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Ask Shifra

Something Different... Answering questions and making curious observations (online) since 2005.


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Thursday, July 28, 2011

The World's Most Polite Pyramid Scheme.... or not...




A couple of weeks ago S, an old friend of mine, invited me to party.
A Mary Kay party.

For those of you not so familiar with Mary Kay it is a line of skin care products and make up for women that is sold by local "independent sales reps" as opposed to through standard retail channels. I have trouble saying no, and I've been meaning to be more social lately, so I said yes.

So I went to the party. I can't say I really fit in, although to S's credit there was a wide range of women there (about 12 total) of various ages, backgrounds, religious leanings, and skin types.

Actually it wasn't much of a party although there was quite a bit of laughing and having fun.

It was, in fact, a product demonstration of just about as many Mary Kay products as you could possibly rub into any available skin on your face, arms, and hands in the span of an hour. The woman who did the presenting was a little much for me - over-eager in a way that seemed more sad to me than fake (big saucer eyes, describing everything as "amazing" etc.. ) also the face powder burned my cheeks a little.

After the presentation we each had to retire to S's den individually with Saucer Eyes to place our order. In my head I had already planned the one item I would buy (just eye makeup remover and nothing else!) but somehow I ended up with that plus some kind of eye cream, for wrinkles I don't even have, and no money left in my pocket (fortunately I was smart enough to leave my credit card and checks at home.) Once all that business was complete, the she asked me if I'd consider selling Mary Kay since she though I'd be great at it and gave me a video to watch about all the goodness that selling Mary Kay can bring to your life.

Now, selling Mary Kay would be about the last thing on earth I'd like to do, but I watched the video anyway. (I know, why do I keep doing things I don't want to do, right? In this case think I was curious.) It was all about this woman, who made piles of money selling Mary Kay and quit her sexist big city job and now is the best mom and saleslady ever! Yay!

After the video I consulted the internet for varying views on how great or terrible Mary Kay is and whether or not it's a pyramid scheme and if that matters. There was a lot of information but it all seemed skewed one way or another and honestly in the end I think if you love to meet people and working for yourself and selling cosmetics it could be great (although I think your chances of getting rich are slim) and if not it's not for you.

The video however did inspire me to do more of the things that enrich me as a person - like blogging, and several other interests and projects I've been letting languish.


So Mary Kay,

If you are reading this, and you are an actual person who is still alive, Thanks!


-Shifra


PS. Your eye cream costs $35 and smells like rotting flowers? Why is that?

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2 Comments:

At 1:37 PM, Blogger Ruth said...

Woah! I opened my google reader and was shocked to see a blog post by you. BUT--I'm happy you're back! Be who you are, you're fun and funny in any case.

When I got some Mary Kay stuff, I wondered why they didn't have an unscented version too:). And the scent is probably the reason why, a year later, it sits in my drawer, hardly touched.

 
At 8:41 AM, Blogger Eliyahu said...

but if you do really well, you get a pink Mary Kay Cadillac!

 

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