In talking with hundreds of current and former Mary Kay sales directors, it is clear to me that many of them didn’t realize what they were agreeing to when they signed their agreements.

The hallmark of pyramid schemes (masquerading as something legitimate under an innocent-sounding name like multi-level marketing) is false earnings claims. We at Pink Truth know that time and again, research shows that more than 99% of people LOSE MONEY in MLM.

Nonetheless, practically all you ever hear about is how much money participants are making. And these claims are largely lies. When confronted with the reality that so many people lose money in MLM, the companies themselves resort to excuses like “women don’t really want to make money with Mary Kay… they do it for fun and as a social outlet.”

A former Mary Kay sales director shares how her her story was like a gambling addition, waiting to hit the jackpot with the big commission check. 

My journey to the end began the day I was on the computer looking for something and I stumbled upon Pink Truth. It was a shock to see this because I thought everything about MK was great. It was like a splash of cold water. At first I was angry but I kept coming back because deep in my gut I knew there was some truth to what was being written. The doubts started. So of course I went to my SSD and she told me, “never look at that again. It is poison and it will ruin you.”

But I also knew the reality of being a MK director. DIQ was absolute hell. I said and did things I never thought I would so that I could be the “find a way, make a way” type woman and I naively believed that once I became a director, I would have arrived to all my success. Because most of the women I signed up that last month came in to do a one time order, I did not have a unit. I did not really have a team. I was also deep in credit card debt, because I made up the difference each month chasing the mirage of my MK dream.

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 The Scribbler

Roya Mattis is a mover and shaker in Mary Kay Cosmetics. She is a top director and personifies the image of success Mary Kay Inc. would have you believe is attainable. Roya has a compelling story of success, so why would she feel the need to lie to make the story even more sensational?

Mary Kay I-Stories are out to get you.  Really.  The primary purpose of these emotion-packed, sounds-too-good-to-be-true testimonies of Mary Kay consultants, directors, and NSDs is to get you longing for whatever its teller claims to have received from their Mary Kay business.  With any luck, you’ll be signing a Beauty Consultant Agreement long before Sam and Frodo get back from dumping the One Ring into Mount Doom, and what’s this?  Why, those little hobbits are so brave, they even left some Mary Kay goodie bags and lip gloss samples with the Mouth of Sauron!  Mary Kay Ash said to never prejudge people, after all, and you never know,  the Mouth of Sauron could be your next team member!   Just make sure you tell him that if he’s looking to make it as a director, he’ll want to keep the Card of Visa close by.  Moving on.

This is the story of a former Mary Kay director who was taught to deceive women in order to get the numbers to move up. When her directorship finally ended, she and her husband were forced to put their dreams on hold while they recovered from near financial ruin.

Here is the truth and nothing but the truth. I have always tried to be straight forward and honest, but sometimes we lie to ourselves.  Well over the last few months I have come to see clearly some things I have lied to myself and others about.

I signed up for Mary Kay 2 ½ years ago just to get my product at cost, since I was using plenty of it anyway.  Well after doing some reading I found it was much more profitable than the MLM I was doing for 1 year before Mary Kay.  It also offered a lot more as far as support and training.

This is the advice of a former Mary Kay director who quit, sent back tens of thousands of dollars of inventory and sent back her “free” car.

It has been almost 3 years since I returned my product, returned my “free” car and began my humbling journey of becoming normal again.  All those friend Directors?  Haven’t heard a word from anyone, even in my darkest times.  (With friends like that, yada, yada)

I see there are many newbies on here who are confused, considering and I hope that my post sheds some light on what I have come to realize about my 20 years in the business as a Director and help you with your own confusion…..

This is the story of a senior director who has been with Mary Kay for almost 30 years. And what does she have to show for it? No retirement savings.

I’ve been reading your blog for a few months now and I think it’s time I tell you all my story. I may alter a few dates to protect my identity since I’m still in Mary Kay.  I am a Senior Sales Director and have been in Mary Kay close to 30 years.

When I joined Mary Kay I was a depressed wife of a professional man who didn’t want me to go back to work.  I wasn’t very good at the housework thing but I did enjoy spending the time at home with my two small children.  I decided to join Mary Kay against my husbands advice.  He was worried that people would think he was failing if I had to go peddle cosmetics.

The most clever marketing ploy ever instituted by Mary Kay is the PINK CADILLAC! It screams success. The general public sees a woman in a pink Cadillac, and assumes she is very successful and earning the big bucks in Mary Kay.

The sad reality is that most of the Cadillac drivers are making about $30,000 to $40,000 per year. That’s not executive income! And these women are in the very upper ranks of Mary Kay.

A national sales director offers more “advice” to sales directors, even though we know that little of it really makes a difference when you’re working in the no-win MLM system.

This little gem comes from a Mary Kay national sales director who has been begging her area to increase her personal income for the last year. (Yes, you read that right.) From her sales director newsletter:

I believe I’ve come up with a TOTAL AREA WHOLESALE number that will take us to DIAMOND CIRCLE (my commissions=$200,000) and INNER CIRCLE ($325,000) Let’s shoot for Diamond Circle this year as a stepping stone WHILE WE BUILD to INNER CIRCLE!!