Pretty in pink car
Mary Kay future exeutive sales director Kyla Buhler with her new CTS 4, pink, Mary Kay Cadillac.
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Kyla Buhler’s new car has got it all.
Well, everything except subtlety.
The pink Cadillac she picked up late last month is the trademark symbol of Mary Kay Cosmetics, maybe even more than the lipstick and eyeliner itself.
“It’s kind of considered our trophy on wheels,” said Buhler, a sales director for Mary Kay in Red Deer. “It’s kind of funny, . . . everyone knows who you are and what you do.”
Buhler’s Mary Kay unit of about 115 salespeople met the production amount set by head office during a six-month qualification period ending in September, which landed Buhler the free 2010 Cadillac CTS for a two-year period.
She said there are about 60 Mary Kay “pink Cadillac units” in Canada.
As Buhler explains the company lore, founder Mary Kay Ash always thought pink was a powerful colour for women. So when she got her first Cadillac, she brought in her pink compact and insisted the car be in that colour.
“They said she was crazy,” Buhler said. “And she said, ‘That’s OK. I just want it pink.’”
Because her salespeople helped her get the car, Buhler hasn’t been stingy with offering rides and cruising around with her staff to sales functions. She said they get a lot of looks.
But of all those involved, her kids went the craziest over the spectacularly coloured (although it’s a pearlized pink, a far cry from the eyeball-searing neon of yesteryear) luxury vehicle.
Even her husband is getting on board.
“He’s like the manly man, but he has no problem driving it. It’s pink, but it’s free and it’s powerful and it’s all good,” Buhler said.
Buhler has been in the business for about eight years, starting as a part-time beauty consultant because it worked well with taking care of a baby at home.
It’s her second pink Cadillac, and she’s had a string of other Mary Kay cars, too. The last time she had a pink Caddy in her garage was a few years ago, though, and she’s happy to be back in the driver’s seat after the hiatus.
“When you tell somebody you’re a beauty consultant with Mary Kay, the first thing that people ask is if you drive a pink Cadillac. It takes a while (to earn one) and some people don’t get to realize that part of their dream.”
mgauk@reddeeradvocate.com
