Since you are here, I taking a guess that you are passionate about skincare and makeup…
Somebody told you that you can turn those passions of yours into a business by joining LimeLife by Alcone as its MLM “Beauty Guide”.
Why not, right?
However, you are aware that MLM companies are usually not as innocent and legit as they claim to be…
You’ve heard your fair share of MLM horror stories.
People who lost money, friends, and family after joining pyramid schemes posing as legit MLM companies that turned them into disgusting salespeople pitching crappy products/services to everyone who crossed their path.
And you definitely not want to end up like that.
Well, this is your lucky day because, in this LimeLife by Alcone MLM review, I am going to answer every single question you have about LimeLife, such as
- What is LimeLife about?
- Is LimeLife by Alcone a pyramid scheme or a legit MLM company?
- Does its compensation plan offer the potential for you to achieve your financial goals?
- How to join LimeLife by Alcone as a Beauty Guide?
- Is LimeLife by Alcone worth it?
- How much does it cost to join LimeLife by Alcone?
- Pros and cons
- Are LimeLife’s products high-quality?
- and many more
In addition, I am going to reveal to you a couple of alternative money-making opportunities.
This way, you’ll have everything piece of information you might possibly need to make an informed decision about whether LimeLife by Alcone is worth your time and attention or if you’d better invest in something more legit and promising.
Let’s get cracking!
LimeLife by Alcone MLM Overview
Name: LimeLife by Alcone
Owners:
- L’Occitane en Provence
- Michele Gay & Madison Mallardi
Price to join:
- $169 Starter Kit (one-time payment)
- $9.95 per month for your replicated website
- $75 annual renewal fee
Official Website: limelifebyalcone.com
Suggested? Not so much…
Increase your chances of reaching success in multi-level marketing by following a dedicated MLM course.
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- Replicated Website
- Long-standing Company
- Provides Training
- MLM Business Model
- Low Income Potential
- “F” BBB Rating
- Complicated Compensation Plan
- Low-quality Products
Before I move on to the actual LimeLife by Alcone MLM review, I want to reveal to you some general MLM statistics that will probably SHOCK you to your very core.
10 Shocking MLM Statistics
- According to FTC, 99% of all MLM participants lose money
- The chances of profiting by running your own small business are 38% more than by joining an MLM
- The profitability rate of running an online business is 10% - 20% higher than the profitability rate of joining an MLM
- The odds of winning from a single spin of the wheel in a game of roulette in Las Vegas could be as much as 300 times higher than actually profiting in an MLM
- According to AARP Foundation, 47% of MLM participants lose money and 27% make no money whatsoever
- Among the 26% who actually earn a profit, 53% of them earn less than $5000 a year
- 39% of MLM participants quit because pitching crappy products and services to friends and family jeopardized their relationships
- At least 50% of MLM reps quit within 1 year after joining an MLM and 95% quit within 10 years
- 75% of those who have joined and left an MLM state that they would never join another MLM in their life
- A 2018 poll of 1049 MLM reps across various companies found that most of them make less than 70 cents an hour, 20% of them never made a sale, 60% of them had earned less than $500 in sales over the past five years, and 32% of them acquired credit card debt to finance their MLM involvement
…until you’ve taken a good look at these shocking MLM statistics.
What is LimeLife by Alcone About?
LimeLife by Alcone is an MLM company that manufactures and distributes makeup and skincare products and accessories.
Even though the company was launched in 2018, its history goes more than 6 decades back.
The company was initially called Alcone and started out as a family-owned small store selling theatrical makeup to starlets in New York City in 1952 by Alvin Cohen.
LimeLife by Alcone is the evolution of that small family-owned store.
Throughout its life, the company has been rebranded multiple times.
In 1996, Alcone created Beauty\Tech, a collection of their top-selling makeup products and shades and evolved into Alcone at Home.
In 2013, Alcone for Everyone was launched as a way for makeup artists and beauty enthusiasts to sell professional makeup to people across the country.
In 2015, Alcone for Everyone added natural, luxury skincare to their existing beauty line and evolved into LimeLight by Alcone.
In 2017, Alcone partnered with L’Occitane which ended up owning 40% of Alcone in the United States and 60% of Alcone worldwide.
