Mary Kay - Watch Out!

[sageofages]

Originally posted by jubilance1922
Me. I have some foundation, lipstick and lipliner and I love it. I also have some face cream for my extremely dry skin, and I've found that its the only product that will work for me.

It breaks me out like you wouldn't believe, I am so allergic to it (and the constant harrassment by 'consultants')...shudder.

[BlueReign]

Mary Kay, double EW!!

I strongly dislike Mary Kay people and Pre-paid legal people and any kind of people who love to talk you into selling something. It is never enough for them if you just buy their WONDERFUL product. They have to worry the hell out of you to sign up to sell it.

I have been rude to Mary Kay people for about 5 years now. I made the mistake of telling the lady that I MIGHT be interested. She called my job to get my fax and then called me to ask why I hadn't been to the fax machine!!!


Valkyrie, your posts are too funny! Sounding like you are coming straight out of my mouth!!!

[AGDee]

Originally posted by kdonline
In my 39 years of life, I've never known anyone who actually BUYS & USES Mary Kay makeup.

It's always been amazing to me, that MK needs so many sales reps.

WHO IS BUYING THIS STUFF!??!

I use their whole skin care line (mask, cleanser, astringent, moisturizer), their eye creams, and their Satin Hands hand lotion (which is my all time fave hand lotion, not greasy, but so soothing). Now, I can say that I didn't need all that stuff until my late 30's, but now, I love it. I have one of their lipsticks and one of their lip glosses too, but I don't use it often. It's more sticky than I care for.

ETA: Their skin care kit lasts forever though, so I only have to buy it once every couple of years.

[Beanblossom1]

What is pre-paid legal? I've never heard of it.

[jubilance1922]

Originally posted by Beanblossom1
What is pre-paid legal? I've never heard of it.

Just what the name implies...pre-paid legal services for criminal or civil reasons.

[Xylochick216]

One of my friends' moms sells Longaberger. I went to one party and my jaw dropped when I saw the prices. $50 for a tiny basket for my keys? No thanks. Her house is covered in baskets, and it's very overwhelming. I'd rather spend my money on something useful and not have a house full of baskets.

[NUBlue&Blue]

Longaberger consultants can make money because the baskets cost so much and you make 25% of sales. What kills with LB is the shipping and handling charges, which for some parts of the country are 17% (or used to be back when I was selling). Also, for most sane people, you can reach saturation level on how many baskets you must have, although like every home party thing, you have your insane groupies. Most consultants just become consultants to get their 25% off and early delivery of this month's "special" because all you have to order is $125 (might have gone up by now too), and baby, that's just one basket.

Actually, I am so over baskets and I have them flying out my rear end right now and really wouldn't need to buy one again as long as I live. The dishes, however, rock.....they don't break, nothing sticks to them....worth every penny. I used to sell so many of those Grandma Bonnie pie plates for $25, it's not funny (because they were the perfect size to slip one of those Mrs. Smith's deep dish apple pies right in and bake....homemade pie 'cuz you made it at home).

When I was a SAHM with 4 little kids, I was the queen of home parties.....anything to get out of the house, but haven't been to one for years. Not really the thing with my social group, we prefer lunch with large bottles of wine!

[GeekyPenguin]

My mom has a few Longabergers, they aren't terrible. I have seen women who have them everywhere, though.

[33girl]

Originally posted by NUBlue&Blue
Actually, I am so over baskets and I have them flying out my rear end right now

NUBlue&Blue, you have only been on this board for two posts and already have said something that may end up as my new signature. (when I get tired of the one I have, that is)

And I had the Avon solid perfume pins too - the worm/apple, I think a cat and another one. I might actually still have them around somewhere.

Incidentally, Avon does have some kiosks and stand-alone stores around here, and I think there used to be a Tupperware kiosk at the mall nearest me.

Re Longaberger, when I went to my cousin's house after my great-aunt's funeral, the solemnity of the occasion was almost drowned out by the HOLY CRAP I CAN'T BELIEVE SHE HAS THIS MANY DANG LONGABERGER BASKETS. It was entirely too much. I personally like to use old funky glassware and dishes and things like that as catchalls in the bathroom, bedroom etc.

