Is Kylie Jenner’s $30 Lip Kit Just A Rebrand Of A Much Cheaper Product? We Take A Look At White Labelling To Find Out

Kylie Jenner’s hotly-anticipated new lip kit sold out a mere 30 seconds after its launch, but almost as quickly as it flew off the virtual shelves of Kylie’s website, came the claims that Kylie’s $30 product was simply a white label re-brand of ColourPop’s Ultra Matte Lips, which retail at $6.

Vlogger NikkieTutorials took to Twitter claiming Kylie’s product had been white-labelled: “Let’s say you want the lip kits but not spend the money, pay close attention to ColourPop’s “Clueless”, “Beeper” and “Bimbo” #KylieLipKit,” she tweeted. “A little birdie told me Kylie’s lip kits are just re-branded ColourPop liquid lipsticks sold for $30.”

So, what is white labelling?

Put simply, a white-label product is a product that’s manufactured by one company, which is then packaged, marketed and sold by another company under a different brand name, and in many cases a much higher price point. The end product appears as though it’s been made by the marketer when it’s actually been created by the manufacturing company.

“It’s very popular in the USA, where the laws are not as strict as the EU,” explains make-up artist Nicki Buglewiwicz. “In many cases not the same level of care goes into design and for example checking if the product is cruelty-free or animal-testing free.”

Is it a big deal?

Well, yes and no. If you love having the latest, celebrity-endorsed product and you’re happy to drop the extra spends to get your hands on it, then no. If on the other hand, you feel ripped off that you’re getting essentially the same product at a much higher price point, then yes, white-labelling is a surefire way of peeving you off.

For Nicki, “White labelling equals no design or care. Most companies enter huge warehouses and cherry pick all products. It’s a cheaper way to source materials and a lot of celebrities and hair salons market their own products in this way. Worryingly, in the US a lot of harmful ingredients can go into cosmetics without strict testing too.”

As for Kylie’s Lip Kits, neither Kylie, her team or ColourPop have commented on the similarities between their products, but many people on Twitter reckon the resemblance is uncanny. 

Speaking of the similarities, Desi Perkins, a make-up artist who attended the launch of Kylie’s Lip Kits had this to say: “The shades are dupes, VERY SIMILAR! True Brown K has brown undertones and Limbo has red undertones. But the formulas are VERY DIFFERENT!”

She then went on to test both swatches on her hand, showing that while Kylie’s product smudged when rubbed, the ColourPop liquid completely crumbled away.

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Here’s a look at swatches from both products. What do you think?

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• Kylie Jenner