to put stuff out that doesn't feel right. They can go buy that colored lip or whatever they're looking for from somewhere else. Luckily, my sister makes amazing makeup, so I say, go to KylieCosmetics.com for the colorful stuff if that's what you're looking for," she laughs.

Kardashian also adds that just because SKKN By Kim's color products are in the nude family doesn't mean it was easy to create. "We really put in the work on the shade matching," she says of the 15 shades of lip liner and 10 shades of lipsticks she developed that range from light beiges to deep browns. Fans of KKW Beauty will appreciate that many of the shades that they loved previously can be found in the SKKN By Kim shade range, too — but now, there's more colors to complement everyone. "I really want SKKN to be [about] enhancing your skin. First, starting with skincare, then going into color cosmetics, but still with the idea that it's just going to enhance what you already have."

So, what do we really think of new launches? As someone who is intimately familiar with KKW Beauty's OG offerings, I approached testing the new lip liners and lipsticks with an extremely critical eye. Read on to see what I really think of Kim's 2.0 nudes.

Call me old school, but I love a classic lip liner pencil. Don't get me wrong — I love a gel lip liner, too, but there's something so satisfying about an old school pencil lip liner that you can sharpen when it starts to get dull. But wooden lipliners tend to be dry and can feel chalky on the lip. These lip liners are absolutely not either of those things — they are creamy, extremely pigmented, and glide on really beautifully. It feels comfortable on the lip too, which I appreciate as someone who has chronically dry lips.

What I love most about the lip liner besides the formula itself is the range it comes in. It can be really difficult to find a nude lip liner that matches your natural lip color or complements your skin tone. For me personally, nude lip products can make me look ill. I squealed when I found my perfect nude shade (shade 07, a warm beige) but found myself excited when I tried 03 (which was a little more pink in tone) as well as 10 (which was deeper and had a mauve coloring to it). While I loved the KKW Beauty lip liners, I have to say, Kim really delivered with this 2.0 version. I can definitely see myself wearing these alone or with a gloss on top for a '90s lip look.

I feel that I first need to preface this review with a personal note: I am not a matte lip girlie. I prefer a glossy, juicy, hydrated lip product over a flat matte on any day. And upon first swipe, you can quickly feel that it is, as advertised, a matte lip. That said, it is a gorgeous formula. It is velvety and pigmented, but not drying like some matte lipsticks can be. Similar to the lip liners, Kim really nailed the range of these lipsticks. Shade 01 is a light beige nude, while shade 10 is a rich, deep mahogany. If you love a classic neutral lip, you will love these lipsticks. Because it is a soft matte, I would definitely recommend moisturizing your lip before application to ensure the lipstick glides smoothly onto your lips.

A huge prediction for 2024 makeup trends is that the matte lip will be making a comeback — Kim is usually right about these things, so if we're all trying to keep up, it's probably wise that we pick up one or two of these for our makeup kits.