L’Occitane stated that they would help Alcone develop a specified distribution model outside of the USA by creating a global brand and product offering under the brand “LimeLife” while providing operational support for LimeLife’s current and future subsidiaries and local sales forces across the world.
In 2018, LimeLight by Alcone got rebranded as LimeLife by Alcone and extended its reach globally.
As it seems, LimeLife has a bright future ahead of it.
The company’s mission is to “Empower ourselves and others”.
You can find a lot more about LimeLife by Alcone, its story, founders, products, policies, mission, compensation plan, etc on the company’s official website.
LimeLife by Alcone Products & Prices
According to LimeLife, it’s important to them that their cosmetics are as kind to the planet as possible.
All LimeLife skincare and professional makeup products are Leaping Bunny certified, cruelty-free, organic and chemical-free and as natural as possible without sacrificing performance.
The products LimeLife manufactures and distributes are dozens so I won’t be listing every single one of them right here for obvious reasons.
The 3 categories under which the company’s products fall are
- Makeup
- Skincare
- Accessories
The prices of the products range between $20 and $150 each.
You can find more about LimeLife’s products and their respective prices on the company’s official website.
LimeLife by Alcone Beauty Guide
Compensation Plan
The majority of MLM companies have so overly complicated compensation plans that it feels like you need to have a rocket scientist doctorate to understand just their first paragraph.
LimeLife by Alcone is no exception…
Nonetheless, I’ll try my best to get you up to speed.
LimeLife by Alcone compensates its Beauty Guides in 9 different ways.
- Base Commission
- Fast Start Incentives
- Enhanced Commission
- Direct Enroller Bonus
- Certified Mentor Bonus
- Leadership Bonus
- Leader Generation Bonus
- Executive Bonuses
- Car/Lifestyle Bonus
1 • Base Commission
Earn 20% commissions on all your retail sales as well as on your personal purchases.
2 • Fast Start Incentives
LimeLife by Alcone provides you with Fast Start rewards in the form of product credits as well as actual money when you reach specific goals within your first 100 days.
The Fast Start rewards change from time to time. You can find more details about the current Fast Start rewards program on your personal dashboard.
To encourage Beauty Guides to give their new recruits their full support and attention, the company gives a Beauty Guide a 100% match on the Fast Start rewards that their new recruits earn.
3 • Enhanced Commission
When you reach the rank of Beauty Guide or higher, you can earn up to 15% more commissions on your retail sales and personal purchases.
The percentage of your enhanced commissions is calculated based on the total volume of your personal sales and purchases for any given month.
- $500 to $1999 PV = 5% Enhanced Commissions
- $2000 to $3999 PV = 10% Enhanced Commissions
- $4000 + PV = 15% Enhanced Commissions
4 • Direct Enroller Bonus
This Direct Enroller Bonus pays you 5% of all the retail sales and personal purchases of the Beauty Guides you have personally recruited to LimeLife by Alcone.
5 • Certified Mentor Bonus
When you reach the rank of Star Beauty Guide, you will have the opportunity to become a Certified Mentor for your team by completing the Mentor Certification Program.
Once you are certified, you will receive a 2% commission based on the BV (Bonus Volume) of the retail sales of everyone who joins your team from then on, until someone else in your team becomes a CM.
BV = 70% of each product’s retail price
6 • Leadership Bonus
This Leadership Bonus pays you 3% of the retail sales of up to 4 levels of Beauty Guides deep through a uni-level structure.
- 1st level = the Beauty Guides you have personally recruited or “strategically placed” under you by another Beauty Guide above you
- 2nd level = the Beauty Guides that the Beauty Guides on your 1st level have recruited
- 3rd level = the Beauty Guides your 2nd level Beauty Guides have recruited
- and so on
7 • Leader Generation Bonus
Once you reach the rank of Lead Director and higher, you qualify to receive this “Leader Generation Bonus”.
The Leader Generation Bonus is calculated as the 2% of the BV of your personal sales volume as well as the sales volume of your entire downline.
8 • Executive Bonuses
When you reach the rank of Lead Director and someone in your downline becomes a Lead Director as well, your 2% Leader Generation Bonus is replaced with a 3% bonus of the BV of that Lead Director’s entire downline.
