The beauty industry is such a huge money maker because who doesn't want to get their “Beyonce” look on. In the past it was only the big corporations that were making the money from this industry. But that's definitely changed and now the world of cosmetics is full of opportunities for everyone. There is Avon, Mary Kay, and many others coming up all the time. A new one that has been brought to my attention is Younique. We've run into a lot of Younique Reviews but most are written by reps so its hard to get a good gauge of what's really going on. So that's what you'll learn as you read this review since we're not Younique reps.
What is Younique?
Younique is a cosmetics company started in September 2012 by brother and sister team Derek Maxfield and Melanie Huscroft. Their mission is “to uplift, empower, and validate women across the globe.” Their goal is to give women a chance to grow both personally and financially through selling Younique products.” In other words it's an MLM based on selling beauty products. If MLMs turn you off you may want to check out SwagBucks.com & FusionCash.com as another way to make money.
What Products Does Younique Offer?
Younique offers the typical cosmetic products you would expect: eye, lip and face products. The price range is generally from $19 through $29 per item. Not unreasonably expensive for non-drug store cosmetics. The face creams can get to be more pricey ($65 plus), but there are a wide range of affordable products available. Their claim to fame is the Moodstruck 3D Fiber Lashes+ mascara is said to increase lash volume by up to 400 percent. Ladies, I'm assuming that is a good thing from what my research staff tells me. They also sell various cosmetic tools ranging from as around $7.50 through $32 each. Various sets and collections are available which can save you some money.
The Younique Compensation Plan
Like most MLMs Younique has a business opportunity. You earn money with Younique by selling their products and by recruiting more sales representatives (or presenters as they are call in in the Younique world). What is unique (ha, get it!) about this company is that they market almost exclusively through social media. If you don't like the idea of selling to make money you may want to check out SwagBucks.com and FusionCash.com instead.
Every presenter starts at level white, where you earn a 20% commission on your sales. You purchase a starter kit at $99 and have to sell at least $125 worth of products within the next 3 months to remain a presenter. You can buy the $125 in products for yourself, as long as the company logs the $125 from you, you are safe to stay. You sell these products through virtual parties on your social media pages.
Once you sell at least $1,000 worth of products you move up to yellow status, where you earn a 25% commission.
The Compensation Plan Continued
The next step is pink status, where you have at least one recruit selling under you. This is a milestone as a presenter as the company is big on having presenters bring on more presenters. You need to personally sell at least $250 worth of product and the people under you (your “circle” as they call it) needs to sell at least $2,000 to maintain this status. You earn 25% of your sales as commission and 3% of your circle's sales. The personal and company commission percentages increase exponentially with your personal and company's increased sales. This is why it is important to bring in new presenters if you want to make much money with Younique. They actually drop the personal sales amount you must contribute once you have recruits so you can focus more of your energy on your recruits and less on personal sales.
Explaining the compensation plan of MLMs is always a challenge. If you prefer a straightforward way to earn money, you may want to look into My Top Free Work At Home Recommendation
Younique Complaints
Let's face it, most MLMS tend to leave a bad taste in people's mouths for good reasons. You usually have two camps of folks. One that swear all MLMs are pyramid schemes that can't be trusted. And then you have the opposite extreme where folks believe their MLM is perfect with no flaws. I'm not a big fan of extremes on either ends so I've decided to list out some the complaints against Younique so you can form your own opinion. Just keep in mind every company has its flaws. So it's up to you to decide if these issues are a deal breaker for you or not.
1. Younique is an alleged pyramid scheme
Younique is set up to be a multi-level marketing business and a lot of people liken this model to a pyramid scheme. People feel that way because it usually means that your success may heavily depend on bringing people in under you to make decent money. So…you are on top, stacking new people under you, and you make money off of them and their recruits…yeah – it's easy to see how this is starting to sound a bit like a pyramid scheme. But technical it's really not. There is an actual product being sold, from which sales commission is earned. You don't have to rely on recruiting people so that's where some of this argument goes out the window.
