Worried about DECIEM? Here’s some alternative choices

Deciem have been all over Instagram feeds for a long time – but recently, it’s been for all the wrong reasons. It’s a young company, but one which has had high demand from the get-go, with products from their uber-affordable ‘The Ordinary’ line selling out like hot cakes.

I started buying The Ordinary a while ago thanks to its low price point, and the fact that within their solutions, there is indeed a solution to everything. You can tailor your skincare routine as you wish, with their minimal ingredients that target specific skin concerns. The Ordinary was an answer to many a skincare addict’s prayers, but you don’t have to dig very deep to see that the company’s CEO is seemingly on a one-man mission to destroy all these good, positive elements through social media alone.

If you’re not on Instagram, you might have missed some of the following questionable social media moments from Brandon Truaxe, the company’s intense and passionate (now self-removed as title) CEO:

1. Donating to elephants as a result of side-eyeing Drunk Elephant’s Marula Oil Price

Donating to elephants, you say? How could this be bad? Well, after Brandon announced the company would be cancelling all marketing plans – he personally made it his mission to right some of the social media wrongs which had previously played out. Previously, Brandon had taken a dig at Drunk Elephant’s Marula Oil price, saying in a social media ad that ‘one would have to be drunk to overpay for marula’. He later corrected this, and said it was a ‘distasteful joke’. As a result, he vowed the company would be donating $25,000 to Save the Elephants.

2. Ordering employees around via social media

Of course, in any company, the orders come from the top and stream down. However, this past week or so, orders from Deciem have indeed been coming from the top – just on social media. See the following post:

Deciem decide to eliminate all plastic and tell their supplier, Mong Packaging, that they won’t be using them any more – all via social media.

3. Discontinuing a line without previously warning the co-creator

The post on social media ditching Dr Esho, a London-based cosmetic doctor, and his line in the works with Deciem has since been deleted. Brandon explained ‘everyone hated’ the formulas, and announced Deciem would be ‘saying goodbye’ to Dr Esho and his lip plumping and moisturising products. Not unfair for a company to do if the products aren’t selling – but certainly questionable when done on social media.

4. Insensitive comments and responses on the brand’s Instagram page

Seemingly blind to the idea that words can REALLY get out of hand when used on a social media page, Deciem’s response to a perhaps well-meaning commenter asking ‘Brandon, are you okay?’ went like this:

Brandon (we assume)’s response advises the use of Modulating Glucosides, which he later claims that he suggested because of anti-inflammatory properties. Criticising and being outright rude to someone (especially a potential customer someone) and their skin on social media is not what ANYONE expects of a skincare brand, and here’s where Deciem lost my custom – while this guy’s in charge. Not to mention:

5. Getting personal on other people’s Instagram accounts

Seemingly not happy with making one inciting comment, Brandon then chooses to investigate accounts who make comments on his post or respond in any way. How do we know this? On user Skintrovert‘s Instagram, Deciem went through pictures in order to comment this on a picture of Nivea:

View this post on Instagram

DECIEM IS TRASH. STOP SUPPORTING THEM.

A post shared by skintrovert 💆🏽‍♂️ ✨ (@skintrovert) on Feb 10, 2018 at 10:56am PST

The Nivea post was over ten weeks old, so clearly someone’s got time on their hands.

After the post to supermormongirl blew up, Deciem started blocking people on their Instagram left right and centre. They had already lost over 5k followers in the week leading up to it. This, teamed with questionable comments about the company and how it operates on Glassdoor, is more than enough to convince me that I don’t need to be giving any more of my hard-earned cash over to them. I’ll be using up what I have and moving on.

It’s a real shame for people that this has happened, as ditching beloved skincare items is not easy when they work for you. If something changes your skin, and you’ve got used to it in your routine – especially at a certain price point – it’s certainly hard to make the decision to replace or remove it. However, if you want to do that, here are some alternatives you can find for the time being:

Retinoids

Granactive Retinoid 2% & 5% in Squalane

• Derma Nu 2.5% Retinol + Hyaluronic Acid
• ArtNaturals 2.5% Retinol
• Mad Hippie Vitamin A Serum
• Stay Young 2.5% Retinol (60ml) Serum
• Eve Hansen 2% Retinol Serum
• Body Merry Pro-A Serum (2.5% retinol)

Granactive Retinoid 2% Emulsion

• Body Merry Retinol Surge Moisturiser (2.5% retinol)

Retinol 0.2% in Squalane

• Alpha Skincare 0.15% Retinol Wrinkle Repair Cream

Retinol 0.5% in Squalane

Retinol 1% in Squalane

Retinol 1%

• Serumdipity Retinol Facial Serum

If you’re in Spain, in pharmacies a cream called ‘Retirides‘ can be bought over the counter, ranging in percentage.

Vitamin C

Vitamin C 30% Suspension in Silicone

• Making Cosmetics Vitamin C in Silicone (20% L-ascorbic acid)
• Pure Biology Vitamin C (30%+)

Vitamin C Suspension 23% + HA Spheres 2%

• Mad Hippie Vitamin C Serum 8 Actives
• Timeless 20% Vitamin C + E Ferulic Acid Serum
• Tiam My Signature C-Source Vitamin C Serum
• SeoulCeuticals 20% Vitamin C Solution + HA

Ascorbyl Glucoside Solution 12%

Ascorbyl Tetraisopalmitate Solution 20% in Vitamin F

• It’s Skin Power 10 Formula VC Effector (though I didn’t find the percentage listed)

Magnesium Ascorbyl Phosphate 10%

• Making Cosmetics has the powder form but you’d have to mix it and get the right concentration
• Naked Magnesium Ascorbyl Phosphate