I got a nice tan on my right arm, thanks to Kim Kardashian!
I had a big post reviewing Kylie’s Pop Up Store in San Francisco. I might as well pay a visit to her sister’s pop up while on vacation in Los Angeles! It was my birthday, so why not spend the day shopping? My first stop was the KKW store in Century City Mall. I didn’t do much research like I should have, therefore, I didn’t know to expect that part of the mall was outdoors… particularly the KKW Pop Up and the nice outdoor section just for the line! So I didn’t put on my sun block on my body. I waited in line for two hours!
Getting there, the line didn’t look terrible, but was long enough to make me groan about spending the better part of my birthday standing in the sun. I hate standing in lines, wasting my time. But I was there, and it’s not like I live nearby, so I might as well.
The line should have moved faster since they had a 10 minute limit inside the store and they let in 3 groups at a time. I felt like people weren’t going in, but the line kept condensing anyway. That was something we all noticed!
“We seem to be moving, yet no one is going inside or leaving!”
A lot of people walking by, stopped by and asked what we were in line for. These ladies pretty much cut in line two groups ahead of me. The people right in front of me were like, “We should have said something…” Yeah, it was definitely unfair to them. We all stood in this tortuous line for two hours, getting burned and those ladies walked right in! Very annoying.
If you were toward the beginning of the line, the staff would hand you order forms so you knew what to expect and also save time. As you can see, there aren’t a lot of products. Also if you do plan on going, it is credit card only. Wear sunblock, comfortable shoes and bring your credit card and a pen to mark off what you are buying.
It was definitely a small store and couldn’t fit as many people as the Kylie store. It was pretty much a U-counter with the products on display. They had duplicates on either side and met in the middle. So 2 different people or groups could look at the makeup comfortably. On the walls of the store were jumbo replicas of the makeup. One of their rules was that we were not to touch them, as if we were children. But I guess if they have to tell us, someone put their greasy hands and left prints on them. They were fun art installations, and make for nice backgrounds to pose with your friends.
Like Kylie’s store, the windows were blocked so that passersby could not look into the store. Probably to protect to privacy of Kim and Mario when they came to visit. As the photo shows, the store is blocked by her signature nude colored doors with the cutout “KKW”. Inside the cutout you could see inside a wall that had a light installation that said “Beauty”. The security would direct your group to either side of that wall to start your KKW journey. It’s not a long journey, they’re trying to prevent a cluster fuck so you can actually interact with the displays.
The store was very dimly lit and the displays backlit, and it made for terrible lighting for swatches, but I am including them so I do hope they are somewhat helpful to someone. I could have tried adjusting the white balance, but I had to hurry because there were other customers, and I was being rushed by someone who wanted to leave. I did try to adjust the Levels in Photoshop, I am no Levels expert but I did my best.
Each of the store’s designs reflected each sister. Kim’s style is very polished and refined. (And nude.) Her store was very cleanly laid out, with a calming ambiance. The store played music, but wasn’t too loud. And the signature nude color she uses on her packaging was used throughout the store and on the bags. Kylie’s store was definitely more fun. It was bright, well lit, had TV screens promoting the line. She had a lot more to look at, combining her cosmetic line and her apparel and accessories. (Also some really fun employees to chat with! Love to Daniel!) You also had a 30 minute limit at Kylie’s store, but there were so many customers that one would really know anyway.
The first on display was her newest collection: KKW x Argenis
The creme color sticks were exposed to the air, therefore drying out. And they embarrassingly kept breaking off as I was swatching them. The security guard had to go get them replaced. Oops! And no, its not that the product is bad. That would happen to any brand’s product because they’re supposed to be kept air tight. But you know, they had to be open on the display. So the swatches aren’t great because they were dried and broke off. But as you keep them, you’ll have them stored properly and they should glide on smoothly. Tighten your caps and you’ll be cool.
I thought I had swatched the KKW X Mario palette, but I don’t seem to have any photographic evidence of it. The palette obviously looks great, who doesn’t wear neutrals? As as a makeup artist, Mario is going to release a palette with colors that he will actually use on his clients, and then the blue! I tend to automatically pass on palettes with blue even though it’s my favorite color. The influencers that attended her launch party had to incorporate the rich blue into their looks.
