Kylie Jenner Getty Images 2
Kylie Jenner, 23, faced backlash on Wednesday after launching a new hand sanitizer through Kylie Skin.
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  • Kylie Jenner announced a new $7 hand sanitizer from her company, Kylie Skin. 
  • Some people have accused Jenner of profiting off the pandemic by selling hand sanitizer, while others have come to her defense. 
  • Several beauty brands have added hand sanitizer to their product lines since the COVID-19 pandemic began in March.
  • Jenner donated more than 6,000 pounds of hand sanitizer to Southern California hospitals in April and $1 million to COVID-19 relief efforts. 
  • Insider reached out to Jenner’s representatives for comment but didn’t immediately hear back.
  • Visit Insider’s homepage for more stories.

Kylie Jenner’s skin-care line just released a hand sanitizer, but some fans think she’s just profiting off the pandemic with her latest product launch. 

On Tuesday, Jenner announced a new hand sanitizer as the latest addition to her skin-care line, Kylie Skin. The product – which contains 80% alcohol and promises moisturized skin through added glycerin – costs $7 on the company’s website.

Jenner announced the news via her social media accounts, including her Twitter account. 

“My @kylieskin hand sanitizer is here!!” Jenner, 23, the youngest of the Kardashian-Jenner clan, tweeted. 

Some people online expressed disappointment over Jenner’s hand sanitizer, and accused her of ‘cashing in’ on the pandemic

Soon after the product’s official launch, some people suggested that Jenner, who’s worth just under $900 million, was profiting from the pandemic.

"Kylie Jenner said a billion dollars is not enough lmao let me keep capitalizing off of poor people in the middle of a pandemic," one person wrote.

"Kylie really made kylie skin hand sanitizer... like? Let's profit off a pandemic," another said. 

One person added, "Cashing in on the pandemic, I'd expect no less." 

Some people pointed out that Jenner's hand sanitizer costs more than other brands. The Kylie Skin product contains 2 fluid ounces, or 60 milliliters, of sanitizer for $7. In comparison, an 8 fluid ounce (or 236 milliliter) bottle of Purell's Advanced Hand Sanitizer Refreshing Gel retails for $2.99 at Target.

"Now @KylieJenner you need to extort the hand sanitizer business?" one person wrote. "As a single mom who works her butt off and am just scraping by ... I would rather Purell for $2.99 then Kylies overpriced sanitizer…"

 

But other fans of the makeup mogul came to her defense online, noting that she's donated money to help frontline workers and gave hand sanitizer to Southern California hospitals during the pandemic. 

"Not that I am on Kylie's PR team or have any reason to defend her, but in the beginning of the pandemic she publicly donated $1,000,000 to frontline workers & used her factories to make over 6000 pounds of free hand sanitizer. if you don't like it, don't buy it," one person wrote. 

 

"I really do not get the hate on Kylie. The amount of companies that created sanitizer - some good, some not - and they get praised. Kylie does it and it gets criticized," another added. 

Insider reached out to Jenner's representatives for comment but didn't immediately hear back.

Earlier in the pandemic, Jenner made headlines for donating money and medical supplies

Jenner and her mother, Kris Jenner, partnered with beauty company Coty Inc. in April to donate more than 6,000 pounds of hand sanitizer to Southern California hospitals. 

Shirin Towfigh, a surgeon in Beverly Hills, on April 11 shared a photo of the Kylie Skin hand sanitizer on Twitter and Instagram.

"So amazing!  @kylieskin donated over 6,000 pounds of #handsanitizer to us today. We currently have a shortage of @Purell hand sanitizers for #HealthcareHeroes," Towfigh tweeted.

"This has all been a true labor of [love]. Thank you to @KylieJenner @Kris Jenner for your generous donation and warm [hearts]," she continued. 

 

Before that, Jenner committed a $1 million donation towards COVID-19 relief efforts.

Dr. Thaïs Aliabadi, a physician and OB-GYN who delivered babies for several members of the Kardashian-Jenner family, revealed the donation in May on Instagram. 

"One of my patients, a beautiful Living Angel just donated $1,000,000 to help us buy hundreds of thousands of masks, face shields, and other protective gear which we will have delivered directly to our first responders, as too many masks at hospitals are disappearing before making their way onto the faces of our front line heroes," Aliabadi wrote, referring to Jenner.

A post shared by Dr. Thaïs Aliabadi (@drthaisaliabadi)

 

Other beauty brands have added hand sanitizers to their collections amid the pandemic 

Jenner, who shares her daughter, Stormi, with Travis Scott, was not the only beauty mogul to start offering hand sanitizer in the last nine months. 

Peter Thomas Roth Clinical Skin Care, a favorite among Hollywood's A-listers, released its first-ever hand sanitizer in April to comparatively little backlash.

Lipslut, an online beauty brand that sells lipstick and lip gloss inspired by political figures and social issues, also created hand sanitizer in July.

The $12 hand sanitizer was called "F*ck Coronavirus" and 50% of the earnings were donated "to organizations that help those affected by COVID-19. 

Jenner previously faced backlash in August for traveling to Paris during the pandemic

In August, fans called out Jenner for sharing a number of Instagram photos from her trip to Paris. 

According to E! News, Jenner was reportedly in Paris on a "business exemption" for a meeting at the headquarters of Coty Inc., the parent company of Kylie Cosmetics.

Many fans noted that Jenner did not have a face mask on in the photos and videos she shared online.

"Kylie Jenner going to Paris during Covid while the rest of the world can't travel or visit family in other countries/states due to border restrictions just doesn't sit well with me," one user wrote.

Another wrote that while many people have been waiting to visit family in other countries, "Kylie Jenner is strolling thru the streets of Paris CLEARLY on vacation."

Read the original article on Insider