The makeup industry is growing at a breakneck speed, becoming larger and larger by the year. Bypassing mega markets like India and Western Europe, The United States of America is the single handed largest buyer of beauty products in the world. In 2016 alone it is estimated by Statista.com that the United States will spend more than 62 billion dollars on cosmetics and related goods and services. The market is flooded from every corner with eye creams that promise the fountain of youth, primers that swear by revolutionary advances in technology, and eye shadow palettes that tell of secret organic benefits. The remarkable part is that some of these claims are true. The capitalist churn of North America’s economy demands that cosmetic companies and their research and development labs go above and beyond and create truly impressive products. Our eyeliners last longer, our foundations double as skincare, and our lipsticks have never been more pigmented. The quality has sky rocketed, and the cost has plummeted.

Thats why Kylie Jenner’s Lip Kits make me furious.

It might seem like a stretch of the imagination to jump from the globalization of the beauty industry to Kylie’s makeup line, but the fact is that her company flies in the face of common sense, good business and integrity. Kylie Cosmetics™ offers three types of lip products. Matte liquid lipsticks, metallic liquid lipsticks, and lip glosses. Her website states that the matte lipsticks are “bold,” “long wearing” and “comfortable,” while the metallic’s promise they utilize “hybrid technology” to achieve a demi-matte finish. The newest item, Kylie Gloss say’s it will plump and illuminate your lips all day long. My irritation with this brand is just that: it’s nothing but a brand. Kylie Cosmetics™ liquid lipsticks are fine. They are decent, run of the mill lip products that offer respectable pigmentation and satisfactory staying power. The lip liners that come with them are nothing to write home about, but they get the job done. Not every piece of makeup can rock the industry, and that's okay.

However the price point and the hype behind these goods is unreal and, in my opinion, not warranted. For $29.99 plus shipping you get a lip kit that is frankly overpriced and nothing special. I can go onto the website for ColourPop Cosmetics right now and get a dupe for Kylie’s Tru Brown K matte liquid lipstick for $6.00. If you use the coupon code IPSYCOLOURPOP you can buy Limbo for a dollar here. With Flat Rate shipping clocking in at $4.99, you can buy four liquid lipsticks or five lip pencils of the exact same quality as Kylie’s for the same price.

The final reason I have such a hard time with her brand is that despite the fact Kylie Jenner’s net worth is near $10 million dollars and she markets herself as a purveyor of prestige cosmetics, her lip glosses are notorious for their shoddiness. I talked to several people on Twitter about their experiences with her glosses, and they allowed me to share the pictures they took. With stories of chewed on applicators, exploding tubes, and non existent customer service, even makeup legend Jeffree Starr stated how disappointed he was in her line after receiving his Kylie Glosses. With price tag of $18 for .09 fluid ounces it’s a shame to buy anything that fails to deliver on its promises.

I personally don’t wear lip gloss, however one of the most trusted beauty experts on the internet today is Tati Westbrook, the much acclaimed “Glam Life Guru,” and I have attached her amazing review on drugstore and luxury glosses here as well.

Essentially, the moral of this long winded rant is do not spend your hard earned money on a brand that is supported solely on the name of it’s founder. Companies like ColourPop, Jeffree Starr, Jouer and Anastasia Beverly Hills make consistent products that come with service representatives that help and lines you can trust.