2025 National Sales Director Trip
Written by Parsons Green
Every year, Mary Kay invites the national sales directors to an all inclusive luxury trip. Retired nsds are also invited for three trips after their retirement. This years trip is a cruise to Alaska on the Silver Moon by SilverSea. Somer Fortenberry shared that there are 359 nsds and guests on the cruise.
Linda Toupin traveled alone for her final trip. Her daughter, three time million dollar director Katie Toupin. Must be busy back home inspiring her team to a successful 2025 finish. Or maybe she’s recording new music. That’s the great thing about Mary Kay and a retired nsd mama. You have the flexibility to do both. (And by flexible, we mean we know who really does the work to pull in numbers for that unit.)
The itinerary shows a jam packed seven days of fun. Note that some of the activities are invite only! Even on the cruise, nsds are reminded that your level of importance varies based upon how much your team orders.
Jamie Taylor shared the delivery of the itinerary box on Instagram. Every year nsds get a charm to add to their bracelet to commemorate the nsd trip. Jamie, if this jewelry is so important to you, why is it already tarnished?
The nsds love to post about the trip on social media.
Somer (and her barely hanging on eyelash) shows off the jacket her team bought her for the trip. (Also, please never forget how Sommer got to nsd by allegedly cheating.)
Holli Lowe fills us in that Patricia Turker was the #1 nsd. Patricia gets the biggest suite on the cruise AND gets to throw a party! During the party, Holli snuck into the bathroom to show that the suite came with PINK toilet paper.
Lisa Madson gave a special speech because this is her last trip before retirement. Even while at sea, you can’t leave the work behind.
Taylor McKnight has been struggling to become an nsd for years, not even coming close. At home, she shared she had major FOMO but the cruise content is what she needs to keep her eyes focused on the goal.
And then there’s Chelsea Adkins. Chelsea is a cruise aficionado and sails several times a year. She admits she does look for the cheapest cabins available, but that’s because she prefers a dark interior for sleeping and she’s never in the room anyway. However, she is jealous of the size of Gloria Mayfield Banks‘s cabin. Chelsea’s cabins could fit into Gloria’s bathroom. Chelsea (in full makeup, jewelry, and pink cadillac pajamas) discusses how the cabins are assigned based on your seminar ranking. With zero offspring directors, and only one DIQ, I don’t think Chelsea is anywhere close to ever being on one of these cruises.
Unfortunately, some directors cannot make the cruise due to real life conflicts. Lynnea Tate had to skip the cruise because of her child’s graduation. I’m glad Lynnea got to be there for the event. I’m sure the cash equivalent didn’t hurt either.
But never fear Mary Kay, Lynnea is still looking out for you! She and other nsds are offering a special prize of a zoom call with the nsds to learn more about the trip they took.
Visit the
Tips from the top of the pyramid?
“Order more and recruit more!”
No mention of selling the product…
“Order more and recruit more!”
Exactly. There are no other “tips.” A real sales company would provide the BEST training all the time for ALL of its sales force. But in Mary Kay, you must EARN “exclusive training.”
And how do you earn it? Why, by ordering and recruiting, of course! SMH
What a scam.
Good to experience Linda Toupin’s words and not feel overwhelmed by the urge to “try a little harder.” She was one of my MK idols as she was a teacher. I was positive that if she could do it, so could I. I never milked cows, but I did grow up rural.
This culture is rampant. Some big shots at the top sitting fat and happy, telling us all how amazing we are {love bombing} and we can be there at the top, too. What we little peons don’t realize is that they are feasting on our endless efforts. That’s how they got to the top. {bread crumbing}
Our school just got a new principal. He was not the choice of the hiring committee. In fact, he wasn’t the choice of anyone except one of the directors down at admin. Our current principal is taking early retirement. This school year was incredibly difficult, due in large part to a lack of “leadership.”
Now, I do NOT want to be a principal – nor would I likely ever get the job as they already have their choices made on who will be the next in line – so we can’t say, oh, maybe you should go in and “make a difference,” and do the job. So what CAN we do?
