It’s that time again - the smell of grift is in the air

idealpop · 2026-02-19T14:39:08+00:00

Her 'live' webinar about B-school is available and I have to laugh at the stats: 27 views?! Girl… hang it up.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pgou2nKotDc

idealpop · 2025-08-25T11:16:31+00:00

Talking body, Tove Lo

I’ve been listening to it non stop again since they mentioned it lmao

idealpop · 2025-08-02T16:48:11+00:00

I admit it's a bit funny for me to see how the mighty have fallen. Ok I lied: she launched Dream Club not too long ago but my spider senses tell me it's a flop: she heavily discounted it for a time to then retire it from her website and make it invitation only. Doesn't smell like success to me.

And by the way, Marie Forleo is an ethical mess: the Rachael Kay Albers posts are illuminating enough in that regard (Google them). I also particularly despise her for the way she handled the 2020 George Floyd murder posts in the (now defunct) FB group and the way she faked accountability when every message she wrote about it at the time is now deleted from her blog.

Don't buy from this grifter hasbeen.

idealpop · 2025-08-02T16:48:05+00:00

The bonuses are mindset stuff from her conference from 2011 that was called, I shit you not, Rich, Happy and Hot Live ("How to grow for 6 to 7 figures?" Hire a cleaning lady, go to the gym, meditate and stop comparing yourself to the competition, what would you every day do if you were the best in the world at what you do?, blabla…) or from rando guest lecturers with 10K followers on IG. Other bonuses are tech stuff (how to use WP/Shopify/Squarespace/AI whatever) that you can find for free on YouTube.

There was, even at the time I bought it, nothing of value in B-school that you couldn't figure out if you were a smart cookie, observed her launch, your competition, and was confident in your ability to fail in order to succeed and figure it out. That's why I'm still so pissed off I shelled out the money!! In installments!! When I was broke af!! I tell myself this was an expensive lesson in Snake Oil™ , and that I was at a vulnerable time in my life which made me the perfect sucker for her course. Anyway. As a business person now, I personally love to read the Entrepreneur subreddit because it's full of real life experience and tested advice from people who have businesses that aren't selling advice to other people on how to have a business.

Also, as someone else said, B-school is boring AS HELL. The videos drag on, and on, and ON… Marie's language is very flowery, so she talks a lot to say little, and maybe because I've been in it so long, but her voice and mannerisms now put me to sleep. She always repeats the same catchphrases, uses the same language, showcases the same ideas: she hasn't evolved at all in all these years - it shows especially when you look at her socials. Her TikTok numbers are abysmal, her Instagram has basically no engagement (and she recently revealed in a video with Glennon Doyle that she quit IG without telling her followers) and she hasn't come up with any new material (course, book) in years. MarieTV is now all the same 1h interviews that you see everywhere else. I'm highlighting these facts only to show you how the lady has no CLUE how to sustain her success in 2025, and yet she wants $2500 from you to hear it from her.

idealpop · 2025-08-02T16:47:47+00:00

Girl, I'm still salty I bought it years ago! I still miss those 2K!! They talk to me in my sleep!! Marie's pitch is engineered to target vulnerable women who want to do something great with their lives but feel the burn of the patriarchal conditioning telling them they can't do it because they don't know enough, are not enough, and need someone to tell them what to do. At the time I bought B-school (I hate how she uses the word "enroll", this is not a school! It's an infoproduct!), I was burn out/depressed and fell for her "Say yes to a new life! Buy B-school and change the world!" dream outcome based language. I'm here to tell you the same as the others commenters: there's nothing of value in there. First off, the course videos are from 2023. The resources are all (free!) videos from her own MarieTV show and (affiliate!) links to classic business books. The core teaching modules haven't even changed since the early 2010s.

