THE ORDINARY / DECIEM THREAD

[veronika23]

~ Updated Dec 2nd 2018 ~

Their popularity seems to be growing and with all the their brands why not have a thread dedicated to them!

Brands under Deciem:

NIOD

Hylamide

Chemistry Brand

The Ordinary

Loopha

The Fountain

HIF

Ab Crew

Abnomaly

COMING SOON/NEWS:

Brands coming under the Deciem name:

• Halftone
  HIPPOOH
  Stencil

[Aaliaa]

Yeah I agree @GG84

[PinkEvergreen]

@ZombieMetroAnt Uhhh, wow. While not totally unexpected that Deciem imploded, I must admit that the sweeping crime accusations are rather shocking. 

[michelleshops]

Wow.  Just wow.  Interesting update @ZombieMetroAnt

[ZombieMetroAnt]

@michelleshops it is truly heartbreaking  

[gina143]

Help!!. So I’ve noticed now that buy using the fractionated eye contour concentrate. My lines creasing more under my eyes. Is this part of the process only been using the product for about a month.

[BrwnSugaG]

Wow - i had no idea all this was happening! Watched the most recent video he posted on ig. Whispers of trump, pills, mini-bar then laughter. He's either manic or trolling everyone. He & Kanye need help.

[Aaliaa]

So the recent Deciem drama on Instagram has gone from weird to just off his rockers! I'm all for rogue marketing, but asking people to call 911 and whatever other nonsense has gone down I'm just done. I don't really let stuff like this dictate what I use, but I think I'm going to finish what I use and then try to find replacements.

Also, according to Brandon, he's ending his contract with Sephora and will be available in Ulta? Maybe thats why the Sephora stock has been an issue, but honestly I imagine Sephora doesn't need such an erratic brand. Actually surprised Estee Lauder isn't putting an end to all this drama!

[gonerogue]

@Aaliaa Thanks for the info. All I can say is... 👀👀☕️☕️

[pocketvenus]

Lauder needs to save their investment before it implodes. But even if Deciem fails, now everyone has seen the emperor without his clothes. Consumers now know how cheap these industrial chemicals are. Anyone else entering the market with a similar business model will slay the competition.

[GG84]

@pocketvenus Everytime I link to an article I get a no-no PM from a MOD so I wont bother, however if you're on LinkedIn there is an article on there that shows how much Lauder has invested, it's laughable, mere pennies to them. I'm 98% sure they don't see this as anything but publicity. 

[Aaliaa]

Oh the investment in the grand scheme of things is peanuts, but they are in many ways quite a traditional company so I imagine there is a lot of behind the seasons pressure to get him to stop.

[pocketvenus]

Thanks for the tip off @GG84! I have no idea how much the company is estimated to be worth...

[Kim888]

I read on reddit that he might be leaving the company he apparently made some comments to that effect but who knows if that’s true or was just part of his crazy tirade 🤷🏻‍♀️

[Aaliaa]

I heard of that to, don't really know whats happening. If this was his private Instagram I wouldn't care, but using a brand Instagram and telling people he's in danger and to please call 911 to his location, all as a joke. People actually called for help, what a waste of emergency services, especially if there was someone else in need at that given time who had to wait a little longer.

[GG84]

Meh. I couldn't care any less about company drama if you paid me too. I recently picked up some of The Fountain products and am loving them so far. So I shall continue my relationship with Deciem. The location I pop into is always stocked and thats all I care about. 

[Madeline7]

So...the Deciem owner was interviewed for Racked and has this lovely quote:

"This homeless person was sitting, smoking quote-unquote a cigarette, reading a book happily at night in front of a million-dollar-a-year — that I can’t afford! — property on Fifth Ave across from the library. Actually, this person is disrespectful to the beauty of the library; he is disrespectful to the beauty of Fifth Avenue."

Boo.  I'm done with this brand.  I'm really hoping Lauder drops them.

[RGbrown]

There are two recent Deciem articles on racked; one dated as "updated Apr 4" and the next one, where the above quote came from, dated Apr 6. I'd actually suggest reading both for a bit more context to the homeless man and the rest of the quote

(although this line about "disrespecting the beauty of 5th Avenue" is even more bizarre, after professing to be respectful of this man...)

Kinda fun to watch from a distance, but this man is surely off his rocker...

[ZombieMetroAnt]

x posting from Beauty News:

Spoiler

Social media meltdown or calculated public relations strategy?

This is what the beauty industry is trying to figure out in the wake of Deciem founder Brandon Truaxe’s peculiar behavior the past several weeks. What started as a series of Instagram videos has escalated to the firing of co-chief executive officer Nicola Kilner. Deciem also lost another key executive this week: Stephen Kaplan, who resigned as chief financial officer, WWD has confirmed.

Truaxe doesn’t seem too concerned with the management shakeup. In a phone interview Thursday, Truaxe, who has no intention of hiring a ceo, claimed he terminated Kilner because of an alleged conflict related to an employee who had been with him “from Day One.”

 Founder Brandon Truaxe does not plan to hire a new ceo, he said.
By Allison Collins and Rachel Strugatz on February 22, 2018




Covent Garden Deciem Store
Social media meltdown or calculated public relations strategy?

