In what must be earth-shattering news for Mary Kay Cosmetics, Allison LaMarr, the woman who made it to National Sales Director fastest, has now become the quickest to bite the dust. After less than four years as an NSD, Allison is quitting Mary Kay.

Allison says on her website:

So, after many months of prayer and consideration, examining the situation from every conceivable angle, and seeking the counsel of my own mentors, it is time again for me to begin a new chapter.  Earlier this week I announced my intent to retire early (at the “ripe old age” of 31!) as a Mary Kay Independent National Sales Director to the corporate office, and now I would like to publicly share it with you.  

I can just imagine the rumors and creative reasons that are sure to emerge and circulate, so let me be clear on the purpose of my early retirement (just a few years shy of the standard age 65!) so that it comes straight from the source: My passion is the empowerment of all women in business, and I want to be able to focus all of my efforts on supporting this mission.  That’s it.  It’s not because I was asked to leave or have been declared mentally unstable (ha!) or any other crazy reason that is sure to pop up!  I have loved my journey with Mary Kay, and my desire is not to leave behind the relationships I’ve built.  In fact, my true hope is that we can all join together and unite in this higher purpose, and I hope to continue to make Mary Kay just as proud to call me part of their alumni as I will be to have been a part of it.

Suddenly, Mary Kay has gone from being the best opportunity ever (in Allison’s eyes, anyway) to being part of her past.

Why is Allison doing this? The official story is above, but  the unofficial story is that Allison’s area is barely making it in the Mary Kay world. Her earnings have fallen pathetically low, leaving her at the bottom rungs of the NSD earnings ladder. That’s not very impressive, is it? Especially not if you want people in the real world to believe you were a “top earner” at Mary Kay.

So she can jump ship now, pretend it’s only a life choice (rather than a choice of necessity, if she wants the rest of the world to believe she was a Mary Kay success) and hope to make bazillions of dollars off people who will buy her “coaching” and her products.  Oddly enough (or not so oddly, really) Allison is peddling a product (cleverly disguised as a gift for you) in her goodbye letter.