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#a person's post disliking something will explode and the comments will be filled with 'let people enjoy things!!'
gertritude-art · 3 years
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gothicprep · 3 years
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Meditations on True Crime: A Very Long Post
In around February of this year, I was researching a potential video related to how true crime media portrays websleuths, contrasted against their efficacy in each specific case. The introduction was a brief primer on the genre’s evolution, beginning with its general association with low-budget LifeTime films, to a hobby with more dignity than that. I remember finding an article talking about Serial, and there was some commentary in there from another large true crime podcast host.
I didn’t think it was particularly useful for my purposes, but it said something to the effect of “true crime as a hobby can help women reconcile the trauma related to being in a world that is so hostile to us.” I rolled my eyes at it. It seemed dishonestly saccharine, like it was giving a sort of post-hoc legitimacy to just enjoying whodunnits. I didn’t think about it again for around seven months after I’d read it.
One of the subjects that I intended to talk about was Elisa Lam’s death and the online reaction to it. The story was adapted into a Netflix series a few months prior, and I was freshly reminded of how poorly it all sat with me. If you aren’t familiar with her name, she disappeared in Los Angeles’s Cecil Hotel in 2013, and her disappearance went viral after the respective police department release footage of her behaving strangely in an elevator. The case attained quick viral status and extensive discussion, due to the nature of the video and the hotel’s morbid history. When her naked body was discovered in a rooftop water tank a few weeks later, speculation exploded. But an autopsy isn’t an immediate followup, and the online sleuths would lose themselves to their imaginations in the time between. Many people wanted the murder solved, but many let their speculation fly off the rails. Shady hotel coverups. Metal musician murderers. Fear of the homeless. Ghosts. Demons. Government tuberculosis research. The gang was all there.
If you weren’t active online back then, it’s difficult to properly convey how huge this all was. Everyone was expecting Elisa to have been murdered. Iron-clad. Beyond the shadow of a doubt. She wasn’t. Her death was ruled an accident. She had a severe case of bipolar disorder and she wasn’t taking her medication. The severity of her illness was also not previously disclosed to the public. The working theory is that she experienced a manic episode with psychotic features, climbed in the tank in this state, to eventually strip out of her clothes in late stage hypothermia and drown there. It’s a horrific and painful way to die. All that’s left of you is water contamination – insult to fatal injury.
People weren’t happy with this, but not out of any sympathy for Elisa. There was palpable rage from many who had been following the case. No, she was definitely murdered. No, her killer needs to be brought to justice. No, this isn’t the real story. I don’t like it. I’m not satisfied. There needs to be an ending better than this.
Tragedy isn’t exactly in the habit of being kind to us.
When news of Gabby Petito’s disappearance was spreading, I noticed a lot of similarities between hers and Elisa’s. A woman in her early 20s vanishes while traveling, under very unusual circumstances. Footage was released during both investigations, which portrayed these women in mentally vulnerable states. The story was viral online. People rifled through Gabby’s instagram in the same way they did with Elisa’s tumblr. Social media detectives established an inappropriate amount of investment. Everyone is sure of a specific outcome. The family deserves answers.
Let’s talk about answers for a second. I’d like you to spitball a comprehensive explanation for this one: how could something like this happen? I’m not looking for a “how” in terms of events or circumstances. In this case, this isn’t a question. It’s a protest of the unfairness of it all. My daughter. My sister. My friend. Someone who meant so much to me. It’s a prayer to a vacant sky. It’s not a question, it’s agony. Nothing shy of resurrection can feel like justice. Even if the case leads to a criminal trial and conviction, it does nothing to fill the void loss burns within us. There is no good answer, because there aren’t answers at all.
Let’s talk about ourselves for a second. I noticed many people draw parallels between what they’d seen on the bodycam footage and their own experience with abusive partners. “This could have been me.” Do you really think this is appropriate? Could have been, would have been – these are statements with hypothetical validity. It has nothing to do with you. To emotionally identify with someone does not evidence anything. You’re here. She’s gone. This isn’t about you. She isn’t in the position where she can co-sign anything you say. If she can’t speak for herself, don’t invoke her.
Let’s talk about true crime for a second. It’s funny how true crime marketed to men has a distinctly different texture than true crime marketed to women. The former seems to involve knocking the perpetrator down a peg. It portrays them as something worth our disgust and ridicule. The latter tends to foster emotional identification with the victim. Podcasts and other media in this category tend to be by women, for women, and generally discuss women. This story is presented as catharsis for women who see themselves as similar to them. This woman is no longer a person, but an idea. And it makes me think of that stupid article quote that I resent myself for not having bookmarked. This is reconciliation. These women, in their passing, can be a motivating factor for us to break up with that one dumbass guy. I’m so happy this was a wakeup call. I’m so happy that this made me think about my own experiences. I’m so happy that this did so much for me. Sure, someone actually died, but what is that when compared to my own self-actualization?
I made a comment on Twitter about how disgusted I was with how people spoke of Gabby in such an evasively self-interested way, and someone who likely was of no relation to her interjected with how the family deserved the truth. Truth? What truth? What peace will grisly details give them? Is there any meaningful difference between knowing your loved one died of murder or collapsed from exposure? Or are you just a nosey person who’s projected an inappropriate emotional dog in this fight? Do you want answers for her family, or for your own curiosity?
I really don’t trust shit like that, nor am I willing to give leniency to people who say such things. I think we’ve been conditioned to relate to dead women in a way that’s completely separate from who they actually were. Alive, they’re deep, multifaceted individuals, with an array of likes, dislikes, quirks, and endless little details. Dead, they’re a concept to serve a purpose. The purpose is generally a form of narrative catharsis. The creep gets thrown in prison. A woman’s abusive partner gets the comeuppance he deserves. The story needs a good ending. The story needs an ending that satisfies me. People aren’t stories. Life is not a novel.
The real trauma of others will never belong to you. This not your therapy tool or plaything. This is real pain that will never be theoretical for plenty of people. Know your place. Keep your distance. Don’t objectify the dead.
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magemelondew · 3 years
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I know I don't normally post stuff like this, but I just hate it so much when people call Wheatley derogatory names like "idiot" and "moron" as if it's affectionate and funny because like.. it's straight up bullying. How do I know that? Oh, well, it's probably because people did it to me as a child.
Sure, he's a fictional character, but my point still stands; calling him those things is bullying. He wasn't made to be stupid. GLaDOS tells you that. You can't exactly take everything she says at face value, as she can often mislead. It's like a rumor going around at school, you hear something about someone and it spreads and nobody stops to think if it's true. By just blindly believing things about people, you're causing harm to the person in question, and especially so when you're promoting it.
If you dig around in the game's files, an unused line has Wheatley telling a story in the turret factory where he explains that rumor got around about an accident he had caused.
"Over there is where they used to keep the old neurotoxin release button… BIG responsibility, the guy in charge of the neurotoxin release button… And guess who he WAS? …Wasn’t me. But I was his assistant, and I did a lot of his admin. You know, in the end, yes… they let me go… It’s all politics, to be honest. It’s a big popularity contest. It’s all about who you know and whose back you’re willing to scratch and who doesn’t touch – y’know, or in my case who did accidentally touch – the neurotoxin button… But y’know, not entirely my fault! You shoulda seen the SIZE of it! It was huge! I mean I should have got a raise for all the times that I DIDN’T… accidentally bump into it…"
The foreman was going to hire him, until he heard about what Wheatley had done. So they sent him to the lowest job available– the relaxation center. He doesn't have a job, really, he's not in charge of anything. The entire facility there is automatic, He was just there as a safeguard for whenever it failed. They didn't trust them because of those rumors.
"Here's an interesting story. You might like this. I almost got a job down here in Manufacturing. But, uh, guess who the foreman went with? Only an exact duplicate of himself. Nepotism. Ended up giving me the WORST possible job, tending to all the smelly humans."
It's possible that these things were intentionally made up to give him social anxiety and self-esteem issues, thinking that would slow GLaDOS down. He's all emotion, literally, so affecting him in that fashion would absolutely stunt her ability to think clearly. I don't think there's much proof to back this up, that's simply my own thoughts on it.
To the scientists and GLaDOS, emotions only get in the way of rational thinking. Wheatley listens more to his heart than his head, well, in a figurative sense. The scientists see that as irrational and moronic, hence him being called the intelligence dampening core. He's the perfect way to interrupt rational thinking in GLaDOS, as he fills her head with fear or anxiety. People who feel emotions a lot deeply tend to place their own feelings over logic. And later in the story, Wheatley valued the euphoric response that the chassis gave him.
Many people have hurt Wheatley in the past. His anxiety, self doubt, and his inability to trust others much all are effects of people talking about him being his back and having nobody to cling to. He liked Chell because she knew nothing about him. She didn't say anything mean to him, and it was like a fresh pallette. Not to mention that she was the only person he had probably seen for long time.
For someone who had been hurt by people all his life, wouldn't he absolutely hate humans altogether? They smell bad, talk bad things about him behind his back, and call him names. They made him dislike himself since the start of his life, but he still holds out hope to be cared for by someone. Someone who doesn't know him at all, or knows about the things people have said about him.
And when he's placed into the chassis, GLaDOS just blurts out the one thing he's extremely insecure about.
"YES YOU ARE! YOU'RE THE MORON THEY BUILT TO MAKE ME AN IDIOT!"
When wheatley gets the chassis, it's a form of drug use, as said by GLaDOS.
"The body he's squatting in - MY body - has a built-in euphoric response to testing. Eventually you build up a resistance to it, and it can get a little... unbearable. Unless you have the mental capacity to push past it."
His bottled up emotions just released and he exploded the moment he got reminded of his own past. The way he was mentally lead him to substance abuse, as shown by his immediate addiction to the chassis. He was highly focused on the pleasure response from testing rather of the facility. Well, not like he even knew how to take care of the facility in the first place.
He's a core who's been told off because of how clumsy and impulsive he is, and those are things he can't really control. They didn't know what to do with him, so they were probably always scolding him for his mistakes and never praising him for doing something right, therefore, he's always doubting himself. How is he supposed to know when he's doing something right? That's probably why he makes those mistakes, he's never been able to properly learn how.
GLaDOS tries to defeat Wheatley out of sheer anger, and when she insults him, he becomes furious. He doesn't want to be reminded of how he's been treated his entire life. And for once in his life, he has the power to retaliate. So he does. He gets legitimately angry and tries to kill them both.