This Lead Director along with his downline is considered your 1st Generation.
You can earn this 3% bonus on sales made by all the Beauty Guides in up to 3 Generations.
- 2nd Generation = the downline of a Lead Director within your 1st Generation
- 3rd Generation = the downline of a Lead Director within your 2nd Generation
9 • Car/Lifestyle Bonus
When you reach the rank of Lead Director or higher, you will begin receiving a monthly Car/Lifestyle Bonus.
This Car/Lifestyle Bonus can be as much as $1000 per month on top of all the other commissions and bonuses you’ll receive and you can towards upgrading your lifestyle by purchasing a luxury car, a bigger home, etc.
You can study LimeLife’s full compensation plan right here.
The two short videos below sum up the company’s compensation plan pretty neatly so you might want to watch it before moving any further.
Please note that LimeLife’s compensation plan might undergo changes from time to time so by the time you read this review, some of the info, the commission rates, the rank qualifications, etc that are displayed in the videos and PDF file I shared with you right above might not be that accurate.
If you still have questions about LimeLife’s compensation plan, you can contact their support team through email at wecare@limelifebyalcone.com or call them at the telephone number 844-232-6294.
Or you could contact me at harry@dearboss-iquit.com and I will do my best to help you out.
LimeLife by Alcone Beauty Guide
Ranks & Qualifications
Beauty Guide in Training:
- Apply as LimeLife’s Beauty Guide on the company’s website and get your application accepted
- Purchase the Beauty Guide Basic Starter Kit
Beauty Guide:
- Generate a total of $1000 in Personal Sales Volume
Lead Guide:
- Maintain at least 2 Active Beauty Guides
- Generate $2500 of Total Group Retail Volume per month
Star Beauty Guide:
- Maintain at least 3 Active Beauty Guides, including 1 Lead Beauty Guide or higher
- Complete the Star Beauty Guide Training
- Generate $5000 in TGRV per month
Director:
- Maintain at least 4 Active Beauty Guides, including 1 Lead Beauty Guide Line or higher and 1 Star Beauty Guide Line or higher
- Generate $10.000 in TGRV per month
Lead Director:
Promotion
- Have 5 Active Beauty Guides, including 1 Director
- Generate $25.000 TGRV in one month
Maintenance
- Have at least $40.000 TGRV per month
Star Director:
Promotion
- Have 5 Active Beauty Guides, including 1 Director and 1 Lead Director
- Generate at least $50.000 TGRV in one month
Maintainance
- Generate at least $80.000 TGRV per month
Senior Director:
Promotion
- Have 5 Active Beauty Guides, including 2 Director, 1 Lead Director, and 1 Star Director
- Generate $100.000 TGRV in one month
Maintainance
- Generate at least $150.000 TGRV per month
When you reach the Beauty Guide rank, you need to generate at least $300 of Personal Sales Volume to be considered active and qualified for team commissions for any given month.
In addition, the prerequisite to through any given rank higher than the Beauty Guide is to be active and qualified for team commissions.
How to Join LimeLife by Alcone as a Beauty Guide?
You can join LimeLife by Alcone as a Beauty Guide right here.
Once you are on the page, scroll down and click on the “Choose Your Starter Kit and Submit Your Application” button.
Choose your Starter Kit and click “Continue to Application”.
Fill in the application, click the “Submit” button and you are done!
You must be 18+ to be able to join LimeLife by Alcone.
How Much Does It Cost to Join LimeLife by Alcone as a Beauty Guide?
To join LimeLife by Alcone as a Beauty Guide, you’ll need to purchase a Starter Kit that costs a one-time payment of $169.
You’ll also have to sign up for a replicated website that costs $9.95 per month with the first month being free. Purchasing the replicated website is compulsory.
In addition, after your first year as a Beauty Guide, you’ll have to pay $75 per each year you want to remain active as a Beauty Guide.
Lastly, keep in mind that to keep yourself qualified for earning team commissions you’ll have to maintain 300PV during a 30-day period.
This 300PV can come either from retail customer sales or from personal product purchases.
This means that if you gather 200PV through retail sales during a month, in order to earn commissions from your team’s retail sales and recruits, you’ll have to get your PV up to 300 by purchasing 100PV products yourself.
