When the world first learned that Kylie Jenner is pregnant with her first child, it was widely assumed that she would share every detail of her pregnancy, just as she had shared every detail of every other aspect of her life up to that point.
Fans braced themselves for Kylie’s line of maternity wear, her frequent baby bump selfies, and her inevitable parenting book.
However, it seems that no one considered the possibility that Kylie would take a different tack entirely and simply disappear.
Yes, there was a time when the idea of Kylie taking a extended break from social media would’ve been as absurd as the thought of a reality TV star being elected president.
But as it stands, Kylie hasn’t been seen on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram–where she reigns supreme with an astonishing 100 million followers–in over two months.
Sure, she’s posted in that time, but none of her photos have been recent, and none of her captions have given any real insight into what’s going on in her life.
Given that the success of Kylie’s many business ventures relies almost entirely on her status as social media queen, it’s no surprise that profits have taken quite a hit in recent months.
As Radar Online reports, Kylie’s cosmetics line–once the crown jewel of her empire–is currently in crisis mode following a full-blown sales crisis.
Wednesday marked the launch of five new shades of Kylie’s brand of liquid lipsticks.
Typically, the release of a new color is a site-crashing event, and the shades sell out within minutes.
This time, however, the products are still available nearly 36 hours after they were released.
That may not sound like a disaster, but this is the same makeup line that launched just over a year ago and has very nearly made Kylie a billionaire at age 20.
That kind of wealth wasn’t generated from products that sit on the virtual shelves for several days after their launch.
Kylie’s “lip kits” thrive on artificial scarcity.
They’re like Beanie Babies or iPhones for Kardashian-obessed Millennials.
Without Kylie hawking her wares on Instagram, her fans see the kits as what they are:
Overpriced makeup that can be purchased for a third of the price at Target.
Kylie’s empire is built in large part on illusion, and it seems the hard reality of impending single motherhood is making difficult for her to keep up appearances.
