I No Longer Sell Beautycounter (here’s why)
I no longer sell Beautycounter. Though I thought it could become a profitable part of my work-at-home business, I quickly realized that I can’t and won’t be part of the larger beauty industry — an industry that sells women the lie that they aren’t beautiful just the way we are. Here’s my story.
In July of 2018, I joined Beautycounter as a consultant.
I had seen it in my friends’ Instagram feeds so much that I just had to find out more. And then, I jumped on the bandwagon.
I joined Beautycounter because…
- it felt like a good fit since I’m all about removing toxins and junk from my life/home/body
- I loved Beautycounter’s message for safer skincare and transparency in the cosmetics industry
- I had won a BC eye cream in a giveaway and was loving it enough to promote it to others
- and, I wanted to add another “thing” to my work-from-home biz
But, one year went by…
When I wanted to write a blog post about it, the words weren’t there.
When I wanted to do an Instagram Story or post, the inspiration didn’t come.
And, when I shared anything Beautycounter-related on Facebook or with my email subscribers, I could actually hear the crickets chirping.
No one cared what I had to say or why I was using Beautycounter.
I was super excited to try all the new products when they arrived in the mail after I first joined. Then, over time, I found myself naturally using them less and less.
What happened?
Where did all that energy go?
Nothing like a bad year to show you where your priorities truly are.
2018 seemed to start on a great note.
My husband and I had brainstormed tons of new business ideas and improvements during December and January, and we were ready to go forward, full steam ahead.
Then, in February, right before we were to leave for a road trip to Texas to visit my husband’s dying grandmother, we had a chimney fire in our house. Thankfully, nothing except the chimney flue itself was damaged, but it was still one of the scariest experiences of my life.
And, I don’t know if you’ve priced insulated steel chimney flues lately, but they ain’t cheap!
This fire was the first domino in a long line of dominoes that would fall very quickly after it.
We were faced with one problem after another, one challenge after another, one heartbreak after another, one financial stressor after another, and one project after another.
The pressure came at us from all sides. It felt as if we couldn’t catch a break. The minute we’d solve one problem, two more would surface.
We were frustrated and tired — physically, emotionally, mentally, and financially. As you can imagine, our marriage was also crumbling from the pressure and stress.
Still, you’ve heard the saying, “The only way through something is through it”?
There were no detours, no shortcuts, no ways around these proverbial mountains. My husband and I went through them the best way we knew how. We went to therapy during these challenges, and eventually, life began to return to normal.
Fall came to Minnesota, and with it, peace. We had put the pieces back together again and had a window of calm for a few weeks when…
My own physical and mental health took a nose-dive.
I’ve written all the details in this post (When Physical Health Problems Turn Into Mental Health Problems & How I Got Help Before it Was Too Late).
In late October 2019, I got a urinary tract infection. For my mind and body, this UTI was another proverbial domino. It fell over and with it, my entire mental, physical, and emotional world crumbled over the course of 3 months, too.
I was diagnosed with pelvic floor dysfunction and pelvic congestion syndrome. For the PCS, I found amazing doctors in London at The Whiteley Clinic, where I received pelvic vein embolization in early June of 2019.
I found a freaking amazing pelvic floor physical therapist and my pelvic floor is healing.
Because my physical issues are resolving, my mental health continues to improve. As of August 2019, I am tapering both of my mental health medications and I have begun the Dynamic Neural Retraining System to re-wire and heal my limbic system impairment.
It’s nearly Fall of 2019 now — one year later.
And over one year since I joined Beautycounter as a consultant.
In times of crisis, we clearly discover where our priorities lie. Plain and simple.
To actually type out a brief synopsis of what I have been through personally and what my family has been through together — and that was BRIEF — is eye-opening for me. (Furthermore, it validates why I didn’t have the physical or emotional or mental capacity to share Beautycounter with my readers.)
It sucks that it often takes a crisis — a death, divorce or separation, illness, or other life-altering event — to discover what is and isn’t a priority.
Yet, it is also the process of going through trials that, somehow, reveals more of who we truly are and sweeps back the stuff that isn’t us.