You can still earn commissions from your personal retail sales even if you don’t meet that 300PV monthly requirement.
Is LimeLife by Alcone a Pyramid Scheme?
Most of the time it’s very hard to distinguish between a legit MLM company and a pyramid scheme.
The video below will help you understand how to spot and avoid pyramid schemes in general.
The main difference between an MLM and a pyramid scheme is that MLMs give you the opportunity to earn commissions by selling actual products or services to other people in retail without having to recruit them while with a pyramid scheme the only way to earn money is by recruiting other people into the scheme.
Not all MLMs are legitimate. If the money you make through an MLM is based on your sales to the public, it may be a legitimate one. If the money you make is based on the number of people you recruit and your sales to them, it’s not legit. It’s a pyramid scheme. Pyramid schemes are illegal, and the vast majority of their participants lose money. – Federal Trade Commission
Since LimeLife by Alcone offers you the option to earn commissions through selling its products in retail, the company cannot be considered a pyramid scheme.
LimeLife by Alcone Pros
- Replicated Website
- Long-standing Company
- Provides Training
1 • Replicated Website
LimeLife by Alcone provides all its Beauty Guides with websites that are replicas of the company’s official one.
When someone purchases products through your replicated website, you earn up to 35% commissions of the total price paid by that customer.
In addition, if someone signs up as a Beauty Guide through your replicated website you automatically become their sponsor, and they become part of your downline which means that you can earn commissions from their retail sales and recruiting efforts.
If marketed the right way, this website could help you maximize your customers and your recruits, and thus your income.
Truthfully, I’d never join an MLM company that didn’t provide some kind of website or e-shop to its representatives.
If your business is not on the internet, then your business will be out of business – Bill Gates
The website is kind of pricey to maintain at $9.95 per month.
Now, $9.95 per month might not seem that expensive to you but it is from my own point of view.
Wealthy Affiliate lets me host up to 50 different websites with less than $25 per month while providing me all the tools, training, and support I need to make those websites profitable and without any additional charges.
2 • Long-Standing Company
Alcone is one of the most well-established and long-standing companies I’ve reviewed up to this point.
The company seems to be continuously growing year after year for more than 65 years now, something that is exceptional considering that most MLM companies fail within their first 5 years.
And apparently, now that L’Occitane owns 60% of it, LimeLife is expected to keep growing for the years to come.
3 • Provides Training
Something that the majority of MLMs don’t offer to their newly recruited members is proper training on how to actually make the most with the company (no wonder that such a small percentage of MLM participants manage to make a profit).
LimeLife by Alcone provides some training materials in your Starter Kit to help you understand how the company and its products work, its compensation plan, how to market your website and your products, how to use your personal dashboard, etc.
In addition, there is an abundance of training videos on several subjects published on YouTube by other LimeLife Beauty Guides.
While LimeLife’s training has definitely a lot of room for improvemenet, it’s better to have some training than none.
LimeLife by Alcone Cons
- MLM Business Model
- Low Income Potential
- “F” BBB Rating
- Complicated Compensation Plan
1 • MLM Business Model
As mentioned earlier, I am not fond of the MLM business model in general for many reasons…
First of all, the percentage of MLM participants who actually make a profit is awfully low (74% – 99%)
Secondly, I hate selling…
And thirdly, I’ve heard so many stories of people losing all their friends, family, and money due to the pushy and sleazy practices they were being taught by their “mentors” that I have become repulsed by the MLM business model in general.
Being involved in an MLM is just not worth the trouble in my mind.
Especially when there exist other much more legit ways of earning a lot more money without having to go through all that struggle of becoming a sleazy salesperson and jeopardizing your relationships with those around you because you are perceiving them as walking bags of cash.
2 • Low Income Potential
According to LimeLife’s income disclosure statement, the income potential of the average Beauty Guide is very low.
If you take a look at the image below, you’ll see that the average income of a Beauty Guide in Training was $49.49 per month during 2018.
For a Beauty Guide in Training to become a Beauty Guide, they have to gather a total of $1000 Personal Sales Volume.
