Is Younique a Pyramid Scheme? Must Read 2022 Review

Younique Review

The overview and rankings

Type: Beauty & Cosmetic MLM Company

Products (Including Pricing): 20 out of 100

Success Stories: 5 out of 100

Price To Join MLM: $99 to start + $125 every 3 months (60 out of 100)

What To Look For In An MLM:

What is Younique?

Younique is a personal care Multi-Level-Marketing company that sells different makeup and beauty products.

It was founded in 2012 and has quickly become a well known brand in the industry.

Younique is an American network marketing company that sells cosmetics.

Contacting a Presenter or going to a Party will allow clients to purchase anything from cleansers to eyeshadow palettes and everything in between.

In addition to being a customer, you can join the company's MLM program to earn money by selling their products to others and establishing your own sales team.

In addition, they greatly emphasize social networking sites and 'digital parties' to recruit new clients and reps.

Each presenter receives a webpage they can promote on social media platforms to generate sales and recruit new staff.

You will hear phrases such as "Believe in yourself!" and "Work in the path of your aspirations!" when attempting to enroll you in their MLM program.

However, the odds are against you succeeding in this endeavor.

According to the FTC, the majority of persons who join MLM fail. This provides much area for debate over whether Younique is a pyramid scheme or a legitimate way to generate money.

There is a strong focus on empowering women within the business as you can see in the 30 second video below...

So it seems like a pretty legit opportunity to work from home, right?

But you're clever enough to know this is just a Younique sales video. 

And you're probably still wondering...

Is Younique a pyramid scheme?

The short answer is no... Younique is not a pyramid scheme.

Younique is not a pyramid plan. The "presenters" of Younique can gain cash by selling Younique items. Younique is not a pyramid scheme because it markets and sells things through its website.

However, even though most multi-level marketing companies offer genuine items and services, some have extremely expensive, difficult-to-sell products and need their members to sell a monthly quota.

This means that expanding the workforce is the only way to earn decent profits or avoid a loss.

Consequently, some participants have asserted that Younique is a disguised pyramid scam.

It's possible for Younique "presenters" (also can be called distributors, associates or consultants) to make money by selling the Younique products. 

Technically, they do not have to recruit anyone to make money.

The real question you should be asking is...

Is Younique a "pyramid scheme in disguise?"

What is a pyramid scheme?

A company that promises payment to its members for recruiting more people rather than selling a product or service. 

These schemes are totally illegal in most countries. It is unsustainable and impossible for every member to make money as you can see in the Wikipedia diagram below...

Most MLM companies do offer legit products or services.

However, some MLMs sell very expensive products and require their members to sell a certain amount each month. This means the only way for them to avoid losing money or make good money ($1,000+ a month) is by recruiting more people into the business. 

The 5 minute video below explains this better...

This Younique review will investigate the company in more detail later. For now, you just need to be aware that...

Success is rare with Younique

Actually, success is hard to find in any MLM company.

Did you know that between 73% and 99% of all MLM representatives lose money?

Younique doesn't release any income disclosures like a lot of MLM companies do. 

So it's hard to say for sure if Younique falls in between these stats or not. 

However, it's important to note that all MLM companies have a very big divide between what a few people earn with a big "downline" and the amount that the majority of people towards the bottom of the pyramid shape earn. 

How does Younique Work?

Younique is an MLM (multi-level marketing) company, as this review has pointed out. Younique is a company where you may become a fashion consultant.

Typically, you start your own beauty business from the comfort of your home or online. You stock up on the cosmetics you plan to sell. The next step is to sell these items and receive a commission.

On top of that, you can collaborate with others to market your business while you focus on becoming a trainer.

That's why Younique consultants get paid commissions on the purchases of the customers they've personally recruited.

You must have reached a minimum sales quota to be eligible for the bonuses and payouts (more about this later in this Younique MLM review).

The problem is that most working professionals need to earn these sales certifications. As a result, they will not receive the promised compensation.

Younique makes a range of beauty products.

They then offer a win-win situation in theory for themselves and anyone that wants to join. 

Younique saves money on marketing and advertising because they get everyday people to do it for them. 

In return these "presenters" get the chance to earn money by working from home. And can you see that this whole business model is set up to attract stay at home Moms who are looking to earn some money for their family?

Younique products

If you are serious about starting any MLM company then you need to understand their product line in more detail. 

