Cheap Skincare vs Online Bullying: The High Cost Consumers Pay for Deciem's Poor Behavior

WeHeartIt.com

This post needed to be updated in light of recent events...

Deciem has finally decided to shutter its operations. After another unsurprising and erratic video post on Instagram by Deciem founder, Brandon Truaxe, announced earlier that Deciem, parent company to wildly popular brand The Ordinary, will suspend all of its operations, claiming that everyone in his company is guilty of "major criminal activities."

Below is a piece I wrote some time ago on the brand and it's uncontained crazy that led us to where we find ourselves today.

The past few years, the beauty blogs have been raving over a revolutionary skincare line known as The Ordinary. This line that uses simple science to craft affordable and effective skincare has been making the girls go wild online since 2016.

But all the hype has come to a confusing place as the brand continues to come under fire from the media and customers. 

While Deciem, the parent company of The Ordinary prides itself on transparency and connectivity with consumers, one must ask 'how much is too much?' when it comes to that transparency. The brand has come under fire due to multiple social media attacks by Deciem on not only publications, but regular consumers, even former partnerships and former employees alike. 

The disturbing behavior of the brand socially not connecting with its no fuss, strictly science based image, ramping up with the firing of its Co-CEO, Nicola Kilner, let go after 5 years in the tumultuous brands leadership until standing up against the poor and erratic social media and professional behavior of the founder and CEO of The Ordinary and its parent company, Deciem, Brandon Truaxe. Lately, Deciem and Truaxe is back in the negative spotlight with the latest removal of part of Deciem's U.S. team.

And while directly addressing problematic posts is admirable for a brand and could build customer trust in a brands transparency, it goes back to what my mama taught me, "It is not what you say, its how you say it." And right now, Deciem's socials are not saying any thing good.

Deciem's Instagram

I attribute this behavior Brandon Truaxe. Truaxe takes to Deciem's social media (rather than his own, oddly enough) weaponizing the brand against established news outlets and popular blogs when there may be unfavorable articles or posts made about the brand.

I have even shared some of the concerning behavior I saw while following Deciem on my own Instastory, where Truaxe attacks a private user, even sharing her personal information on Deciem's socials, simply for coming out and expressing her own dislike (in a respectful, non troll like way) of a previous post where Truaxe has picked on a homeless person who took up residence outside of one of Deciem's new stores. That post was later removed and the former fan offered and refused $20,000 in Deciem products. And these are the first times Truaxe has attacked commenters through Deciem's socials. A quick scroll through Instagram will reveal Truaxe's often immature and erratic behavior. 

Racked recently interviewed Truaxe for more clarity, but following rants on two year old articles,  recent firings, and all of the drama going on at Deciem, arrived to one simple point, that also doubled as their headline; "The founder is screwed up".

So what do we, as consumers and customers do with all of this? And what is our responsibility. On the one hand,  Deciem makes some pretty spectacular products, of which The Ordinary line is highly praised and sought after. After all, if The Ordniary was trash, would any of this news really matter? The products are good, the science is accurate, the price is oh so right.

On the other hand, are we to keep supporting a brand that seemingly doesn't value the opinions of its clientele or employees? Where a CEO can go on a rampage, fire half of his staff on a verbally violent whim, take to social and berate would be buyers, all for a simple disagreement? 

The point we as consumers have to weigh is is paying a few coins to the dollar for a supposed face serum really worth the continued support of an online bully? A lot of people say no. Refinery29 posted all of the beauty alternatives to The Ordinary. Purchasing these products feels like complicity in what is evident to me and anyone who does a casual one over of the entire situation: Brandon Truaxe is simply a bully with a brilliant beauty brand.

What are your thoughts? I would love to hear them! Drop a comment below!