He thinks that now that Chell believes it too, that she thinks he's an idiot as well, since he's never had anyone stand up for him or have his back. He spends a lot of his time in the chassis trying to prove otherwise. He just hates being thought of that way so much when he knows he's not.
"You're in this together, aren't you? You've been playing me the whole time! Both of you! First you make me think you're brain damaged! Then you convince me you're sworn enemies with your best friend over here!"
A lot of people might bring up the paradox that she tried to use against him as proof as he's unintelligent, but really, he's simply choosing not to listen to GLaDOS.
"Hey, Moron!"
"Oh. Hello."
"Alright. Paradox time. This. Sentence. Is. FALSE don't think about it don't think about it..."
"Um, true. I'll go with true."
"I'll be honest, I might have heard that one before, though. Sort of cheating."
He's not thinking about it because he didn't care what she had to say. He saw her as just another asshole in his life and acted ignorant towards her comments.
He's also the only character in the game who apologizes. Nobody else does except him.
Yes, he's just a fictional character and whatever, I know, he's not real. But.. let me tell you why this is so important to me.
When I was a child, I had a lot of issues with other people. They would call me a crybaby, they would spread rumors about me doing disgusting things and other horrible things. Even my teacher didn't like me. I was diagnosed with ADHD at a very young age, and that made me very emotional and sensitive, making me stand out from everyone else.
Nobody wanted to spend time with me, nobody wanted to sit with me, and I spent most of my time alone in the library playing computer games since the kids outside wouldn't even let me play with them. Kids were scared of even touching me because of Diary of A Wimpy kid books spreading the idea of the cheese touch, and everything there called it the Sarah touch. It was horrible. Bullying made me introverted and now, I spend all my time alone because I didn't have friends. I'm sensitive and insecure, and I have issues communicating with people, as well as taking things people say a bit too personally sometimes. By the end of elementary school, I only really had 2 friends.
Although my experience isn't the same, I know that a lot of these things are similar; being singled out because of things you don't understand or have control of, and people constantly spreading rumors and lies about you to make people hate you and avoid you. You learn to not trust people around you and that you're the only person you can really rely on.
Sure, you can keep thinking Wheatley is a moron, I can't help that. All I want is people to stop spreading it everywhere and look into it for themselves. To develop their own opinions based on his actions rather than what GLaDOS says about him. I just want people to know that they're doing the same exact thing the kids at school did to them as a child to Wheatley, and it's not right.
Thank you for reading. Sorry if this was a bit all over the place, I just want people entering the fandom or have been in it for a while to see this and take some kind of action to improve upon themselves and their views of others around them. I used to think the same thing. I thought he was a power hungry idiot, but.. he's not. And I think that should be more widespread knowledge.
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demauryss · 4 years
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our love was made for movie screens || 3k words
in which lucas is a petty bitch and eliott swears he’s the master of romance
or, a coffee shop au no one asked for
ao3 
(based on prompt no. 10 from this post)
\\
"Lucas."
He doesn't know how it happens. See, he's a little hungover - just a little. And he's had two cups of tea already. But he still remembers his name, and he definitely remembers the barista calling out just that.
So he really doesn't know how it happens. One moment he's placing his order, sending a text to Arthur, confirming their meet up place. And in the next moment, when he gets to the counter, there's a clear mistake in his name (the scrawl on the cup says 'Louis') and the worst of all, there's a dick drawn next to it.
His feet have rooted to the ground, and there's anger burning inside him. It's freezing outside, but his ears are turning warm. And he's looking - staring - at the barista who just handed him his beverage, mouth agape and eyes wide and looking much like a cartoon.
"What is this?!" He asks - no, spits out. The barista - his apron says 'Eliott' - uninterested in what Lucas has to say, takes a look at his cup, and Lucas swears he sees mirth reflecting in his eyes. He looks up at Lucas again, fixing the cap on his head. Lucas feels irritation singing through his every pore, but he maintains the eye contact with the barista - Eliott.
"What?!" And it's Eliott's nonchalance that has him raging. Frustrated, he turns the side of the cup with the dick on it towards the barista who is looking coolly at Lucas, eyes assessing his every move.
"This...dick and my name! Do you always draw inappropriate stuff on these cups?"
And it's just Lucas's luck that the café, Star-crossed, is particularly empty this day, and there's no line forming behind him. It's just Eliott and him, and it's just his luck that he has to go through this humiliation alone.
Eliott's lip hitch up a fraction, but it's not a smile. It's a condescending movement and Lucas feels it, down to his bones, as Eliott looks down at him. He feels small, but it's Lucas, and he always stands his guard no matter what.
Eliott shifts, resting his weight on the counter separating him and Lucas. Lucas has half a mind of slapping the look off of Eliott's face. "Well, now that you have asked, I only draw what I feel the person is like, you know?"
He what now? Lucas knows he gasps pretty loud, heat rising to his cheeks and heart stumbling a little. A million and one things race through his mind, questions about what he did which Eliott thinks is equivalent to a dick. He swallows harshly, and Eliott looks quite smug. Lucas takes a deep breath, willing his muscles to move.
"Fuck you!" And he leaves, picking up his cup and making a show of slamming some money on the counter, which he knows is too much for what he ordered. He dumps the cup in the trashcan on his way out, feeling his heart beating quite loudly in his chest.
He doesn't look back, and he doesn't see Eliott's surprised face on his way out. And he definitely doesn't feel hurt at this random person's behaviour. And he definitely, definitely doesn't think about this incident all day long.
No, he definitely doesn't.
***
The next day, Lucas has Basile bring him beverage from the god forsaken café. They have a laugh when Basile brings him tea without any milk, knowing Lucas's dislike for the said beverage. Lucas laughs along, half-heartedly. It's a truth he can't argue with, but at least this cup has his name right and there's a clear absence of a dick next to it.
(He drinks the bitter tea in silence, much to the boys' surprise. And he definitely doesn't feel anger - it's not a disguised form of hurt, okay? - when he sees the much too familiar scrawl of words on Basile's cup, and a very beautiful looking flower next to his name. Lucas doesn't.)
***
The next day, and the day after that, Lucas forces himself to go on without his daily dose of caffeine. And when Imane calls him at the end of the weekend, inviting him for some party her brother seems to be throwing on Saturday, it's with a much caffeine-deprived brain, and to Basile's annoyingly appropriate comments about something getting him so worked up, that Lucas agrees.
And it's him who cannot find it in himself to actually elaborate why he seems so off. And maybe it's because he still hasn't admitted to himself that partly the reason has something to do with the incredibly good-looking barista and the dick incident at Star-crossed.
No, if you ask him, he still isn't hung over that day.
But it's how Lucas finds himself in an unknown place that Yann dragged him to, surrounded by unknown people in an unknown setting. Lights strobe across, dimming and brightening and repeating the cycle all over again. It gives him a headache, and he tries to wash it away with the beer he's holding, which proves as effective as a bandage to a bullet hole.
And it's how he loses track of his friends, the last he saw of them when Imane shouted something about meeting his brother and his friends too many minutes ago. Lucas had been busy wasting away in his head then, and now he supposes it's where his very intelligent and brilliant friends have wandered off to - sarcasm very much intended.
In a mix of sweating bodies and loud music and elbows jamming into his ribs, Lucas makes his way to the kitchen. The music dims a little, and it's like getting out of a train station. There's a light headache pulsating in a far corner of his brain, and it's enough to make Lucas call it a night.
And that's how Lucas sees him: tall frame looming over uncoordinated bodies, eyes black and shadowed under the lights glimmering from above, lips curved upwards, softly. Lucas sees him, the barista boy - Eliott - standing in the living room, all the way through the kitchen.
Lucas is way past the surprise which grips his chest. Anger bubbles inside him, and the initial thought of calling it a night is soon replaced by the instinct of picking up a bottle of unknown liquid, unscrewing the cap and drowning half of it in one sip, all the while keeping his eyes on the barista boy. Lucas knows he'll regret his decision tomorrow, considering how much of a lightweight he is. But it's time to be petty, and if Lucas is good at anything, it's being just that: petty.
So he does the next best thing. He keeps his eyes fixed on the barista boy, noticing how his own have grown curios by the time, and fuelled by the bravery the alcohol fills him with, Lucas raises his middle finger, high enough to make sure the barista boy notices it, and flips Eliott off.
If Lucas were sober, he'd never had thought of anything like this, let alone actually flip someone off. But he isn't, so he turns on his back, a door in the kitchen coming to his aid, and leaves.
He remember seeing how the barista boy's eyes dim a little, even though it's pretty dark despite the flickering lights in the living room to see anything clearly. It's a feeling of accomplishment Lucas wants to forever hold in his hands, nurture everyday, and tuck away in the corner of his heart. But it's heart considering how his heart misses a beat thinking of the sadness Eliott's features were gripped with.
So he does the only best thing he knows how to do: blame alcohol for making him see things which have no logic. Because why would someone who drew a dick on his cup and indirectly called him one would be hurt of Lucas actually being one, right?
Right.
***
"You seem a lot dead despite it being only two."
Lucas isn't an early riser. And never on Sundays. But last night, Mika had brought someone home, and thanks to the thin wall which separated his and Mika's room, Lucas had been scarred with voices which will give him nightmares for years to come. And as a result, he'd been up and awake well before ten.
He looks up, in the midst of rubbing the sleep away from his eyes. Mika seems as well as ever. "And you seem...thoroughly fucked."
Mika smiles, unabashedly, clapping Lucas on the back. His head jolts inside his skull, and for a moment, Lucas's whole vision seems distorted.
"Oof, Mika!" Lucas clutches his head in his hands, feeling it might explode. The consequences of his action comes to bite him in his ass. Mika looks at him sympathetically.
"I'm sorry, kitten, for last night, too. Let me make it up to you!"
Lucas feels somewhat suspicious at the suggestion. Mika never apologies, and never asks to make up for something he has done. "How?"
"My shift at Star-crossed starts in ten minutes. I'll buy you those ridiculous drinks you love so much!"
Oh. Lucas feels his throat closing up as embarrassment claws at his chest, making him drown in heat as it rises to his cheek. The events of last night, Lucas's impulsiveness, and the barista boy like a fresh wound in his memory, "When did you start working there?"
