<p>A dear friend has recently begun selling Nerium skin care product and I am in the middle of the 5 day trial period of the NeriumAD Age Defying Treatment. I do think that I can see an improvement, but I’m not 100% certain just yet. I’ll wait until the 5 day trial period is up for that.</p>
<p>I’d love to hear from any CCers who’ve tried this product. What was your experience?</p>
<p>I’m very leery of the sales process for Nerium. It is a multi-level marketing scheme. Some people swear by the product but it is very very expensive. Just try to stay away from getting sucked in as a ‘distributor’ under your friend</p>
<p>I have a friend who sells it, and I repect her knowlege, but I am wary of anything that is done by multilevel marketing. Some products from these kinds of companies are good quality, but the whole idea of MLM makes me want to avoid them.</p>
<p>I went to the home of a woman in our town who is very active politically and well regarded by many in my town. I listened to a fairly length pitch for the product. There were 8 women who were present and only 2 resisted the sales pitch. Everyone else bought the product. I think it was partly because the hostess (who is in her 80s) looks amazingly younger than she is and she was the model for the before and after pictures that she used to show what the product can do. My companions all signed up for the automatic (monthly) restocking option, which reduced the price of the product by a few bucks. I was pretty certain that there no way I’d use the product before a month was up, so I opted to simply buy one bottle and try it out. </p>
<p>That being said, it’s not a bad product. I liked it. Is it amazing–no. It’s similar to many other high-end anti-aging products. (I’m a sucker and use them and also keep switching products and looking for something that will probably never do what I hope it will do.) The price point for Nerium is about the same as other high-end anti-aging products; it’s around $100. So, if you decide to try it, don’t opt for the automatic restocking option. Buy it once and see if you like. One other selling point was that the company that markets the product (it was created by dermatologists at the M.D. Anderson Cancer center) gives a small portion of the proceeds back to the center. (At least that’s what the hostess told us.)</p>
<p>Regardng the M.D Anderson connection (read the comments, too):
[Setting</a> the record straight about MD Anderson and Nerium - Cancerwise | Cancer blog from MD Anderson Cancer Center](<a href=“http://www2.mdanderson.org/cancerwise/2012/08/setting-the-record-straight-about-md-anderson-and-nerium.html]Setting”>http://www2.mdanderson.org/cancerwise/2012/08/setting-the-record-straight-about-md-anderson-and-nerium.html)
I think the “if it’s too good to be true” adage applies here. If there were some groundbreaking approach to aging skin, surely a major pharmaceutical company or cosmetics manufacturer would have snapped it up and it wouldn’t be sold out of peoples’ homes in a MLM structure. As an aside, I’ll add that think it’s highly inappropriate to use one’s friendships to sell products. I once got pressured into attending a home demo of some cockamamie supplements that a friend was peddling after she lost her job. I went to be polite, but couldn’t justify wasting my money on the junk, and things were never the same between us.</p>
<p>^^^Good to know that MD Anderson didn’t develop it.
I guess the part about donating to the center is false too? The video they show clearly implies a link to the center.</p>
<p>This may sound dumb but what exactly is multi-level marketing and why do many people consider it so bad? </p>
<p>As for selling products to friends–it doesn’t offend me. I wouldn’t do it. I just don’t buy stuff I don’t want. I had another friend who sold green algae pills (can’t remember all the great stuff it was supposed to do). It wasn’t something I was even tempted to try and I simply told my friend I wasn’t interested.</p>
<p>I don’t care for MLM but I don’t find it necessarily wrong either. Back in the day, I bought a lot of Tupperware and most of it lasted over 20 years so MLM items aren’t necessarily junk. </p>
<p>I do see an improvement by using it (I’m on day 5) but $100 a bottle is definitely out of budget. (We still have one more to put through college.) I’ve never tried any other high-end face products. </p>
<p>Thanks to everyone who responded.</p>
<p>Multilevel marketing is simiar to a pyramid in that one seller can enlist other sellers and take a percentage of the sales. The person at the top can earn quite a bit of money from having several chains of sellers. I don’t think it is illegal or wrong in that sense, and some products can be very nice. </p>
<p>What bothers me is the marketing to friends and family, and it feels exploitative of what should be a trusting relationship. I sometimes get invitations to “parties” as if someone wants to socialize, but they just want to sell me something, so I feel used. I would love to spend time with the hosts, but wish they would just ask me over for coffee instead.</p>
<p>I’ve had friends who get so sucked up in their new ‘career’ that they don’t talk about anything else. It’s such a high pressure sale that you tend to start avoiding those people and are leery anytime they invite you to a function.</p>
<p>I have tried the product and like it. However, if you DON’T do the automatic renewal (which I would not), the shipping and handling charges are huge. I ordered my second batch off of Amazon. I don’t think it’s a miracle product at all- but I liked the smell and the texture. It lasted me a lot longer than a month, but I use Retin-A, too. </p>
<p>The product gets a lot of criticism and there are concerns about whether it is “safe”, but I don’t have those concerns. I just think the way it is marketed is a rip off and there is no good way to get it cheaper. They now have a day cream, too.</p>
<p>MOW
It never occurred to me to look on Amazon. Sure enough, it’s there and not only is it cheaper but it Prime eligible. I wonder why the company would allow that as it seems to me to undermine their sellers (like my friend). </p>
<p>I’m not a fan of the smell, but I do think I saw an improvement (smaller pores for sure) in the 5 days I tried it. And I had suspected that it would last me longer than a month (esp because knowing me, I’ll forget to use it some nights!) but I was glad to read your comment about that.</p>
<p>Plus- they really want you to slather it on. I don’t think you need to use as much as they tell you to.</p>
<p>I was thinking the same thing MOWC.</p>
<p>I think individual sellers can list on Amazon. It’s usually sellers who have stopped selling and need to get rid of product. They do in on Ebay, too. I have never tried this stuff but am always open to new skin care ideas. Never, sadly do they work miracles, though.</p>
<p>I just purchased my second bottle–got the first in May. You don’t need to use very much of it. I never paid for shipping. Friend who sells it brought it to my house.</p>
<p>Wow Bromfield2. That did last you a long time. At that rate, this product starts to look affordable!</p>
<p>From what I’ve read I think it’s a scam. I think you’re much better off using a prescription product like retin A which can run $25-50 with insurance and coupons.</p>
<p>I’m having very good luck with cellbone products for close to 5 years. I order from their website, and don’t know of any stores that carry their line. Their customer service is excellent. </p>
<p>I don’t buy any products from home parties.</p>