Younique MLM Review: Pyramid Scheme or Legit Opportunity?

Welcome to my Younique review.

You probably came to this page because you wonder if Younique is legit or a scam.

No need to worry you’re in the right place.

Over the last years, I’ve been busy creating reviews about all kinds of online products.

Some turned out to be fake other were legit ways to make money online but in the process I learned how to spot scams. 

In this post, I’ll show you absolutely everything you need to know about Younique and after reading it you’ll know exactly if you should give it a chance.

Younique Review Overview

Name: Younique

Website: Youniqueproducts.com

Founder: Melanie Huscroft, Derek Maxfield

Product Type: Beauty Product MLM program

Average Earning Potential: $15/month

Price: $99

Rating: 4/10

Younique main page

Summary:

 Younique is an MLM company founded in 2012 by Melanie Huscroft and Derek Maxfield that sells beauty products. 

Younique isn’t a pyramid scheme but unless you possess a specific set of requirements I couldn’t recommend this product because of a few reasons.

Find out why by reading this post.

Similar to: It Works!Pruvit 

Rating: 4/10

Recommended for: Expert salesmen that have extraordinary recruiting skills 

What is Younique?

Younique is a company founded in 2012 that sells beauty products with the help of multi-level marketing.

The company puts focus on women empowerment. A part of their revenue goes to charities that help women that have been abused. 

The motto of Younique is: 

"...Younique’s mission is to uplift, empower, validate, and ultimately build self-esteem in women around the world through high-quality products that encourage both inner and outer beauty and spiritual enlightenment while also providing opportunities for personal growth and financial reward..."

Founders of Younique 

Younique was founded by brother and sister Melanie Huscroft who is active as CVO and Derek Maxfield who is acting as the CEO of Younique.

Derek 12 years of experience in developing software for a direct sales company.

He quit because he had an urge to look take advantage of opportunities to improve the direct selling business model.

To do that he teamed up with Melanie who was experienced in advertising and sales and they created Younique. 

How to get started with Younique MLM?

To become a distributor at Younique you’ll have to follow a 4-step process:

1. Sign-up and become a distributor
You can do this on the official unique website. 

2. Host a virtual party
This online campaign you can do on social media. Sound fancier than it is.

It’s most of the time just a Facebook page that directs people to your website with distributor links on it.

3. Receive commission
You’ll receive a commission on every sale made.

Important to know:

  • You have to pay $99 to join the program
  • Commission rates will vary depending on your level as a distributor
  • To raise your level you’ll need to recruit people
  • There’ll always be a minimal amount of sales and people you’ll have to recruit to stay on a certain level.

Who can benefit from Younique

Who would benefit from Younique:

  • People with insane sales and recruiting skills
  • People with large social media followings

Who shouldn’t invest in Younique:

  • People that are trying to earn more than pocket change
  • People without any experience in social media marketing
  • People that don’t like recruiting people

Pros and Cons

Pros

  • Quality Products
  • Simple Cash compensation plan
  • You don’t have to buy the product before selling them

Cons

  • Low Earning Potential
  • There’s a minimum of products you have to sell or your commission rate drops
  • Expensive just to join ($99 fee)

Younique products

Younique sells beauty products for women.

The products can be divided into 2 categories.

  • Makeup
  • Skincare

To be more specific they sell:
Skincare products

  • Masks 
  • Cleansers
  • Toners
  • Serums
  • Moisturizers

Makeup products

  • Lip (stick, gloss, care, liner, stain, etc.)
  • Eye (liner, shadow, primer, lashes, etc.)
  • Face ( primer, bronzer, blusher, foundation, creamer, etc.)

Do Younique products work?

When joining as a distributor it’s important to stand behind the products you sell.

This makes it easier to get people to trust you and you don’t have to worry about bad reviews or getting in trouble with the law.

This is why I have done some research to find out what people think about Younique.

Take a look at some of the things I found out about the Presenter kit that has the 15 best selling products and reviews from other websites.

Younique consumer affairs comment 2
Younique consumer affairs comment

Younique Earning Potential

Younique earns money by using multi-level marketing. This makes it a bit harder than just looking at the commission rate and how many products you can sell. 