"Just two days ago," Mika seems overly excited, "C'mon, you can't say no, or you'll have to listen to me about the dude last night. God, Lucas, he was so thi-"
"Alright, alright!" Lucas cuts him off, picking up his jacket from the back of the sofa. Mika squeals happily, the sound sending shockwaves through Lucas's head. Maybe if he's lucky, the barista boy won't remember him. Maybe if he's lucky, the barista boy won't even be there.
***
Fortunately for Lucas, it's rush hour when they reach Star-crossed. There's a hundred percent less chance than before that barista boy won't see him, if he's still working. Unfortunately for Mika, he gets swallowed up with people's orders. Lucas thinks he forgot about him, when he left Lucas to put on his apron, but then Mika's cutting through the crowd, asking Lucas to wait at a booth which just got empty. Lucas obliges quietly, still wary about Mika's behaviour.
It's been more than fifteen minutes - Lucas isn't obsessively checking the clock, mind you - since that happened. The crowd had grown immense, there's no sign of Mika - or someone else - and when Lucas is pretty sure Mika definitely forgot about him, there's a presence beside him, and a steaming cup sliding on the table in front of him.
Lucas looks up, expecting to see Mika, but there's him, the barista boy, smiling down at him. He feels the familiar scratching in his throat, and his clammy palms. Feels his stomach bubbling with what he assumes is anger.
"Hi," The barista boy is quite smiley for someone who indirectly called him a dick just a few days ago, "Mika asked me to bring you this."
And being petty is a second nature to Lucas, you might have guessed, because that's what he does. He nods, pursing his lips and moving the cup around, "No dicks this time, I see."
And he revels in the surprise which flits across the barista boy's face. Eliott narrows his eyes, and surprising Lucas, comes to sit in front of him in the booth. Lucas doesn't look up, because he's sure he'll do something more petty - like admit how beautiful the barista boy actually is.
"Look, I'm sorry for that day, okay? That was really inappropriate and completely out of line for me. I- I shouldn't have done that."
Lucas stills, meeting Eliott's eyes. They're greener than Lucas thought them to be, and there's sincerity written all over his face, "Then why did you do it?"
Lucas would like to admit a few things: he's over that incident. He really is. He's just enjoying putting Eliott under the spot, and that's completely out of line for him.
Eliott squirms, eyes flirting down momentarily before looking up and fixing Lucas with them, "I was being stupid, Lucas."
Lucas raises his eyebrows, kind of surprised when his name passes Eliott's lips. He has half a mind to tease Eliott more, but the guy looks guilty as it is, and the emotions flitting over his face seem genuine. "That you were."
Eliott's eyes widen, and a playful look crosses his face, "Hey, that was rude!"
Lucas shrugs his shoulder, bringing the cup to his mouth, acting innocent, "Says the guy who drew a penis on my cup."
"So what? You gave me the bird last night too!"
Lucas remembers, the tip of ears feeling warm all of a sudden. His brain tunes out the rest of the world, focusing on Eliott's eyes, and how green they look, "Yes, that was because you were mean to me!"
"And that was because you were so immersed in your phone! I wanted to get your attention."
It's unexpected, and Eliott looks like he wasn't meaning to let that slip out, immediately shutting his mouth and eyes growing wide with horror. It's a miracle Lucas doesn't choke on his tea, because the surprise he feels is capable of anything but. "Say what now?"
"I- uh, I wanted to get the attention of a really cute boy who came to the cafe everyday?" Eliott stammers out, and there's a wine growing inside Lucas's chest. Here he was, thinking that the incredibly good looking guy at the café hates him for some reason. And here is Eliott, touching levels of petty Lucas could never imagine to, just to get his attention.
A really cute guy. Lucas feels his stomach getting caught in knots - good knots - and warmth fills his chest, till he can't help but smile. Eliott doesn't notice, looking everywhere but at him. Lucas can see how red Eliott's cheeks look, and he imagines how it would be like to touch them.
"By drawing a penis on his cup? That's very romantic of you." He'd let go off the hold he currently has on Eliott, but first Lucas has to avenge the humiliation he felt that momentous day.
Eliott looks up, and he sees the look Lucas gives him. It's enough for Eliott to decide that Lucas is, in fact, joking, and he breaks into a smile of one of his own. In retrospect, if he ever gets to such a period in his life, Lucas decides this would be the moment he'd say Eliott's hold around him begins to move from something imaginary to something tangible, and Lucas can feel in all his tissues.
"Sod off!" Eliott exclaims, looking at Lucas with a soft look in his eyes, accompanied by the smile enough to set everything to warmth, "I'm an acclaimed romantic, okay? Just ask Mika, who, by the way, looks like he's going to faint."
Eliott nods his head towards his direction, and sure enough, as Lucas turns his head towards the counter, there's Mika, grinning like a baboon on crack, both of his hands raised in a thumbs-up. For Lucas, Mika looks much too accomplished for something, and as the bells ring in his head, Lucas realizes why Mika had been overly excited and desperate to get Lucas to come with him to this cafe. Mika keeps smiling, mouthing something which Lucas can distinguish as 'Go for it.'
Lucas can't help his own smile, shaking his head at Mika, and turning towards Eliott, who has a pretty soft and adorable look on his face. "Ha, the only thing you're acclaimed as, is being stupid and having terrible plans, you know?"
There's no mocking in his tone. Eliott shakes his head, chuckling a little, before looking up and fixing Lucas with his eyes again. "And you're a dick, you know?"
Lucas smiles, raising his eyebrow. "I think we have already established that."
The laugh that bubbles out of Eliott has Lucas feeling many kind of things; his own voice mixes with Eliott, giving rise to something new. And as he decides he wants to keep feeling like this, Eliott gets up, taking the warmth Lucas was feeling with him, till it nestles in his chest all over again.
Eliott looks down at him, face set in determination, eyes glimmering, and a soft smile grazing his lips, "In that case, I'd like to make it up to you over another cup of tea, what do you say?"
It's like Lucas is getting asked out on a date. It's definitely Eliott asking Lucas out on a date. Butterflies hoard his stomach, and a big grin splits Lucas's face in half. He nods, much too quickly, but Eliott's smiling at him, and fuck, it's doing things to Lucas's heart, and his mind, and for a moment he forgets all sense of reality.
"And I'm sorry for never properly introducing myself," Eliott straightens, holding out his hand over the table - an invitation, and a glint in his eyes Lucas has yet to familiarise himself with, "I'm Eliott."
He doesn't know how it happens. One moment, he's getting caught in Eliott's eyes, his throat drying and airways closing. He's putting his hands over Eliott's. It feels right as Eliott's bigger ones envelope around Lucas's small ones. He feels his lips moving, and Eliott's mouth is breaking in a big grin. It feels like the universe is exploding right where their hands are meeting, and simultaneously, like a bird from the ashes, the warmth which enfolds Lucas in its grip gives him the feeling of buds blooming into flowers, something new arising and descending over the two.
Time seemed suspended in motion, and, in the next moment, as Eliott's laughs pulls at his heart; his hands enclasped in Eliott's pull him away from the café into a street falling into dusk, and as the blue on the sky fades into a magenta and an orange an a pink, giving rise to an imperishable hue; Eliott looks back at him as they run through unknown streets, eyes bright and wide and lips frozen in infinite smiles. And he hears a breathy whisper: between smoke mixing in clouds and their feet padding on the hard gravel and the voices of the world.
"Lucas."
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♆ Yandere (Ringo Noyamano) You’ll See
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📑 Table of Contents
Genre: Fluff, Angst, Romance ☁
Word Count: 2,172 ☁
Pairing: Reader x Ringo ☁
World: Air Gear ☁
Prompt: #2: ”It’s for your safety. You’ll see.” ☁
Author’s Note: This was requested for the Yandere Set! If you’d like to request your own, please see my post [here] to check and see which are available~ I had to research this one because it’s been so damn long since I last watched Air Gear xD
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You had never really been into Air Trecks, though you did enjoy hanging out at the park and watching the riders as they had fun, especially your girlfriend, Ringo. She had always been such a gorgeous girl in your eyes, but when she was skating, she turned into a goddamn goddess. This is the main reason you decided to try it out for yourself, though the constant bugging from Ikki and crew were also factors in this decision.
When you told Ringo that you wanted to get into Air Trecks and had saved up enough to buy a pair, she did her best to persuade you against the idea, giving you an entire two-page list of why you shouldn’t do so, but your mind had been made up, much to her great displeasure.
Ringo ran a hand through her burgundy hair in frustration as she sat in her desk. Her hair had gotten quite long since starting her second year of high school, easily reaching past her butt. She used to always keep her hair in twin tails, but ever since you told her how beautiful she looked with her hair down, she had since abandoned the previous style.
You shifted in the desk in front of her, resting your arms on the back of the chair as you gave her the cutest look you could muster. “You know, it would be awesome if there was some beautiful, smart, talented girl with lots of knowledge about Air Trecks that could help me pick out the right pair~”
Despite herself, she smiled slyly and tucked a piece of stray hair behind her ear. “Hmm, I hope you find her.”
“Come on, Ringo.” You reached forward, taking her hand into your own. “Are you really going to leave me alone? What if I choose the wrong pair and it explodes or something?”
“That’s not going to happen, Y/N.” She rolled her eyes, curling her fingers around your own. “Fine, but if you’re going to get into ATs, you’re going to do it right. I’m going to start teaching you!”
You straightened your back, offering her a mock salute as you attempted, and failed, to keep a straight face. “Yes, Ringo-sensei!”
She wouldn’t admit it aloud, but she just loved the way you spoke her name and she could definitely get used to you calling her ‘sensei’. It made her feel like she had power over you and that made her heart race within her breast. She leaned forward, tugging you closer until your lips met hers. “You’re lucky I love you,”
You hummed against her lips, unable to hide your smile. “I know I am~”
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You stuck your head out of your bedroom window, eyes cast toward the darkening sky. It was only six-thirty in the afternoon and yet the sun was gone, hidden behind gray clouds. Thunder roared overhead, rattling the glass above you, and it was followed soon after by a streak of lightning, angrily striking the earth in the distance.
Your phone buzzed on the bed, making you pull yourself back into the room to check the screen. There were two unread messages, one from Ringo and one from Ikki.
• Ringo: ‘There’s a storm rolling in. You’re still at home, right?’
• Ikki: ‘Yo you comin or not?’
