You Chose to Be Negative
It breaks my heart that all of you ladies have such a sad impression of Mary Kay. One of the things that you all don’t understand is that you don’t make full-time money in Mary Kay unless you have a full-time sales director position.
I know several top consultants personally, and they aren’t working 40 hours per week with their business right now. They have other jobs or are choosing to spend 5 hours per week with their business because that’s how much time they want to set aside. And they’re still making money!
Girlfriend time is one of my favorite parts of Mary Kay. Yes, there are events that we have to pay for, but the reason for that is because there are expenses related to putting on those events. The National isn’t “making money” off of the events by any means. But, if she’s going to plan a dinner for certain consultants who it specific goals, someone has to pay for the food, right? It’s only fair that the consultant attending should pay for the meal and the rental space if she is going to benefit in some way by means of training or other information.
My favorite kind of Mary Kay girlfriend time is when it’s unexpected. This past Christmas, I couldn’t fly back to Indiana to be with my family, and after a very emotional evening, I showed up on my director’s doorstep unannounced on Christmas Eve and she welcomed me with open arms. She could have turned me away and said that she was spending time with her family, but to her, I am “family.” We’ve gone to movies together, had several sushi dinners, and sat for hours just enjoying each other’s company…and this from my ADOPTED sales director who doesn’t gain anything from helping me with my business. (And she has helped me, immensely).
I know my comments are not going to change your opinions of Kim or of Mary Kay. Your comments, however true you may feel they are, do nothing but hurt people’s feelings and spread untrue statements. If you aren’t happy with Mary Kay, fine, own that. But, don’t smear other women because of your own insecurities.
If any of you truly gave your businesses an honest effort and didn’t make excuses, my guess is that you would have been successful. Instead, you chose to be negative and bring other people down with you. How sad. I hope you ladies learn what Mary Kay is really all about someday. Joining this company has been the best decision I’ve ever made in my 27 years on this planet, but that’s me. Best of luck to you all in your future endeavors.
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“And they’re still making money!”
That’s called revenue. They are not turning a true lifetime business profit. The qualifying minimums plus the costs of training, travel and conferences make sure of that.
“If any of you truly gave your businesses an honest effort and didn’t make excuses, my guess is that you would have been successful.”
Many of the contributors here were successful by Mary Kay standards. But once they woke up to the reality of the continued downline harm necessary for this success, they decided they could not, in good conscience, continue.
Contributors to this site are concerned with the downline masses exploited by the upline and MKC. PTC, you are standing up for MKC and the ones doing the exploiting.
Who sleeps better at night…and at the end of the month…and approaching the end of Seminar year?
Mary Kay is bleeding money. Ryan Rogers was sued by his own father. https://www.dmagazine.com/business-economy/2026/02/mary-kay-ashs-son-and-grandson-locked-in-legal-battle-for-future-of-t/
Gravy train is done.
How can the comments hurt people’s feelings that AREN’T reading such a “negative” site?
27 years old and has it all figured out. Sure. Without any solid financial facts backing her claims, her comments mean nothing. Unfortunately she is believing every lie and script her upline is feeding her.
But this isn’t the way it’s presented. Future IBCs seem to be told from the beginning they’ll make full-time income on part-time hours. Now, this person says only full-time sales directors make that money. Which is it, cuz it can’t be both.
I was once 27 and an emotional superfund site. But I never even thought of my coworkers and boss as a way to get my warm fuzzies. Hell, they were half of my problems, but even if I’d trusted them it would mean my troubles were always with me.
“This past Christmas, I couldn’t fly back to Indiana to be with my family, and after a very emotional evening, I showed up on my director’s doorstep unannounced on Christmas Eve and she welcomed me with open arms.”
That’s unhealthy and needy and so far outside of professional norms it almost loops around the universe to meet it from the wrong side. Shooing a crying young woman off her front porch on Christmas eve would have made her look like Scrooge and she either A) couldn’t figure out how to get rid of you politely or B) thought it would be something she could use to manipulate you later – “what do you mean you’re not ordering this month, after I welcomed you into my house at Chrismas when you were so upset?”
I can guarantee that she resented having to feed, soothe, and entertain you, and that her family resented having this emotional stranger plonked down in the middle of whatever their plans were.
Besides that, blurring the lines between friendship and business can backfire in a huge number of ways, from perceived favoritism from the rest of her downline (and we’ve seen plenty of MLMers who won’t hesitate to Mean Girl you into oblivion) to a sense of betrayal when she can’t or won’t accede to your every whim.
As a 27 year old, it’s time to learn to cope with Big Feelings in a healthy way, whether that takes therapy, self help, or a big hard think about what’s missing from your life and what you really want. If you want friends, go make friends, and NOT through MK. I mean real friendships with no strings attached; people who will welcome you into their home on Christmas because they care about you and want you around. They will like you for who you are, not for what you can do for them, but they have to know you feel the same way about them and don’t view them as potential sales targets.