2. Not everyone will succeed… DUH
This is absolutely true. In fact, 95% of people who purchase a starter kit will not succeed in the business. It is hard work at first to build your book of business and you have to have the social ties to do it. Younique markets their products though social media. If you don't have a lot of social media friends, you will not have a large pool from which to find buyers. If you have a good following on social media, and people trust you and want to purchase from you, you can succeed. But it will still take a lot of work-work not everybody is cut out for. You have to be creative to capture the attention of your social media followers. They don't seem to provide a lot of other ways to promote this business. So if you're not a social butterfly this will make it difficult to succeed. But if you want to avoid failing with this mlm business, I highly recommend reading this. That all said business in general can be very difficult to make profitable. It's not unique to Younique. If it were easy to run a business everyone would have them instead of jobs.
3. The products are too expensive or don't work
Everybody has a price point. Some people love the products and are willing to pay a little more for them, some don't. The reviews don't seem to be heavily tilted either way. It seems to be a matter of personal preference. Some customers are happy, some are not. Again, not unusual in the world of sales. Either way you can find their products at a great price on Amazon.com
4. They deactivated my account
You have to sell products to stay with the company. If you don't sell at least $125 in product in the last 3 rolling months, your account will be inactivated. They do not hide this fact at all. If you can't sell that much, you have to move on. This is another gripe I have with MLMs. Whereas with the affiliate marketing business model you usually don't have this annoying requirement to stay an affiliate. It just seems like an unnecessary pressure on the rep.
5. You better keep up them sales!
Yes – this is absolutely true. There is not a “safe” zone where you can slack off and not earn your keep. Once you hit pink status you are less dependent on your sales to keep your rank, but you still need to focus on your circle's sales to keep your position. Again, this is no huge secret.
You can actually read more complaints about this company on the BBB (Better Business Bureau) website here.
Is Younique Legitimate Or Not?
Based on what I can see Younique doesn't appear to be a scam. They do offer products that you can sell and you can make money from recruiting others that sell as well. Is it for everyone? That all depends. If you do not have a big network on social media, or don't have the time to tend to your social media pages, this is probably not the opportunity for you. You may be better off with something like Swagbucks.com and FusionCash.com. But, if you have a good following and willing to put the work in, this may be a good opportunity to make some money.
That all said I never think it's a good idea to limit your income to one source since a company can change direction at any point especially MLMs. How many people have you heard joined an MLM that went out of business or changed commission structure. It can literally wipe out everything that you have built. So that's why I'm a big proponent of multiple streams of income. So with that in mind I would recommend you also look into My Top Free Work At Home Recommendation and My Work At Home Courses. Both of which have helped many work at home seekers secure various ways of making money from home. So don't limit yourself. Explore all the options to give yourself a better chance of success.
I hope you found this review helpful. But I'd love to hear your thoughts about the Younique company so feel free to leave a message down below. Don't be shy.
Until next time,
Eddy with a y
I’ve been with the company for four and a half years and I adore it. We’re not perfect… what business is? There’s been mistakes along the way and but the company has always used the challenges to grow and become better. It’s a fair model. Not an easy ride but no business is. It’s not for everyone but for those who run with it and treat it like a serious business it can be really life enriching
I agree no business is perfect and I think it’s good when reps can admit this. Too often the issue with reps of businesses like this is they won’t acknowledge this and attack people that do point it out.
It’s good to hear they’re are working on the issues. And that’s what people reading reviews want to know. So thanks for the update.
The products for sale under the younique name on Amazon ARE NOT REAL YOUNIQUE PRODUCTS. Please don’t condone the fake products. We get a lot of people who buy the amazon products before or after buying from a presenter and they are not the sameness products what so ever.
My comment is not about the product or the business. I am FB friends with an old high school chum. I enjoyed seeing posts about her grandchildren, garden, activities. Now all I see is her makeup stuff. Sales pitches, videos showing how wonderful she looks in this color lipstick, that color eyeshadow, etc. Also, invites to join her special Younique FB page. I am considering unfollowing her. People should just remember that you are subjecting your “friends” with unsolicited advertising. I get enough of that from FB anyway.