The wall display had a giant replica of the KKW X Mario palette and it moved like those sand art toys. On the opposite wall, were giant replicas of the concealer line. And on the very back wall, at the register were large displays of her perfumes. As seen in the photos of this blog post.
I had been curious about the Kylie x KKW set of four lip colors since they came out. They may have looked okay on me, except for the yellowy second one. But it wasn’t very exciting for me personally. The set for four Kylie X KKW creme liquid lipsticks are $45.
I’m not much for nude and neutral lipsticks. So there was nothing I really liked from the KKW Creme Lipstick collection. It’s just my personal style choice, there isn’t anything wrong with neutral lip colors. The individual creme lipsticks are $18. The entire set is $144.
Knowing how great Kylie’s lip liners are, I should have made a mental note to look at Kim’s liners. But they’re so small that I forgot and must have passed them by on the display! Even though I don’t care for neutral lips, I wouldn’t pass on a neutral colored lip liner. In fact, I should be stocking up because they actually help you cheat your lips to look bigger. Seriously, check out makeup artist Ariel’s tip. This video is on Shay Mitchell’s You Tube Channel, and he also works a lot with Kylie Jenner. Well, that should be my next post, a review on Kylie’s lip liners. They’re my favorite.
I thought since I stood in line so painfully long that I better get more than one item to make it worth the wait. I chose to get the Highlighter Palette I. I really liked how it swatched and I had been wanting the Kylie Wet Set palette and it looked similar. The price points are different, $62 vs KKW’s $44. I assume the formulas are different and Kylie’s might be more cream based. I have been wearing KKW’s everyday since buying it, so it’s safe to say that I have been enjoying this palette. It looks luminous and not glittery. It’s no blinding Jeffree Star highlight, but there is certainly room for blinding highlights and glowy highlights on my face. Bring them all on!
I think Highlighter Palette II is also really gorgeous. Obviously they’re mostly too dark for me to be used on my cheekbones, but as eyeshadow I would use this. And if I were a professional makeup artist, I would have these both in my kits, especially for bridal! These would be amazing in any bridal toolkit!
The liquid concealers looked really good and I found a color that actually could be a good match for my skin tone. They’re pretty yellow-toned, but on me it works. (I am part Asian and Mexican, I have a yellow undertone.) But I was trying to keep within a budget and I had just gotten Kylie’s. But they are worth a try, but you will want to swatch them in person so you know what will good a good match. You seriously cannot tell looking on her website. I swatched the lighter colors because showing you darker colors on my own NC15 probably isn’t going to help anyone. They should be swatched in order in which they were displayed. They go for $18 each. The jumbo ones on the wall, probably cost more, but you’re going to have trouble getting any concealer out of them. And you might want to unplug them because the lights will probably burn you.
I was glad to go to the pop up even though I got burned waiting in line for two hours! I left my Anastasia cream contour stick at home! I pre-pack weeks in advance but I took it out to use it the weekend before and forgot to put it back in the train case. I almost went to Universal City Walk to go to the Sephora to get a new one! Then I thought, “how ridiculous, I brought my contour powder palette” Knowing I was going to KKW, I knew she had cream contour sticks and to swatch them. Thankfully Light II worked out. It’s much warmer than my usual ABH Fawn, but I am still happy with how it looks.
Contour stick in Light II looks cool compared to the rest of the swatches, but is actually warm next to ABH Fawn. (The second swatch pictured.) There is room for both of those on my face! Since getting home, I have been using the warmer KKW stick on my forehead temples and nose, and the cooler ABH one in the hollows on my cheeks and jawline. But I need to chill on using them because it’s not a whole ton of product!
Unfortunately I didn’t swatch all the highlighter sticks. I was already in the middle and the tissues and makeup removers were on the side and I didn’t want to lose my spot because more people were coming in. And did I mention I was being rushed by someone who didn’t want to be there? Cause I was being rushed. Not by the staff or security, they were fine! Remember how I listed what to bring? Here’s what not to bring: your boyfriend. haha!