Ditch the MLM and go do normal young adult stuff. Those are years you’ll never have back, as I’ve learned to my sorrow.
Sage advice Popinki.
“…blurring the lines between friendship and business can backfire in a huge number of ways…”
Even borrowing money from friends can cause friction. MLM causes problems in relationships even when friends choose not to participate!
To quote Dean Van Druff, “What goes unnoticed to the MLMer is that when the neighborhood is turned into a marketplace, something precious is lost… which is not easily regained.”
If joining MK is the BEST decision she’s ever made, it’s unnerving to imagine her other, apparently far worse decisions…
Making money? HA!
OP sells $100 worth of product. She may THINK S she is pocketing $100, but she isn’t.
$100 to offset the cost of the product she has on her shelf.
Mary Kary ought to offer a class in economics/ or basic accounting.
‘I went to my director’s house on Christmas Eve’ has been around forever. They think we have amnesia.
Wait a minute here…. the MK huns constantly spout “part-time work for executive pay.” So we were all lied to then? *sarcasm*
Then there is the “The National isn’t ‘making money’ off of the events by any means.” Oh, yes she is!! One only has to look at Kristen Sharpe and Brittani Jenks to see that they have not been in good standing with the company due to the money they’re raking in from their events.
My advice to you is to get your facts straight, ditch the MLM, and actually do something worthwhile of your time.
“Your comments, however true you may feel they are, do nothing but hurt people’s feelings and spread untrue statements.”
Please cite a specific example of an untrue statement from this website. Not one that you “feel” is untrue, but one that is objectively untrue.
At some point, you’ll discover that you’ve been lied to by the Mary Kay machine. You can decide then which was more damaging in the long run: hearing an unpleasant truth, or believing a pleasant lie.
It breaks my heart that all of you ladies have such a sad impression of Mary Kay.
It’s not a “sad” impression, it’s an impression based facts.
One of the things that you all don’t understand is that you don’t make full-time money in Mary Kay unless you have a full-time sales director position.
Then why am I constantly told “executive pay for part-time hours” or “work in small pockets of your time”? It can’t be both.
I know several top consultants personally, and they aren’t working 40 hours per week with their business right now.
But you are not going to name them because you have realised that we can research them and point out that they are not top consultants.
They have other jobs or are choosing to spend 5 hours per week with their business because that’s how much time they want to set aside.
So, they are robbing Peter( their job) to pay Paul (Mary Kay Wagner Rogers Eckman Weaver Miller Hallenbeck Ash’s company).
And they’re still making money!
We have to take you word or rather their words since you haven’t offered any proof of your claims.
Girlfriend time is one of my favorite parts of Mary Kay.
Sure, relaxing with friends shouldn’t be written off, we need downtime. But you are NOT having “girlfriend time” , you are still wasting time in this fauxpotunity.
Yes, there are events that we have to pay for, but the reason for that is because there are expenses related to putting on those events.
Corporations pay for those things.
The National isn’t “making money” off of the events by any means.
NSDs are not supposed to “make money” doing these events according to Mary Kay Corp.
But, if she’s going to plan a dinner for certain consultants who it specific goals, someone has to pay for the food, right?
Yes and that’s the NSD.
It’s only fair that the consultant attending should pay for the meal and the rental space if she is going to benefit in some way by means of training or other information.
No, they shouldn’t. That should be covered by corporate like in the rest of the corporate world.
Get a real job and you’ll have money to fly home for Christmas.
My favorite kind of Mary Kay girlfriend time is when it’s unexpected.
I don’t disagree. Spending time with friends is good for your mental health.
This past Christmas, I couldn’t fly back to Indiana to be with my family, and after a very emotional evening, I showed up on my director’s doorstep unannounced on Christmas Eve and she welcomed me with open arms.
If you were a friend of mine and turned up in distress on Christmas Eve, I’d let you in as well.
She could have turned me away and said that she was spending time with her family, but to her, I am “family.”
I’ll point you back to Popinki’s reply to you. It’s illuminating.
We’ve gone to movies together, had several sushi dinners, and sat for hours just enjoying each other’s company…and this from my ADOPTED sales director who doesn’t gain anything from helping me with my business. (And she has helped me, immensely).
She isn’t doing anything for your benefit alone. She’s getting something even if it’s you paying for her meals.
I know my comments are not going to change your opinions of Kim or of Mary Kay.
No, because my opinion is based on facts not feelings. Here’s some facts that I doubt your adoptee hasn’t shown you. They are from Mary Kay Canada.
https://www.marykay.ca/-/media/images/mk/united-states/canada/esuite/footer/canadian-statement-of-typical-participant-earnings-2025.pdf
Your comments, however true you may feel they are,
Truth has nothing to do with feelings.
do nothing but hurt people’s feelings and spread untrue statements.
What is untrue about Ellen calling some-one a “heffer”? Or the husband worry about how his wife has changed under the aegis of her Mary Kay uplines? Or the directors talking in circles about how hard it is to “book, sell, book, recruit”?