You had to chuckle at how different the two messages felt. First, you replied to Ringo, letting her know that you were, in fact, at home, safe and sound. You had to admit, you felt a bit guilty. Even though you weren’t lying to her, you knew she’d be upset about you leaving the house. Next, you texted Ikki to let him know that you were on the way. You grabbed your ATs and headed out the door. With any luck, the rain would wait until you got some practice in.
Ringo was set to start teaching you this weekend, but you wanted to get in some practice before the lessons started because you weren’t sure you’d even be able to stand up in the skates, and how embarrassing would it be if you fell on your ass in front of her. You could picture her stifling her laughter as she watched you and it made you feel terrible inside. Shaking your head to get rid of the image, you ran faster.
The park was empty because of how late it was getting, and because of the storm that was threatening to open up at any moment. You scanned the area, but couldn’t spy the male anywhere.
“BOO!”
“Ah!” You jumped in surprise, dropping the skates to the ground and whipping around, eyes wide and heart racing.
Ikki burst out laughing, falling to the ground as he clutched his stomach. “Your face!!”
You scowled, lightly kicking his shin. “You’re such a jerk,”
A light, airy giggle made you glance up. Standing a couple feet behind him was a girl with short pink hair, her outfit short and clinging tightly to her body. You had never seen this person before, but you knew instantly who she was – Simca. Ringo hated her, often complaining to you about her on more than a few occasions. Likewise, Ikki never missed an opportunity to comment on how hot she is.
Though you had never met her, you didn’t like the aura she radiated. She seemed the type to toy with people, someone who would stab you in the back without much provocation. Plus, she made Ringo very unhappy, and that was more than enough to make you dislike her.
Ikki pulled himself to his feet, wiping away the tears from his eyes. “What are you waiting for, Y/N? Get your ATs on and let’s go!”
You nodded, settling yourself on the bench so you could remove your sneakers. Even though you had already worn them once at the store to make sure they fit properly, they still felt so magical wearing them. You felt lighter, free from all of the worries and problems that bound you to the earth.
Carefully, you stood up. Pride filled you as you were able to keep your balance without falling. “Okay, what’s first?”
“We race!” He grinned widely.
Simca giggled, putting a manicured hand over her mouth. “Whoever wins gets a picture of me!”
Your brow furrowed, lips tugging down. “That’s not very -”
But the two of them had already taken off, leaving clouds of dust as they sped down the sidewalk.
You swallowed your nerves as more thunder rolled overhead and you carefully tried to move forward, but all you ended up doing was lift your foot. ‘He could have at least told me how to make these things go,’ You sighed, leaning forward so you could look down at them. The motor suddenly engaged and your body jerked forward, arms flapping frantically to keep yourself upright. Your heart raced fearfully as the scenery around you started to blur, the warm air nipping at your face. Adrenaline pumped through your veins and your lips split into a wide grin. ‘This is… so awesome!’
You were starting to catch up to the pair so you leaned forward excitedly, willing your ATs to go faster. And they did, but the pair suddenly jumped into the air, their feet landing on the side of a brick building. They skated upward with ease, crossing paths back and forth to form a chain of figure eights.
You were quickly approaching the wall and, while some panic seeped into your chest, you didn’t attempt to come to a stop. ‘If that fool Ikki can do it, then so can I!’ And you certainly did try, but apparently it wasn’t quite as simple as just jumping onto the wall. You managed to get one foot up but the skate tried to rush up the wall without the rest of your body.
The world around you flipped as your body slammed against the ground, arm twisting at an unnatural angle beneath you. A cry of pain shot from your lips, but it was masked by the sudden boom of thunder. The sky opened up, rain starting to fall in sheets from the sky.
The adrenaline quickly faded as pain took over your body, your right arm going completely numb. You bit your lip hard, trying to pull your body upright but the slightest bit of movement caused a jolt of pain to shoot through your arm. ‘Ringo is going to be so pissed…’
“Are you okay?” Simca’s face appeared above you, looking worried as she kneeled beside you, arm resting on your uninjured arm.
“I think it’s broken,” you groaned, head falling back against the pavement.
“Can you mov -”
“Get away from them!” Cried an angry voice, followed by a blur of burgundy as Simca was slapped away from you, clutching her reddening cheek. Ringo’s eyes flared with rage as she put herself between the two of you. She was about to attack again when Ikki appeared, throwing himself in front of her.
“Calm down, Ringo!”
“Calm down?” She cried, bordering hysterics. “How can I possibly calm down when she -”
“Ringo,” you called softly, trying to ignore the pain in your arm as you reached out to her, barely managing to tug on the bottom of her shirt.
“Leave,” she hissed at them, waiting for them to walk away before kneeling beside you. Her gaze softened, but you could still see the rage burning within the depths of her purple eyes. “What the hell were you thinking? What was the point of even asking me to teach you?”
You frowned, guilt swirling with the pain. “I’m sorry… I just… I wanted to impress you, you know? I thought if I got some lessons from Ikki before you started teaching me, I could impress you and you wouldn’t laugh at me.”
“Idiot,” she scolded, taking your face between her hands. “I would never laugh at you.” She suddenly pulled back, pulling her sweater over her head, leaving her in just a sports bra.
“R-Ringo, what -” Your face burned as you scanned her body before quickly looking away.
She chuckled, draping the sweater over your body. “You’re going to get sick,”
‘I’m pretty sure you’re more likely to get sick in just a sports bra…’ you sweatdropped, but you didn’t argue. The pain was getting worse and you just didn’t have the energy to argue about it.
Her fingers gently stroked your cheek as she shifted to hover her body over your own, blocking most of the rain from hitting you. “You were with Simca,”
“It was just supposed to be just Ikki…”
“To think that bitch touched you,” she muttered, her grip tightening against your cheeks. “I’m going to kill her.”
“Ringo,” you breathed out, your free hand resting against her waist. “There’s no need for that. I’m yours, you know that.”
Her lips curved into a smirk, ghosting over your own. “Yes, yes you are. All mine.”
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You stifled a yawn as you stepped out of the house, your right arm in a sling around your neck. In your other hand was your ATs, which Ringo had explicitly ordered you not to wear.
Ringo pushed away from the wall when she saw you, taking the ATs from your hand before setting them by the door and then lacing her fingers with your own. “Are you ready to start your lessons?”
You nodded, giving her hand a squeeze as you started toward the park, glancing back at the skates you had spent so much money on. “You don’t plan on letting me figure it out on my own, do you?”
She scoffed angrily. “I would never do something so stupid,”
“I know, I know.”
The park was full of people, young and old. Little kids were running around playing on the jungle gym while their parents sat nearby, chatting about their lives. Several high schoolers on ATs were riding around, seeing who could do cooler tricks.
You plopped down onto the bench with a huff. “How am I supposed to learn how to skate without my skates?”
“Do you really think I’m going to let you back on your ATs?” She narrowed her eyes at you, hand on her hip. “You’re going to study the basics first by watching me,” Ringo stated matter of factly.
“Come on, Ringo, you’re being too over-protective!” You motioned toward your arm. “Don’t you think I’ve learned my lesson? I’ll be much more careful from now on.”
Ringo clicked her tongue as she stepped closer to you, hands resting on either side of your neck as she lowered her voice, eyes shining with a sort of crazed affection. “It’s for your safety, Y/N. You’ll see. I won’t allow you to be hurt again.” Her nails dug into your skin when you didn’t respond, and you winced. “Do you understand?”
“Yes, Ringo.” You responded, unable to look away from her intense gaze.
“Hmm,” her tongue darted out to wet her bottom lip. “‘Yes, Ringo‘ what?”
“Yes… Ringo-sensei,”
She giggled, roughly claiming your lips.
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im-whatchamccallit · 5 years
Text
Like in the Stories//Lucas Wong (WayV/NCT U)
Request: can I request something with either Lucas from Wayv or Mingyu from SVT. A noona who’s a little older but not as experienced as them and they’ve known each other for a long time so they’re comfy with each other. Please & Thank you!!--Smut & Fluff I forgot to add
Pairing: Wong Yukhei (Lucas) x Reader
Genre: Smut, some fluff but not really (my bad)
Warnings Unprotected sex, virginity loss. Nothing too crazy.
Words: 4.2k
(A/N: Should I write one for Mingyu? I thought about writing two separate pieces for both of them but idk.)
“Lucas pressed you to his mattress as his hands tightened around your throat.” Lucas read from his phone, a squeal leaving your mouth as you cringed further into your sofa, Lucas trying not to show his blush but failing miserably.
“It’s hilarious that they think you’re dominant.” You commented, Lucas’ fingers scrolling through the various post tagged with his name.
This was a game you and Lucas have been playing since he debuted: going onto Twitter, Tumblr, and Instagram to search his tags, finding any and everything his fans could post about him.  Over time, Lucas has managed to save various fan edited videos and pictures, one currently being his lock screen, and even found himself subject to many of their sexual fantasies.
Although he was flattered, you found it bizarre. The way everyone describe him in their writings was nothing like his true personality, instantly making you cackle at the idea that he could ever be authoritative and bossy. He was just a human-sized puppy in your eyes, easily flustered and shy from something as simple as a woman’s touch. He even flinched as you placed your feet into his lap, his hips trying to move farther from them despite your couch preventing him from doing so.
Lucas continued to scroll before a certain fanfic caught his eyes, an amused laugh erupting from his mouth as he passed his phone to you. Your brows furrowed as you took the device, curious as to what he found so funny. Probably another story about him and Jungwoo.
Nope! It was you and Lucas.
Your eyes skimmed over the wordy text, catching a few phrases that showed a more sexual side to your friendship, your teeth gritting as you laughed awkwardly, pushing his phone back towards him as to cleanse your eyes of the narrative. You knew Lucas mentioning you in his Vlives and tagging you in post on Instagram would come back to bite you in the ass someday.
“Let’s read it.” Lucas suggested, scrolling back to the top.
“You read it.” You said, reaching onto your coffee table to grab the half empty bag of chips.
Lucas began to read through the lines, not realizing you meant to himself, but you couldn’t help but listen. Whether it was about you and Lucas or him and someone else, you still managed to find amusement in it, the lines and actions nothing that either of you would do in reality.
“’(Y/N) crawled forward, staring up innocently at Lucas as she wrapped her lips around his dick, taking all of him in her mouth. “Noona, you’re taking my dick so well.” Lucas moaned.’”
