Publisher

Pink Truth was started on July 4, 2006 as “Mary Kay Sucks,” and quickly became the fastest growing and most widely consulted resource for women in and out of Mary Kay Cosmetics. As of Summer 2011, the site had well over 1,000 articles posted, in addition to nearly 200,000 community member postings on our discussion forum (including the current message board and its predecessors on prior versions of the site). It is no coincidence that Pink Truth was started on Independence Day, as it has assisted thousands of women in freeing themselves from abusive pyramid schemes and predatory multi-level marketing companies like Mary Kay. The site began to take a lighthearted, yet critical, look at the Mary Kay “business opportunity.” As the readership exploded, the site became more focused on providing a wealth of information to Mary Kay women around the world. In November 2006, the site made the switch to the name “Pink Truth” to signify its commitment to information-sharing about the truth of multi-level marketing companies that prey upon women. The focus has been (and continues to be) Mary Kay Cosmetics, but other pyramid schemes and MLMs are discussed as well. After seeing thousands of women fall victim to false income claims, misleading marketing materials, and flat-out lies about the business opportunity, one woman decided to do her part in warning consumers about Mary Kay. The founder of Pink Truth believes that Mary Kay is a product-based pyramid scheme, which means that many people at the bottom of the pyramid must buy significant amounts of products so that those at the top can get the big commission checks, “win” the cars, and go on the fancy trips. This is common with multi-level marketing (MLM) companies such as Mary Kay. They depend upon an endless recruitment of new people who purchase inventory packages, in order to transfer wealth from the bottom of the pyramid to the few at the top. Supporters of multi-level marketing use common arguments to justify their schemes. They refer to them as direct sales, network marketing, dual marketing, and a variety of other names meant to shift the focus away from the endless recruiting chain model of business. They also cite the legality of the schemes and the length of time in business as reasons why these companies are legitimate. We agree that such schemes are legal in the United States. That doesn’t mean they aren’t abusive. We also agree that some MLM companies have been around for a long time. Bernie Madoff and Enron had long-running scams as well, but that didn’t mean they weren’t frauds! The current mission of Pink Truth is to provide information to consumers, first and foremost. In addition, we provide a place for sharing opinions and experiences of current and former Mary Kay consultants and sales directors. Whether you are a current sales director or consultant, former independent sales force member, or potential Mary Kay recruit, we hope to help provide you with real information about Mary Kay Inc. Pink Truth does not offer what some may call a “balanced” view of Mary Kay. Why? Because there are few redeeming qualities in a company that abuses hundreds of thousands of women a year. Companies like Mary Kay are abusive systems that create negative consequences for the vast majority of participants. Because of that, there is no such thing as the “right way” to be involved in an MLM. The system itself damages the vast majority of participants and is therefore something this site cannot and will not promote in any way. We are committed to providing in-your-face reality at Pink Truth. The truth about Mary Kay is ugly indeed, but that won’t stop the members from exposing that pink truth daily. Pink Truth has been created to give a voice to the millions of women who have had negative experiences with Mary Kay.