Sheri says...I have been researching home based businesses. I really want to get into skin care/make up products. I am currently using Mary Kay and I am now looking into Arbonne. Which skin care line is the most natural and healthy for my skin and what business do women tend to benefit from most..Mary Kay or Arbonne or another skin care line I’m unaware of??? I’m just confused with so much information out there. Any help/suggestions would be appreciated! Thanks!
PS-I am all about being natural and using natural products. My current primary MD is a natural path doctor as well and I only take supplements at this time. I work at a nursing home and I see the effects of a stroke, heart attack, dementia and skin disorders/cancers. I want to be on the right track!
Left Brain Loves MLM (not):
The most challenging part of this question was finding ingredient lists for either Arbonne and Mary Kay products. You Beauty Brains in training should always be suspicious of companies that don’t make their ingredient lists easily available on their websites. Are they trying to hide something? Maybe not, but this is sloppy and irresponsible. Consumers have a right to know what they are putting on their bodies.
Neither is Natural
Trying to pick which is more natural, Arbonne or Mary Kay, is like trying to decide which feels harder, pudding or jello. There’s really not much difference and neither of them are natural anyway.
After some searching (not easy), I found ingredient lists for products from both Arbonne and Mary Kay. First, Arbonne Tranforming Lift Formula.
Water, PEG-20 almond glycerides, glycerin, butylene glycol, palmitoyl tetrapeptide-3, palmitoyl oligopeptide, chondrus crispus (carrageenan), xanthan gum, glucose, cellulose gum, cetyl hydroxyethylcellulose, lecithin, tocopheryl acetate, magnesium ascorbyl phosphate, retinyl
palmitate, borago officinialis see oil, caprylic/capric triglyceride, ascorbyl palmitate, panthenol, stearamine, hydrolyzed soy protein, glycine soja (soybean) protein, ruscuc aculeatus root extract, triticum vulgare (wheat) germ extract, pisum sativum (pea) extract, sodium hyaluronate thioctic acid, lactic acid, sodium PCA, polyamino sugar condensate, urea, cucumis sativus (cucumber) fruit extract, betula alba leaf extract, trifolium pratense (clover) flower extract, symphytum officinale extract, nasturtium officinale extract, panax ginseng root extract, hypericum perforatum extract, carbomer, polysorbate 20, methylparaben, disodium EDTA, DMDM hydrantoin, diazolidinyl urea.
While they have loaded their product up with things like wheat germ extract, pea extract, and clover flower this doesn’t make them “natural”. There is nothing natural about Carbomer, Disodium EDTA, Methylparaben, Butylene Glycol or DMDM Hydantoin. This formula would fail any good granola crunching green group’s standards.
How about Mary Kay?
Mary Kay product: Timewise 3-in-1 Cleanser
Water, Mineral Oil, Glycerin, Isotheral, Neopentanoate, Bentonite, Cetyl Dimethicone Copolyol, Octyl Pelargonate, Neopentyl, Glycol Dioctanoate, Myristyl Myristate, PPg-26-Buteth-26, Sorbitol, Sucrose, Distearate, Peg-40 Hydrogenated Castor Oil, Oleyl Oleate, Tocopherol, Comfrey Extract, Burdock Extract, Hops Extract, Yarrow Extract, Meadowsweet Extract, Hydrocotyl Extract, Coneflower, Extract, Camellia Sinensis Extract, Retinyl Palmitate, Tocopheryl Acetate, Triethanolamine, Sucrose Stearate, Butylene Glycol, Propylene Glycol, Magnesium Aluminum Silicate, Carbomer, Disodium EDTA, Diazolidinyl Urea, Carnauba Wax, Lactose, Methylparaben, Cellulose, Propylparaben, C9-15 Alkyl Phosphate, Phenoxyethanol, Lauramine Oxide, Hydroxypropyl Methylcellulose, Titanium Dioxide, Ultra-marines, Chromium Hydroxide, Green FD&C Red 4, D&C Red 33.
