UNDER HER SKIN

Kim Kardashian Calls SKKN Lawsuit Nothing More Than a ‘Shakedown Effort’

The owner of the Black-owned esthetician studio Beauty Concepts claims to have owned a Skkn+ trademark since 2018.

Kim Kardashian doesn’t think she’s stolen anything from this Black creator. Cyndie Lunsford, the owner of esthetician studio Beauty Concepts claims to have owned a Skkn+ trademark since 2018, which she feels is similar to Kim K’s new SKKN line. But in a statement to Page Six, Kardashian’s lawyer Michael Rhodes says the lawsuit is nothing more than a “shakedown effort,” acknowledging Lunsford’s cease and desist letter last year. The United States Patent and Trademark Office didn’t agree with Lunsford’s challenge to the name, Rhodes said, because “‘skkn’ just means ‘skin.’” “This lawsuit is not what it seems,” Rhodes said. “We applaud Ms. Lunsford for being a small business owner and following her dreams. But that doesn’t give her the right to wrongfully claim that we’ve done something wrong.” He added that Lunsford’s Skkn+ studio was a one-person appointment-only shop that offered facials from a single location with no signage. Rhodes said he believes the lawsuit is less about trademark law and more of a cash grab.