Mary Kay Cosmetics

We all sit down in front of a small mirror and plastic makeup tray that has tiny ladybug drops of creams, cleansers, etc. The next hour and a half were nothing but awkward and cringe worthy. The lady/sales rep would show us how to use a certain product on our tray and then she would try to explain which tube of product she was holding and she didn't even know! She kept having to reference the tubes to figure out what she was trying to get us to use on our face. After she went over with us how to apply and use the products on our makeup trays she then went on to talk about herself for a good 10-15 minutes. She went on to tell us that in her 19 years of working for Mary Kay she has gotten 7 cars, a ton of trips, and of course bragged about her multiple and unjustified tax write offs.

She then had us fill out an info card about ourselves that only asked us questions about becoming a sales rep like: would you like to become a Mary Kay sales rep today if you were shown how to sell product, etc. After listening to her go on about herself and how she makes so much money from the company... the lady then told us to use our phones and write down the girls in our phones names and numbers to get an item for free. Really what the lady was trying to do was trick us into giving her more clients that she can call/text/bother and probably scam into getting a free "pampering session".

When we were done filling out everything she wanted us to she then tried to pressure us into buying her products and my friends and I already felt uncomfortable and awkward and just wanted to run out the door at this point. We all had to lie to get the lady off our backs by saying we would text her about the product we wanted once we got home since we "didn't have any money on us". Once we were FINALLY free to leave and go home and hopefully never speak about this again. She proceeded to bring us to another small room where our "refreshments" were.

The free snacks she tried enticing me with over the phone were really just leftover dry cookies and cheese that the group of pink wearing ladies from before that were having their meeting had left over and not ate. My friends and I just cringed and said no thanks and quickly got out of there. Now that I'm home I've come to realize my free "pampering" session was really just a scam to get the sales rep more clients/try to convince people to become a sales rep themselves. Overall a horrible experience and I have learned my lesson and will never do business with Mary Kay now or in the future.

So here I was thinking that I was going to get a facial and some make up and everything. The grand opening began at 9:45 AM. I got there 5 minutes late thinking that I was really going to embarrass my friend with my tardiness. However, when I walked in, they were not even set up and ready. They ran 15 minutes behind and all of the guests just stood around awkwardly waiting for the grand opening to begin. It was awful. The facial that we were supposed to receive, we did ourselves. So here I drove 35 minutes out of my way on my Saturday morning under the impression that my friend’s training was absolutely contingent on my attendance. She didn’t touch me once.

I did my own facial and applied my own make-up while listening to her mentor give a seminar on the history of Mary Kay, all of their products, and how much money she has earned with Mary Kay. I would have rather have spent the night in jail than to sit through all of that crap. It was horrible. They also promised us a complimentary continental breakfast, which by the time we were allowed to eat it, it was 12:00 noon. So that defeated the purpose. It was just so turned off by the entire experience.

Towards the end we played a “game” which consisted of going through our phones and writing down as many females contacts as possible. So they tricked us into giving them leads under the impression that we would win a prize. We didn’t win any prizes. When I got home, I was so furious. I also read that many other consumers had broken out in either hives or acne bumps after using their products. I immediately showered and scrubbed all of their products off. I understand in sales that “if you’re not lying, you’re not trying,” but this experience took the cake.

I was at work and noticed how bad the foundation looked on my face. With all of the moisturizers, I looked like the Valdez Oil spill. Because she is a very good friend, I took the hit. The nighttime moisturizer burns the heck out of my face. What I didn't appreciate, was her telling me how badly my makeup looked (before) and I would look much better with MK products. Needless to say, I am going back to my CoCo Chanel!!! All of the MK products will be in the trash. Moisturizers, base, cover up, cleanser and that damn lipstick she made me buy! The only thing I liked the loose powder and the brushes!

I am in Law School and this is a GREAT example of a civil lawsuit waiting to happen. If they did indeed charge me for my order in either February when I placed my order, or (today) in April when I contacted Mary Kay about my order, they are GUILTY on both accounts of fraud. As a Corporation, they committed fraud by not charging me as in agreement with buying the products and then, as they agreed on the phone that they did charge me or they did charge me. If they did charge me again, in April, when they contacted me by phone, they are committing fraud without my knowledge. This company has lost my faith in them and I will NEVER purchase from them again. Buyer Beware! Consultants... find something else to do with your time!!!