Hey Jan,
Unfortunately a lot of MLMS encourage their members to do this annoying type of promotion on Facebook. Clearly it must work some of the times. But I find it annoying as well. I’d prefer people that want what I offer come to my site on my own. Fortunately my top work at home recommendation taught me how to do this so I don’t have to harass my friends and family on facebook.
Younique has joined with Cody cosmetics.
They could be selling in the stores but the owners
wanted to keep it presenters only seeing the presenters
are the ones that got this company duet free within 2 years.
Their mission to help women rapped as kids is why they started this. They took their own money and built a resort for helping these woman.
This is a easy business to own but you have to work your butt off if you want to make big money. to many people think it is a get rich quick. So when that doesn’t happen in a few month to a year they blame Younique.
You get out what you put in.
Thanks for sharing your opinion.
My wife started selling Younique a month ago(explanation as to why I’m here making a comment), she’s already made back what she paid in to start, and has quite a bit of inventory to sell already(not counting all the Y cash she’s earned) and she hasn’t even hit pink yet. I think these things aren’t set up for everyone. She has to put in a lot of work to make these sales. Advertising and promotion being the most time consuming part. But she loves making new friends, and hanging with the girls, and boosting others’ self esteem. So in our experience(so far), she’s made more than she has spent, and gained a table full of product to either sell, or use as “gifts” for promotion. And she’s having a blast while doing so. Hope this helps anyone.
Hey Thomas,
That’s great for your wife. I’m happy you shared her experience. And I agree with you these things are set up for everyone. Unfortunately most people won’t do as well. But it doesn’t mean it’s not possible as your wife is a perfect example of that. People just need to know that there are various options and if one doesn’t fit your needs or doesn’t work for you, there are others.
Hi all,
Here’s my story:
I received and accepted an invitation to join a “Beauty Bash” Facebook group from my sister a few days after the first of this year, facilitated by a Younique presenter, we will call “AC”. AC posted a contest for a free gift in the group, which I entered and was later notified by AC that I had won. She instructed me to send her a message with my address, which I did immediately. She did not respond until 2.5 weeks later when I had sent her another message in the group post, and she had claimed that she did receive my message because we weren’t Facebook friends.
Another two weeks go by with nothing, so I reached out a second time. She confirmed she still had not sent anything. I confirmed the address with her and I was led to believe she would be sending ‘it’ soon.
A MONTH went by after the last communication. I reached out a third time. She was surprised I didn’t receive anything, even though she said I was the third client she has heard from with this issue, and blamed it on Younique’s website and apologized for the delay.
Another week later, and still nothing. I reach out to her a fourth time. I’ve been patient up to this point. I was excited I had won a free gift (whatever it was going to be), but that feeling faded soon after having to consistently check in with her to follow through.
Her attitude was unbecoming, and frankly, I felt very uncomfortable. All of this over a ‘free gift’, which is not a big deal, honestly. I understand that things happen, but her rude attitude was simply uncalled for. She ‘reminded’ me that it was free gift that I had won, condescendingly, as if I had forgotten, and then further blaming me, stating that it took me weeks to send her an address. When actually, I sent her a message immediately that she eventually received, and STILL chose not to respond.
I was trying to figure out where the miscommunication occurred and asked why she didn’t send ‘it’ when she received my first message. She responded immaturely, in addition to blocking me on Facebook. And, no surprises here, I have still not received anything from her and I don’t expect to at this point.
I have the messages in my inbox to prove the sequence of comments. I sent my first message on January 26, 2017. Today marks over 14 weeks of this nonsense.
As a consumer, I wrote to their “customer service”. The Younique Compliance Team’s simply stated they cannot assist me as the presenters are independent consultants and are unable to fulfill promises made by presenters. They recommended contacting the consultant. Seriously? I have no way of contacting her, as I told them. Their suggestion and the entire process had proven to be considerably unhelpful, insincere, and exceedingly inadequate.
