One shopper said “we used to be a proper prinny city”
Inside the former Kardashian Beauty store on Church Street
Liverpool shoppers have questioned, “Is this a fever dream?” as they remember an “iconic” city centre store. Church Street was once home to a Kardashian Beauty shop.
The famous family are no strangers to well-established brands from Kim’s SKIMS to Kourtney’s well-being company Poosh and Khloe’s Good American. Probably the most recognisable brand belongs to younger sister Kylie Jenner, who owns Kylie Cosmetics. However business associated with the family but not run by them had a more troubled time in the market.
A pop-up shop called The Beauty Buzz presents Kardashian Beauty appeared on Church Street in September 2014 selling beauty products from the Kardashian brand
The shop was co-owned by Monica and Mike Kossifou, who opened the store with their partner Warren Gavin and initially bought a container of goods from the Kardashian brand – including a beauty airbrush leg spray sunbeam, a lip lacquer and a Kardazzle complete face palette.
Former sales assistant Paige Duttin previously told the ECHO the shop had a very busy launch weekend. She said: “It was absolutely booming, there were loads of people in the shop and it was chockers. We did have quieter times, but then it would go really busy again.
The Beauty Buzz presents Kardashian Beauty store
“We come in a bit earlier to clean, and so after we’ve mopped the floor, we open the door to allow it to dry. This means we often have people standing outside, queueing and waiting to be allowed in.”
The store was decorated with monochrome images of the sisters Kim, Kourtney and Khloe and glittering counters – giving fans “the ultimate make-up experience”. The store said customers could leave looking like Kim Kardashian at her wedding to Kanye West.
The store however was short-lived, only remaining open for five months. At the time, Mrs Kossifou told the ECHO the store was “never going to be permanently based here unless it did amazingly well”.
Kardazzle Compact Face Palette
Part of the problem the owners faced was that they had to buy the stock directly from the Kardashian brand, and it “cost a fortune”.
Mrs Kossifou said: “We have had offers on since we opened the store. Firstly, we had the 25% off, then we went on to two-for-one and then we had the gift sets. But if we were to re-negotiate and buy new stock from them, we wouldn’t be able to keep selling the products at these prices.
“I’m not sure how our customers would feel about the prices increasing. But from a business point of view, I don’t think we could sustain the store with the overheads whilst selling the stock with the offers on.”
Kardashian Beauty See You In Sequins
At the time, Mrs Kossifou admitted she hoped the business had a future in the city centre, but nothing has come of it since. The store was under a rolling contract, so customers were unsure of when the last time they would be able to get their hands on the makeup goods.
That was until February 2015, when the Beauty Buzz Presents Kardashian Beauty store shut its doors for good. Fast forward to this week and a TikTok reminiscing about the store has gained some traction. Photos posted to the app, with the caption “How Random. Still thinking about the Kardashian Shop in L1”, had everyone leaving their memories of the shop in the comment section.
Lu said: “Wait, was this even legit?”, whereas Aimee added: “Did the Kardashians even know they had this shop?” Mimi commented: “I had so much makeup from here and some nail varnishes. Kim’s eyeshadow palette was actually unreal.”
Kim Kardashian Eyelashes at the Kardashian Beauty store
Annie said: “We used to be a proper prinny city”, whereas Sophie recalled: “The To Let sign was up over Kourtney’s face for years.” Steph added: “Need someone who worked there to spill the tea”, and Eve said: “I thought I made this up.”
Meg said: “Omg memory unlocked,” Charlotte added: “I was convinced I dreamt this”, and Kai wrote: “Rare memory.”