Have you been approached about hosting a Mary Kay event, or even recruited to become a distributor? Read on to learn about the leaders of the company, the products, the customer and employee reviews, and whether or not you have the opportunity to actually make money.

Founded

1963

Headquarters

Dallas, Texas

Founders & Leadership Team

Mary Kay Ash: Founder
Richard R. Rogers: Executive Chairman
David Holl: CEO

Website

marykay.com

Revenue

$3.7 billion (2015)

Products

Cosmetics
Lipstick
Makeup
Sunscreen

Number of Employees

5,000 corporate staff
3,500,000 distributors

Brand Names

TimeWise
Lash Intensity
Ultimate Mascara
Satin Body
Satin Hands
Belara
MK High Intensity
Cityscape

History

Mary Kay was founded in 1963 by Mary Kay Ash as a multi-level marketing company for cosmetics.

Mary Kay Income Disclosure Statement

Mary Kay’s does not provide an income disclosure statement (or “earnings representation”) for U.S. employees, which should be a major concern for any distributor considering joining. However, Mary Kay does provide an earnings representation for Canadian employees, which states that less than 50% of sales staff earned over $100 (that’s before costs) for all of 2017. Given that Mary Kay doesn’t provide much more detail than that, especially for U.S. distributors, should be very concerning to anyone who is considering becoming a Mary Kay consultant.

Mary Kay Customer Reviews

Mary Kay customers report a variety of issues with the product or service they receive. Better Business Bureau has compiled a list of these complaints which you can read here. Many of the complaints discuss the fact that customers have paid consultants and those consultants have cashed their checks, but the product has taken weeks or months to arrive. Their appears to be significant delays between payment and actually receiving product, which makes for a poor customer experience.

Mary Kay Employee Reviews

Mary Kay employees and distributors have mixed feelings on working for the company. Since spring of 2017, overall rating for Mary Kay has fallen from over 4.0 to just around 3.8. This includes a number of employees who have seen the inner workings of the company and are upset by the pyramid scheme structure they feel is hurting distributors.

One employee in particular enjoys the independence of working for herself and being able to earn prizes, but is concerned about the cult-like atmosphere that Mary Kay leaders have created.