Celeste stands at the front of the room during a Mary Kay weekly unit meeting to introduce her new recruit, a shy Peruvian woman named Fatima. Celeste, a mother of five, asks Fatima to talk about why she joined Mary Kay. The audience of 30 women hushes as Fatima’s voice trembles: “Do something you really like.” Fatima pauses as she looks out at the Mary Kay beauty consultants in the room. “I am really scared right now.”

The women smile and clap in encouragement. Then Celeste hands Fatima a pink silk rose.

“The rose is a symbol in our company,” Celeste says. “The stem is long and strong to show strength. The green leaves represent the money that can be made. The thorns are obstacles and roadblocks that we overcome. The rosebud is tight and closed, and as we grow in the company, we open in full bloom.

“Then,” she says, drawing the petals under Fatima’s nose, “you have the sweet smell of success.” Fatima smiles, her eyes downcast.

On Monday evenings across the country, Mary Kay beauty consultants gather in unit meetings like this one to learn sales tips, give recognition for successes in the prior week, and generate enthusiasm for the upcoming week. These women are part of the sales force behind Mary Kay Cosmetics – a company founded in 1963 with the $5,000 savings of Mary Kay Ash, who spent 25 years in direct sales. Today, the company is the No. 1 direct-sale skin-care line, with more than a million beauty consultants worldwide and $1.5 billion in annual sales. Mary Kay Ash died in 2001, but beauty consultants continue to celebrate her vision of a company dedicated to enriching women’s lives – a company based on the philosophy that women who look prettier on the outside will have greater self-esteem and confidence.

Not long ago, Celeste needed that philosophy to overcome obstacles of her own.

One evening last December, Celeste walked into her bathroom and examined her face in the mirror. She had worn little makeup for the previous two months, and the lines on her face seemed to have deepened from weeks of worrying.

She was going to test herself by attending her first Mary Kay meeting since she hurt her back and spent four days in the hospital. She had been a Mary Kay beauty consultant for four years, so she needed to look her best before her friend Carol arrived to pick her up that night. She didn’t want anyone at the meeting to look at her and know that she had spent the last 60 days lying on her living room floor, trying not to wrench her sore muscles, lacking the strength to help her husband and teenage son with household chores.

Celeste sifted through the clear acrylic caddy that organized her Mary Kay skin care products. Although her recent makeup routine consisted of just mascara and lip gloss, her fingertips felt at home among the sleek compacts and tubes. As she blended moisturizer and foundation into her skin, she wondered, Why have I waited this long?

She thought about the pep talk that Sandy, her Mary Kay Sales Director, had given her a few days ago: “Maybe we wouldn’t make good decisions unless we had obstacles. This injury can be your open door, so go with it and fly.” Sandy’s words inspired Celeste to get off the floor and begin rebuilding her Mary Kay business.

She set her foundation with powder, then pulled out her color palette and dabbed brushes into colors that she would feel safe wearing with her red Mary Kay jacket. Spun Silk and Gray Flannel shadows brought out her brown eyes, and Dark Red lipliner and Redwood lipstick emphasized her full lips.

Thinking about seeing her Mary Kay team again set her heart racing. Prescription painkillers, muscle relaxants and anti-inflammatory drugs dulled her pain, yet she still felt a burning sensation in her lower back and left thigh. Am I going to be able to make it through this meeting? she asked herself. There isn’t going to be anyplace to lie down. She consoled herself by remembering that she could leave with Carol if the pain became too intense.

She spritzed herself with Mary Kay Journey perfume — a delicate floral scent — and padded into the bedroom to finish getting dressed. She already wore the standard Mary Kay uniform: white blouse, black skirt and pantyhose. She slipped on her red “star recruiter” Mary Kay jacket and, bypassing her usual black heels, settled on soft-soled leather mules.

Finally, Celeste sorted through her Mary Kay pins to choose three for the night. Beneath the right shoulder of her jacket, she fastened her name tag – Celeste Isaac, Mary Kay Independent Beauty Consultant – and a round Mary Kay pin surrounded by clear gemstones. For the third pin, she considered her Power Start pin, her Pin of Hope, and the oval pin with a picture of Mary Kay Ash inside. But she selected the golden Ladder of Success because it stood for the sales milestones she had achieved with the company. Attending the night’s meeting would be a milestone that wouldn’t be represented on her ladder.