I guess, what I CAN do, for as long as I can, is close my door and teach my students. I say close my door and teach my students because at times there is absolutely chaos out in the rest of the building.
That was kind of a rant for a post about the nsd trip! lol
Now I better go get ready for my summer job, since us overpaid spoiled teachers have “summers off.” (In 23 years I took one summer off, that was the summer my daughter was born in early July, so I don’t think that really counts)
I forgot to mention that the new principal also does not have his admin degree. He has an alternative certificate and has been “working on” his masters for several years.
Make it make sense.
It’s still a man’s world, and at least around here there’s always been heaps of cronyism and nepotism in the school system. It sounds like Principal Skinner there is related to/ knows/ has compromising photos of/ someone well-connected enough to override the hiring committee.
For what it’s worth, I don’t even remember the names of any of the principals of my schools, but I remember every single teacher I had from kindergarten through 6th grade, and most of them from junior high through college. Not just their names, but what they looked like, their voices, their teaching styles. Whether I adored or loathed them, I learned things from them and they shaped my life in one way or another.
Also a teacher, and also traveling to Alaska this summer. And my goodness, I didn’t have to ask a single person to purchase something to make that happen!
Sorry about your current predicament. That is a bummer. And, “make it make sense” – I LOVE her!
I’ve never been a consultant, but listed to one of Linda’s tapes from a would-be recruiter. While inspiring, I was turned off by her description of visiting former colleagues and implying that she was the one who had moved on. Never mind that teachers can make a substantial difference in their students’ lives. I have great respect for the teachers I’ve known (including family members) but for those in the pink fog, not so
much. Intrigue, keep doing what really matters!🙂
I’ve also seen her make fun of a waitress to her face about making poor career decisions. If you’re not in Mary Kay, you’re wrong, in the almighty Linda’s opinion. Not sure where she thinks customers come from if everyone is a consultant… Oh, wait! Customers don’t matter! Sales don’t matter! The only things that matter are recruiting and frontloading. Oh, and keeping newbies in for a year so they can’t send back inventory.
Honestly, if I were Katie Toupin/Candi Jenkins, I’d want to become someone else too. My mother gave me hell but she was Marion Cunningham compared to a termagant like Linda.
She is so so gross.
Let’s see a vacation from life/work to be surrounded by people from your life/work… Sounds relaxing.
No one wants to see your toilet. No one’s toilet; not any toilet. No one wants to see a port-a-potty in Portsmouth, a cruise ship commode, a Dubai dumper, or a Kohler in Kyoto, or a throne in Trenton.
Ahmed, however, is a wizard of customer service. That line about the pink bogroll being more suited to delicate NSDerrieres than the plebian white stuff was masterful.
A little off topic, but I just have to ask, so that I can get it all straight: These women essentially PAY out the wazoo to go on a cruise (through product purchases and the purchases of their downlines), and then they have to PAY tax on the value of the trip as if it were INCOME? Pretty sick.
But what’s just as sick (maybe even more) is Taylor M’s post, THANKING her NSD for “helping” her to have consistent FOMO. Gonna buy Nashy-Nash a big ol’ gift for causing her stress and envy. Did anyone else want to barf upon reading that?
How much do you think the tax costs? Also, how much did the company have to pay for this ship? People can’t pay bills but they’re ok with 1000% markup so they can go on a cruise?
A suite on Silversea Cruise Line is going to cost upwards of $10,000 per person for a 7 night trip. That’s a lot of money to declare as income. Furthermore, spouses have to pay out of pocket for the cruise if they decide to go. Silversea is a luxury cruise line with amenities galore, but I have to wonder if the NSDs will think it’s worth it once they receive their 1099s. Lynnea Tate couldn’t go on the cruise because one of her children graduated from high school, & she took the cash instead. If she doesn’t spend it all, she should be able to pay her taxes. I hope those who went on the cruise will earmark enough money to pay their taxes. The stress isn’t worth it, IMO. SMH
I’ve been on lots of cruise and never seen a scale in the bathroom 🙂
Makes me wonder if it really is the ship bathroom!
I’m so glad I got out of MK!