Kim Kardashian Has Been Served A Cease and Desist Over New Brand Name

Kim Kardashian is no stranger to some backlash around her businesses– specifically around their names. The fashion and beauty mogul renamed her shapewear brand “Skims” in 2019 after initially launching with the name “Kimono” and being accused of cultural appropriation.

Now, she’s in hot water again over another name choice. Earlier this year Kim’s Kimsaprincess corporation filed trademark applications for the names SKKN and SKKN BY KIM before announcing the forthcoming relaunch of KKW Beauty under a different name. She’s since been served a cease and desist letter from Beauty Concepts LLC, a company that provides salon, skincare, and beauty spa services under the name SKKN+.

SKKN+ is a small, black-owned business established in 2018 by 28-year-old Cydnie Lusnford, specializing in facials, chemical peels, and waxing. The salon is currently booked up until October and is extremely popular in their Brooklyn community.

“I have painstakingly built my successful small business with my own sweat equity, hard work and research,” SKKN+ founder Cydnie Lusnford said in a release shared with Us Weekly. “It’s clear that I established my brand first. 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.”

Kim's attorney, Michael G. Rhodes, has already responded, giving a statement to TMZ stating: "We certainly appreciate and support small businesses, and our hat is off to Ms. Lunsford. But the question at hand is one of trademark law and we’ve not done anything deserving of legal action by her."

While the KKW Beauty website already shut down with the promise to return as "a new, more elevated, and sustainable brand and customer experience”, Kim’s relaunch is not off to a good start. Clearly a legal matter now, one thing is for certain—choosing an original and non-problematic business name is not one of Kim’s (many) strong suits.