My Mary Kay Story

I think my story is typical and that is exactly why I’m sharing it.  I want others to KNOW what happened with me and has happened with hundreds of thousands of other women.     I’ve always been into skin care and cosmetics.  I enjoy taking care of my skin and I like the way I look after I’ve applied my make-up 

When I was 20 my friend started Mary Kay and I had a party for her.  The line was okay but not for me.  She wanted me to sign in as her recruit but I didn’t.  I wanted to pursue a business career.  Cosmetics and playing in them was just for me.    Then, for a brief time in my late 20’s I used and sold Jafra.  It is a cosmetic company that started around the same time as Mary Kay and “works” in much the same way.  I did learn quite a bit about skin care and make-up during that time.  They had more training in one month than I got in 10 months of Mary Kay.  I remember I stopped selling Jafra because I wasn’t making any money.  I went back to department and drugstore cosmetics.   

Throughout my 30’s I tried Mary Kay off and on when I was invited to a party.  Looking back it seems during my 20’s and 30’s I went to WAY too many parties and bought stuff to help out a friend that wanted the host gift.  Sound familiar?      After turning 40 I knew the same old stuff wasn’t working for my aging skin.  I started to look for the “right system” for me.  I tried all types of systems from those on QVC, HSN to department store lines.  I wasn’t finding anything that worked for me.  And I had all kinds of half used items lying around.  I was tired of searching and remembered Mary Kay.  I started buying it from eBay stores.  Sometimes I got good product, other times not.   

We moved to a new area, far from family and friends.  I wanted to find some women to connect with and started going to a local gym.  One of the ladies was…you guessed it…a Mary Kay director.  Next thing I knew I was at a large party talking with women of all ages about one of my favorite subjects, cosmetics.  I tried all the new products and my face looked fabulous.  They fed me lunch and seemed like such good women.  I was entranced.  I enquired about the career opportunity because it all sounded so great.  90% buy back, only $100 to get started; everyone was happy and excited about their 20 to 30 year business.  The whole system costs $400 retail; why not save $300 and make some money at the same time!  HOW COULD I LOSE?????  MARY KAY IS SO REPUTABLE.  Sign me up! I made the financial decision to invest in a small store.  I wanted to have some inventory of basic items, some samples, office supplies which included everything from pens to staples to files to paper clips, the list went on and on.  I readily admit that it was FUN to go out and buy these things.  It was FUN to get packages in the mail to open, sort through and place into my inventory.  I enjoyed it.  I enjoyed making up flyers, facials (I preferred the one on one, I enjoyed getting to know the lady, sincerely wanted to help her, and I always sold more), running my own business on my terms (which simply isn’t true), and I was setting my own hours (uh, not really).  I knew that for the first couple of months I would be busy getting all these things set.  My family came last during this time…not first, last, we were all sacrificing to make it easier in the long run of my business.   

Because I opened a store and was a STAR consultant and had recruited I was told I’d be honored at a quarterly meeting.  I was to receive recognition for a great beginning.  They asked me to give them money so I could attend the meeting where I’d be honored.  I thought that a bit odd but obliged because I was excited to get a night out for myself. It was fun, a bit over the top in the rah-rah area for me but still fun.  As we were paraded about in order of our Stars I realized that this ranking system didn’t depend upon who SOLD the most, it was based on who BOUGHT the most from Mary Kay Corporation.  I saw women out in the audience selling raffle tickets to win HALF of the pot.  Okay, who got the other half of the pot, I thought.  Then the I-stories started pouring across the stage.  I’d never heard speeches like these before, about someone being so happy to be in a company and what success they were having in “their business”.  They all started to sound the same but very excited.  Later I wondered about all the phrases they were using (which are scripts).  I wondered why I was supposed to say things to clients that didn’t seem natural to me.   

