Open Letter about Beautycounter’s Return

Posted on October 16, 2024

To my beloved Beautycounter Community, for 6 years I was a walking Beautycounter infomercial. Which is why the conclusion I’ve come to about Beautycounter’s upcoming return was a surprise, even to myself. As someone who has encouraged you to shop the brand in the past, there is a lot of context I have had access to which you may not. And, as an ever-committed truth teller, it feels important to share.

the news articles have looked a lot different over the last 6 months awaiting Beautycounter’s return

I was a true stan.

But it didn’t start that way, in May of 2018 I finally acquiesced to several of my good friends, to get my own Beautycounter consultant link. I’d been using and loving the products for months, wanted a discount, and thought it couldn’t hurt to share an affiliate link. In fact, I was adamant that I wouldn’t grow a team.

I simply wanted to share about what I liked and see if other people were also looking for products that were safety tested and high performance. By the fall, I went on a trip and met the corporate leaders. I saw first hand the vision and possibilities for the future.

I genuinely wanted to get safer products into the hands of everyone. Not just those with access, and not just Beautycounter products. I wanted to be a part of a movement and mission to change the regulation, for everyone.

Looking back it saved me.

I was at a turning point in my life where I was looking for a passion project. I had been deep in personal grief, and the community that was inherent to a direct sales business model afforded me something I’d always longed for.

Which is why and when I jumped all in, hitting the top leader rank in mere months. A few years later I was able to step away from my incredibly successful corporate career as a Federal regulation executive, to run a business from home. I focused on an umbrella of education, through RealEverything.com and podcast, The Whole View. I’m proud to work towards helping people achieve health inside and out at any size.

pictured: Gregg and myself during an advocacy trip

It was at our peak that Beautycounter took their second big private equity investment.

Gregg Renfrew, the founder and CEO handed over the reins completely to Carlyle as majority owner. While I think she was absolutely well intended and expected the Carlyle partnership to open opportunities for Beautycounter to grow substantially, expectation and reality were drastically different. Carlyle removed her as CEO, brought in new leadership whose intentions were no longer aligned to the engine that drove the ship – our advocates.

While there are lots of articles out there already, many are fraught with misinformation or skewed perspective based on the bias of the frustrated interviewees who provided details. Here’s what appears to be the case:

Beautycounter had multiple offers and chose Carlyle, known for it’s investments in fossil fuel and aggressive takeovers. (1,2,3,4)
When Carlyle bought its controlling share, Gregg Renfrew received “about $50 million for selling part of her stake.” (5)
When the company foreclosed, corporate employees were terminated without severance or the ability to access COBRA for health insurance. (6)

My heart still breaks for those harmed by the business decision made which put profit over people.

In my prior career, I have personally participated in the sale and purchase of dozens of companies. Layoffs are something I’ve unfortunately been a part of.

I have never seen employees be treated the way they were under Beautycounter’s foreclosure.

It’s my understanding that Carlyle and all members of the Board, including Gregg, were a part of that decision making process.

When I think back to the reason I fell in love, I have such a hard time reconciling how a brand focused on “people and planet” could do this. Real humans, employees were discarded. Especially after those last years where those who worked tirelessly on disasters they did not create – and often themselves even warned Beautycounter not to do – were dismissed without the respect they deserved.

You may not have realized the full extent of issues, but…

The last couple years I personally spent more time fixing than anything else. The less expensive distribution warehouse had frequent and disastrous shipping issues. The tech platform, whom Carlyle had chosen and had a financial interest in, was untenable. Beautycounter employees and those of us in the field were working to the bones to deliver an elevated experience for our customers in the face of these endless problems and lack of partnership from corporate leadership.

I had hoped that a fresh start with a new Beautycounter could resolve these things for me. I wanted so desperately for the Beautycounter I fell in love with to return. At the time, during the first temporary shut down, I was still all in on Beautycounter.

While other peers immediately jumped ship to try to secure their placement on the totem pole of leadership, I was steadfast in my passion for staying the course. It wasn’t until we were told it would be a very long time that I began searching for a solution that would align to my ethics and values.

pictured with Beautycounter’s temporary CEO, Mindy Mackenzie

The time apart has given me time to process and find clarity.

I wanted to believe so badly that the love I’d once felt could come back to me. I had been willing to sacrifice so much of my own needs to make a difference in people’s lives. And I believe Beautycounter knows that about the advocates, and is using it intentionally to their advantage for an upcoming “in-between”, for which you will likely receive marketing.

Last week we were informed that Beautycounter would be coming back for the public to shop for the holidays. It hit me like a ton of bricks. It’s not the first time I have been presented with something that is not beneficial to me and sold a pitch that tries to paint it that way. As I read the lengthy terms and conditions, my fears and suspicions were sadly confirmed.

