Recently an ex-black status presenter reached out to me, wanting to tell the world about her experience while she was with Younique.

Her name is Lori (not her real name) and she is so brave for coming forward to speak the truth.

[A black status presenter is the highest up one can go in the pyramid with out being the owner.]

They (black status presenters) live that dream lifestyle everyone wants (well most anyway).

They have a HUGE following

They get countless offers from companies wanting to use them as an influence marketer

They have their dream car(s).

They go on lavish vacations all the time.

So, naturally I was very interested in what she (Lori) had to say.

Lori:

Morning. I was a black status in the UK. I know they’ll take legal action if they figure out it’s me. So many things wrong with that company I couldn’t bring myself to keep being paid by them, is there anything you don’t have info on? I got kicked out of all the groups immediately when I left but I’ve got some juicy stuff. How they removed a woman of colour from the France catalogue on the advice of the market VP or how they buy their products from a generic seller and don’t manufacture their own hence why they can’t make an animal testing statement. MLM Police: I won’t say anything about your identity, I know how important it can be to remain anonymous. With that being said, what do you know about the Younique Foundation retreat? Any dirt on that? Lori: I know that the presenters genuinely believe they’re helping, for the most part the shit comes from corporate. Honestly they don’t share much more about it other than what’s publicly available. Things I do know are that the land it’s on is owned by Derek Maxfield and it pays him rent, if you’re in the UK honestly there’s not much support apart from give us your money have a plastic charm until the last big event they announced these support groups being rolled out nationwide which you just know are gonna be used to recruit new presenters.

MLMPolice:

What do you think is the best way to help someone get out of Younique/MLMs?

Lori:

The problem is any sort of “advice” is seen as negative and we are encouraged to block it out no matter who it comes from. So many marriage break ups you wouldn’t believe. Income disclosures are explained with the fact there are so many kitnappers. Your facts will always have a comeback. The problem is that some people do make money and lots of it so showing someone this thread where people are mocking the amounts and saying it’s a lie only feeds the belief that other people don’t understand the industry. I went from being on benefits to earning £3-4k a month because I got in early and was smart about building a team. The thing that made me leave was I realised what it was costing my team and what I was asking them to do that morally I couldn’t carry on. The dream that if they can do it so can you is a really strong thread through all the training

MLM Police:

Hmmm… ok. Was there anything at all that corporate did that was genuine?

Lori: Maybe I guess it could’ve been. It all just seemed premeditated and staged like there was always an ulterior motive to everything they did. MLM Police: Was there anything you liked about Younique? Lori: Genuinely most of my team were really incredible women. Not all obviously but we had a lot in common, low self esteem, confidence issues, long term stay at home mums. I don’t mean the fake “I love you all” crap i can’t stand that but we spent a lot of time in group chats on a daily basis, some of my team are now my best friends and have stayed that despite me leaving. Some deleted and blocked me as soon as I left guess you can’t win them all. Nothing that corporate did though NOTHING. I stayed for the money and because I felt an obligation to the women in my team. MLM Police: Do you think Younique will ever go out of business? Lori: I think that Coty is Derek’s exit plan, he basically told us that the cash investment from them meant the foundation was set for life so he has no reason to keep it going. I dunno about go out of business but it’s definitely gonna need to change something. There’s so many leaders leaving because they’re sick of the crap. MLM Police: So, Coty isnt so innocent after all, huh? Lori: They want to make money. The product quality wasn’t incredible before but since they came on board it just went to shit. Top ingredient is talc, they had to take the mineral off the packaging because the mineral content is so low, the new catalogue the models have blatantly got Russian lashes on and they’re saying it’s the mascara. It’s just a mess. MLM Police: It’s interesting seeing things from a whole new perspective, huh? What was your tipping point? What was the final thing that made you get up and leave? Lori: We had a whole 6 months of new products, limited edition, special offers of products you could only get that month. I got so sick of having to tell my team to spend money they didn’t have. In total honesty I probably ignored it before that which makes me worse than 90% of the presenters who are still there that haven’t seen it yet. Before I was with Younique we were on benefits entirely broke and it did pay me well even with expenses off because I always submitted a tax return, unlike most! I was scared that leaving would mean going back to that life and I couldn’t stand the thought of that. It’s been since Coty bought into the company it’s all profit margins and cheaper quality products and pushing presenter purchases. Not to mention the scare tactics to stop anyone from leaving – the presenters agreement prevents you from posting anything on social media for 12 months after you leave. Something that isn’t pointed out to those who join just for the kit they own your social media legally. If someone bought the Younique kit with no intention of selling and then decided to work for the body shop for example they could technically sue. MLM Police: Ugh that’s so sickening! But not anything I didn’t suspect. What’s the most shocking thing you’ve found out? Lori: It’s one of those things were I didn’t realize I was part of the problem until I left, I am actually pretty ashamed that I didn’t even consider my team were buying stock they couldn’t afford. I didn’t wear any make up before I joined at all so was never aware of the quality not being what we said it was. The worst thing for me was the animal testing thing, they told us we absolutely don’t we had someone from corporate at a company event stand on stage and tell us we were getting certification and it was just a matter of time when clearly the $0.80 bronzer is made in a sweatshop in China.

Some comments of Lori’s taken from social media with her permission: