Mary Kay, Inc. is a privately held company that sells skin care and cosmetics

Cosmetics

Cosmetics are substances used to enhance the appearance or odor of the human body. Cosmetics include skin-care creams, lotions, powders, perfumes, lipsticks, fingernail and toe nail polish, eye and facial makeup, towelettes, permanent waves, colored contact lenses, hair colors, hair sprays and...

 products. Mary Kay World Headquarters is located in Addison

Addison, Texas

Addison is a city in Dallas County, Texas . The population was 14,166 at the 2000 census, and 15,737 according to a 2009 estimate. Addison is a northern suburb of Dallas...

, Texas

Texas

Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...

, United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

, a Dallas suburb. Mary Kay Ash

Mary Kay Ash

Mary Kay Ash was an American businesswoman and founder of Mary Kay Cosmetics, Inc.-Early life:Mary Kay Ash, born Mary Kathlyn Wagner in Hot Wells, Harris County, Texas, was the daughter of Edward Alexander and Lula Vember Hastings Wagner. She attended Reagan High School in Houston, and graduated...

 founded Mary Kay Inc. on Friday, September 13, 1963. Richard Rogers, Mary Kay's son, is the executive chairman, and David Holl is president and was named CEO in 2006.
In the early 1990s the company introduced a number of makeup products aimed at its burgeoning market amongst women of color.
In 1989 the company announced a moratorium on animal testing

Animal testing

Animal testing, also known as animal experimentation, animal research, and in vivo testing, is the use of non-human animals in experiments. Worldwide it is estimated that the number of vertebrate animals—from zebrafish to non-human primates—ranges from the tens of millions to more than 100 million...

 of its products, after pressure from animal rights

Animal rights

Animal rights, also known as animal liberation, is the idea that the most basic interests of non-human animals should be afforded the same consideration as the similar interests of human beings...

 groups.