I've heard it said many times over the years that "people don't join companies, they join people" and likewise, "people don't leave companies, they leave people." I think this is true to a great extent. An example of this is when Mary Kay Ash founded our company on Friday, September 13th, 1963. There was no "company" that she could share. The story hadn't been written yet. There was no brand, no product success, no past sales history that would provide the confidence or the impetus to join her. There was only her, her 20 year old son, Richard, and a shelf full of pink jars in a small rented space in an office complex. Yet, join they did. Women signed up based on "brand Mary Kay Ash", the person. I don't believe much has changed since then in this aspect. Certainly our company's rich history and success over the past 46 years, our quality products that continue to be among women's favorites and our world famous founder provide...

to Anne Crews. Anne is our first guest blogger here on Reflections, and I'm so delighted she agreed to share with our readers this month. October is Domestic Violence Awareness month, and Anne is a Mary Kay warrior when it comes to her commitment to personally do all she can to put a stop to this dreadful thing that plagues so many of our families. All of us at Mary Kay are very proud of the work we doin this area. It takes a lot of money to make a difference all across our country and all around our world, and none of it would be possible without our wonderful independent sales force and their loyal customers. Through their purchases of our skin care and color cosmetics, as well as their generous donations to the Mary Kay Foundation, all this is possible. We owe them a great deal of gratitude, and hope that they are as proud as we are of the work that has been done to help enrich the lives of women in need. I invite you to click on the link below to hear directly from Mary Kay's...

I received this comment on the blog over the weekend from a woman who needs some help. If you are in her area and can help, that would be wonderful. Hoping that you can! I didn't know where else to put this/or even send this to someone but I need help. I'm working with a local school as their colorguard coach and we're in need of a make-up consultant. I've used MK when i was in high school and in college and i really love it. However, the school that i'm working with can't afford to purchase make up for the girls or even new uniforms. Therefore i'm wondering if you know of anyone that is willing to help us out by sponsoring us. I live in San Diego, California and I work in the Chula Vista area. If anyone sees/reads this please contact me at ashley_turnage2001@yahoo.com and thank you for taking the time to read this!! ~! Ashley !~ Written by Ashley (ashley_turnage2001@yahoo.com a visitor) on Sep 13, 2009

I am totally jazzed about the great things I just saw and heard about that will be a part of Mary Kay's future. I just returned from a presentation of the products we'll see from 2010 to 2013; new skin care, color, fragrance and body care. WOW! I can't wait. I am one of those people that is pretty faithful to what I use, once I know that it works for me (which has been Mary Kay for more than 25 years now), but I also am eager to try the latest things that our teams develop, because I know that their goal is always to make it even better than it was before. One of the things that they previewed that I can't wait for everyone to see is a whole new concept for us that I think you are all going to love. Let's just say that when it was "unveiled", the reaction in the room full of women was a unanimous and audible "AWW". Around here, we refer to that lovingly as "the squeal factor", and history shows that those products that have it always turn...

Yesterday, as we were gathering to begin a regularly-scheduled staff meeting, four of us were just catching up with each other on what was going on in our personal lives. One woman shared that she had just been to the doctor for her annual physical, and not only was she excited about the significant weight she had already lost, but had set a new goal to lose 17 additional pounds. Another talked about completing her first workout with a personal trainer, and how she was looking forward to the next one. And the third woman, well, talk about being on a mission. She shared that she has set a goal to compete in a triathlon, and had begun daily training for the fall event. As each of them was sharing their personal vision, I could sense the excitement in their voices, I could see by their body language that they had a sense of pride about what they were doing, and I began to feel those same things somehow magically being transferred to me. My adrenaline began to rise (or at least it felt like...

Another year of Mary Kay Seminar has come and gone. And, as always, it was the best one ever. We are so blessed as a company to have such inspirational women in our sales force. I love hearing their stories and seeing how much they've grown over the years. Amazing stories of tragedy and triumph and of setbacks and successes. Women who brought talents and skills from other professions and turned them into abundant success for themselves, and women who, in some cases, were least likely to succeed, and they did it anyway. (That reminds me of the bumblebee, and why Mary Kay Ash chose it as the symbol of success for our company. You see, the bumblebee should not be able to fly, because of the large size of its body relative to the size of its wings. But that doesn't matter to the bumblebee, who goes right along flying anyway. Mary Kay always loved this story of the bumblee. Her late husband, Mel Ash, who always gifted Mary Kay on Thursdays because that was the day they were married,...

I always know when it's getting close to one of my favorite times of the year when the mercury tops 100 degrees in Dallas, Texas. No, it's not that I like the heat so much, but it means that it's time for the annual Mary Kay Seminar . It recharges my batteries like nothing else I've ever experienced. It always reminds me of why I love this company so much and gets me motivated for another year of challenging work. It's the time that I reconnect with women that I haven't seen for a year, get updates on their families, see the new hairdos, and find out who is breaking records and setting audacious goals for new ones. So what exactly IS this thing called Seminar? Well, what it IS NOT is another stuffy, boring workshop that someone sends you to where you're supposed to learn something, but you usually don't. What it IS can best be described as the Academy Awards, Broadway, and the Miss Universe pageant all rolled up into one, with a dose of business education...

When Mary Kay chatted recently with women around the world about what they wanted in the area of beauty, one of the things they talked about was how they shopped for their skinc are and cosmetic products. For most of the women, it was "anything goes", meaning that they purchase their beauty products from all over -- supercenters, department stores, direct sellers, specialty stores and online. It's usually about what's convenient for her. So you could say that one thing women want when shopping for beauty products is EASY ACCESS. What she also wants is CONTROL over her shopping experience. She wants it to be fun, social and casual, and sees the opportunity to browse as a part of the experience. She wants to TRY IT BEFORE SHE BUYS IT . She wants the opportunity to touch and experience it before she lays down that hard-earned money. And she is much more likely to try a new product that has been recomended by a friend or family member. She wants PERSONALIZED BEAUTY ADVICE...