Update: After a week that began with Deciem founder Brandon Truaxe announcing that he was shutting down the company and ended with Truaxe being stripped of his CEO role, all Deciem stores are now up and running again.
When we called New York's Nolita store on Monday, an employee informed us that they had actually opened back up on Saturday, less than 24 hours after Truaxe was officially out. Deciem's entire website is also back online, so you can safely continue to stock up on The Ordinary's beloved array of $7 skin-care products.
This post was originally published on October 11, 2018.
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On Monday, Brandon Truaxe, the divisive founder of the beauty company Deciem, announced that he would be shuttering the business in an erratic Instagram post. Since then, fans of Deciem and its many beloved brands, including The Ordinary, have been trying to discern exactly what this means for those who can't live without $7 skin-care products, including The Retinol 1%. As Refinery29 previously reported, stockists like Beautylish have announced that Truaxe has already discontinued their supply partnership. And now, brick and mortar stores are closing, too.
As of Wednesday afternoon, every single U.S. store listed on the Deciem site, from New York to San Francisco, was listed as "Closed." When we went in person to check out the Nolita location in New York City, we found a closed and locked storefront. Products were still displayed on the shelves, and the green halogen light at the back of the store was still glowing. It looked as though someone had just left on their lunch break and failed to come back.
Beyond the US, Deciem stores in Korea, Australia, Canada, and the Netherlands are all listed as closed as well. Curiously, the three Deciem stores in Mexico are the only ones not listed as closed for now.
Over in the UK, an email allegedly sent by Truaxe to a supposed Deciem employee was leaked to Cosmopolitan UK, and showed that Truaxe wanted to close all bricks and mortar Deciem stores in the UK (with the exception of the Spitalfields branch in London) immediately until 2019. According to Cosmopolitan UK, the alleged email also states that any employee who "disrespects the guidance […] will be terminated tomorrow."
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However, when Refinery29 headed down to the Spitalfields store on October 10, the store was closed as well. We found a handful of customers outside, confused as to why the store wasn't open. One loyal customer, who was aware of Brandon's decision to close down the brand until further notice told R29, "My whole entire skincare routine is The Ordinary, so I don't know what I'm going to do without my products. Hopefully they'll relaunch in 2019, fingers crossed."
Currently, the main Deciem website is down, but products are still available to purchase on Cult Beauty, Feelunique and Lookfantastic, to name a few of the brand’s stockists. Whether stocks will be replenished or Deciem’s contract with said companies will be terminated is unknown. "As a fast-paced company ourselves, we know all too well the challenges of moving so quickly, and so we’re thinking about all involved and hope things get resolved very soon," a Lookfantastic spokesperson tells Refinery29.
You can also still access all of Deciem's brands' websites, including The Ordinary, and order from them, but fans who have recently purchased items from the sites remain in the dark as to whether or not those products will actually reach their doorsteps.
I recently switched over my entire skincare routine to The Ordinary and just placed an order through Deciem's website, now I am wondering if I'll receive those products or not. ¯_(ツ)_/¯ I am having good results specifically from the Vitamin C, Buffet and niacinamide.
— Mohrbiwan Kenobi (@bytheseat) October 10, 2018
As this story evolves, it might be a good idea to check out some alternatives to The Ordinary.