The cream contour sets were the first products she released with her brand. You know what these look like…
I didn’t want to spend $48 on the entire set, even though it would have been nice to have four additional colors in my arsenal. I am glad she had individual colors for sale, just to save the dough. Kim pretty much saved me from having a flat face that entire trip. I am grateful for my contour stick! Okay, okay I had my contour powder palette and matte bronzers, but I like to layer for longevity. And I used it and felt better about having it.
If you were interested in her perfumes, you want to go to the actual store to smell her fragrances because who can even tell online? NO ONE, that’s who! They sold out online so quickly, but I guess that’s the power she holds over her fans. They don’t know what it smells like, but they will drop $$ on it anyway. If only I could hold such power.
They scents seemed very high quality, but none of the scents were for me. I would have liked to have tried the Valentine’s Day collection, which wasn’t at the store for obvious reasons. I wonder if I would have liked them better. I think I forgot to smell the crystal collection. They were on the back wall, next to the checkout counter, so I didn’t drift toward there until I was paying. I definitely forgot to go check out the Body perfume. It looked like an art installation that I shouldn’t go in.
And according to the beauty news, Kim is coming out with three new fragrances. One in cherry packaging and one in a peach. I like fruit scents and would prefer to try them before buying. There is a third one but the top note is watermelon, which is not for me. Those 3 new fragrances will be at the Pop Up shop on July 14th. (Also online)
I would expect a line to get in on the 14th, being a Saturday and the launch of a new product. Good luck to those wanting to go! Please wear sun protection and comfortable shoes.
My next stop after the Century City Mall was Glendale Galleria to go visit Riley Rose again. It doesn’t need a new blog post, but they added more brands. You can see various pictures I took on my Instagram. Riley Rose is always worth a visit!
The KKW Pop Up Store is open from June 20th to July 27th. I am glad this one is up longer so more people can experience it. Hopefully the lines will die down. On a weekday, I’m sure it would have been better, but my birthday was on a Sunday and that’s when I went.
It’s worth a visit if you have been curious about her line, and wanted to swatch her products in person. Also, if you were interested in the fragrances. It’s always best to try them on yourself and see how it reacts with your skin chemistry to see if you like it. I wouldn’t go in blind and order them online to find out that you hate it and then can’t even sell it on eBay.
Speaking of which I am still selling the Kylie San Francisco Sweat Pants. I see someone is selling them too. I need the money more, buy from me! haha! If the link is outdated, please see my eBay profile here to see if the pants are still for sale. It’s summer, so I don’t expect that sweat pants will be on anyone’s list. But it doesn’t cost me a thing to list it.
And a note about using my images:
If you email me and ask me, I will probably give you permission because I’m really nice and I want to help you. You are also allowed to pin this to your Pinterest, without my written consent. Actually, I am giving you permission now to pin this to your Pinterest. It makes me happy that my images are helpful and that people like them. However, it is not okay to crop my watermark out or use my images in a manner that you profit from. In that case, since I did the work I should be getting paid too. If you want to use them on your own blog, please contact me, I would love to collab with other beauty bloggers! Brands have featured me on IG and linked to my account, that is fantastic! I needed the recognition and they helped me out! However, one brand was not as kind as the others. Watermarks may be annoying but they are here for a reason.
My images aren’t even that good, but I do find my images from time to time with the image quality degraded and my watermark cropped out from time to time. Having my photo credit cropped out, made to look worse, not getting credit is demoralizing. Normal people will understand that.
And for my little haul:
Highlighter Palette I
Cream Contour Stick in Light II… the packaging at least.
If you are not following my shop’s Instagram account, you may have missed out my my free shipping deal I had for three days in celebration for my birthday. Please do follow my IG account, as it really helps my little business out! I also have an Instagram account for this blog too. So give that one a follow if you like my content. I post there more often as it does not take days to write a caption. And now here is the Beauty Constellations makeup bag I took to the KKW store:
The smaller Beauty Constellations bag is sold out currently, but I have much larger ones available! I used all three of mine for this trip and they really came in handy! They come in 10 inch and 12 inch versions. Inside there is a central divider with two pockets so you can organize all your stuff easily. I put in my full sized skin and body products with ease.
Click here to get yourself the Beauty Constellations Makeup Bag!
Thank you so much for reading!