I moved on and I sold quite well for a while; mostly to family and friends and then to their friends and some neighbors (this is completely typical). I invested in some bridal lists and advertising leads (to the tune of $450) but not ONE of those panned out … NOT ONE response from calls or postcards (which cost time and money).  Yes, I did both in a desperate attempt to get SOME of my money back, but I did not.   After about five months I became frustrated.  I was working almost 12/7, always in “Mary Kay uniform” and full face (because heck, I never knew who I would run into or who would call wanting to stop by for an order - ALWAYS ON).  Every quarter there were NEW products to buy (at least one as a tester) and some things I still had in inventory were already discontinued…I had JUST gotten people to try and buy them.  I didn’t like that at all.  It seemed like the catch-up game to me.   

I contacted my director and she said it was because I didn’t attend meetings and told me that they helped so much with new ideas and challenges.  I told her I was full of ideas and nothing was working.  I told her I’m not an idiot and I’m not.  I was in the business world for 20+ years and did very well until I chose to stay home with my kids while they are young.   She sent me some CDs and DVDs for encouragement.  I listened to a few and yes, these ladies were excited but they all said the same things, over and over and over again.  I had to wonder why are these women “idolizing” Mary Kay Ash and why it was so important to keep pushing for more recruits versus sales.   

Then my director placed in my hand something that made me question her AND Mary Kay Corporation’s ethics.  It was script that said when recruiting other women who may not have the money to open their business, have them ask other family members and friends for the money to start their business.  ANY company that even HINTS at this type of abomination isn’t ethical NO MATTER HOW YOU LOOK AT IT; much less gives you exact words as to telling OTHERS to do this!!! I started questioning more and more about Mary Kay this “reputable” company that was around for so long.  My dear friend who was my recruit and I began to talk more about things that weren’t working and how all we got from our director was encouragement to purchase or recruit.  After two out and out lies to me from my director I knew she wasn’t the lady she presented herself to be.  She not only lied to me, she degraded me and insisted that I wasn’t working my business right if I worked more than 20 hours a week.  There was something always wrong with me.  Thank goodness my self-esteem was high enough to know that it wasn’t me.  But being the analyst I am, I had to know what wasn’t working and how all these other ladies seemed to be doing so GREAT!!!! 

My dear friend and I had seen some websites that painted Mary Kay Corporation in a less than flattering light.  Up until this point I had dismissed them.  I decided to see what these websites had to say about Mary Kay.   I read with an open mind other women’s experiences.  I learned of pyramids and MLMs (multi-level-marketing).  I realized to make money you must work constantly and well over 40 hours a week as a consultant or sign up hundreds of people to sell it and KEEP (that is a key word…KEEP) them in Mary Kay.  I had felt and it was confirmed that Mary Kay is a cult.  It meets EVERY definition of a cult.  And lastly, Mary Kay preys upon women who are at home (wanting to be with their kids) with a need for extra money or recognition that at home moms don’t get from their family.  Mary Kay is designed to creep into every fiber of your life until you are engulfed and your life isn’t your own any more.   

The truth, my conclusion, the fact is Mary Kay is a cult within a pyramid scheme.    
Pink Truth provided me the information and support to get my life, my family and my FREEDOM back!   Pink Truth is the place to find truthful information about Mary Kay and other MLMs (most all of the at home party “businesses”) provides a source of support for those in the process of DE-PINKING and recovering!!!!

If you are even considering Mary Kay as an option in your life, investigate it thoroughly and with open eyes.  Just because a reputation is good doesn’t mean you should invest without checking…think about all those who invested in ENRON.   Please don’t go into debt over Mary Kay; please don’t leave your family (like I did for six months)!!!  IT IS NOT WORTH IT AND IT TAKES MORE THAN 40 HOURS A WEEK TO MAKE $500!!!  Just work the numbers and it is easy to figure out!  Look at it this way, you can put 40 hours of work into your MK business and there isn’t a guarantee you will get a dime…not one thin dime because NO ONE HAS TO BUY IT or sign up and STAY in MK! Still think I’m wrong, check out eBay and see how many people are dumping their stuff at a LOSS! 

Regain your LIFE!!!