I challenge you to go back three months or so and pick a post and debunk it with proof.
If you aren’t happy with Mary Kay, fine, own that.
We do, especially the women who were successful at exploiting other women.
But, don’t smear other women because of your own insecurities.
This is the opposite of being insecure, this is embracing our worth.
If any of you truly gave your businesses an honest effort and didn’t make excuses, my guess is that you would have been successful.
Proof positive you haven’t read many posts here because you would know just HOW successful many of the commentariat were in terms recognised by the Mary Kay Elite.
Instead, you chose to be negative and bring other people down with you.
Posting screenshots of directors whining isn’t being negative. It’s showing the call coming from inside the house. Posting how a husband is frustrated with a neglectful wife is showing how the company prioritizes itself over the very things it claims to protect.
How sad. I hope you ladies learn what Mary Kay is really all about someday.
It used to be about enriching Mary Kay and her heirs, now it’s about wringing the last cent from their IBCs before they jump to an affiliate model like so many other MLM companies.
Joining this company has been the best decision I’ve ever made in my 27 years on this planet, but that’s me.
Cleta is still only a SD after nearly 40 years in Mary Kay. She’s not the only one who has been spinning her wheels, wasting her time and money going nowhere. Again, I point to Popinki’s reply, she makes some very good points.
Best of luck to you all in your future endeavors.
Bless you heart.
You know why she ended up at her director’s house? Because she has no friends left after hounding them to “support” her business.
Sad but probably true!
“One of the things that you all don’t understand is that you don’t make full-time money in Mary Kay unless you have a full-time sales director position.”
Ok, cool. So, THAT is exactly what directors tell potential recruits, right? Right?!
This comment so incredibly frustrating because you KNOW directors tell potential new recruits the sky is the limit as far as consultant earnings; executive pay for part-time hours, you can promote yourself anytime you want; the products fly off the shelf, etc.. And now you want to say we don’t understand? No, ma’am. We were LIED to. Stop with your gaslighting.
“This past Christmas, I couldn’t fly back to Indiana to be with my family, and after a very emotional evening, I showed up on my director’s doorstep unannounced on Christmas Eve…”
If this is true you are unhinged, have less emotional regulation than a toddler, and you’re disgustingly selfish.
If this is just a story to tell to convince prospects that it’s a “sisterhood,” it still promotes behavior that is unhinged, shockingly immature, and disgustingly selfish.
But I’m not surprised, MK favors women that are selfish and have stunted maturity.
If this letter was written by who I think it might be, get a dermatologist. MK is destroying your face (and your finances). Grow TF up.
The downvote from someone who emotionally never made it past diaper school, no doubt.
It does more than break my heart to see the delusions believed by those who need personal inner growth and self esteem who are trapped by MLM vultures. You are in the same position as any substance addict. You won’t see reality because it’s too unmanageable. But your addiction has a more socially acceptable veneer. But that’s all it is, a veneer. Please get out and get healthy.
“It’s only fair that the consultant attending should pay for the meal and the rental space if she is going to benefit in some way by means of training or other information.”
I’ve never seen an active consultant admit the training in Mary Kay isn’t actually free, so that’s cool you did.
“But, if she’s going to plan a dinner for certain consultants who it specific goals, someone has to pay for the food, right?”
Also, what kind of reward/celebration is the meal if the consultant has to PAY for it? What a joke.
When I worked, my team leader organised a Christmas meal event every year and they paid for it. Maybe it was paid for by the company or maybe the leader paid for it themself.
The one year I worked Christmas Day, the group leader turned up with a three course Christmas meal with wine and coffee which his wife had cooked for us. He also gave us a bottle of Chateau Neuf du Pape to take home as a personal “Thank You” gift.
And yet I’m supposed to be dismayed by the lack of a mashed potato bar.
I’ve worked many Christmases and holidays in the past. Yeah, it sucks a bit not being home with my family, but my patients aren’t home with their families either.
We often have potlucks (wear your stretchy pants!), and last year for Christmas Eve, the critical care attending physician ordered food for everyone working on the unit (45-50 people total). He paid for it all and wouldn’t accept any funds to help offset his costs. I’ve had my leadership team bring pizzas, taco bars, ice cream sundaes, and sandwich platters to us on Sundays because it was Sunday and the ICU was crazy busy (full moon is sometimes the cause), and leadership decided we needed food.
DA, I’m a wee jealous of your thank you gift. I truly hoped you enjoyed that bottle immensely!
I kept it for our anniversary. Mr. Angel was very appreciative of the fact.
With regard to the fairness or not of the consultants paying for “training” meetings. If training occurred, that would be sensible, but there isn’t any training, ever. You can’t touch your victims to apply makeup so you aren’t trained on proper application. Financial training punches a huge hole in the facade of income potential via “sales” in MLM frauds so that’s not possible. Truth about recruiting being the only viable path to financial “success” is illegal and immoral, so THAT “training” isn’t possible.
So, no. No victim should have to pay for these “keep drinking the flavorade” sessions.