Kim Kardashian Dishes on Her New Skincare Brand, Channeling a ‘Future Alien Barbie,’ and How She Deals With Controversy

Kim Kardashian is no stranger to multitasking. As one of the world’s most recognizable faces, the star currently has her hands full with all kinds of projects: She stars on Hulu’s The Kardashians, is studying to become a lawyer, runs her shapewear line Skims, and parents four children. Today, however, Kardashian adds yet another job to her list as she launches Skkn by Kim, a skincare line in partnership with the beauty conglomerate Coty. In honor of the debut, Kardashian stopped by the Condé Nast offices—the publishing company that owns Vogue and other titles—in New York City, where the star not only discussed her new venture, but also her parenting tactics, how she deals with controversy, and the key to her current “Future Alien Barbie” style.

The 30-minute conversation began with Kardashian speaking on the inspiration behind Skkn by Kim. Having launched her former beauty brand Kkw Beauty five years ago, she saw SKKN as an opportunity to reimagine what a beauty line could look like. Its initial drop includes products like an exfoliator, cleanser, and eye cream, with formulations that the star considered carefully. “The factories that I worked with said that products usually go through maybe five iterations of that product—and I went through between 20 and 25 on each product,” she says. “I really took my time on the formulas, to make sure that when people get it, they separate that from [it being] a ‘celebrity brand.’”

Of course, it being a Kardashian project, the look was important, too: Kardashian infused her now-signature minimal aesthetic into her products’s sleek packaging. “When I was working on the packaging, I was looking at concrete sculptures—all different shades of stones and interiors,” she says. “I always thought the packaging should look really good in my house; I’ve always loved really minimal tones.” She also wanted the packaging to be refillable, “to show brands that you can find cool packaging that is recyclable and sustainable.” She says she has plans to expand the label into makeup and fragrance down the line. “The Skkn brand is about making your skin look its best,” she teases. “I wanted color cosmetics that I love and wear—lipliners, lipsticks, foundations—that give you a neutral palette. Before, with Kkw Beauty, I was a little more fun…but they weren’t my core basics.”

During her candid conversation with Allure’s editor in chief Jessica Cruel, Kardashian, who wore a white Re/Done top and printed Balenciaga pantaboots, also discussed her current fashion era, which she describes as “Future Alien Barbie.” She addressed the current style dilemma she faces—“I do struggle with casual. I’m trying to get better at that,” she says—and spoke about being blonde again and, indeed, “having more fun.” Fans will remember that she recently went platinum for this year’s Met Gala, where she famously wore Marilyn Monroe’s “Happy Birthday, Mr. President” dress; Kardashian touched on dealing with the constant controversies and scrutiny surrounding her many high-profile red carpet looks. “There was a lot of outrage that I had lost weight for that [dress],” Kardashian says. “I still support my decision, because I just started eating way healthier. I consulted with a nutritionist and my trainer.”

As someone who is often at the center of the cultural conversation, Kardashian says she’s learned both when to ignore criticism and when to face it head-on. “At the end of the day, it’s really important to own up to [mistakes], because people will ultimately respect that so much more if you take accountability,” she says. She points to changing the name of her label to Skims from Kimono (viewed by many as a form of cultural appropriation) as one example. “When I received a letter from the Japanese government, I understood how serious it was, and there was no question [about changing the name],” Kardashian says. “We had a million garments printed with the name on it. I didn’t want to be wasteful, so I came up with the name Skims right away and we just printed over the label.”

One thing that’s helped her through the ups and downs of global fame is the support of her family. Kardashian says the whole clan consistently keeps each other updated through their family group chat: “We’re really open about everything.” She also thinks of the people she works with as a family. “I’ve worked with my team for 10-15 years, so they can check me for sure,” she says. You can see all of Kardashian’s circle interact on their new Hulu show, The Kardashians. “We get to really do what we want to do,” the star says of the docuseries. “It’s a lot of individual shooting and you get to see what we do in our everyday lives…On Keeping Up, everything was all together, but it’s refreshing to be able to show people a little more more of my journey—whether it’s in law school, or my reform work.”

And about her burgeoning law career: Since passing the baby bar exam last year, Kardashian shares that she’s now about halfway to officially becoming a lawyer—and she has already begun working on cases privately. One recent point of interest is in youth detention centers. “I went to juvenile hall over the weekend—I had never been to one before—and that was a really big eye-opening experience,” she says. Whatever she focuses on as a lawyer, she wants to bring untold stories to the forefront. “Sometimes, you really have to humanize people that don’t have the opportunity to tell their story,” says Kardashian. “Then, hopefully that can open up lawmakers’ hearts to really change the laws.” She has hopes of starting her own law firm, one that hires formerly incarcerated people. “They know the laws so well, and have spent decades fighting for themselves,” Kardashian says.

In the meantime, however, being a mom to North, Psalm, Chicago, and Saint has kept her plenty busy. When asked what she can see them doing in the future, Kardashian says, “Each one of my kids is really different, and I will allow them to grow and support them whatever they want to do. North always says she’s gonna take over Yeezy and Skims. I told her the other day, ‘If you want to run [them], you’re going to have to wake up early.’ And she said, ‘Run it? I just said I want the money from it!’” The entrepreneur adds it’s been important for her to make her children see the value of hard work. “North does lemonade stands on the weekends to make money,” Kardashian says. One parenting tactic she’s trying to change, however? “What I struggle with is bribes—I’m heavy into bribes,” she says. “My bribes with my son are Pokemon cards.”