Kim Kardashian’s newly announced skin-care line, SKKN by Kim, is facing controversy over its name.
On June 1, Kardashian, who struggles with psoriasis, introduced her first round of products as “a rejuvenating nine-product skin-care ritual” with “refillable packaging, and clean, science-backed ingredients designed to nourish all skin types, tones, and textures at all stages of maturity.”
However, Kardashian is being called out over the similarity between her line’s name and two Black-owned beauty brands: SKKN+ and Lori Harvey’s skin-care line SKN by LH.
Back in August 2021, Forbes reported that aesthetician Cyndie Lunsford filed a cease and desist letter after Kardashian’s Kimsaprincess Inc. filed to trademark “SKKN” for her upcoming beauty line. According to Lunsford’s legal team, Lunsford established SKKN+ in 2018 and filed for a trademark of her own in 2021. Documents show that Lunsford filed for the trademark on March 28, 2021.
“I have painstakingly built my successful small business with my own sweat equity, hard work, and research. It’s clear that I established my brand first,” Lunsford said in an email to Forbes at the time. “As a young black woman, my mission with SKKN+ is to provide quality skincare and curated full-body experiences to enhance each client’s self-care regimen. The (+) represents a hands-on transformative aesthetic experience that elevates the body, mind, and spirit.”
Lunsford’s attorney Erik M. Pelton added, “It is hard to believe that Kardashian’s team either did not know about the prior use of SKKN+ or knew and adopted the SKKN brand name anyways to steamroll a small minority business.”
On top of that, Harvey launched her own skin-care line, SKN by LH, in 2021. “I have rosacea and would struggle to find the right products to use,” she told Vogue in October 2021. “Then I got into modeling, and between shoots and backstage at runway shows you have so much makeup being put on your face. My skin was constantly going through it. So after using, like, 20 different products on my face at one time, I felt like there had to be a simpler way for me to get my skin looking the way I wanted it to.”
One Twitter user wrote, “Kim naming her skincare brand SKKN when Lori Harvey’s skincare brand name is SKN doesn’t sit right with me. Seems like they’re stealing from a Black woman for the thousandth time.”
Kim naming her skincare brand SKKN when Lori Harvey’s skincare brand name is SKN doesn’t sit right with me. Seems like they’re stealing from a black woman for the thousandth time.
— kay (@makaylamdavis) June 1, 2022
So Lori Harvey launched a skincare line called SKN and not long after that Kim K launches a skin care line with the same/similar products called SKKN???? One thing the Kardashian’s will always do is steal from black culture/creators for a profit
— Erin Cella (@ErinCella) June 3, 2022
Of course, this is not the first time Kim Kardashian has faced backlash over a brand name. Back in 2019, Kardashian was accused of cultural appropriation when she announced her new shapewear line, Kimono. Days later, she announced she’d be renaming the line, which is now known as SKIMS.
SKKN by Kim is set to launch on June 21.
Source : Glamour