This time she told me the story that she cannot take the return but need to buy something else. I was amazed by this and I decided to buy a eye gel. I am trying to reach her since a week but she is not calling me or picking up my calls. She is saying me that I need to ship her back the both the CC Cream after that she will order the eye gel. I told her that why do I need to spend money on courier to return the stuff back. When she was trying to make me one of the representative under her she use to call me every day and message. Now her purpose is over so she is now not responding to me. I just want to return the CC Cream and get my eye gel by next week since I am traveling for 2 months and end this transaction. I am just so done with this and would never recommend anyone for Mary Kay, very poor service by people at a President level.

She is one pushy woman and I was a fool to purchase anything from her because she has such a dislikable personality but I felt that the products might help with my skin issues but I never did get to find out because she got the money and I got nothing. I would say do not do business with Mary Kay based on this Shilpi from Saskatoon because if they sanction and condone sales reps like her I can just imagine what it would be like if you had a problem with the product. I do not read much good about Mary Kay or their pushy salespeople who are just simply dishonest and in it for a quick cash grab and move on to the next sucker.

My fiancé bought a decent amount of stuff and she set up a payment plan. So flash forward a few weeks and my fiancé lost her job because the store she was working at closed and her other job only worked her 10 hours a week. All this was unexpected so we made sure to communicate these things with her and she told us to let her know when she should start payments again. At this point the Mary Kay lady had given my fiancé a little under half of what she bought. At another party I was invited to by my sister, I was given the rest of my fiancé's goods before any more payments were made and in the middle of the job mess.

Flash forward a couple of months and my fiancé has more hours at her current job, however we are behind on some bills. All through this, we are communicating our situation and she seems to be understanding. Then one night in the middle of a family emergency, we get a text from the lady's assistant asking if it would be okay to take out a big chunk of money. Due to the emergency, we did not respond right away. Not even an hour later, I checked our account and the money was missing without us saying it was okay. We told the assistant that the money was rent money and we could pay $50 every other week in correspondence with my fiancé's paycheck and the amount was agreed on. And now just today, we get a text saying they are going to take out money on a day that was not agreed on. We have not received the rest of the money they said they would put back.

The icing on the cake is that the Mary Kay seller is saying how she needs the 150 that is remaining to provide for her family. Thing is, she has made enough to get a free car that gas is covered by the company and now she has an assistant that she did not have at the beginning of all this. Here I am working two jobs at the moment to catch up on some bill and for Christmas. And this lady has the nerve to say that the money we owe her is life or death. And she is not even saying it to our faces but instead through her assistant. While I do understand that she basically runs her own business, it is not her fault for giving us all the product when steady payments were not being made and leaving it up to chance and letting us take so long to pay. She should of kept them until they were paid for. Mary Kay has great products but beware if you buy from them. They are more concerned about the money and making a sale than keeping clients.

When you changed the original pan style cream to powder to this weird creamy greasy mess, we bought it... I used it... And less than a month later I was having cysts lanced at the doctor. I was 17 back then. Lots of other teens who wore the original MK back then were also breaking out. Took months to clear up. "We don't recommend MK to our acne patients," was my dermatologist's advice. It was the new formula. Prior to that, everything was great and I was flawless. I realize teens develop acne but my mother and friends who used the makeup also broke out severely. Coincidence? Possibly. But I don't think so and never have. My adult 50-something mom had to change lines because your products caused her to develop severe acne too - at age 50! I read in another review that a woman in her 70's went through this same situation due to a formula change in a different product by MK - severe acne at age 70?

I realize there are loons out there worried about erroneous gluten allergies and other cosmetic ingredients but to the majority of us, we would like your "old products" to return. I cannot prove that your formula change back then caused my severe reaction but I believe it did. Estee Lauder recently changed all their formulas of Doublewear - a staple since the 60's and they lost most of their Doublewear-wearing customers as a result. The old formulation was flawless, kept skin young and acne-free and everyone was happy. Now, all the reviews spew forth reactions and chemical burns, lashes that fall out and acne... I'm in the acne category. Please bring back the old way.