Younique offers a huge variety of personal care and beauty products.

They have products in the following makeup categories:

• Eyes (eye liner, mascara etc.)
• Lips (lip gloss and lip sticks etc.)
• Face (foundation, bronzer and blusher etc.)

And more products in the "skincare" categories:

• Masks
• Cleansers
• Toners
• Serums
• Moisturizers

There are far too many products to go into detail about each one here. But you can find the whole product range in the Younique shop. 

It's worth being aware that these products are very similar to hundreds of other MLMs that exist such as...

• Bellame
• SeneGence
• Farmasi
• Mary Kay
• Maskcara
  
• Avon
• Beautycounter
• Forever Living
• Life Leadership

The way you can really understand more about the "unique selling point" for any MLM is by understanding...

Younique mascara- the flagship product

Younique's stand out product is certainly their 3-D/ 4-D mascara. 

It comes with a pretty hefty price tag at $29 retail price compared to other highly rated mascaras as we will look into in more detail later in this Younique review. 

But the main way to understand how good a product is, is to check out what people say about it...

So it has very mixed reviews but we will dig into that in more detail later too.

For now you can watch the 30 second video below to see what makes it so special...

How to make money with Younique

You can make money with Younique in 2 ways like you can with most MLM companies:

1. Selling the products and earning a commission
2. Recruiting people into the company and earning bonuses from purchases they make or the sales they make

It's important to be aware that most MLM companies do not pay you directly for recruiting people. This would make Younique an outright pyramid scheme!

So they get around it by only paying you "bonuses" for sales they make to others or for themselves. 

Before we figure that out from the comp plan, you're probably wondering...

How much does it cost to join Younique?

It costs a one time payment of $99.

That also gives you a range of products to try yourself or sell on...

To be honest that's not bad as many MLM companies have a "joining fee" and then you need to buy a "product pack" for more money.

However, the costs do not stop there...

Younique monthly cost

In the small print on the compensation plan you can actually see there are "requirements" to stay active as a Younique presenter...

You also need to sell 125 "PRS" which is around $125 worth of products every 3 months.

So for the first year you will need to allow for expenses of at least:

• £99
• $125 x 4

Total year one cost = $599

If you sell products then you won't need to buy $125 yourself. But many people are not aware of this before they jump in.

This is clearly much less than starting your own bricks and mortar business like a restaurant. But it will be more than $99, which a lot of people don't know.

Younique compensation plan

For some reason MLMs like to make their compensation plans harder to understand than solving a Rubik's cube blindfolded. 

Younique is no different, so I will do my best to keep this simple and use real words rather than PRS/ PV/ GV/ GPV etc.

There are 5 ways you can get paid from Younique:

1. Retail commissions (20%-30%)
2. Circle royalties (3-6% of total downline sales)
3. First level bonuses (5-10% of wholesale sales in your downline)
4. Car bonus (get $250 each month if you can sell 2500 PWS aka $3,334 each month)
5. First, second and third generation royalties (3-5% bonus on your immediate downline when you achieve a certain rank)

You can see how you get promoted to different ranks and earn these bonuses in the charts below...

If you're looking at those charts and thinking...

What you talkin' about Willis?

Do. Not. Worry.

All you need to know is actually what you will be required to do to make money.

And all that is:

1. Sell Younique products
2. Recruit people into the Younique MLM and help them sell products (or make them buy products!)

But do you notice that 4 out of 5 ways to make money require you to recruit people?

Well, the 12 minute video below will help to explain this in more detail if you really want to get your head around it...

Is Younique a scam?

No, Younique is not a scam. 

They sell legit products and pay their "presenters" exactly like they say they will. 

However, it doesn't mean it's the right opportunity for you.

They rest of this Younique review will help you to make an informed decision about whether you want to start as a Younique presenter or not...

Just to be fully transparent with you, I am not a distributor myself and I do not endorse Younique in any way.

I have researched the website, testimonials and information on the Internet to get to the bottom of what this program genuinely does. This is because I have been burnt from programs just like this in the past and I want to prevent others from making the same mistakes. If you’d like to learn how to “Spot an Online Marketing Scam” then click the highlighted text.

What I like about Younique

OK, so there are a couple of things that I genuinely like about Younique. 

This helps to prove that Younique is not a scam...