The amount of money you make is based on your level as a distributor, the people you have recruited, and how much you have sold. 

There are 4 levels that the distributors get categorized in:

  • Entry Presenter
  • Exemplary Presenter
  • Elite Presenter
  • Exclusive Presenter

Below I have a table that explains how your level as a distributor is determined and also a table that shows how much you earn at every level as a presenter.

Younique compensation plan status requirements
Younique compensaton plar royalties

What’s important to know is the sales that determine your level aren’t a one-time thing you achieve and you stay at that level. 

The moment you or your recruits don’t perform up to this standard you’ll go back to a lower level and if you’re a white entry presenter your website gets deactivated. 

Getting a commission from your recruits in this program isn’t the same as earning passive income. 

To find out the maximum of how much people earn I took a look at the leaderboards. Here you can see the members with the most sales for a month. 

Younique rising stars

These are some impressive numbers but you have to remember that they’ll get a max 20% commission of the personal sales and 6% of the team sales. 

This seems reasonable when you see it but in truth, only 0,02% of all distributors make this much money.

Understanding the Younique leaderboards

Click to read in full size

This means that the rest is making a lot less than the people in the leaderboards.

Just like with most MLM programs, the majority is at the bottom levels making a max of $10 – $20 a month. 

Is Younique A Pyramid Scheme?

Younique makes use of a pyramid structure when it comes to recruiting that determines how much money you make. This is why a lot of people think that Younique is a pyramid scheme. 

In a pyramid scheme, they use a similar structure for recruiting the difference is there is no product being sold. 

They act like they’re a legitimate MLM company that you have to pay for to join and all that money goes to the creators of the scheme leaving the other recruits with nothing. 

In MLM every member makes money by selling a product and earning a commission. 

I have a problem with MLM because I think although, honestly, it sets you up to fail I have to admit…

Younique is not a pyramid scheme

My Personal Take

I think this is one of the better MLM programs out there because of a few reasons. The compensation plan feels like it less made for you to fail. 

Most MLM programs have you paying +$300 just to join and place all kinds of restrictions that it’s almost impossible for you to earn money.

You also have to buy the products and resell them which is a huge risk. 

Younique doesn’t do that. 

This doesn’t mean I’d recommend this program. 

According to a report from the AARP most people that join MLM programs either make no money or lose money. 

Here’s a graph that shares the numbers behind MLM programs.

AARP MLM Study Infographic

Is Multilevel Marketing for you? AARP Foundation launches a consumer education campaign to reveal the risks and rewards of multileval marketing.

I think programs with success rates like these aren’t worth my time or my money. 

This is why in 2018, I got into affiliate marketing. 

Just like multi-level marketing you’ll make money off commissions but the rate isn’t restricted by nonsense as levels, you don’t have to recruit anybody, and you can join affiliate programs for free.

Also, the earning potential of affiliate marketing is somewhere between $400 — $10K/ month.

It’s not a fast way to make money. 

It does take a lot of work…

…but as someone that by now has reviewed hundreds of “make money” programs I have 30 times as many people succeed from affiliate marketing than any other method.

Without a doubt it works!

>> Click here to learn the basics of affiliate marketing for free <<

Verdict

4.0
Product rating

Is Younique A Legit Opportunity?

After doing extensive research I've come to the conclusion that Younique isn't a Legit opportunity to make money.

That’s all for today. If you have any questions or you just want to show some love don’t hesitate to leave a comment.

See you at my next post

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About Rogier

I’m an Affiliate Marketing and SEO veteran, Blogger, and Pinterest Marketer based in The Netherlands. On this website, I share my learnings about online entrepreneurship, and digital resources while enjoying life to the fullest.

4 thoughts on “Younique MLM Review: Pyramid Scheme or Legit Opportunity?”

  1. Thanks for your thoughts on this. There are a lot of mediocre MLMs out there and you are saving people time and money with this review. All the Best.

    Reply
    • Hey Joseph!

      Thanks for the comment. I don’t think it’s a mediocre MLM. I just think MLM’s, in general, are bad for people that want to make money online.

      Reply

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