6 Things You Don’t Know About Mary Kay

For international beauty brand Mary Kay, celebrating the big 5-0 means more than just a slice of birthday cake. This month, 50,000 Mary Kay consultants are gathering at the company’s headquarters in the city of Dallas to honor the brand’s storied past – and look ahead. “We wanted to honor the heritage and the accomplishments, but this is a future-oriented anniversary,” says Sheryl Adkins-Green, the chief marketing officer for Mary Kay, Inc. “We are keeping Mary Kay’s dream alive and relevant.” Here are 6 facts you may not know about the now 50-year-old beauty powerhouse.

Founder Mary Kay Ash began the company with her life savings of $5,000 in 1963, after her husband passed away. She attempted to get a bank loan and was denied, because she was a woman.

There are 3 million Mary Kay independent beauty consultants operating in 37 countries. To celebrate International Women’s Day on March 8, Mary Kay hosted 44,000 makeovers all over the world.

While Mary Kay’s headquarters are in Texas, Adkins-Green says the company is growing the most quickly outside the U.S., in markets like Brazil, Russia and China. Mary Kay saw $3 billion in worldwide sales this year.

The 50th anniversary celebrations are expected to bring an estimated $49.4 million to the city of Dallas, thanks to spending by the company and by the independent sellers visiting the city.

Mary Kay’s motto is “One Woman Can.” With that in mind, Adkins-Green says she’s thrilled that the anniversary convention is being held at the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center, in honor of the female U.S. Senator from Texas.

At any one time during the two-week celebration, Adkins-Green says there will be hundreds of the brand’s iconic pink Cadillacs – the biggest reward given to high-performing sellers. She says there will also be plenty of Black Mustangs, which are also “career cars” given to outstanding consultants.