Natural? Forget about it. Only a natural newbie would be fooled by the greenwashing in this product. True green groupies would be aghast at the inclusion of Mineral oil and Propylene glycol in anything called natural.
This is not to say that neither of these products are good. Both appear to be formulated with some of the best technology available. I haven’t tried them, but they are likely to be high quality, highly functional products. But they certainly aren’t better (or more natural) than something you can get at the grocery store like Olay. They also aren’t more “natural” than a store brand like Burt’s Bees although even Burt’s “naturalness” is debatable.
Which Company Should You Work With?
If you want to know which to work for, I’d encourage you to read other people’s experiences of working for both Arbonne and Mary Kay. Be wary of anyone who is too positive or too negative.
My interpretation of these people’s experience is that it is tough to make money at either business. You have to buy your initial stock and then try to sell off all your product to get your money back. People do make money with both Arbonne and Mary Kay, but not many. They are both examples of Multi-level Marketing and these systems almost never make money for most hard-working sales people.
Multi-level Marketing Scams
For the most part, I find multi-level marketing (MLM) companies to be a bit of a scam. The good folks at Skeptoid explain the MLM problems nicely. Normally, a company pays you to sell for them. You get a salary or a commission and get compensated for your time. But in MLM companies, you have to pay the company for the privilege of selling for them. What a deal, not! And then you have to work hard to convert your friends and families into both customers and salespeople. Eventually, you will run out of people and your sales will stagnate and stop.
Start Your Own Business
If you are really interested in starting your own business, the first thing you should do is get the book Start Up Nation
And if you want to start your own cosmetic line, find yourself a good cosmetic chemist and maybe they’ll help you start your own line.
Beauty Brains Bottom Line
Neither Arbonne or Mary Kay are more natural than the other. They use standard chemicals that everyone else in the cosmetic industry uses. Their business model is tough to follow to make any real money. And if you’re looking for a home business opportunity, these companies may not be the best choice for you either.
Do you have experience selling, buying, or using Arbonne or Mary Kay products? Leave your comments below.
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I have done Arbonne and know some people who made a great income doing it. They have decided to leave and are now with a new company that also can help with anti aging and is going to be huge in the next couple of years. check it out http://www.viewmaxgxl.com
I am an Arbonne consultant and I love my products and not to mention the discount! I would love to make it big in this business, and I think it all depends on who you are and who you know in order to make it big. I love the women who first started me up, and they are the kind of women who deserve my support, no matter what! And to compare the products, take Arbonne and anything else and see which one lasts longer, Arbonne basically pays for itself with how long their products last.
Arbonne, MK, Shaklee, Pampered Chef, and on and on and on – the people who pay for these ridiculous MLM businesses
are the ones who feel obligated to attend these parties because one of their friends is hosting it. They are all overpriced and expensive. There is not one of these products from any company that can’t be comparably purchased locally at a fraction of the prices they charged. Remember, there are so many people who have to be compensated in these pyramid businesses.
I would never host one or ask my friends to pay these ludicrous prices for something they can get way less expensive.
To Paulette: Most of the time it is not out of obligation that people use these products, seriously would these companies still be around 30 to 50 years later if people only bought out of obligation? OK yes some of there products are pricey but MK, as mentioned above, supports charities, amongst other impressive contributions. Shaklee is certified carbon neutral, amongst other impressive contributions to the planet and peoples lives. Yes you can get things cheaper at walmart but where does your money go? As for salepeople, everything you have ever bought has a saleperson behind it somewhere along the way. Some people can sell and teach others can’t and that is OK.
I did my research, and tried the products of both companies…i love arbonne. I had more compliments on my skin, it looked better and cleared up. They have a nice variety of skin care and make up needs. I also tried the weight loss products…they all taste great and im hooked. Ive dropped 15 pounds and it was simple-which i love.