2 hours prior to the appointment the winner received a text from the consultant asking to reschedule. We tried to reach the consultant, but we were unsuccessful. We had already made the trek down there, so we went to the appointment. When we arrived at the St Pete studio we were greeted by two women that were surprised to see us. Our presence seemed to inconvenience them. We were told that our contact went home sick and that we could still receive pampering, but no goodie bags. One of the women brought us into a room that was decorated in Mary Kay posters and furnished with a cheap foldable table and chairs. The 5 of us were told to sit down at the table as makeup palette trays were placed in front of each of us. For the next NINETY minutes we were given a history of Mary Kay, a walk through the products (without ANY information on the safety or ingredients in each product), and a sales pitch to order and sell Mary Kay products.

This was the most deceptive encounter I have ever endured with a product line. The sales representative had an attitude when there was hesitation to try a product due to health concerns and conditions. The funniest moment was when she told the group that we would play a game for a chance to win a gift card. She handed out papers and pens and proceeded to ask us to write down as many women's names and phone numbers for a pampering session. The winner received a business card for $10 off Mary Kay products. Within hours of this sales pitch one of the women broke out in hives on the entire upper half of her body. I will never purchase any product from Mary Kay. Deception is not a good sales tactic.

I noticed that my eyelashes begin to fall out. My customers quit ordering it. Now they have other mascara products that Are not as good and I nor my customers buy the mascara anymore. The packaging of the eyeshadow in the blush has changed. You get much less product and the price is higher and the quality is not as good as it was at one time. My two faves mascara and concealer have been changed in order for the company to make more money by selling sub optimal product (less of it for a higher price).

But the upside to this is I had to look for a new foundation and the foundation Born this Way offers full coverage. I don't even need the concealer and it feels really good on my face. So anyone who feels like me and is looking for something new and better try Born This Way foundation. I do not work for the company. My 16-year-old daughter told me about it. Anyway just kind of bummed out and feel let down by Mary Kay. By the way I sold and used Mary Kay for 15 years. There is no reason for me to sell it anymore.

Ok so that sucked but at least I'll get a goodie bag with some samples at least, so it's not that bad, right? She told me that since I was a box winner from the drawing I get a "swag bag" when I leave. I was really looking forward to it the whole time. Once I had left and was down the street I opened the bag ready to see all the goodies, but instead my heart sank. All I got was 1 packet of pore minimizer & 1 packet of microdermabrasion, a mint & her business card. That is THE worst swag bag I've ever seen. I felt kinda taken advantage of. Like she tricked me by misleading me into thinking I'd be getting a traditional facial. And then that "swag bag" that was just a slap in the face. I get more samples than that out of a magazine! After that experience I don't think I'll be buying any more products nor referring any of my friends to either. Sorry, I really like your products. Just had a bad experience & bad consultant.

Updated on 02/17/2017: Just an update. My representative (the director... the best part) Rebecca ** from Spokane W.A, wanted to play goose chase about me returning my products after I had a very bad reaction to the product (red blotchy flaking skin and eventually after about 2-3 weeks started burning like crazy to where it woke me up out of sleep) and she just kept telling me "your skin is getting used to it and proceeded to beg me to keep the product or exchange out for another product."

She first tried telling me I could only do an in store credit until I took a picture of the policy page and sent it to her and threatened to go to corporate to get my refund. Only then was she willing to do my cash refund. But then she blew me off three times in a row when I was trying to give the product back because of Church... or family time... or sickness so I finally told her that I was tired of the run around and that I would be going through corporate after all. And then she said "oh well lets meet up after you get off work and I will give you your check." I let her know that it should have been offered in the first place especially since I live two blocks away from her Mary Kay office.

I put a complaint into corporate and they said they would call her and let her know we needed to meet up a.s.a.p and they did call her but she never once got ahold of me. So I called corporate again, and they recommended that I just mail the products to Texas (which I plan to do but have to pay to ship it there and have the shipping costs refunded to me once it gets to them). But the final straw was today when I got an email from Mary Kay and they emailed me not only my response, but Rebecca's as well. Rebecca tried to save her own hide and told them that she tried meeting up with me but I didn't show up. This lady has some nerve!!!

Being in sales, I would have never dreamed of pulling half of the crap that this lady did. For one trying to guilt trip me saying this is how she feeds her kids, lying about the return policy so that she didn't take a hit on her commission, and then lying to corporate saying that I never showed up to return the product. Well Rebecca, I saved all the text messages of you blowing me off constantly and sent that to corporate too. Learn better customer service. They will blow up your phone when you are interested in buying their products but as soon as you want to return something, you will get so cold shouldered it's not even funny. Good luck. I would never buy this cheap makeup again (not cheap in price, but quality).