The Mary Kaybots will say you’re unsupportive. They’ll tell your wife that you’re just “trying to hold her back,” or that you “don’t want her to have something just for herself.” You’ll be called negative. They’ll say you just don’t “get it.”

The real truth is that you understand all too well what a losing proposition Mary Kay Cosmetics is. The failure rate in this so-called business is astronomically higher than any legitimate business. Why? Because it’s more of a pyramid scheme (in which only a very small few win, dependent, of course, on all the rest to pass their money up the chain). It’s not a real business in which results are reasonably correlated to your efforts.

Written by “Stephanie”

I was a Sales Director in Mary Kay a few years ago. If I knew then what I know now I would have never became a sales director… especially not doing it the way I was taught to do it.

Being in MK you learn the lingo, the language and the look. “Those who show up, go up”, “Do what  you have to do to get over the hump”. Well it is not all that it is cracked up to be.

If I can share anything about my experience and ordeal, it would be to warn other women not to do what I did and not get “sucked” into the MK dream of doing things unethically thinking it will get you ahead. What you must understand though, is that everyone in Mary Kay is doing it. Every sales director has signed up family and friends and paid the money for them to finish DIQ. Every sales director has topped off production to meet minimums or appear to “finish a goal.” Every sales director has ordered in someone else’s name to make them active.

Mary Kay Sucks

Written by JTA

If you are considering ‘moving up into management’ in Mary Kay, ‘promoting yourself to Director’,  or even just getting started in the business, here are some facts that you might not be aware of.

Fact 1: The majority of Sales Directors make very little money.

To check this fact, you can do a couple of things.  One real eye opener is to ask the Directors you admire to provide their 1099s for the last few years.  They can easily access these from Intouch.  Some may argue that this does not provide a true picture of income since it does not show expenses.  However, even without deducting expenses you will be surprised at how low this number is.

Written by Nutmeg

I was recruited in 2005 by a friend (who quit immediately after ordering her $1800 and never selling any of it).  My director (who's a nat'l) had me order full inventory.  I have a very large network of friends and happened to be really good at selling the products.  I actually paid off my inventory and started making a profit after 4 months.  I was prompted to become a director.

Written by a Future NSD

I wanted to give everyone at Pink Truth the perspective of a “higher up” director. I at one time had over 1,000 in my downline, and 9 offspring directors.

I have been lurking on this site for a while, and feel it is time to make a post. I am still an active director. I have been high up on the “food chain” for a while, but have never felt good about my position. I am open to all perspectives in life.

Tracy, I think you have brought up many issues that needed to be addressed, and you are being attacked because people are being threatened. You are an intelligent woman bringing a different perspective to MLM, and I love your quest for truth.

Perhaps my story will help other ladies out there. This is a true story in which I am still living but trying to put closure to a situation that has been absolutely terrible because of my hopefully soon ex-wife’s addiction to Mary Kay.

After our first child was born, my wife decided that doing nails was not good enough so she wanted to start a business. She had me listen to an Amway presentation and I told her immediately that if the focus is on recruiting and not selling products to make money- this is a pyramid scheme and no way would I get involved in this. Then came Mary Kay Cosmetics.

Written by Nutmeg

Yes, MK did put a wedge in my marriage.  I was a stay-at-home mom with 2 children and was feeling a little neglected by my husband’s very busy work/travel schedule.  I decided to give MK a try to get me out of the house and make a little money.  My husband was a little worried that I got talked into over $3,500 (which I borrowed from our joint account) inventory, but was happy for me when I started making good sales and paying back the “loan” from our account.

I started MK May 28 and my NSD was doing everything possible to talk me into going to seminar.  She tried to get me to book seminar and a plane ticket while on the phone with her, but I didn’t know her that well and wouldn’t go for it.  I talked it over with my husband and we decided it was stupid for me to spend more money when I hadn’t paid back the initial loan on my inventory yet.

This young woman was a Mary Kay director who bought into all the hype and into appearing successful. Bought into it… literally.  Does that sound crazy? Only if you’ve never actually been in Mary Kay or if you’re in Mary Kay and in serious denial.

Buying your way up the “career ladder” and into recognition is the norm in Mary Kay, it’s just that it’s not supposed to be discussed. And that makes sense… don’t discuss it because it’s wrong and silly and we all know it, but the upline depends on it for their commission checks to keep rolling in. Buying your way in Mary Kay is probably the most destructive thing about the company, and the dirtiest secret of all.

A new Mary Kay recruit, almost reeled in by a sales director who she thought was becoming her friend. But it was really all about the inventory.

So, I’ve always been well aware of the name Mary Kay.  It’s been a name that has been tossed around a few times in my 30 years of living.  I’ve had friends cross the path of pink bubblehood and come out a little scathed.  I even attended a facial and event a few years back with a good friend.  At the time though, I didn’t have any desire to sell MK.

I’m at a clothing store the other day and that’s when it happened.  This cute, bubbly woman is shopping in the same department as me and she remarks on my amazing shoes.  Well, they were pretty amazing, so I couldn’t blame her, and before I know it we are chatting and she tells me that she owns her own business and she is doing a portfolio and she would love to use me for a before and after picture.  Of course I agree.  We part ways.

She calls me a few days later and leaves a voicemail, I call her back and that’s when her voicemail reveals that she is a part of this tribe called Mary Kay.  So, I go ahead with the facial because I’ve done it before and I really don’t mind meeting women and maybe gaining a friend out of this little event.  So, I go, and I actually see someone there that I know, and we chit chat for a bit, and soon we are off.  It was a two hour event.  Of course I was asked if I wanted to join Mary Kay at the end, and I declined, but I was seriously considering it.  I mean who wouldn’t want a car?  I was up for a little change, I was up for meeting friends.. nothing wrong with that, right?

A week later, my “director” and I met up for another meeting at a coffee shop, and we really had a connection.  We are only a couple years a part, and I could really see us becoming friends.  I was signed up that night.  $100 isn’t bad.

A week later we were meeting again and that’s when she brought out the inventory sheet.  I was a little appalled by this.  I was already at the point where I knew I would not be selling to close family and friends because I knew they didn’t need it, but I did not have any issues with going out to a clothing store and asking someone to work with me in Mary Kay, I mean why not??  But why couldn’t I buy as I needed?  What was the huge hurry?

But the more my “director” talked, the more I had a sick feeling in my stomach.  I had just signed up for $2300 worth of inventory and I didn’t know why.  She kept talking and I kept thinking, what am I getting into??  I left feeling sick.  I called my friend who had given me a facial some years ago, and had to know why she did not sell MK anymore.  She filled me in on some interesting information.

That night I called my “director” and told her not to charge my credit card.  I said I am not doing this. I told her that something just didn’t feel right, and of course she could not understand this, because she knew I would be perfect for the business..  She said, it has everything I am looking for, flexibility, a car, friends, what more could I ask for.  The next day I went to work and talked with my supervisor.. she had also sold MK.  She also filled me in on some interesting information and introduced me to this site.  Oh where would I be without the two women who had already been through some of the horrors of MK??  Thank you, and you know who you are.

So, I returned my starter kit to my director and of course haven’t heard a word from her since.  It’s a very sad thing to hear about all of these stories, it’s even more sad to know that many more out there are still following MK with full passion and losing so much from it.

The story of a husband deceived by a wife in Mary Kay… This is far too common.

My wife has been in Mary Kay for 4 years. In that time she has lost over $30K. I had to remortgage the house to keep her from going bankrupt, but still she’s back at it. Her credit is going to max again in the next few months. This time I will lose the house. I have a good job, but she’s losing it faster than I can make it.