Written by SuzyQ

Many of you who have posted, commented or read for awhile on Pink Truth have been able to “watch” several directors, including me, implode. It has been such a process and I can’t imagine living through all of this with any sense of humor, without all of you.

It amazes me to meet new participants… former lurkers, who are astonished at the similarities of our stories as they come out piece by piece. It is so rewarding to read the comments and know that we are providing hope to others.. .the great relief to learn we aren’t crazy, and that it wasn’t because we didn’t work hard enough or believe enough.

There have been times on here that I have defended directors and other times I have blasted them. Being a director is one of the strangest experiences I have had in my life. There is a whole ‘nother level of deceit and disinformation once we reach directorship and leaving it is incredibly difficult initially. There is a death of a dream, of hope for the future, of doing just a little bit more to make it work, trying something different to inspire the unit (“Boot Camps”, complete with Pink Camos were once populart around these parts… the fact that we are at war and people are dying has apparently escaped the attention of the people who dream this stuff up… too negative. The war thing.) And finally, the realization that it can’t work, and won’t work and it’s time to leave.

I finally go to that point, but it took a while to get to the hard won peace that I know now. My Mary Kay car was ceremoniously towed away and my unit was gone shortly after that. It was fun “meeting” other directors whose clocks were running out soon, too… 3 or 4 at the time I was leaving, plus me, and these were only the women I talked to on a regular basis. Who knows how many lurkers and those few who haven’t found us are “stepping down” or “losing” their units this month? And next month… and the month after…

The writing I’ve done for Pink Truth was for my own therapy and I should probably not have subjected you all to it, but (there’s always a “but” isn’t there…) I have discovered I am not unique and my experiences resonate with others. So, a note to my sister directors who are committed to turning their units around, and are so excited after that awesome Career Conference… it’s not going to happen. Really. You are chasing something that enriches only your upline. Yes, Virginia, we have uplines in Mary Kay. It’s a multi leveling marketing scheme. Period. Those at the top prosper at the expense (literally and emotionally) of those at the bottom. And if you are a bottom feeder (or a “struggling” director like me) it’s not going to get better. Trust me on this.

You will have a good month, or a new hotdog… maybe even in another state who is ON FIRE and will change your whole unit! And then she will burn out and you will be back where you are now. If you bring in people with large inventories, they will end up returning it. There is too much easily accessible information for them to access than there ever was before. This does not work to your advantage. Women are smart… they know deception and if anything, MK Is deceptive.

Those nagging questions you have always had?

• Like, how does MK know we are #1 year after year… but if you google lists, we are not on them… how does that work? It works because of you Sweetie… you and your unit order, that’s how that works.
• The Star Prizes? Have you priced them in retail stores? If you haven’t, it works out that $1800 = around $25 and it goes up by maybe $20 as you progress up the ladder…
• Have you thought about the ethics of not telling your units about product changes? Have you let them order things you know are being discontinued?
• Do you ask them to stand up if they are going to be a Star this quarter? Do you put their orders in your newsletter? And their sales? Have you noticed that their sales aren’t even close to their orders?
• Do you have banquets? Events? Do you announce your highest check? Do you also say that it was a one time thing several years ago, or do you allow them to believe it is a typical check for you?
• Do you tell them that it is okay to incur debt because it is a business deduction?
• If they tell you they don’t have $100 for the Go Kit, do you tell them that’s why they need MK?
• Do you talk about executive incomes for 10 hours a week?
• Do they know that your checks bounce better than rubber balls?

Have you been encouraged to leave your JOB because Mary Kay doesn’t like her directors to hold other employment? How big is YOUR credit card debt? How does it feel to buy a suit for over $400 that you wouldn’t be caught dead in otherwise? And spend the money for events and “I stories” you could recite in your sleep? Are you embarrassed because you are not in a Cadillac during director line ups at events? Do you secretly look at the other directors and wonder why they are having so much success and you are not?

Ladies, it’s all of this and more. There is such incredibly powerful manipulation afoot… read any training materials from other MLM’s (online) and you will see MK everywhere – the phrases, the suggested reading lists, the same “slogans.” We are all the same and we are not going to “make it” unless we hurt a lot of people along the way. MK is a numbers game, and there are families behind those numbers, we cause great damage in our pursuit of our “dream.”

Start asking questions and see the reaction from your forever friends. Mention Pink Truth and see the horror in people’s faces. Tell somebody you are not making enough money and have them tell you to just quit thinking and work harder. Watch your phone calls and emails decrease dramatically. Get ready for some “Hear my heart” conversations.

I do offer hope though. It is so much better to be on the way out rather than on the way in. We miss so much when we are in the fog. We can be honest, we regain our souls and our spirits, our senses of humor and irony. We sleep well. We explore other job opportunities and other cosmetic lines. We meet new friends who have seen us at our worst and still are there for us. We worship the God of our choosing instead of the one chosen for us. There is so much good waiting for you! Your family and your life are waiting… can you hear it?

Written by Raisinberry

We here at Pink Truth are still human. We didn’t defog out of Mary Kay and suddenly become vicious negative sub-human life forms, contrary to the Pink spin about this website.