Since a Beauty Guide in Training makes almost $50 per month, it’ll take 20 months for them to become a Beauty Guide.
And a Beauty Guide makes an average of $144 per month.
2 years of work to reach a $144 per month income…
And I can safely say that this is probably a best-case scenario.
3 • "F" BBB Rating
BBB (Better Business Bureau) is a non-profit organization that ranks businesses, charities and non-profit organizations based on their legitimacy, the information they gather about the business and complaints received from customers.
The higher a company’s rating, the more credible and trustworthy the company is in the eyes of BBB.
LimeLife doesn’t have an active file with BBB yet, probably because it’s new but its precursor LimeLight has one and it has been rated with “F” by BBB which is actually the worst possible rating.
That’s definitely not a good sign.
Furthermore, under its BBB profile, LimeLight has a ton of negative reviews and complaints.
Some of those complaints have to do with delivery and billing issues but a few of them have been left by customers who claimed that LimeLight’s products damaged their skin and face (see images below).
You can take a closer look at all the BBB complaints about LimeLight right here.
After coming across all those BBB complaints about LimeLight’s products damaging people’s skins, I dug a little deeper and well, what do you know!
I found even more complaints about the company’s products on pissedconsumer.com (see images below).
As it seems, LimeLife’s products are not as high-quality as the company claims them to be and I would never get involved with a company that sells products that could damage peoples health.
4 • Complicated Compensation Plan
Enhanced bonuses, Fast Start commissions, PV, TGRV, points, 1st and 2nd Generations, levels, various percentages, dozens of different ranks and qualifications, blah blah blah…
A person who is relatively new to MLMs doesn’t have much chance of understanding how LimeLife’s compensation plan really works.
Hell, even I had trouble understanding it fully and I have read dozens MLM compensation plans until now.
But did you know that most MLMs make their compensation plans so complicated on purpose?
It’s called “Complexity Bias” and it’s the tendency of people to trust complex concepts more than simple ones.
Marketers use complexity bias all the time to boost the sales of a product/service by incorporating confusing language or insignificant details into its packaging or sales copy.
MLM companies do the exact same thing with their compensation plans to get more people to join them.
You can read more about complexity bias right here.
LimeLife by Alcone MLM Summary
Income
Potential
Low income potential (just like most MLMs) according to LimeLife’s Income Disclosure Statement.
Resources
Replicated website, personalized online dashboard. Starter Kit contains several products as well as marketing and training materials.
Price
Kinda pricey to join and maintain your membership.
Legitimacy
LimeLife by Alcone is NOT a pyramid scheme. BBB rating = “F” (worst possible rating).
Overall Rating
Is LimeLife by Alcone Suggested?
Joining LimeLife by Alcone is not really suggested.
According to its income disclosure statement, the company’s income potential is not that promising.
In addition, there are a lot of complaints about the company and its products online and its compensation plan is overly complicated which is something that I hate.
Now, if you are already using LimeLife’s products and you are really satisfied with them, this could be a good opportunity for you to get some good discounts on the products you would purchase anyway as well as maybe make some extra money by selling some of them to your friends.
Since you are interested in the beauty and skincare industries, maybe you should also check out another MLM company called Farmasi.
On the other hand, to tell you the truth, I am not at all fond of the MLM business model in general…
- The success rate and profitability of MLM reps are awfully low
- MLM companies are extremely volatile and unstable
- You need to invest a ton of money, time, and energy until you manage to make a profit (if you ever actually make a profit)
- Most MLM companies focus on recruiting people instead of selling valuable and beneficial products or services
Plus, in order to make money with the MLM business model, you’ll probably have to turn into a sleazy salesperson and I really hate selling as much as I hate being sold to.
11 Responses
The below is 100% INCORRECT!!!!!
“For a Beauty Guide in Training to become a Beauty Guide, they have to gather a total of $1000 Personal Sales Volume.
Since a Beauty Guide in Training makes almost $50 per month, it’ll take 20 months for them to become a Beauty Guide.
And a Beauty Guide makes an average of $144 per month.
2 years of work to reach a $144 per month income…”
Selling $1000 worth of product is NOT equivalent to earning $50 a month. Earning $50 in a month means you’ve sold $250 in products, at that rate a person could become a Beauty Guide in 4 months … not 20 months. So your stats are off FIVE FOLD.