Why I Stopped Selling Beautycounter
When you go through a year from hell, encounter physical health challenges that knock you off your feet, attempt suicide, spend a week in a mental hospital, travel across the world for surgery, spend each moment doing the best you can to survive, and then you actually start thriving again… you discover a few things about yourself.
Most importantly, I discovered more about who I am. I might even be so bold as to say I discovered who I am for the first time.
And who I am at my core isn’t interested in makeup or skincare or cosmetics.
Yes, Beautycounter has a solid mission and message. They’re lobbying the US government to change the cosmetics industry so that it’s safer for men and women. Their products are quality and high-performing but still non-toxic. They’re an awesome company with awesome goals and an awesome message.
I just don’t fit there.
I don’t fit because I don’t believe that we need expensive products and makeup to be beautiful.
As non-toxic as Beautycounter’s products are, as a makeup and skincare company, they are still part of the bigger beauty industry — an industry that sells women the belief that they are somehow incomplete in the way they look and that they need to spend hard-earned money on products to achieve a standard of beauty.
Where is your standard of beauty coming from?
I’ve certainly been part of that world, and I don’t condemn you if you are. Yet, I would also challenge you:
Do you spend money on products and makeup because it’s what YOU truly want, what truly makes YOU feel like the best version of yourself?
Or, is some sense of lack at the heart of it? Do you feel you lack beauty? Do you feel that you can’t enter your workplace or circle of friends without being made up? Do you have wrinkles or freckles or age spots or redness that embarrass you or you want to cover?
If you answered yes to any of those questions, then I would assert that you aren’t choosing makeup and skincare because they are part of your best self; you are probably choosing them to fit into our society’s mold of what beauty is.
(Watch more about this on Empowered Sustenance’s Beyond Body Positive Series.)
So, I guess, it’s not that I don’t fit with Beautycounter; it’s that I don’t fit with the industry as a whole.
When we evolve on the inside, our outside often follows.
As a Southern girl from West Texas, believe me, cosmetics used to be a huge part of my life. I never left the house without mascara and earrings.
That was the least I could do to look “put together”.
Whether going to the grocery store or to church or having friends over for dinner, the culture in which I grew up is very much about putting on your best outward appearance.
Highlights, makeup done, nails done, matching shoes and jewelry — it’s all part of the package when you’re a Southern woman. Or at least, it was the package of every woman I knew, no matter her generation.
I now live in the exact opposite — geographically and culturally.
The longer I’ve lived in Northeastern Minnesota and had the space to experiment with wearing different clothing, growing my hair long, going out without makeup, and making friends who live similarly, the more I realize that my outward appearance has evolved to match changes that have been brewing inside of me.
Everything about me is different — not just my clothes or hair or the fact that I rarely put on makeup. Even deeper things have changed: my spirituality, my core beliefs, my morals, my acceptance and tolerance of those who are different than me.
I am actually ashamed of some of the things I used to believe and live.
My world was so very small before.
The fact that I no longer sell Beautycounter is kind of a metaphor for my life.
I think joining Beautycounter as a consultant was, in a way, my last effort at holding on to that life I had before. A life of outward appearances, of “put togetherness”.
Or maybe, I was trying to create a bridge between those two versions of myself — between the old me and the me now.
That somehow, they could co-exist in this one body and spirit.
But, it became apparent very quickly that Beautycounter or really makeup/skincare in general weren’t priorities for me — otherwise I would’ve made the time and found the inspiration to promote it. We always make the time for what’s important.
I still think it’s a great company and there are many great women and men who are putting their hearts and souls into it. I applaud them for their efforts. It’s high time the US government had stricter regulations in the cosmetics industry and banned chemicals that are known endocrine-disruptors, carcinogens, and downright harmful for our bodies.
For me, I choose not to be part of the industry at all. Not because I think it’s wrong, but because it’s just not me. And because I have a daughter.
Once you’ve gone through a year like I describe above (or worse… I can say that my children are still alive and healthy, and that is a true blessing), you very quickly discover where your true priorities lie, what relationships are and are not important, what you want hold on to and what you can let go.
Beauty does not = makeup & skincare.
To put it bluntly, the “makeup/skincare = beauty” message isn’t one I want to teach my daughter either.
To be my authentic self, the BEST version of me, I can’t put on more. I must put on less. This way, who I authentically am — age spots, wrinkles, and all — can shine through.
And, I want her to know that truth as well — that she is perfect and beautiful just the way she is and will be so no matter how old she gets.
Creams, lotions, 40 shades of eye shadow and lip gloss, anti-aging potions, etc. aren’t necessary for us to feel beautiful. In fact, we don’t need to “feel” anything.
We must accept that we are.
You are already beautiful. With your wrinkles and freckles. With your acne. Even with your rosacea.
If there are things about your skin that are outward symptoms of internal inflammation — like acne and rosacea — then know that those, like everything else, must be treated from the inside. Not the outside.
We’re all aging. There’s not an eye cream in the world that will stop that.
I can’t be part of an industry that sells the false dream that the aging process can somehow be stopped, slowed down, or reversed. I won’t be part of that mindset anymore. And, I won’t teach it to my daughter.
Finally, I can’t make a commission or profit off of it.
And that’s why I no longer sell Beautycounter.
The Best Version of Yourself
Close your eyes for a moment and imagine the best version of you.
Is she happy and smiling? Is she healthy and vibrant, surrounded by people she loves? Is she traveling or learning a new language or doing an activity she loves?
YES is the answer!
Now open your eyes.
In imagining the best version of yourself, were you scrutinizing your contouring or your eye shadow? Were you critical of the wrinkles that naturally form when you smile? Were you wishing that that woman had more money to buy anti-aging products?
I hope the answer is no!
Will I still use Beautycounter?
Let me put it this way: I still have unused products. I sent my mom a package of unopened products that I knew she would love. Things like the charcoal mask and charcoal bar are, I believe, valuable, so I’ll use them.
Though I rarely wear makeup, it’s still a priority to have non-toxic makeup. If and when I run out of something, I’ll probably purchase more from Beautycounter.
I wear makeup now for fun, not to make myself feel good.
Like I said: I have no problems with the company or their products.
But, I’ve already reverted back to what I was using on my skin before I ever heard about Beautycounter: lard and frankincense essential oil. 😉
And please do not misunderstand what I’m saying…
I don’t believe it’s wrong or bad to use makeup or skincare products. If that’s what you love and what makes you feel like the best version of yourself, go for it! I’m not judging you. 🙂
This is me being me. And you get to be you. There’s no need to compare, copy, or condemn each other.
This article was exactly what I needed to hear today. I have been slowly converting to BC products and I love how they make my skin feel. I have been tinkering with the idea of selling BC just because it is so darn expensive! You are so right Lindsey. I don’t need to constantly cover up my face or try to reverse the irreversible aging process. Thank you for your beautiful insight and raw honesty. You are a gem!
Thank you for that! You’re so right — we don’t need to cover up or try to reverse aging. I want to age well, and no product will help me do that. What will help me age well is taking care of my body and mind!
Kudos to you, Lindsey, and what a great message! I grew up in Hawaii and my mom & g-ma only ever wore lipstick if they wore any makeup at all. I was never really into makeup or fashion, preferring to spend time at the beach, making music, camping, fishing & BBQing with friends. Now I live in WA state & am in my mid-40s & I feel like am surrounded by women who don’t leave home w/o makeup. At times it is a bit intimidating that they can look so good with it! But whenever I am tempted to join… Read more »
Thank you for sharing your story, Brooklyn! I thought Washington was full of un-made-up hippies! LOL I hope that I’m passing on to my son that he can and should find beauty in everything natural, including women!
Where and how did you find a pelvic floor physical therapist? I have prolapse and would really like some help with that!
You can use trusty ol’ Google. That’s actually how I found mine. You can also ask your GP for a referral to a pelvic floor therapist. Make sure to find one who specializes in the pelvic floor (ie. if she doesn’t have her hands in women’s vaginas all day, she’s not qualified!). LOL Ask if they do manual therapy (they should) and if they provide exercises and stretches for homework (they should).