I have referred many people to the products who all love them. I am actually now making some great residual checks and its awesome. Once you have your id and pin you get access to all the ingredience and scientific information. PLus i love how they are all vegan certified…i heard MK isnt. That is more important to me then anything..i dont want to be using animal parts on my skin/body. I as well as 10 of my friends are now running awesome business with arbonne and very successful. You dont have to pay a lot upfront because everyone is entited to a great discount-and its shipped to client in 3 days…no need for inventory. (sounds like some havnt done their research)… i love Arbonne…its pure-safe and beneficial.
All affordable which everyone loves these days…
to jamie martel..you obviously have no idea what you are talking about. mk is the best make up money can buy. i would do a little research before slamming a product next time!
Natural. . . That means it must be kept in the fridge, and will not last very long. Honey is natural, not much good for cleaning your skin or doing the anti-aging thing (reduce the appearance of lines and wrinkles). Every product MUST have ingredients to keep them stable, and help the “slip and slide” effect.
Good luck. When you want to look 5 to 10 years younger — give me a call.
Master Esthetician — Beauti Spa Queen
PS, why is Arbonne looking for some other company to purchase them? Are they in financial trouble?
I have sold Mary Kay since March of 08 and my business is in the black. I only have 2 active consultants on my team so that is not why I made a profit.
Both Mary Kay and Arbonne have good products and both companies you would be successful in if you went with realistic expectations.
I haven’t done too many classes as most of my 71 customers came from word of mouth and a few outreach ideas.
I do not eat sleep and breath MK. I believe in the principles of God first, family second and career third. I took both summers off to hang out with my two boys.
As far as MK we earn 50%, we have no territories or monthly/quartely quatoas, we only get commission on the gals on our personal team until you make director. With any business there are some ups and downs. Once I told myself to give it a full year it helped. I had tried to other home companies in the past but did not succeed in them. Both are well known and good companies it just wasn’t the timing and I was 10 years younger. I am sure I would have had similar success with them now. I do love that I get to use my favorite products while getting paid for it. The best part of the job is helping other women feel special just by giving them a few minutes of pampering as we often do not take time for ourselves as we love to give, give, give to our family, friends, etc.
If you haven’t had a facial or me time in awhile call which ever company you like and set one up. Most take 90 minutes if you have friends with you and about 30 if it is a one on one. Enjoy!
I am a Mary Kay consultant and the Beauty Brains don’t really know what they’re talking about with MLM. There is a big difference between pyramids (which are illegal) and MLM. Of course you will make more money if you team-build, but it is not required in MK and there are no quotas or territories. If you do build a team you will make more money, but the people you recruit can actually surpass you and make more money than you!! It all depends on how hard each person works their business. If it were a pyramid, the person at the top would always be making the most money, but that is not the case with MK. Everyone is free to move up and make as much money as they possibly can by selling and working their business their way. Mary Kay consultants do not need to stock inventory, either, and they get a 50% discount, which is higher than any other company I’ve heard of.
I recently tried Arbonne and was ready to switch from MK because of it’s vegan certification, but once I used it for a few days I found that I didn’t like it nearly as much as MK and switched back immediately. In addition, it is much more expensive than MK, and consultants don’t get as deep a discount as MK consultants do. It was also explained to me that there are both quota and team building requirements with Arbonne, and in MK there are not, which means no pressure.
I’m not what you would call a successful consultant, but that’s because I did not work my business aggressively. It’s sales, people, like any other sales company. If you don’t have the personality or drive to gently “push” sales, then obviously you will not be successful. I kept my consultant status in order to get the 50% discount for my personal use.
MK is built on awesome principles, there is no scam, and I have met VERY successful women making VERY large incomes. 45 years…they must be doing something right. Otherwise they’d have gone under a long time ago, wouldn’t you agree?
I am a former Arbonne consultant and they have indeed filed for Bankruptcy protection. I would not encourage anyone to even CONSIDER going into that company right now. There are multiple NVPs leaving the company and going elsewhere. I have left as well and am in something completely non skin care related now. I would recommend that you consider Candace Keefe’s new company. She was one of the driving forces behind many of Arbonne’s great products. It is called Apiori Beauty. I would definitely look it up before you decide.
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