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Kylie Jenner Pop Up ShopKylie Jenner is the queen of Snapchat, having been named the “most-watched” person on the popular social media app. However, even with her “weaker” profiles she still boasts jaw-dropping numbers, with 19 million followers on Twitter and an astounding 80.7 million watching her every move on Instagram.
And despite already having a claim to fame with her family and their reality TV series “Keeping Up with the Kardashians,” Jenner’s bread and butter comes from the connection she has with her fans on social media.
So it should be no surprise that her first pop up shop, at the Westfield Topanga mall, drew crowds when it opened on Friday. Staff were perhaps not quite prepared for the masses that flocked to the Canoga Park, California mall.
Dedicated fans huddled together outside of the mall as early as 9:45pm the night before, with others showing up around midnight, 1am, and 4am, and the rest of the crowd arriving around 6am – though the mall didn’t even open until 10am.
Ana Fierros was one of the few who took on the cold on Thursday evening for a shot at meeting Kylie, admitting it was “freezing.” She had initially retreated to her car due to the temperatures but gushed, “But then I went outside because I was like, I wanna be the first person. I want to make sure I’m the first person,” which she was. And Ana even got her chance to meet Jenner as she arrived for her first stop by the store on Friday.
Meanwhile, tensions were high for the rest of the line, particularly as a member of the staff was spotted stepping out of the shop with a shimmery, silver bag, which he looked primed to give away to one lucky fan. “That’s not fair!” one woman at the front of the line screamed, noting, “We’ve been waiting for, like, eight hours!”
And they weren’t the only ones annoyed, as it seemed nearby luxury shops felt a bit overwhelmed by the chaos. A Burberry staffer was seen popping his head out of the shop to ask how long he would have to deal with “this craziness.” Overwhelmed security guards blocked off certain sections of the mall surrounding the shop, and even hollered at fans not to snap pictures of the storefront.
Another family, part of the lucky first group of entrants, flew in from San Francisco the night before just to check out the celebrity shop. Behind them, another 1200 fans could be seen waiting eagerly in a line looping throughout the first floor of the mall to get inside. The mall had to close off the line as early as 8:30am… over an hour and a half before the shop even opened.
The desperation to not miss out had some shoppers trying to bribe their way into line, with one Westfield worker revealing he was offered $1000 in cash for the opportunity – which he declined. Staff anticipate fans will continue to wait until the shop’s close at 9pm for their turn, and the shop is schedule to be open until December 23, though that is of course contingent on product. It will close whenever it sells out. The brave souls that do stick it out and get inside will be given 20 minutes to browse and purchase – while adhering to the cap set for each shopper – before getting the boot.
In the midst of chaos surrounding the shop’s opening, Jenner remained loyal to her fans, denying access to press until after the dedicated people who had waited all night got inside. She dropped by the venture herself at 8am, returning around 1pm with crew such as momager Kris Jenner, rapper boyfriend Tyga, and his son, King Cairo.
The star has bred her fans’ intense dedication by connecting with them through social media, documenting her daily life on Snapchat. She captures everything from the steps to making her favorite grilled cheese sandwich to getting ready for red carpet events. Jenner even gives fans a glimpse at her lavish lifestyle with looks at her luxurious properties as well as the inside of Tyga’s tour bus.
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So when it came time to launch her makeup company, Kylie Cosmetics – part of the popular pop up shop – Jenner already had a fanbase of millions to support her. Lip Kits – containing a lip liner and coordinating, matte lip stain, for $29 – from the brand have famously sold out in under seven minutes. She has since expanded to lip glosses, eye shadow, eye liner, makeup brushes, and eye shadow palettes.
Jenner’s pop up shop also contains new items from her lingerie line, as well as clothing from the upcoming The Official Kylie Jenner Shop, which is set to launch online tomorrow. The most in-demand item appears to be a black bomber jacket embellished on the back with the Kylie Cosmetics logo in grey. The E! star currently has a countdown on her website teasing fans who could not make it to the pop up shop for when the items will be available for purchase online.