You screamed out in a mixture of embarrassment and disgust as Lucas read that line, your body shivering at the word ‘noona’, something about it being the most sexual phrase in the fiction.
“Oh god, just end it there. It’s so weird.” You chuckled, shifting uncomfortable in your space and placing the chips back as you no longer had an appetite.
“I forgot virgins don’t like this kind of stuff.” You tried to laugh the situation off but couldn’t help but glare at Lucas’ smug smile.
Despite you being a year and a half older, Lucas was more experienced than you when it came to sex. But a virgin? He knew of your sexual exploits and vice versa, yet he always managed to mock the fact that you’ve only, in his words, experimented at 17. Honestly, it wasn’t a big deal but you still felt demeaned, almost as if it was something you should be ashamed of.
Nonetheless, you took a deep breath, tying not to show how upset you were despite your lips forming a deep pout.
“I’m not a virgin, I just don’t like the idea of people wanting us to fuck.”
“Why not? If we did, you’d probably learn a thing or two.” God, why were you friends with this smug asshole again?
You rolled your eyes and swung your legs off of him, standing from the sofa and heading to your bedroom to avoid punching him.
“Come on, (Y/nickname). Just sit on daddy’s lap. Or, if I call you ‘noona’ will you do it? Would you do it for me, noona?” You felt like you were going to explode, your hands visibly shaking as he continued, your feet suddenly stopping you just before entering your hallways. You suddenly remembered why you were friends.
You turned to face him, the simple smirk on his plump lips as he egotistically pat his lap, as if you were some kind of cat. Lucas smirk slowly faltered as you began to move closer, your hands gripping the hem of your t-shirt before lifting it over your head and tossing it to a random corner of your living room, your body stopping just in front of him to push down your sweatpants and kick them away, leaving you in only a black bra and panty set.
The way his eyes scanned over you, his tongue darting out to moisten his quivering lips, body sat straight as if he were in the presence of a teacher, the overall bashfulness. That was why you were friends. You knew underneath his cockiness and playful attitude, he was just a shy boy, that simple fact causing you to smirk as you climbed into his lap, feeling him jerk away slightly as your clothed crotches met. Lucas’ head turned slightly so that your faces weren’t as close.
“What’s wrong, daddy? I thought you were gonna teach me a thing or two?” You mocked, bringing a hand to his face, gripping his chin to make him face you, your eyes locking as he swallowed hard, almost audibly.
“Or you can just call me ‘noona’.”
Honestly, you weren’t sure what happened. You were only teasing him the same way he did you, using a few tricks that you’ve seen in porn, just trying to get him riled up and a bit frantic. But you never expected his large hands to grip your wrist, twisting your bodies until your back laid flat against the sofa, his body towering over yours as you stared wide eyed at him. Being in this position, Lucas’ body between your spread legs while your chest rose and fell slowly in anticipation, made you realize how virginal you truly were. The farthest you’ve ever gone was oral sex and maybe fingering in a public space, so this situation, and the possibilities of what could come of it, made your breath hitch. From the way things looked, you were excited for his next move.
But Lucas had no idea what was to come either. Sure, he was joking before, overplaying his confidence to agitate you, but he never thought he’d have you here, his eyes struggling to focus on your face as they dropped to your cleavage, the blood draining from his face to his lower regions, his body making their plans as his brain tried to decide if he wanted the same, his lips hesitantly opening to finally break the silence.
“D-do you want me to keep going?” You nodded softly, Lucas leaning down as if he was preparing to kiss you, only to lift himself once more to stare at you again.
“Are you sure?”
“You’re really ruining the moment.” You sighed, Lucas hurriedly pressing his mouth to yours just before you had time to change your mind, a soft moan slipping through your lips at the softness of his own.
He slowly let his tongue glide inside, brushing over yours to distract you from the way he shifted his body, his jean covered knee pressing to your damp panties, something you didn’t feel until it touched your clit, your mouth opening wide as a breathy, laugh-like moan filled the space between you, Lucas staring at you with confusion.
“I haven’t done anything yet.”
“Oh, sorry. K-keep going.” You couldn’t help but giggle slightly with him before he returned his lips to yours, moving them slowly and fluidly while his knee began to grind against your heat, a tingly sensation in your lower regions causing you to lift your hips, the pressure more intense as you embraced the new sensation.
Lucas’ hands slowly released your wrist, slivering down your waist and to your hips, pulling them down gently just so you could feel the pleasure of his covered kneecap as he nudged it against you so slow yet so hard, his mouth no longer on your own as he moved down to your neck, biting on a sensitive spot just by your ear that you had no clue was there, the surprised moans from you urging him on.
You didn’t know what to think of this situation, only knowing you didn’t want it to end. The feeling of Lucas’ rotund lips making trails down to your covered breast, your hips and his knee grinding with one another to practically soak your panties, the realization that you’ve never experienced pleasure at this level, even if you haven’t had sex yet, it made you want more.
“Lucas, more.” He froze at your command, bring his head up to see your shut eyes and wide smile, teeth sinking into your bottom lip as if you were trying to suppress your moans, failing horribly.
“What do you want me to do?” He asked cautiously, bringing his knee to a halt while his hands slowly released your frame, much to your dismay.
“Anything. Everything. Please.” You begging was honestly a delight for him.
Your statement made his body shudder at the thought that he could do anything to you, the various positions and acts he wanted to perform on you crossing his mind until he remembered that you were new to this. Sure, he’s had sex enough times to figure out what he liked and dislike sexually but this was like a learning curve for you. He needed to show you the universal pleasures of sex before you found your personal ones.
“I’ll keep going. Only if I can call you ‘noona’ until we’re finished.” You groaned out, mainly in annoyance.
Why wasn’t he continuing? And why was he suddenly so interested in honorifics? You never used them before but the way he said it, it did things to you. Things you couldn’t comprehend or dismiss, your head immediately nodding in agreement, just wanting to hear him say it once more.
Lucas wasted no time continuing down your body, pressing his lips to your warm flesh, kissing your navel just before reaching your panties. He took his time removing them, almost like he was defusing a bomb, carefully moving the cotton fabric down your legs, straight past your calves and finally off your body, your legs instantly opening for him to view. Was pretty the right word to describe someone’s pussy? If yes, then that’s exactly what it was, his tongue darting out to wet his lips as he watched the fold glisten with your juices.
As if he was testing it, he stuck one finger inside, producing a high-pitched moan from you, your hands unsure of where to go, reaching for his wrist before finding a place above your head, gripping the arm of your sofa as he slowly slipped another into you, your walls swallowing his long digits. He knew you never had full blown sex but the tightness of your pussy around his fingers, making it hard for them to thrust in and out of you as it clenched onto him, was 100% proof of it.
Lucas placed one hand on your knee, predicting your next move as he blew gently on your clit, your lower body convulsing at the odd sensation before his tongue swirled around the pinkish-red button. He began to pump his fingers inside of you, twisting and curling them to find your g-spot, a satisfied grin on his face as your hips bucked at the feeling of the hidden ball of pleasure inside of you being found, his fingertips tapping and rubbing against it teasingly while his mouth latched onto your clitoris, sucking gently as his tongue flicked over it, a shaky moan exhaled from your mouth as his hand’s movements became faster.
The contrasting feelings, his light and careful mouth working against you as his hand thrusted into your body, fingers practically abusing the sensitive spot within you, were driving you crazy. The wetness his hand began to collect from your arousal made his movements seem so fluid, the only thing stopping it was Lucas, those two digits buried deep inside of you while his palm laid close to your heat, fingers angled to massage the delicate parts of your walls viciously, his mouth slowly growing rougher and his hand moving from your knee and up to your clothed breast, slipping beneath the wired material to cup your fleshy and soft mound.
“X-Xuxi,” You tried to speak, your hands gripping his hair in an attempt to make him slow down, your thighs tensing as your lower body uncontrollably elevated to meet his lips and fingers.
Your body was growing hot, your head thrown back and back arching, allowing his hand to knead more of your doughy breast, moans bouncing off the thin apartment walls, some louder than others to let him know you were close, the burning and pleasure scaring you a bit, never having been this close to an orgasm in your life. Sure, you’ve cum plenty of times, but this was intense. You could feel the energy draining from your body with each of his movements, a cry leaving your lips as you dug your nails into Lucas’ head a bit too roughly.
“Ow!” He gasped as he sat up, his hands leaving your body as your eyes flied open when the sensation began to die down.
You looked up to see Lucas staring at you as if he needed an explanation for the sudden pain he felt, your mouth falling open as you realized what you’d done.
“I’m so sorry! I didn’t mean to.” You said, sitting up to check his head, making sure he wasn’t bleeding.
Lucas could only laugh at you, reaching up with the only hand that wasn’t coated with your juices to grasp yours, dragging it down to return your focus to the situation at hand, a more painful feeling bothering him.
“Noona,” He said, loving your wide eyed response to the simple name.
“I’m in pain and it’s your fault.” You were ready to apologize once more before he led your hand to the bulge in his black pants, a sigh of relief leaving your lips as you were thankful you hadn’t truly hurt him.
You didn’t question him or make a witty remark as you stood to trail down his body, palming his erect length through his constricting pants as you sat on your knees, making a home between his spread legs as you stared up at him. This felt like déjà vu, life imitating the art of his fan’s salacious writings.
Lucas watched impatiently as you began to undo his pants. Once you brought the zipper down, he raised his hips, pushing away the tight jeans and boxers from his waist and to his knees, your eyes tracing over his exposed member.
Were you really going to do this? Did you want to do this? You’ve done this a few times and, from your experience and feedback, you’re pretty good at it, so why not?
You hesitantly wrapped your hand around the veiny muscle, genuinely shocked by its size. Your tongue poked out at the slit of his bright red tip, tasting the saltiness of his precum and growing accustomed to it quickly, your lips clasping around the head and sucking as if more would come out, a hiss filling your ears as Lucas leaned further into the couch so his hips were forward, silently begging for you to do more.
Your eyes shut as a small moan croaked from your throat, your mouth opening just wide enough to let your tongue out to swirl around the tip, a long wet stripe being dragged down to his shaft, your lips pursing on the prominent vein, sucking at it as if you were trying to leave a hickey, your hand securing itself at his base as you finally gave in to his needs, trailing your moist lips back to his tip and taking him into your mouth, going down until you felt him at the back of your throat, a whispered ‘fuck’ exiting Lucas as his head fell back, enjoying the feeling of your saturated mouth.