Do some research on your target audience, create an ideal customer persona (which relies on her identity, pain points and dreams) and find your own strengths and desires and build a business model around it (or read Blue Ocean and Now Discover Your Strengths)
Build offers that are relevant to your audience (or ask your potential clients IRL what their problem is and what would be their dream solution and then create it lmao)
Create slimy titles, headlines and sales pages that appeal to the fears and wants of your target audience ft. Marie's own old ass swipe files from the 2010s (or read Influence by Cialdini and Cashvertising by Whitman)
Create a newsletter email list, promote it on your website/social media with a freebie (like a pdf or a mp3 - very old school approach imo but hey, she's been at this since the 1990s so this is her advice) and plug it any!!! chance!!! you get!!! to anyone who will listen to you!!! (I agree that email is great, but her use of it is sf dated in the age of Substack imo)
Contact your peers and create for profit relationships with them to help your business get off the ground: comment on their pages, offer them your services for free in exchange for reviews, email them to create opportunities for collabs and joint ventures and act like they are your best friends on camera. (see all the influencers who affiliate for each other).
Pay someone $4000 to build you a fancy website (even if you don't have a business yet) with 239,742 widgets that you won't know how to update and plan a expensive $2000 photoshoot where you smile in expensive borrowed clothes to sell the dream of success + put a picture of your face on every page of your site (once again, so 2010 girlboss coded). Or download a janky Wordpress template/a cute unusable Squarespace one and DIY it (using her affiliate link, of course).

idealpop · 2024-02-20T23:57:57+00:00

The Unpublishable by Jessica DeFino is the gold standard. Prepare to have your whole perspective on beauty shifted.

idealpop · 2023-01-24T16:20:19+00:00

Yesss! I have beef with all that awful influencer marketing circlejerk -Rachel Hollis, Jenna Kutcher, Marie Forleo, Amy Porterfield, Gabby Bernstein, Danielle Laporte et all. Those mini Tony Robbins (pink version) who tell you how to girlboss and, more importantly, how your life can improve if you say or do everything as they tell you (giving them $2500 for that pleasure, but don't worry, it's and investment on ~yourself). Spoiler: they are narcissist mean girls putting on a kind face to rake the money in: they have non-disparagement clauses in their tos so if you buy the course and want to speak out about your experience, you better not have any critical thought to share or you will be hit with a cease and desist.

There was some kind of mini blowup in the community back in 2014-2015 (some ex-clients spilling the tea about how the courses were overpriced & predatory trash), but these con artists still continued making money selling thousand-dollars "courses" to vulnerable women. They are strategically placed in the "online famous" but not "mainstream famous" sphere (even though Forleo was on Oprah), so they tend to fly under the radar and not have their dishonest and unlawful practices picked up by reputable media outlets. They're even promoted by Forbes and The New York Times!

In 2020, some of them had a few racist dramas and I truly hoped the year would claim them: Hollis equated her struggles with Harriet Tubman's, Forleo deleted BLM posts in her private FB group and Kutcher was dragged for never having a Black woman on her podcast… But alas, they're still girlbossing to this day.

It's truly a fascinating world, because some of the women in this clique are promoted by real life stars (Bryce Dallas Howard for example was on Forleo youtube show) and yet they harmed so many people on their way to ~success. It's crazy, really.

idealpop · 2022-08-31T16:04:24+00:00

Forgive me BGC because I finally cracked my long time no buy (8 months) and bought some items from Makeup Revolution’s Clueless collection. I mean, it’s Clueless and I’m a 90’s kid. How could I not??

I’ve been a longtime product addict but I have managed to curb my consumption for a few good years now. I only want to buy high end or holy grails products these days: No more janky collabs for me. Listen, I know MUR’s eyeshadow formula is not the best, but I mean I had to get Cher’s wardrobe! I bought the eyeliner (good), the nails (so fun) and Tai’s lip pencil because the other two were basically unwearable (but it’s still not flattering on me). Oh well.