It’s no wonder that NSDs really don’t want consultants or potential recruits  coming to this site and reading an opposing view from what they are being told at a guest event or from a recruiter. The information here opens up doubt. What happens when you read Pink Truth is suddenly your suspicions become confirmed. But let’s face it, you had the suspicions or you wouldn’t have been “looking.” You had a crack in your positive mental attitude bubble.

Written by Raisinberry

Someone once said that there is a little bit of “BS” is in every sales presentation, and they weren’t talking about better service. Perhaps some time ago, Mary Kay’s sales environment and recruiting system might have been pure as the driven snow, but something has gone terribly awry in the last few decades of “enriching women’s lives”.

The symptoms of it are easy to see, the “why” of it, more difficult. In many ways, what has happened to our economy as a whole is reflected by Mary Kay in microcosm. In the simplest words possible, Mary Kay opted for quick and easy profit by any means possible, instead of by thorough training and laborious development of personnel in time honored professionalism.

Written by The Scribbler

False income claims are the primary recruiting tool used by multi-level marketing companies to lure in new recruits. Mary Kay sales director Roya Mattis loves to say “if she can do it, I can do it too.” But what if “IT” is complete fiction, as is the case with Mattis? In yesterday’s article, Mary Kay Elite Executive Senior Sales Director Roya Mattis made the following three claims about her Mary Kay business:

• “…the home of our dreams, we moved in after three and a half years totally debt-free.”
• “[We]live in a new 7500 square foot dream home that my Mary Kay business paid for.”
• “I drive a FREE pink Cadillac.”

It was proven that Mattis was not “totally debt-free” upon moving into her dream home (nor is she now, as the house is under water with two mortgages), her Mary Kay business did not pay for said home, and the pink Cadillac she drives isn’t free. 

Written by SuzyQ

We have our own vocabulary in Mary Kay. Along with the overused words like awesome and great and beelieve, we find ourselves ON TARGET for any number of things.

• When we have one new recruit, we are ON TARGET for our red jackets!
• When we come in as a new consultant with an $1800 inventory we are ON TARGET for a Ruby Star.
• As a new Red Jacket we are ON TARGET for Team Leader.

If a Mary Kay recruiter was being truthful about the “opportunity,” this is what it might sound like.

Hi Perfect Stranger!

I have just bought into a huge Multi Level Marketing (MLM) scheme and I would like to get in your space for a few moments to put some skin care and make up on you so that I can ultimately try to snare you into joining me in this ridiculous pursuit!

Really? You’d love to try some skin care? I’M SO EXCITED! Now, I can work on pushing all of your hot buttons!

Ick. Another propaganda piece to assure Mary Kay consultants that if they just pray enough and want it enough, they can be successful in Mary Kay. If they are not successful, they must not have had a high enough “deserve level” or they’re lazy losers (like us – LOL).

Please respond to this ONLY if you want more for your life from Mary Kay!  I know that the women who respond to this – want more of my time and attention – and you will get it!!!  When you decide you will be accountable to someone else – major changes happen!

I believe that you came into Mary Kay to fulfill a dream that you have.  I know that Mary Kay can fill it – I have seen it be able to fill a woman’s deepest desires – I’ve seen people get babies, husbands, and money for whatever just to name a few things!

Written by sadnpink

Having been trained in the field of communication, I know how crucial it is to keep lines of communication open when working a business. Even in relationships, this is a key ingredient to success. So why would any company allow its leaders to avoid discussing problems openly?

There is an old saying that goes “you are either part of the problem or part of the solution”. Many of the leaders in Mary Kay are more of a problem than a solution because they are unwilling to openly discuss issues that could lead to solutions or at least reality.

Written by The Scribbler

(Before reading this article, I highly recommend checking out Lazy Gardens’ article “Mary Kay Ash and the Missing Marriages” as it provides a helpful timeline with regards to Mary Kay Ash’s five husbands).

Did a recent Mary Kay inventory $600+ order (or impromptu Goodwill trip, for that matter) bless you with a copy of Mary Kay Ash’s autobiography, Miracles Happen?  For the record, I counted three copies on Goodwill’s shelves at my last visit.  I’m sure there were more, but my 5-year old had stumbled across a piece of curious machinery and wanted to know what it was.  It was a “previously-loved” George Foreman grill, and its discovery sparked a lively dialogue which began with Boxing 101 and ended with the question, “Why would George name five of his kids like him?”  For some things in life there are no answers, my daughter; let us ponder no further.  Goodwill:  Come for the 25-cent copies of multi-level marketing manuals, stay for the philosophical discussion!

Written by Raisinberry

The higher up a person i, in the Mary Kay marketing “line up”, the more she is exposed to the failed reality of a Mary Kay business. Since that goes against her programming, she looks for reasons that justify her continued endorsement of the Mary Kay opportunity. The problem seen with clarity is that if Mary Kay was all it was cracked up to be, how come in 6 to 7 weeks, the company warns Sales Directors to pump up their newbies, or lose them?

Within 6 months, the typical Director doesn’t even recognize her unit members at her Unit meeting. If a beauty consultant or Sales Director questions this, she is handled with a trump card, used by the top 2%ers that can neutralize the stench of doubt better than a $.98 can of Glade.  This trump card is so effective, and goes completely unchallenged in the world of Mary Kay, because it appears to be so business like and authoritative.