This is what the beauty industry is trying to figure out in the wake of Deciem founder Brandon Truaxe’s peculiar behavior the past several weeks. What started as a series of Instagram videos has escalated to the firing of co-chief executive officer Nicola Kilner. Deciem also lost another key executive this week: Stephen Kaplan, who resigned as chief financial officer, WWD has confirmed.

Truaxe doesn’t seem too concerned with the management shakeup. In a phone interview Thursday, Truaxe, who has no intention of hiring a ceo, claimed he terminated Kilner because of an alleged conflict related to an employee who had been with him “from Day One.”


“It’s my company. It’s my house. If someone doesn’t like how I decorate my house it doesn’t matter if they’re my mother or a guest, they have to leave the house,” he said. He added that more terminations are possible — (“We still have a few people who need to go — I can feel it”) — and that allegations of drug use and psychosis are untrue.

“It is not crystal meth that makes people build really large businesses,” he said.

Things took a turn for the unusual on Feb. 1 when Truaxe made a declaration on the brand’s Instagram account that he would step down as ceo and be known as “worker” going forward. This was followed by a string of posts with rambling captions and selfie-style videos filmed by Truaxe.

It remains to be seen what impact Truaxe transitioning into his “worker” role and Kilner and Kaplan’s departures will have on the fast growing company — 10 U.S. store openings are slated for 2018 alone — but three executives down in a matter of weeks is never a good sign.

“My business is growing and it’s growing peacefully, and whoever doesn’t like it, I’m going to ask them to leave,” Truaxe stated.

When asked about the recent events, Truaxe was clear that this isn’t simply a period of growing pains — it’s one of “jealousy pains.” He alleged former employees and competitors are stoking the controversy fire because they are jealous.

“They know The Ordinary is going to destroy skin care, it is much better and much cheaper. What they should do is instead of fighting me, be with me — go fix your brands, create honesty. Then there will be healthy competition,” Truaxe said.

When contacted for a statement, Kilner, who spoke at the WWD Digital Beauty conference in early February, said, “I love Brandon and the team unconditionally and am too hurt to comment further.” Before Deciem, the parent company of cult skin-care line The Ordinary, Kilner was a buyer for Boots.

The controversy is not doing anything to slow down sales, Truaxe indicated.

“All they’re doing is creating more sales for me,” he added. 

A high-level employee at Sephora reportedly said Deciem’s products are not just “flying off the shelves” but completely selling out. This has led some in the industry to believe that all of this is just masterful public relations stunt orchestrated by Truaxe to drum up buzz online, and as a result sales.

According to Truaxe, he owns 72 percent of Deciem. The other 28 percent is owned by the Estée Lauder Cos. Inc., a 70-year-old traditional beauty player that invested in Deciem in 2017, Truaxe said. Lauder declined to comment for this story.


“Lauder is behind me more than I am behind me. I would never go and fight Leonard Lauder — he fully agrees with me,” Truaxe insisted.

“They are quietly concerned and watching,” said a Lauder executive who requested anonymity. “They are trying to figure out what the hell is going on there and protect their investment. They’re trying to figure out what the hell is going on with this guy.”

Prior to Kilner’s exit from the business, this same source indicated that the path was one more of coaching than replacement.

“It’s more trying to figure out what is happening and maybe coaching that young ceo [Kilner]. What are you supposed to say without saying, ‘Your boss is an idiot,’” the source added.

The Deciem drama comes on the heels of the company’s launch into the U.S. market, which was expected to more than double the size of the business. Deciem is in the midst of opening stores and the company just launched its main line, The Ordinary, with Sephora online.

Popularity of The Ordinary, which makes products with names like Magnesium Ascorbyl Phosphate 10% and Granactive Retinoid 5% in Squalane that sell for $9.60 and $13.90, respectively, is exploding. The company’s earned media value gained 3,179 percent from 2016 to 2017, according to Tribe Dynamics, which noted that the conversation around that brand has been positive, focusing on efficacy and affordability. Influencers have also credited the brand with creating low-cost dupes of other skin-care products. Tribe noted that in January alone, The Ordinary gained EMV, “which could have been due to negative publicity,” said Brit McCorquodale, head of marketing and communications at Tribe.

[veronika23]

Just been rolling my eyes at this... does explain the sh*tty customer service and the lack of answers on when products will restock. I kinda gave up on them.

[jeannie11]

@veronika23 -- I'm not thrilled with the customer service in the free standing stores either. I've been to 4 of them in Toronto and find they're very nonchalant to the point of not caring and seem to know little about the products.

However, cheap prices and a fabulous return policy is enough to keep me going back.

[pocketvenus]

Wow, I’ve had a very different experience but can only speak to the Kensington and Yorkville locations. Whenever I’ve gone in – admittedly, only a handful of times - staff have been very cheerful and happy to speak to me. They also seemed to know a fair bit about the ingredients. The only weakness I saw was that sometimes, there was not enough staff to handle all the customers. So perhaps in addition to not stepping up production fast enough, they haven’t increased staffing enough to handle increased foot traffic to stores.

@jeannie11@veronika23