You weren’t sure how someone could taste so good. It was indescribable yet addictive, your hums of satisfaction vibrating through his writhing body, more droplets of precum dripping into your mouth where you eagerly licked at them, bobbing your head and pursing your lips around his thick length, stroking the solid flesh that couldn’t fit down your throat. Lucas loved this but it wasn’t enough. Your pace was too slow, even if you were doing everything right to bring him to the edge. He didn’t want to seem too demanding but he was desperate at this point, his mouth dry as he tried to speak your name.
“No-Noona,” You hummed once more, his hips jerking a bit at the feeling as he adjusted his head to stare down at you, his cock still in your mouth as you continued to suck before releasing it with a thin trail of spit connecting from his head to your bottom lip, your hand pumping him as you waited for him to continue.
“Yes, Xuxi?” You asked breathlessly, knowing you should have stopped for air sooner.
“Can I fuck your throat?” The question caught you off guard but you hesitantly nodded. You had never been throat fucked but the idea of it made your body quiver, your legs closing together to manage the throbbing between them.
“Make sure you breathe through your nose.” He warned, your head nodding although you mentally face palmed. You forgot you could breathe through your nose while doing that.
Lucas sat up straight as he cupped your face, bringing your mouth back to his cock where you opened it happily, him wasting no time going to the back of your throat, your body shifting as you tried not to gag. You began to breathe through your nose like he said as he thrusted into your mouth, your eyes rolled upwards to stare at his face, eyes shut and lips parted as he enjoyed the warmth of your throat, moving your head along with his hips so he could go deeper.
“Your mouth feels so good.” He moaned out, praising you as he increased his speed, a loud moan leaving you and his cock dipping further inside, your nose touching his pelvis and making him groan.
So moaning helps too? That’s another thing you needed to keep in mind.
Lucas was very verbal, more than you expected. He swore under his breath as he continued to thrust into your mouth, leaning back into the sofa as his hips lifted further up, the narrowness of your throat feeling good around him and his hands running through your hair. You moaned against him, your hands digging into his thighs as you tried to steady yourself while he continued. The throbbing of his cock, the sound of his own heartbeat in his ears, the heat burning through him as his movement grew rougher, he was close. And he knew he was close. He wasn’t sure if he should stop but he couldn’t, he didn’t want to. You felt too good and he was too focused on the twitching of his member immersed deep into your esophagus to end this.
“Noona, I’m going to cum.” He moaned, not giving you a chance to react as he brought your face to his pelvis, your nose pressed to his warm skin as he let out strangled moans, releasing down your throat as you moaned quietly around him.
You sat like that for a few seconds, his dick in your throat with his cum ready to be swallowed, his head thrown back while he slowly unclasped your head. You pursed your lips around him, moving back carefully as to not spill his seed before reaching his tip, Lucas’ pained moan from how sensitive it was making you smile slightly before pulling back completely, swallowing the salty fluids.
You sat there for a bit, waiting for Lucas to recollect himself before he finally looked down at you, a lazy smile on his face.
“Thank you for making me cum, noona.” He said teasingly, your eyes rolling in amusement.
“You’re welcome, Yukhei.” He cringed a bit, not used to you using that name with him.
There was a small silence before he looked at you once more with a raised eyebrow.
“This is the part where you say ‘Thank you’.” He joked, your bottom lip being sucked into your mouth as you tried to find the least embarrassing words for this moment.
“I actually didn’t…” You started, letting him figure out the rest on his own and his expression went from playful to confused to shocked and, finally, sad.
One thing Lucas prided himself on is his need to satisfy everyone before himself, so to learn he didn’t at least make you cum was devastating.
“I’m so sorry.”
“No! It’s my fault! I was about to, but I scratched you.” You laughed awkwardly, hoping your laughter would reach him but it didn’t, an obvious feeling of guilt still on his face.
“It’s fine, I promise.” You said, slowly standing as your eyes scanned the floor for your discarded panties, only for Lucas to grab your wrist, causing you to look at him.
“I have to, (Y/nickname). Just tell me anyway I can do it and I will.” He spoke pleadingly, his eyes wide like a puppies, a loud sigh leaving you at how easy you were to convince, especially with him.
You placed your legs on either side of him, your lower half straddling his as he stared up at you.
“Are you sure?”
“Yeah. Plus, you’re kinda still hard, and I don’t think you want to deal with that for the next few hours.” You said light-heartedly, finally managing to get a smile from him.
Lucas’ hands reached for your hips as yours held onto his shoulders, your eyes shut as you waited for some kind of pain. But there was no pain. As soon as he lowered your hips, the tip of his cock slipping through your folds and into your core, you felt nothing but satisfaction, your face burying in his shoulder as you whined. Lucas guided your hips to repeat the action, slowly rising and falling onto his member as he helped roll your hips forward, your mind and body soon catching on and doing so yourself, Lucas moaning at the feeling. He wish he hadn’t came so soon, his body sensitive and susceptible to overstimulation, your tight walls already bringing him back to the edge as he tried to hold back from fucking you himself.
You sat up and gasped, your hips lurching forward at the random sprout of pleasure. You rolled your hips forward again and moaned out at the feeling, resting your hands behind you on Lucas’ knees as you continued to roll your hips against him, his hands gripping your waist as he lifted his own, thrusting upward as you moaned at the simple but electrifying sensation. You ignored his hand leaving your waist as you moved faster, letting your moans turn to screams as you felt the same feeling as before, your pussy clenching around him just as he placed his thumb on your clit, rubbing at the fragile nerves as to bring you just as close as he was.
“Lucas! Don’t stop!” You cried out, nails seeping into his exposed skin as your stomach began to twist into knots, the sounds of his cock slipping in and out of you with ease as your skin collided filling the room.
You gasped as he brought his hand back to your waist, pulling you up so that your chest were pressed together, his hips slamming into yours at an inhuman speed, his moans growing louder to match your own as he felt the pressure of his orgasm coming, trying hard to hold back as you sank your teeth into his clothed shoulder, hands moving back to his hair as you felt the contractions of your lower body increase, driving you crazy before an unfamiliar feeling hit you. Like you were at the peak of rollercoaster and it just dropped, a series of breathy cries leaving your mouth as your body convulsed against Lucas’, his thrust not slowing down even as he came, pushing himself further inside of you as he squeezed your hips, possibly leaving marks.
His hips finally came to a halt, your sweaty bodies holding one another as you tried to catch your breath, minds blank for the moment as you let exhaustion engulf you, your eyes shutting peacefully until you felt a tap on your lower back, humming in response.
“Now you can say it.” Lucas whispered, your eyes rolling beneath your eyelids.
“Thank you.”
164 notes · View notes
letscuttothefeeling · 4 years
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season three episode one
Okay everyone, Siesta Key just ended and I must say – I’m overall VERY pleased with the premiere of Season 3. Even though I know everything that’s happening in this season because I created a reddit account specifically for access to a thread dedicated to all things SK, and because they posted everything that happens on the Siesta Key Instagram, I was still shocked by one thing: how much I enjoyed the episode. Let’s cut to the feeling.
Fade in. There he is – the mystery man I’ve been dying to meet – SCOTT. That’s right, Fabienne’s husband. You may know him as Juliette’s Father. Chic French queen Fabienne and confused husband Scott congratulate Juliette on her graduation from FSU and suggest she become an attorney. Juliette has plans of her own – retail. They look elated. After making a weird sex joke to her Dad, and having visible difficulty adjusting to her new veneers, Juliette has graduated, the scene is over, and I am feeling great about the season.
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If you’ve ever watched SK, you know three things for sure. 1. Juliette is a hideous crier. 2. Canvas’ Mother has a complete lack of understanding when it comes to parenting. 3. Kelsey and Juliette do NOT get along. UNTIL NOW! It’s very exciting to see their first scene as not only friends – but also roomies! Even though Kelsey’s bizarrely shaped eyebrows, over plumped fake lips and orange spray tan make me feel like she must have NO real friends, because certainly, they wouldn’t let her butcher her appearance so thoroughly, she and Juliette seem to get along swimmingly by talking mad shit about Chloe. We love to see women supporting women by talking shit about other women.
Chloe, you minx! Chloe pulls up to Alex’s mansion in a Bentley toting about ten designer bags and a serious attitude. After she explains to his mother that she’s taken it upon herself to pickuppe some “luxury” clothing items for Alex in Sarasota, Florida, even though he’s quite literally in EUROPE, she also *subtly!* drops that he’s left behind his personal credit card for her own use. Weird brag, but more importantly: cha-ching! After talking shit about Juliette to a grown woman, they switch the conversation to Madisson’s new man. Queue Malibu by Miley Cyrus. Ma-jor props to whoever created the playlist for this epi.
After a stunning underwater montage from Florida to Cali, we see aspiring model/actress Maddison walking into a dinner date. Even though Chloe’s just gabbed to Alex’s mother that Braddison is no more, I still half expect BG to pop up and hold the door open for Madi. Just kidding, I don’t, because the producers of this show spilled quite literally every twist before it aired. Wait, speaking of producers – who is Madisson on a date with? Oh, it’s “ISH”, the FORTY-SIX-YEAR-OLD, BALD, AND OVERWEIGHT FORMER PRODUCER OF SIESTA KEY. Unlike Juliette’s father, Scott, I’ve met Madisson’s Dad before, so it’s not immediately apparent to me as to why she has serious Daddy issues. I’m hoping the root of this unfolds during the season. Ish, or “baby” as Madisson calls him, (again, he’s 46, so I’m not sure “baby” is the most fitting nickname, but to each her own) decides it will be totally normal to jet back to the key and surprise the children he used to exploit the cast with the announcement of his new relationship. I can’t wait.
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Okay, we’re back at a dinner date – but a much more age-appropriate one between Juliette and her new man, former bachelorette contestant, Robby. I’m not a bachelor franchise fan and unfortunately for Robby, I’m NOT a Robby fan either. He’s not hot and he’s not cool. That’s literally it. Discussing this further would be a waste. Oh, it’s worth noting that new roomies Chloe and Madisson also meetuppe during this time to discuss Madisson and Ish. (Mish, if you will. Some prefer Dadisson.) Thank you, Chloe, for reacting to the news in a very relatable way by chugging alcohol and hiding in your clothing.
