Kim Kardashian West is launching a new website this summer devoted to her own make-up tutorials, catering to the continuing trend for beauty tutorials and potentially catalysing the contouring trend. The launch of KimKardashianWest.com is currently under wraps, but we expect its influence to drive consumer trends and product innovation significantly.

Teasing her Instagram followers with behind-the-scenes photos, Kardashian promises make-up and hair tutorials featuring make-up artists such as Hrush Achemyan and Joyce Bonelli, both LA-based favourites of the Kardashian-Jenner family.

Celebrities strongly influence beauty trends, with celebrity make-up tutorials making up three of the top five beauty videos on YouTube, according to video marketing company Pixability. Kim Kardashian-based make-up looks on YouTube in particular garner millions of views. More than 23 million people have watched Contouring and Highlighting – Kim Kardashian’s Makeup Secret by GlamboothTV.

This translates into increased sales. The Anastasia Beverly Hills Pro Series Contour Kit remains a bestseller at beauty retailer Sephora since Kim Kardashian recommended it. Meanwhile, global luxury beauty brand Rodial’s debut contouring and sculpting make-up range has grown in popularity thanks to Mario Dedivanovic – the make-up artist behind Kim Kardashian’s contoured look. He uploaded a photo of its products on his Instagram, expressing his approval. 

Kardashian’s most famous beauty trick is contouring – a technique that enhances the facial structure by using different shades of make-up in strategic areas. She brought the technique to the forefront of the beauty industry after posting a photo of herself mid-contour on Instagram.

With contouring trends such as clown contouring and strobing now gaining momentum, and even the launch of a hair contouring service in Charles Worthington London salons, the increased investment in foundation and other product categories can be expected to continue through 2015. See Sephora: Omni-Channel Push, and The Makeup Show NYC 2015 for more coverage on the rise of contouring.

For more on the influence of online beauty vloggers, see YouTube’s Beauty Advocates.