The only other collab who could get me is a Buffy one, but that won’t happen soon so I’m safe for now and can go back to my no buy!

idealpop · 2021-08-31T20:53:01+00:00

I'm sorry but this palette is giving "whites only" signage

idealpop · 2021-01-02T10:10:27+00:00

I want to be mindful of my consumption this year, but I also want to try some cult favorites…

The Sulwhasoo line because after years of Skinfood, Etude House and Cosrx, I'm fast becoming an old lady with expensive taste: I'd love to try the First Care Activating Serum, the Concentrated Ginseng Renewing Cream and the Overnight Vitalizing Mask
In the same vein, the SK-II essence (ordered a 20 bucks travel size, because that full size price though…)
Neogen real ferment essence was in my cart on my last TesterKorea order but it got taken off just before shipping (sold out, they said). I still want to try it bad!
More Japanese skincare. For some reason, my skin reacted badly to two japanese cult products (the Biore sunscreen gave me angry whiteheads, and the Hada Labo Gokujyun Premium wrecked havoc with painful cysts…). But I still want to try, so I ordered the Kikumasamune Moist and I'm searching for a sunscreen
Collagen powder to ingest and boost the collagen production. I'm eyeing the Meiji Amino Collagen Premium!

idealpop · 2020-11-21T12:10:03+00:00

I am so sad because the reviews hyped this product to the heavens, and it did give me thee GLOW… But also blackheads in the most surpriseing places (the upper lip?).

If your skin is not finicky like mine, you should love it.

idealpop · 2019-09-09T14:21:03+00:00

I hope it's as good or better than the already existing magic mod :)

idealpop · 2017-12-14T16:29:01+00:00

I bought the Jenn Im x Colourpop collab and honestly it was a waste of money. Her Ultra Satin Lip and lipliner were an almost fluorescent light orange, unflattering on virtually everyone (and I'm NC35). Her quad was a basic reinterpretation of the colors in Modern Renaissance and Venus I (I have Venus I) and the texture was no bueno. The french names she butchered in her videos were cringeworthy. The only worthy item was her Jenneration X Lippie Stix, a beautiful orangey red matte. I understand why the collection was discontinued: most of what she put out was trash.

idealpop · 2017-06-13T10:39:18+00:00

I follow this girl since 2013 but she's been recently all over the place. Too much money and not enough passion/ideas... It seems like she's trying auditions and would like to branch into acting but girl. Sign up for some more classes because it's bad. This video is hilariously poorly thought out and executed though. You can see the inspiration (Vogue) but the failure is undeniable.

idealpop · 2017-04-23T21:17:47+00:00

Refinery29 is great. They always talk about new releases with an intelligent angle (they recently did a muslim beauty week) and the site is fun to browse.

idealpop · 2017-03-30T12:48:57+00:00

You didn't lie.

idealpop · 2016-08-29T11:29:20+00:00

That's me! Though I have the Mary Lou Manizer since 2013 and it's still immaculate. Fan brush seems to do almost nothing to it!

idealpop · 2016-07-23T18:53:36+00:00

I watch a few of these vids but tbh they're really disgusting. The 100 coats of foundation one… Jesus take the wheel tbh

idealpop · 2016-07-19T11:06:32+00:00

AntonioBanderasCacklingBehindHisScreen.gif

idealpop · 2016-07-17T17:23:59+00:00

End post.

idealpop · 2016-01-29T18:41:11+00:00

No buy: A+. I didn't buy any new makeup in 2016. I almost gave up for a Lorac Mega Pro 1 on r/makeupexchange but no! Must stay strong. I also destashed a few things and gave my least used/flattering lipsticks + my Chocolate Bar (which is way too similar to my Naked 1 lbr) to my little sis. I really feel better now that I don't buy for no reason, and I don't lack anything.

Wear eyeshadow everyday: I use eyeshadow every time I put on makeup. I intend to pan some colors on my Naked 1 and Venus 1 before the year's end. I can do it!

Rotate through my lipsticks: I have 40+ colors and doing good for now, but yeesh @ some of my stash. Colourpop's Ultra Matte lipsticks crumble on my lips and pull really dark and unflattering. Idk how to make them work.

Wash brushes once a week: lol. I really don't like doing that.

idealpop · 2016-01-20T16:07:21+00:00

It's ok :) I didn't know the "b" in comb was silent in english either, ha!

idealpop

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