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Um, who is this hottie emerging from a PJ? It’s the fabulous Cara, with a new nose! Normally I love to hate her - she has that je ne sais quoi – but right now, I just love her. Removing your nose job bandages on film is the kind of 2020 realness I need in my life. Enter G BABY! We’ve missed you and your utter lack of awareness, Garrett! But the love birds aren’t exactly happily reuniting – there’s def some tension in the air. Uh oh! Cara immediately becomes annoyed that Garrett both broke her heart AND kept his lips shut about her new nose. Poll – would you rather your boyfriend intentionally squeeze your fat as fuck thighs, or neglect to comment on your surgically enhanced face? The choice is yours.
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While Juliette’s graduation party is great, if Alex doesn’t throw a start-of-the-summer rager, I’m suing MTV. More specifically, I’m suing YOU, Gary. Anyways, as Juliette and de ghurls are getting ready for the party, Juliette’s asked who she likes boning more – Boring Robby or shrek Alex. She hesitates for a moment but then says Robby. I take that pregnant pause as a confirmation of what I’ve known all along – Alex is great in bed and that’s the only reason Juliette was obsessed with him. (Edit – this has been confirmed on her Instagram story.)
Cut to: Cara, G baby, and Cara’s new androgynous and likely lesbian friend, Victoria, getting drinks. I don’t know what’s more confusing – the fact that Cara claims Victoria is her best friend or the fact that Garrett continues to piss Cara off by defending Kelsey while she incessantly brings her up.
Party time! But it wouldn’t be a party without Chloe intervening in something that has nothing to do with her in an attempt to destroy Juliette’s happiness. While wearing a Kentucky derby inspired hat/headband, nonetheless! Chloe and Amanda sit down with Boring Robby the second he arrives to grill him with some genual questions about his “intentions” with Juliette. And I can’t help but immediately think of that scene in Twilight when Police Chief Charlie Swan pulls out his shotgunné to intimidate his daughter’s 108-year-old vampire soul mate. Thank you, Catherine Hardwicke/ Stephanie Meyers, for this image.
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At this point, I have to question Chloe’s sexuality because I can’t think of a single other reason as to why she would be so invested in Juliette’s relaysh with Robby. Is he a “phony”, simply using Juliette for fame? Maybe! But aren’t they all kind of doing that anyway? It’s like, they’re on a reality show for God’s sake. After Boring Robby says absolutely nothing of interest, (read: BORING Robby,) something actually exciting happens. Kelsey slithers over to publicly flirt with G baby in an attempt to piss off Cara, and it totally WORKS! Nice!
The second Cara sees Kelsey and G baby talking, her eyes fill with fire and she almost burns her new nose off. It’s funny that she portrays herself as such a sophisticated, cosmopolitan gal, yet she’s so blatantly insecure about trashy Kelsey and Garrett, the braindead body of meat, talking about absolutely nothing. Stop slumming it and start dating Zaddies like Madisson!
After Garrett tells Kelsey that Cara has banned him from talking to her, Kelsey marches up to Cara, grabs her by the hand, and you just KNOW the rumors are true – World War III is HAPPENING! Kelsey and Cara immediately establish that they’re not each other’s “kind of person”, and then Kelsey tells Cara that she can’t wait for Cara’s “life to explode.” Cara fires back with the ULTIMATE diss, claiming that Kelsey doesn’t even have her GED! We find out this is, in fact, not true via Instagram, thanks to Kelsey’s iconic photo of none other than GARRETT holding her on her graduation day. Okay, high school level educated kween! Go off!
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Pls note caption
Here’s the thing: I dislike Cara and Kelsey, both for entirely different reasons, but IMO, Kelsey won this round. Cara came off as insecure, psychotic, and just plain mean! Cara, a word of advice? Stop gallivanting around tacky Florida and return home to America’s Kingdom – New Jersey.
 Pay close attention everyone - we’re almost done and you’re about to witness reality show television HISTORY. And it is a BAG. OF. WEIRD. After Boring Robby buys Juliette a trip to Greece, Madisson and her new Dad man walk in, and EVERYONE IS SHOOK. Seriously. The cast is genuinely shocked. Please note their faces when Madisson and Ish waltz into Juliette’s grad party hand in hand. Arguably the most thrown off person of all, of course, is BG. He hastily confronts his former producer, and refers to Ish’s relationship with his ex as a “bag of weird.” Honestly, Brandon, I have to agree with you. And so does literally everyone else in the world.
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After Brandon huffs, puffs, and exits, everyone gets over the initial shock of Madisson’s upsettingly old “boy”friend and the episode winds down. But there’s one twist. We learn via Chloe’s texts that Alex is on his way back from Europe. Probably wearing all the luxe clothes Chloe shipped him from Siesta Key. Because who trusts European clothes, am I right? Anyways, something tells me that Boring Robby doesn’t stand a chance once Alex touches down on the Key. But we’ll have to wait until next week to find out.
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Fin
3 notes · View notes
lindyhunt · 5 years
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An Extensive Timeline of All The Deciem Drama From the Past Year
Over the last year Deciem has built up something of a cult following and the Toronto-based company has exploded globally, opening up stores in major cities like New York, London and Amsterdam. They’re most known for their super affordable skincare line, The Ordinary. But they’re also known for their eccentric founder and CEO, Brandon Truaxe. This year, Truaxe decided to single-handedly take over Deciem’s social media accounts and the events that followed ranged from entertaining to straight up bizarre. The past six months have been filled with drama and we’re here to take you through every bit of it. From public firings to posting pictures of trash, check out Truaxe’s social media journey so far.
January 12: Deciem Shades Drunk Elephant
Our Deciem timeline begins with Reddit after one user spotted a dig at Drunk Elephant on The Ordinary’s website. The shade was buried within the description of their marula oil, “Referred to as a ‘luxury’ oil by some… It’s a fantastic oil in every sense of the word despite its affordability. One would have to be drunk to overpay for Marula.” The terminology here pointed a clear finger at fellow skincare-brand Drunk Elephant, who charges $90 for a 1oz bottle of marula oil in comparison to a $10 bottle of the same size from The Ordinary. The (now deleted) call-out seemed pretty unprofessional, especially because of its placement on the company’s official website.
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The words in this video mean more to me than to anyone. I will talk to you beautiful people on our social channels from now on. I'll maintain an email subscription list and you can subscribe to it by simply sending an empty email to [email protected]. I'll share my thoughts that relate more to life than DECIEM on my own Instagram feed @btruaxe. We are all humans. We are not consumers, races, genders or sexualities. 🌎 Our social team won't respond to any comments on this post because I will respond to all of them personally. Please ask any order or product questions on another post or via DM so that I can commit time to this post. ❤️
A post shared by THE ABNORMAL BEAUTY COMPANY (@deciem) on Jan 24, 2018 at 9:01am PST
January 24: Truaxe Begins his Social Media Takeover
Truaxe posted a chatty selfie-type video to Deciem’s Instagram page–the first of many–stating, “I have now cancelled all of our marketing plans… From now on I’m going to communicate personally with you.” Given Deciem’s substantial following, it seemed like a pretty drastic change and a huge undertaking.
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Hi :-) You have often asked us why we refer to our team as monkeys. Our lovey @nicolalkilner used to be a buyer at @bootsuk. She once told me that a major beauty brand always hired sales representatives who looked like models because their presence in meetings was impactful. I can't think of anything dumber than choosing people who are to represent your values based largely on their appearance. So I decided that we are going to very specifically not care about our team looking like models (if some of us do, then we are doubly lucky), and instead be so humble to say we are symbolically monkeys, because monkeys are the origin of all of us, whether or not we are models. But I also don't think monkeys are better than any other animal. Animals and us are all together working on this beautiful small planet we call Earth. I fell in love with all animals during my fortunate visits to Africa and South East Asia. I particularly love elephants because my very good friend Gill Sinclair of our caring and patient retailer, @victoriahealth, loves them and because an elephant once let me ride his loving back in Java, Indonesia, near the Borobudur Temple. Lastly, speaking of elephants, I once wrote that one would have to be drunk to overpay for Marula oil which was a distasteful joke that arose from my familiarity with the beautiful brand, @drunkelephantskincare. @tiffanymasterson: I'm sorry. When I met you at the WWD breakfast, I saw a beautiful soul. And you have worked hard to build a beautiful brand. Please forgive me. I have now adjusted that distasteful post and we will donate $25,000 to the peaceful elephant charity that your brand supports: @savetheelephants. Our super-fast and loving @smjr2000 will arrange for this donation to be made this week. Hug, Brandon ❤️ (Update: the donation has been made and elephants are smiling 🐘❤️)
A post shared by THE ABNORMAL BEAUTY COMPANY (@deciem) on Jan 28, 2018 at 8:53pm PST
January 28: Truaxe Addresses the Drunk Elephant Comment 
Two weeks after the Drunk Elephant dig was shared on Reddit, Truaxe addressed the situation via social media. The post, though clearly good-intentioned, was also a very strange rambling of thoughts. Once you get past the musings of monkeys and models, an apology can be found towards the end. Truaxe acknowledges that what he said about Drunk Elephant was a distasteful joke and then casually adds that he will donate $25,000 to Save the Elephants in response. All in all, it was a very sweet way to apologize, but the elaborate (at times, baffling) caption just stirred up more conversation about founder. Back over on Reddit, one user posted, “I remember that one. I also remember thinking, If you got time to write this ‘masterpiece’, you got time to get my 100ml moisturizer back in stock, son.” Another simply asked, “Wtf did I just read.”
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If you walk in front, you lead only yourself and see no one who's behind. To help those who work with you, you have to walk behind them. ❤️
A post shared by THE ABNORMAL BEAUTY COMPANY (@deciem) on Feb 1, 2018 at 11:42am PST
February 1: No More Bosses
In his next selfie video, Truaxe announces that he will drop his CEO title and now be referred to simply as a “worker.” “I’ve never liked any of my bosses in my life. So, I don’t want to be a boss, I want to be a friend,” he says.
