Drama, drama, drama. In yet another confusing turn of events for the Canadian skincare company Deciem, founder and CEO Brandon Truaxe took to Instagram on October 8 to announce that he is closing the company due to what he called “major criminal activity.”
In a shaky video, Truaxe—who appears to be posting from the back seat of a moving vehicle—says, “This is the final post of Deceim, which we will shut down all operations until further notice, which will be about two months… Almost everyone at Deciem has been involved in a major criminal activity which includes financial crimes and much other. You have no idea what a soldier I’ve been for more than thirteen years.” The video was accompanied by a lengthy, incoherent caption that frankly, we don’t have the fortitude to decipher.
Across the pond, Cosmopolitan UK reported that a leaked email, allegedly sent by Truaxe, went out “to all Deciem employees on 8 October [and] instructs all UK stores (with the exception of the Spitalfields branch) to close with immediate effect, and reopen in 2019. The message also began with a warning that anyone who ‘disrespects the guidance will be terminated tomorrow.'”
So far, there’s been no official statement from Deciem or Estée Lauder, which has a 28% minority share in the company, but by October 9, Deceim’s homepage was gonzo, while stores across Canada were already labelled “permanently closed” on Google Maps. (Based on social media posts, the stores certainly look shuttered.)
Checked out my local #Deciem store in Toronto at lunch. It's closed with a sign: "Please don't get mad. We are currently closed for an unforeseen concern." My thoughts are definitely with all the employees whose jobs are up in the air right now. pic.twitter.com/FiAq89Bn4i
— Vanessa LeBlanc (@vnleblanc) October 9, 2018
Wow, didn’t want to believe it but #Deciem is totally dark. I feel so badly for their employees that had this dropped on them. pic.twitter.com/4heNtzx01C
— K L Miskell (@k_miskell) October 9, 2018
The FLARE office was pretty devastated—we have to say goodbye to our beloved $10 serums and hyaluronic acid from cult beauty brands The Ordinary, NIOD and Hylamide?! Honey, call the police!
Truaxe’s video implies that operations will resume in “about two months” (so… December?) and there’s speculation that this is all a publicity stunt anyway, but we’re not taking any chances. As of October 10, it appears you can still access the online stores of Deciem’s individual brands. However, no one knows how long that’ll last, so it may be safer to go through Hudson’s Bay, well.ca and Amazon, which all still have prods in-stock.
Me on my way to deciem before the stores shut down pic.twitter.com/leyNN1RqXj
— BEX (@theAntiMUA) October 8, 2018
This is just the latest in a very dramatic year for the Canadian brand, mostly because of Truaxe himself. (Think, racist remarks, abruptly firing staff and generally insulting the entire world.) Somebody, somewhere needs to change the company’s Instagram password on him already!!
Stay tuned: we’ll update this post as more information becomes available and tbh, you never truly know the fate of Deciem when it comes to Truaxe and his antics.
Related:
How to Get Rihanna’s Skinny Brows, According to a Drag Performer
A Year of Fenty: 5 Beauty Industry Insiders on How Rihanna Changed the Game
6 Fall Beauty Products We’re Squandering Our Paycheques On