Key Terms:

• Pyramid Scheme – recruits members via a promise for payment from referring others to the service rather than providing a product
• Affiliate Marketing- Connecting a customer to a product they are looking for and receiving a commission for doing so
• Red Flag - A warning sign

#1 Proven history

This is the best way to see that Younique is not a scam.

Did you know that 50% of MLM companies disappear after 5 years?

If they make it past that point they tend to be OK for at least another few years. 

The good news about this is that it's unlikely the company will disappear tomorrow. Imagine spending a couple of years building this "business" only to find it disappears or goes bankrupt and your whole income stream evaporates!

#2 Positive product reviews

Sometimes you only find product reviews that have clearly been written by the MLMs "presenters". 

However, Younique has a range of reviews from people that you can tell use the products without being part of the company...

There are a pretty steady stream of these reviews (with some negative ones dotted around) in consumer affairs.

At least it shows that some people actually use the products.

What I don't like about Younique

So this is the part when I will expose the hidden truths. 

Many MLM members find this out after joining, but luckily for you, you can learn them right now!

#1 Expensive products

The first thing I look into when I review any MLM is how expensive their products are...

• Younique mascara = $29
• Highly rated Amazon mascara = $6-13

Now, I don't claim to know much about mascara myself. But I do know that a markup of 150%-500% is not acceptable for anything that is similar.

I also saw a lot of similar reviews to this one below...

People saying that they "love the products but that are so expensive".

Now, this begs the ask...

"Who in their right mind would actually buy this expensive stuff"?...

#2 Hidden monthly expenses

Here's the truth...

The "presenters become the companies biggest customers.

Why?...

Because they have to sell $125 of products every 3 months.

So what happens to those busy Moms who join the company, but have sick kids for a month, a husband to support and their social life to keep up?

Yeah, they sell diddly squat.

And after 3 months they think...

"Ah I'll just buy this expensive crap so I get a shot at making money next month".

And this happens over and over again. Until... they figure out the only way to make this work is by actually recruiting people into their "downline". Then they will need to pay for the products instead of you!...

#3 Is Younique a pyramid scheme in disguise?

When you combine the above two points you get a company that resembles a pyramid scheme in disguise. 

Either you keep buying this expensive stuff yourself, quit... or you recruit people.

Here is part of the Younique compensation plan explained...

And real people that have seen the wood through the trees try to tell people about it all over the place online when you look...

If this isn't enough just take into consideration that 4 out of 5 ways you can earn money is by recruiting, not selling products!

There are too many signs that Younique is a pyramid scheme in disguise. 

And that means it is impossible for everyone to earn good money from this company. 

#4 Low earning potential and no income disclaimer

So no income disclosure is provided by Younique, which tends to mean one of two things:

1. They want to hide how little their presenters earn
2. Their presenters don't earn enough to warrant sharing it

Just think about it...

Most MLM companies share their income disclosure (and try to cover up the fact that most of them are losing money). So if your presenters were earning good money, why wouldn't Younique?

Let's do some maths...

Imagine you want to earn $1000 a month as a Younique distributor. Let's also ignore recruiting people, because let's face it... that is a pyramid scheme style.

You would need to sell 100 mascaras every month and get 30% commission.

EVERY MONTH.

After one month you are back to square one. The only way to make this illusive "residual income" is by... yep, you guessed it... recruiting people!

#5 Downward trend

The final nail in the coffin can be found on Google Trends.

Most MLM companies go through this "early momentum phase". If you can get in before or during this phase then you can ride the wave of popularity to recruit more people because they have heard of the company...

However, Younique is well past this phase and is only going down on people's radar. When you compare this to newer companies like Farmasi, you can see that Younique is going the wrong way!

My opinion - Younique MLM

So I do think Younique sells some decent makeup. 

Some people seem to like it.

But what do I think about the "work from home" opportunity?...

Unless you were a "beauty blogger" or created a website to attract visitors that were interested in makeup every month, there is no real way for people to make good money from Younique and keep their ethics. 

If you want to tray to sell expensive makeup to your friends and family then see how far it gets you.

How I make passive income online

MLMs are not all scams or illegal. However, I'm not a fan of them because of the restrictions to the expensive products you have to promote.

Once I learnt about affiliate marketing, I realised it's a far superior business model because:

• You can promote anything you want and truly own the business
• You never need to sell to friends and family
• It's completely free to start

In 2018 I had no idea what affiliate marketing was.