I’m sharing this story because this whole experience has left such a bad taste in my mouth, and really, I’m a little more than annoyed at how this all went down. I’m so tired of warding off salespeople and general ‘pyramid schemes’ similar to this. I’m tired of businesses taking advantage of people, both consumers and presenters. I’m tired of hearing a pitch from someone I trust, who, as it turns out, is just another mouthpiece for some stupid company trying to get me to make a purchase. It is messing with people. Honest people. And it’s truly discouraging.
Well thanks for sharing your experience. Obviously it wasn’t a good one.
SH, what an awful experience. I’m so sorry that you went through that with the presenter and then customer service. I am currently a presenter and I love reading reviews of the company so that I can better my business. If by any chance you read this I’d love for you to reach out to me and I’d be so happy to give you a free product from the line. I can only imagine the bad taste this left in your mouth. I do love the product and would be so happy to share it with you.
Thanks,
Shelby Lampley
Hi Shelby, thank you for your reply. I appreciate your understanding and your kind offer!
SH,
I saw your email that came through! I tried reaching out but got a notification that the email was invalid, please reach out again so that I can connect with you!
Shelby
Younique makeup is a hard sell. The quality is not there on most of the products. There are so many presenters they flood the reviews with positive ones that are unbiased as they just want a sale
Thanks for sharing your experience Terry. Selling in general tends to be difficult especially if you have to hunt people down. And I agree most of the reviews for these type of sites are presented in one way by their reps since they want to make a sale. That said I’m sure some of the reps are making sales and have some happy customers. But it’s not all sweet the way they paint the picture. There are definitely some downsides like any business.
I have experience with this company. I loved it when I was active. I increase my ranks fast. For me, new products were coming out way too slow. It caused my customers and I to become bored with it. They are planning to release more often, so this should help everyone in the business.
Thanks for sharing your experience Rita!
I was a Younique rep for a few months, but the rolling three-month period confused me, so my account was deactivated twice. I decided to close my account after that and switch back to a company that I sold for before. I operate more than one business, so the setup probably just wasn’t for me since I don’t have a lot of spare time.
Thanks for sharing your experience. Sometimes a business is not the right fit so you have to make the right move for yourself. And it sounds like you did. So kudos to you.
I so agree with this article. I was a Younique presenter. I joined January 2016 and was number 374,000 ish. By June I was one out of over 500,000 presenters. I never made a sale from my Facebook friends and created a blog that did gain free traffic through SEO but I chose the wrong keyword. I ended up attracting Younique presenters who would never buy from me!
I learned my lesson this time around. I joined a new company that just launched November 2016 and my blog is focused on the problem makeup solves and not the company itself. I will also offer affiliate programs on the site too. Multi level marketing is a business opportunity and not a free ticket to free money. More people would succeed if they went in with that mindset.
Hey Andrea, Thanks for sharing your experience with this company. I’m glad to see you’re trying your hand at affiliate marketing. I’m sure you’ll have a better appreciation for that business model.
The problem with mlms is that when they become popular enough, many of your potential customers are already selling the product themselves! That’s why most of the people who make money with mlms are those who got involved in one early.
That’s the problem with MLMs. With a real business model you should still be able to make money.
That’s why it is a scam and shady practice. not sure why your article seems to give legitimacy to this kind of shady business. People should stay away from mlms. instead they should be encouraged to sell real products the traditional way. buy cheaper from vendor and sell with a profit margin.
Also stop popping up every time I go to a page.
Look anyone that has actually read my body of work long enough knows I’m not a fan of MLMs. But I can be objective enough not to call all of them a scam. I know it’s a popular thing to do online nowadays. You don’t like a buainess model or something about a company or person and you just call it a scam. I don’t really practice doing that. I just lay out the good and bad in my reviews and then I leave it to adults to decide what’s good for them or not. Most people can appreciate that level of objectivity.