Kim Kardashian is facing criticism on social media over the name of her new skincare line, SKKN BY KIM, which fans say is too similar to Lori’s Harvey’s namesake brand.
The reality TV star confirmed the release of a nine-step skincare line, which is set to launch in the US on 21 June, in an interview with The New York Times last week.
The news comes more than a year after Kardashian filed applications for various trademarks at the US Patent and Trademark office for the name, covering a range of products including skincare, cosmetics, hair, nail and beauty tools and perfumes.
The SKKN BY KIM line includes a cleanser, exfoliator, toner, hyaluronic acid serum, a vitamin C serum, face cream, eye cream, oil drops and a night oil.
While the upcoming release has been met with excitement – the brand’s dedicated Instagram page already has a following of more than 160,000 – some have noted the name’s likeness to Harvey’s five-step skincare line, SKN by Lori Harvey.
“Why would Kim do a line called SKKN when Lori Harvey has SKN. Who’s bright idea was that?” one Twitter user asked.
Another said: “SKKN by Kim Kardashian. SKN by Lori Harvey? Someone’s marketing team needs to get fired.”
“So Lori Harvey has a skincare line named SKN. And now Kim Kardashian has a skincare line named SKKN. And I’m just wondering a) how mad is Lori Harvey and b) when will celebrities stop with skincare lines?” a third person wrote.
“Lori Harvey created ‘SKN’ and now Kim K just added an extra K and created ‘SKKN’, where is the originality?” another said.
Harvey first released her skincare line in October 2021. The brand currently has five products; a cleaner, a niacinamide cream, vitamin C serum, eye cream and white tea toner.
It is not the first time fans have taken issue with Kardashian’s skincare venture.
In August 2021, Forbes reported that a Black-owned beauty and skincare company, SKKN+ had sent Kardashian’s legal team a cease-and-desist letter over her attempt to trademark “SKKN”.
The owner of SKKN+, Cydnie Lunsford, claimed to have legal rights over the name and called for Kardashian to stop using it.
In an email to Forbes, Lunsford said she had been using the name since 2017. A filing at the US Patent and Trademark Office shows Lunsford did not request to trademark “SKKN+” until March 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 wrote.
“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.”
In response to the letter, Kardashian’s lawyer, Michael G. Rhodes, told TMZ the reality TV star “appreciates and supports small businesses” and plans to speak with Lunsford with the hope of being able to “smooth things over”.
The Independent has contacted Kim Kardashian and Lori Harvey for comment.
