Mary Kay Multivitamin Disaster
June 26, 2008 by Haidee
Before you read on, if you sell Mary Kay, please know that I respect what you do and like some of the products you sell. OK…enjoy…
I recently attended a Mary Kay party hosted by friend on behalf of one of her colleagues who had recently joined the cosmetic company’s ground forces. The soiree was really quite charming with pink prosecco and appetizers, fresh flowers and free samples. I was rather excited to attend one of these infamous sessions and quite curious to hear the schpeel.
We gathered around the dining room table, which was set up with individual stations of pink tabletop mirrors and small portions of the products we would try. A Mary Kay rep from New York was in attendance to help out the newbie. She gave an impeccable presentation and was indeed a good salesperson. Might I also mention that she had gorgeous skin.
After cleaning off our makeup with a toilette, the rep began the session by passing out Mary Kay’s skin care routine. Each step was crucial and could not be skipped or else the WHOLE thing would fail. You couldn’t JUST use the toner or JUST use the moisturizer. No sir. It was a carefully calculated recipe of products.
The woman had me partially convinced of the power of the three-step routine, until she proclaimed that you couldn’t use Mary Kay skin care products with any other products. In fact, she described mixing beauty product brands as “chemical warfare on your face.” Sorry, lady, you just lost me. I can’t buy that big fat one. But, to be polite, I nodded my head and went with it.
We continued on and…here comes the disaster part…she passed around the multivitamin cleanser. I proceeded to swirl it on my face as she sang its praises for its gentle action, perfect for sensitive skin.
“Excellent,” I said. ”I have sensitive skin.” People looked my way, and their jaws dropped. My face was covered in bright pink hives. As pink as a Mary Kay Cadillac.
Despite the fact that I had welts on my face, I began laughing hysterically, almost to tears. I felt sorry for the sales woman, I did, but the idea that Ms. Mary Kay from New York would have to explain this one…I personally found it hilarious. She did not. She handed me a tissue, suggested I wash my face in the bathroom and she moved on to the moisturizer. Hmmm…I wonder if she was trained for this.
In the end, my hives went down and I did buy a mineral powder foundation that is actually quite nice.
If I get invited to another Mary Kay party - and I hope I do - I am totally going to sample the multivitamin cleanser again.
Any beauty product disaster stories out there?
Now I know why an old roommate was so anal about her face washing routine…she had three or four bottles of Mary Kay products. Poor thing didn’t see through the sales talk.
I JUST went to a mary kay party last night and the SAME thing happened to one of the girls there. I opted out of the using the cleanser b/c I have such sensitive skin. Good thing!!
I bought the compact that was touted on Oprah! It’s cute and I liked the colors. Plus, I bought some anti wrinkle thing and eye make-up remover. You can always use that.
I prefer Dr. Patricia Wexler’s moisturizer line from Bath & Body Works. I have had nothing but fantistic results!
Soooo, having fallen for a similar Mary Kay schpeal- and having purchased over $100 worth of MK from one of my friends at a MK party (what can I say, I’m a slut for beauty products)- I figured I would do the right thing for my friend and give it a try. I am lucky enough to have nice skin, so my regime is pretty basic- basic as in Dove soap and Aveeno body lotion. I have to say I’m sorry to have wasted my hard-earned cash buying the four-piece-set of skincare. The multi step regime made no noticeable difference in my skin. In fact, the gentle face wash is awful- it doesn’t take off makeup AT ALL, and it’s really quite frustrating. I do like the MK lip-glosses I purchased, but I’m definitely returning to my trusty Dove soap. Lesson learned ladies. MK is barely cheaper than some of the better brands. I commend MK reps on being great saleswomen and business professionals, also love the way that MK as a business supports women, but when it comes to product, I’m sticking with what works for me.
Shame on you girls! Mary Kay is no gimmick or trick. It is a company built on honesty and integrity. A company that believes int he Golden Rule. You never lose your money in Mary Kay either because it is backed by a 100% guarantee even if you used it all and it’s been 10 years. No other company does that! You don’t even need a receipt. So you had an allergic reaction - so what! People are allergic to strawberries and they aren’t harmful but you better eat an orange instead.
Also, Mary Kay saved my face when I was 15 and all broken out close to 30 years ago. I had tried everything and give thanks I attended that skin care class. Dove was not cutting it or noxema or avon. Now in my 40’s people think my 22 year old son is my brother. I have extremely sensative skin so Dove would never cut it and mixing ingredients would hurt my skin because it is chemical warfare. How can you be 100% sure that the ingredients in one product are compatible with the ingredients in the next product. Even hair dressers admit to mixing ingredients from two different companys on hair for a chemical treatment & having a negative reaction where their hands burned.
I am alway sorry to come upon a site where there is bashing going on. Honestly, isn’t there enough negative and bad gossip in the world. Is your life so small that you have to put others down? Shame on you again. Who hasn’t had a bad experience. I bet even as a mom, wife, daughter, you have had a bad experience but le’t’s learn to lift up rather than put down any person, company, or situation.
Marsha, how long have you been working for Mary Kay?
Thanks for joining the conversation, Marsha. I am with you…the allergic reaction was unique to me. It was simply a funny story.
Also funny to me were some of the sales tactics used at the event which, in my opinion, came off as unfounded claims. The idea that the tonor is ineffective without using the other two steps or that mixing MK with another brand is harmful…well, it doesn’t make sense. Does MK offer objective proof? That would be a story!
I must say, MK’s mineral powder foundation works fabulously with my Clarins face wash, Khiel’s moisturizer, Benefit PlayStick, and Nars blush. No chemical warfare to speak of.
just to add to haidee’s assurances that these things can & do happen…. after trying a certain well-known brand of mineral makeup’s concealer at the behest of a friend and thinking it did pretty well, i went into one of their stores to get the full experience. the staff was only too happy to swirl and buff me to pieces while explaining that we’d need to wait and see how the shades did as they settled into my skin’s “natural balance.” after few minutes, i looked in the mirror and it seemed to me my face looked rather flushed. not to worry, i was assured–let’s just wipe that all off and try the next tone down. again, within minutes i turned quite pink. this time my skin began to feel hot and tight, too. by the time i shooed the horror-struck clerk out of the way and got a look in the mirror, i was definitely approaching camilla parker-bowles territory.
at least in my case the staff had the good graces to admit i must really be allergic to their products and to apologize profusely–and hey, at least the rapidly appearing hives saved me a wad of cash!