Upon Beautycounter’s return it will be communicating and selling directly to all clients.

Prior consultants will not have access to the data of client history or contact information they helped Beautycounter build. Their accounts will not be linked to the person who previously chose to support them. We must send them a link, which Beautycounter will also be doing directly – competing with us for our own friends’ and family’s business.

It also appears that Beautycounter will not be making anything right from the past. If you had member credit or had issues with receiving product, it does not appear it will be reconciled. But you will be able to potentially pay full price for products that are currently on clearance at Ulta.

And, based on recent experience from consultant-only private sales, there does not appear to be an infrastructure that is yet ready for an influx of customer service, tech, or shipping issues.

Which leads me to wonder:

How could Beautycounter string us along these past 7 months? We were told it was “undecided” what Beautycounter’s business model would look like upon it’s return.
Is there a solid plan I can trust? We were repeatly told various dates Beautycounter would be back in 2024, then told it would not return this year and to move on. We found ways to serve our clients, as we were instructed to do. Now a few weeks before our biggest shopping season, Beautycounter has changed directions again.
Why does this “in between” sale treat former advocates as affiliates, with no long-term plan communicated and no access to our client and business history?
If the long-term plan is undecided, how is it possible for millions to have been invested without a business plan? It feels to me like the truth of a non-consultant model has long been known, and the truth held back.
Why would Beautycounter directly market to customers (this week, we were told) before giving the advocate community a chance to send their own link?
What is Beautycounter’s social mission, and can it ever be what it was?
Is the new Beautycounter going to pursue B Corp status, since 2022 was the last certification? The lack of transparency and how people are treated doesn’t feel like it aligns for me.
Are prior advocates being misled in order to launch a free marketing campaign that HQ will reap the benefits of? Many consultants don’t fully understand that when they rejoin the business it will be very different.

All of this wakes up my mama bear protective mode.

I am angry for those who will lose sales because shoppers will think they’re supporting their friend or family, not realizing it is now attributed to HQ. I am protective of the clients who were wronged and not being made right. And, I am ready to fight for the people I care about because of the brand who ethically didn’t behave in ways I personally agree with.

It’s important to acknowledge that brands need to make money, and being profitable is essential given what happened the first time with Beautycounter. That said, marketing to clients directly and having orders default to HQ, enabling them to rake in profit, with a reduced commission and no future business for affiliates.

On my last call with Gregg she said, “Consider this our official break-up. Move on. It is my job to create a compelling case for you to want to come back when Beautycounter re-opens.”

And this Beautycounter return, my friends, is not it.

I feel manipulated. Beautycounter knows our passion and enthusiasm. Many of us are financially hurting after our livelihoods were eviscerated. But we deserve better.

I have been grieving this loss for months, can not tell you the tears, anxiety, nausea, sleepless nights, and anger I have felt over the last 6+ months. I not only was a top leader but I was usually the top seller in the entire company. It is scary. I have a lot to lose in walking away, I am the breadwinner for my family.

But it feels like I would lose even more (of myself) by not walking away.

Perhaps, and there’s a very small chance here, by providing this insight into why a top selling, top leader would walk away, it can help the rebuilding of the new Beautycounter go in a better direction. But, in the meantime, I can not in good conscience ask you to vote with your wallet by supporting the brand as it stands today.

This is beyond hard for me. I sit here crying as I write this letter I’ve pondered for weeks. I am so proud of the work that I did with Beautycounter. The gratitude I have, for the movement I can tell my grandchildren I was a part of – changing laws and lives, can never be taken away.

I love(d) the products; but, I don’t want to use them anymore.

I have found product replacements that I like just as much for less money, and in many cases that I like even better. I don’t need to put myself in a situation where I feel like I need to compromise my ethics. My heart is still with all the people who lost so much. I cannot just jump back in.

I never would have imagined this to be the case, but I have found a new home that is showing me things can be done right – with 40+ year employees who love their jobs. Our community is built with others who have a passion for a mission that matters, validated proof of safety, and scientific and clinical proof of effective performance.

I have been treated with kindness and respect. They have done right by every client or team member interaction I have seen. They have compassionately and empathetically supported, encouraged, and embraced so many in the industry who have been walking this difficult path.

If you were a prior customer or consultant and you are looking forward to Beautycounter’s return, I truly don’t begrudge you that. I genuinely want it to continue to have meaningful impact! This is shared to make you aware of my own personal experiences, of the things that still stick with me today. I’m sure they vary from your own; and, both of our choices are equally as valid.

I hope this helps explain why I will not be re-signing up for a Beautycounter link.