SKKN BY KIM

SKKN BY KIM was an American skincare brand created by Kim Kardashian and launched on 21 June 2022 as a nine-product collection sold directly through its own website [3]. It grew out of her earlier KKW Beauty and KKW Fragrance lines, pivoting from makeup and scent to a skincare-led identity. The brand was short-lived: after SKIMS acquired it in 2025, SKKN BY KIM wound down and officially closed on 29 June 2025 [5][6]. Its former website now serves only a closure notice.

The brand was a rebrand rather than a fresh start. Kardashian founded KKW Beauty in 2017, built around contouring makeup, alongside the KKW Fragrance line [6]. By 2021 she had begun winding KKW Beauty down and filed to trademark the SKKN name, signalling a move toward what she described as a more modern and sustainable brand. SKKN BY KIM then launched the following summer with a tighter, skincare-focused proposition.

Kardashian has linked the brand's direction to her own experience with psoriasis. She described that diagnosis as "the catalyst for my journey of skin-care discoveries," a process she said involved working with dermatologists and estheticians before developing the line. Where KKW Beauty had centred on colour cosmetics, SKKN BY KIM was positioned from the outset as a science-backed skincare system.

The launch range was a nine-step routine: a cleanser, toner, exfoliator, hyaluronic acid serum, vitamin C serum, face cream, eye cream, oil drops and a night oil. Individual products ran from $43 to $95, with cheaper refill pods sold for each. Editorial coverage cited slightly different totals for the complete set — The Dermatology Review put it at roughly $630, while Highsnobiety reported $673 [7][4] — but the per-item pricing was consistent and placed the brand firmly in the prestige tier. In January 2024 SKKN added colour cosmetics, broadening beyond its skincare core [6].

The formulas leaned on ingredients including hyaluronic acid at several molecular weights, a vitamin C8 complex, postbiotics, peptides and a natural retinol alternative. According to the company, the collection sat "at the intersection of elevated simplicity and innovative science," with science-backed formulas meant to "reactivate skin's inner potential and inspire confidence." SKKN also promoted a refillable packaging system, with replacement pods described as using eco-friendly materials to cut waste.

Coty Inc. was the brand's corporate partner. In 2020 Coty bought a 20% stake in the KKW Beauty business for $200 million, a deal that valued the company at $1 billion [12]. That partnership carried into SKKN BY KIM, with Coty providing distribution and beauty-industry expertise.

The arrangement ended in 2025. On 24 March that year, SKIMS — Kardashian's shapewear company — announced it had acquired SKKN by Kim from Kardashian and Coty, bringing her beauty rights and ventures under the SKIMS umbrella [5]. Coty divested its stake and Kardashian's majority holding transferred to SKIMS. The standalone SKKN brand was then folded into that wider business, with new beauty launches slated to begin under SKIMS from 2026.

Critical reception was mixed, and several disputes followed the brand from launch.

The pricing drew the sharpest commentary. The Dermatology Review judged the ingredients "evidence-based" but concluded the formulas did not justify the cost, quoting a board-certified dermatologist who said the products were not "groundbreaking or novel" and that "the price is really her name, her face, and the packaging" [7].

The brand's ethical marketing was also contested. SKKN promoted itself as cruelty-free and, in some materials, vegan, alongside claims that its formulas were gluten-free and free from sulfates, BHT and PEGs [7]. Cruelty-free watchdogs disputed the cruelty-free and vegan positioning: the brand held no relevant certification, was owned by Coty — a company that tests on animals — and did not answer questions about its animal-testing policy, ingredients or suppliers [8]. Sources also conflicted on the vegan label itself, with The Dermatology Review stating the brand did not claim to be vegan while marketing aggregators described it as such [7]. These claims are best read as brand marketing rather than verified facts.

Separately, the SKKN name prompted naming-similarity disputes with Lori Harvey's "SKN by LH" and with "SKKN+", a Black-owned skincare studio founded by esthetician Cydnie Lunsford, who objected to the name [4].

SKKN BY KIM is defunct. The brand officially closed on 29 June 2025, its operations wound down as part of the consolidation into SKIMS [6]. Its closure statement framed the move as the end of a chapter rather than the end of the idea, saying the "commitment to innovation, self-care, and skin confidence that SKKN embodied will live on in new and exciting ways." The skknbykim.com domain now displays only that closure message. Kardashian's beauty ventures are expected to continue under the SKIMS brand from 2026, but SKKN BY KIM as a standalone brand no longer trades.