[MooseGirl]

I'm not too big on the house parties either - never been to a pampered chef, tupperware or scrapbooking party. Partylite i've been to two - sure cool stuff, but you can buy similar stuff cheaper elsewhere.

However, last weekend I went to a Fantasia party! (i.e sex toys and lingerie). Now that party was fun and educational In my case it was even more interesting because my friend decided to have it co-ed since she had a guy friend who wanted to know what the deal was. Yeah, nothin like a group of men and women sitting around eating fruit and talking sex on a Saturday night!

My cousin sells Avon but I don't think she really does it for the money. She's a single mom of two and didn't get her hs diploma til she was 25 so this was her way of getting some skills that she could use towards getting a "real" job. She's now got "underlings" though I don't think she recruited them herself - she just looks after them. Anyway, seems good for her!

[amandaruth]

Home parties aren't my thing, either. It must be a family trait: both my mother and sister-in-law have been Mary Kay consultants at one time or another, and neither of them ever wanted to hold parties.
The whole concept of a "party" to sell things bugs me. It's not a party. One person dominates the discussion, there's usually no booze, and you feel like a jerk if you don't buy something.
Incidentally, one of my cousins had a Pampered Chef party disguised as a bridal shower. We show up, and there's a "demonstrator" there showing us all these products. Then they pass around a list of the things my cousin has decided she wants, and we were supposed to put cash in an envelope so she could pay for all of it. Then we got a lecture about how we should also buy things for ourselves, since my cousin would get bonus gifts as well. That's just tacky, in my opinion. It's one thing to invite people to a Mary Kay/Tupperware/Pampered Chef party (at least they know what they're getting into), but it's another thing entirely to invite someone to a bridal shower and then expect them to just fork over cash. From what I understand, that kind of "party" is becoming more common for lots of MLMs.

Originally posted by sageofages
It breaks me out like you wouldn't believe, I am so allergic to it (and the constant harrassment by 'consultants')...shudder.

Same here..and my mom's the same way. I didn't know until I actually sampled some foundation. The itch was unbearable.

[PhiMuAmberkins]

I use all their skin care stuff and foundation. Of course, I get it for cheap, since my mom sells it.

That said, I think you have to be in the right area, with the right type of clientele, in the right part of the country, etc. for Mary Kay to make you ANY money. It's really popular and successful here, and women make tons o' cash on it. But...you have to do tons of the silly house parties too. Which my mom hates. As in, can't stand, won't go to, won't do, hates. So she doesn't make as much money with it, but mainly does it so we can get our stuff at cost.

I don't think it's entirely bad, but it can be misleading and disappointing. And I hate the house parties too!

[AGDee]

I do have to say that I'm a big pampered chef fan. I love kitchen gadgets and would want one of everything if I could afford it. Some Tupperware lady comes to our building a couple times a year as a fund raiser for Hospice and I've picked up a few items from her. I'm so glad the Home Interiors craze is over though...

Tastefully Simple is another good party to go to, because there actually is some very good food!

[DGMarie]

My old neighbor was the queen of "parties." If you could sell it in your home and sucker all your unsuspecting neighbors to come in for the sales pitch, you were in Cindy's home. Amway, Mary Kay, Pampered Chef, Tastefully Simple, DK Books, Partylite Candles, Southern Living at Home on and on and on. It was the joke of the neighborhood. I went a few times to just see what on God's green earth she could be hawking now, but I never bought a thing. I think it drove her nuts.

All of these "great ways to make money" have the same poorly memorized sales pitches about how the seller could now stay and home and make her own money on her own time.

Once when we moved into our house Cindy called me and tried to convince me that working for her as a seller of Amway I think, would be a great idea. Unlike Cindy, I actually had a good paying job that did not involve soap mongering. She was hard core on this stuff. I heard later she'd tried to recruit another new neighbor who barely spoke English.