I’m a Beauty Guide, been with LL for under 6 months, and average $500 a month in commissions… And nope I’m not a sleazy salesperson, but thanks for the assumption!
Hey Muchelle, thanks a lot for bringing this to my attention.
I believe that you’re right!
As it seems, LimeLife “activates” its Beauty Guides based on the actual retail value of the products they sell. Every single other MLM I’ve reviewed does so based on the commission rate so I kinda got confused.
I’ll update the review accordingly with the first given chance.
All the best,
Harry
So the majority of this info is wrong. I would get some facts straight before writing an entire blog about a company.
Thanks a lot for your valuable input!
Harry
I always thought that MLM companies were a good way to make money…
Now, I can see why 99% of all people that join an MLM company lose money.
Although MLMs are not actually scams, because technically you can make money with them, it is so tough to break even after the initial payment then the monthly fees that it’s almost impossible to actually make a profit.
LimeLife really reminds me of Mary Kay, they have a big convention in my city every year, and always trying to sell stuff and recruit people.
I never liked the whole concept.
Thank you for your review, it is very helpful!
Yeah, Mary Kay is also an MLM company that sells cosmetics just like LimeLife by Alcone.
I am glad you found my review helpful!
Harry
Hello,
So when I clicked on the BBB link that you provided, it didn’t provide the F rating, but A+ with most complaints resolved. Why the discrepancy?
Hey Rebecca, thanks a lot for bringing this to my attention.
The review was created back in November 2019 by taking into account information that was available during that time.
Within the article, I clearly mention that LimeLife lacked an active BBB file and that the “F” rating corresponds to its precursor, LimeLight.
I’ll do my best to update the review as soon as possible.
All the best,
Harry
Some MLMS are actually a great way to make money as the startup costs can be way less than an initial investment in other fields. There are more millionaires in the MLM space than any other single business model out there.
There are a few things to consider though…
1) do you believe or love what You’re selling? This is true for any model, if you’re selling something you’d better stand behind it.
2) is it consumable? I wouldn’t personally want to start a small business selling non-consumable goods as the residual income of reorders is appealing to me.
3) does the company you’re working under allow you to drop ship or do you need to keep inventory? (I ALWAYS go with a brand that allows you to drop ship so you aren’t actually having to buy your own products and then sell them.
4) does the company provide leadership and training?
5) does their compensation plan truly allow for residual income?
That being said, not all MLM’s are structured the same way and some are easier than others to make $ at.
Full transparency, I work for LimeLife by Alcone, I’m a director and I’ve been doing this for 1.5 years. There are many holes in this article and many non-truths.
There are also some numbers that are heavily skewed and let me explain why. The start-up cost of $169+$9.95 for a website fee is drops in the bucket when considering starting a business. Even if you were to start a coffee cart for instance you’d have the cost of goods, maybe marketing, permits and licensing, possibly labor, etc. even an e-commerce biz costs for web design, marketing, perhaps app capabilities for the new-age tech consumer.
***because of the low start cost & discount on products, you end up with a group of ppl who essentially sign up just for the kit ($450 worth of product for $169) now those people may never do anything biz wise because that wasn’t their intention. But their numbers get thrown into the equation.
I think there’s a misconception of MLM’s because this happens a lot. Not because it’s hard to make $, but because that wasn’t the reason some people joined.
I’m one level away from making more than side hustle $ and I’ve only been doing it a year and a half. That goes for most of my team too. I do however have girls who are in it just to get discounts on their products.
So I believe numbers and stats have to be compared apples to apples. You can’t take a woman dedicating 12 hours a week to her biz and one who only logs in to order her own product and put them in the same equation.
Just food for thought!
If anyone reading this would like more info you’re free to reach out to me!
Jennifer.farris12@gmail.com
Hi Harry,
Interesting review on LimeLife by Alcone.
I’ve been to an MLM rep before and haven’t had the desired results.
In general, I believe the success rate and profitability of MLM iterations are extremely low.
I thought that LimeLife would be different but as it turns out it’s not…
Thank you very much for all the info.
I am glad I could help 🙂
My regards,
Harry