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I'll eliminate all plastic including our shopping bags, droppers, foundation bottles (which cost more than glass bottles because they're "sophisticated" plastic). Alessandro and Hajar, please tell our suppliers that this plan will complete by end of 2018. Peter of Mong Packaging, I'm sorry that we won't use plastic any more. You're such a good person. I'll sponsor you and your family to come to Canada if you want and you can work at DECIEM. Alan of Idealpak, this direction means more business for you ❤️🐴 (@apple please add a donkey emoticon because there's no horse in Morocco as far as I can tell). Sorry everyone that I'll repeat this note several times today with different videos. I love you, Brandon. (It's sunny here. ❤️🌕)
A post shared by THE ABNORMAL BEAUTY COMPANY (@deciem) on Feb 4, 2018 at 2:04am PST
February 4: Deciem’s Feed is Garbage
No, but actually… it’s literal garbage. Truaxe interrupts Deciem’s usual feed to post pictures of trash. He captions the post with a pledge to go plastic free, and while he’s at it, cuts ties with his plastic packager. He goes on to offer Peter (who has now been publicly fired) a sponsorship for him and his family to come to Canada and work at Deciem. The caption is pretty uncomfortable to read. The four people mentioned in the post probably deserved a meeting or even an email, not an Instagram caption. Truaxe’s offer of sponsorship also feels a little inappropriate for the platform, especially given the circumstances.
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Stop being mean to kind animals. DECIEM will never test on animals. EVER NEVER EVER IN A MILLION YEARS.
A post shared by THE ABNORMAL BEAUTY COMPANY (@deciem) on Feb 4, 2018 at 2:03am PST
February 4: Truaxe Photographs a Dead Animal
In the midst of the garbage posts, Truaxe comes across a dead animal. He then proceeds to kneel next to the body, upload a picture of the corpse to Instagram and then scold his followers, “Stop being so mean to kind animals.” It’s a little confusing given we don’t know if this sheep died of natural causes or not. Truaxe then goes on to say that Deciem will never test on animals and while we praise the brand for being cruelty free, the picture of the sheep and the videos of the garbage feel a bit unnecessary. It’s clear that the Deciem Instagram page is not controlled by a formal marketing team.
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Riad is our factory manager. His family adopted me when I needed help. His brothers Hashim and Faras run our US e-commerce. His other brother Ammar sells our products in Iraq, where they're from. His youngest brother Omar is coming to Canada to join DECIEM. Astrid and @diafoley, Riad is not my boyfriend (I'm not gay). He's my brother and I love him (and his beautiful mother who's my mother). Because of Estée Lauder's investment, I have been able to give the family a gift of $500,000 in January. They're building a home. And Riad is now travelling the world with me until March. I love you, Riad 🐘❤️🐪. Astrid, see you in Amsterdam to build my baby, Avestan. Our baby, Avestan. ❤️
A post shared by THE ABNORMAL BEAUTY COMPANY (@deciem) on Feb 4, 2018 at 2:15am PST
February 4: He Also Wants to Mention that He’s Not Gay
In Truaxe’s tenth post of the day (none of which have had anything to do with specific Deciem products) he describes his relationship with factory manager, Riad. He talks about his love for Riad and his family and then tags two people in the post, letting them know that he is not gay. He then casually mentions another massive donation. This time, half a million dollars for Riad’s family.
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Hi :-) I had the best time yesterday posting about my day. Many of you love what I did. But a few of you disliked it, criticized it and even unfollowed us. I won't argue with you. I'll listen to you and build a social content management team. We don't have such a team because our social content has always been my doing but it was too curated for no reason until recently. While Mira and our amazing creative team work together to hire this social content team, I'll be in Kenya and Namibia to evaluate the best way to donate $150K to hungry children as promised in our Vitamin C post a couple of weeks ago. I'm also donating $50K of my personal savings for this cause. Random charities aren't the right way to donate but I'll find the right way to donate for us. Meanwhile, our lovely other Brandon will be here with you on social answering your questions and sharing good energy like always. I love you and I'll speak to you soon. I can't wait to meet some of you at our stores starting with Covent Garden. And then I'll go back to Morocco to find the beautiful man who gave me the soap so he can help me share the soap with you. And this soap will be very special because we will donate all of our gross profits from its sales to create good jobs for good people in beautiful Morocco. We are already successful and don't need to profit at all from a peaceful soap. ❤️🐪
A post shared by THE ABNORMAL BEAUTY COMPANY (@deciem) on Feb 5, 2018 at 6:09am PST
February 5: Truaxe Promises a Proper Social Media Team
After eleven posts in one day and a reported loss of 5,000 followers, Truaxe addresses his recent Instagram behaviour. “Many of you love what I did. But a few of you disliked it, criticized it and even unfollowed us,” he wrote before promising to build a new social content management team. Once again he mentions his charity work, “I’ll be in Kenya and Namibia to evaluate the best way to donate $150k to hungry children… I’m also donating $50,000 of my personal savings for this cause.” Unfortunately, Truaxe’s constant touting of how down to Earth and charitable he is, ends up making him seem a little more self-righteous than humble.
February 6: Truaxe Fires TJ Esho via Instagram
In another example of inappropriate use of social media, Truaxe publicly fires cosmetic doctor Tijon Esho. Esho, who worked with Truaxe to create Deciem’s lip-care brand, Esho, later told Racked that he was not notified of his firing prior to the public Instagram post. “The formulas were rushed. And almost everyone hated them… Our lovely customers who bought ESHO and hated it, please forgive me.” It’s a pretty savage farewell to one of his co-workers and one that definitely shouldn’t have happened over Deciem’s social media account. The post has since been deleted.
February: Meanwhile on Reddit…
The public ousting of Esho along with Truaxe’s strange series of posts got a lot of people interested in the company. Redditers started digging further into Deciem and found a ton of Glass Door reviews that had some pretty concerning content. From claims of yelling and bullying, to reports of sexism, racism and sexual harassment, the reviews painted a picture of a very unhealthy work environment. One poster, who referred to himself as an embarrassed favoured employee, painted a picture of an oligarchy-style hierarchy. The poster, who was in the favoured group, revealed he received a much higher salary and bigger bonuses. Of course, we do have to take anonymous reviews with a grain of salt.
February 9: Former Employees go on the Record
Three former employees came forward to talk about the growing Deciem drama. The three kept their anonymity but revealed that they had worked at the Toronto facility between 2016 and 2017. The trio confirmed many of the rumours, including reports that Truaxe frequently yelled at employees. They also confirmed allegations of body shaming, with all three noting that factory manager Meena Razach would pinch at people’s stomachs. Riyadh Sweden (previously mentioned in Truaxe’s ‘I’m not gay’ post) was also described as being a “bully” and a “huge problem.”
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❤️🌎
A post shared by THE ABNORMAL BEAUTY COMPANY (@deciem) on Feb 10, 2018 at 7:22am PST
February 10: Truaxe Reprimands Followers 
Five days after Truaxe’s last speech, he once again addresses the disapproval towards his behaviour on social media. “Despite my respect for you, you continue to be disrespectful on this account,” he says into the camera. “I’m going to start changing things because Deciem… I founded Deciem, so our social account is actually my property. I’ve welcomed you, but if you’re going to abuse it I’m going to ask you to leave…” He then reports that Deicem would now be deleting all negative comments.
February 11: Truaxe Accused of Racism 
As concern continued to grow over Truaxe’s behaviour, one follower commented, “Brandon are you okay??” underneath a post. He replied, “Yes but you don’t seem so well. Please use Modulating Glucosides when it’s out. Goodbye.” Not only was the response rude, but Affinity reported that the suggested product may have skin-lightening properties. Since his response was aimed at a person of colour, it seemed like Truaxe was basically telling the follower to bleach her skin. The comment created a lot of upset and he ended up giving a statement to Teen Vogue, “Whoever assumed that MG, which calms inflammation, relates to ‘bleaching’ skin is either a hateful person or one who assumes everything and understands very little.” Regardless, the response was pretty rude whether he meant it that way or not.
February 22: Truaxe Lays Off his Co-CEO
Co-CEO Nicola Kilner was let go from Deciem and soon after Stephen Kaplan, chief financial officer at the brand, resigned. In response to the firing, Truaxe told WWD, “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.” This statement is in stark comparison to Truaxe’s thoughts at the beginning of the month, in which he tells his followers he doesn’t want to be seen as a boss. After the firing, Kilner told ELLE that when it came to Truaxe, “It was never [just about] business. It was much more personal.”
March 25: The Firings Continue
One month later, Racked reported that Truaxe had fired his whole U.S. team. The decision seemed extremely rash and, again, had people wondering if everything was really running smoothly at Deciem.
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Our upcoming store on Fifth Avenue. Never disrespect a harmless human in need of care. 💙🦋
A post shared by THE ABNORMAL BEAUTY COMPANY (@deciem) on Apr 3, 2018 at 11:00pm PDT
April 4: Deciem Uses a Homeless Man to Promote Their New Store
This photograph had a lot of followers upset. The picture, which appears to have been taken without the man’s consent, left a bad taste in people’s mouths. It only got worse when Truaxe addressed it. “This person is disrespectful to the beauty of the library; he is disrespectful to the beauty of Fifth Avenue,” he told Racked. “But this person was so peaceful. He was just reading his book, which homeless people should do more of.” Ouch. The comment is problematic for many reasons and the drama continued when Truaxe posted a screenshot to Instagram of a comment left by an upset viewer. He did not block out their personal information which led to accusations of bullying from other followers. Truaxe then quickly deleted the picture and offered the original commenter $20,000 worth of Deciem products…
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Hello @cosmeticsbusiness and the person who is quoted in your headline: It is always an insult to any President of any country to compare him or her to a small, growing entrepreneur who is a citizen of another country (Canada). Any President, including @realdonaldtrump, is working on much more complex issues that affect billions of people in the United States of America and around the world than I (@btruaxe) will ever have to face in my lifetime. I am very simply building a very simple beauty business that happens to be successful because of the love and support our kind followers, or rather our kind observers, have shown me and my team by caring for us on here and by buying our good, affordable products. Whether you agree or disagree with some or all thoughts of @realdonaldtrump, please respect him as the President of a powerful nation and don’t compare me with him. Your comparison would make both of us, and anybody intelligent, angry. Please respect Presidents of countries and founders of businesses in the same way that you would respect your family, your friends, your colleagues and our collective world at large. 💙🦋 -Brandon
A post shared by THE ABNORMAL BEAUTY COMPANY (@deciem) on Apr 5, 2018 at 7:17am PDT
April 5: Truaxe Responds to Trump Comparisons
Truaxe posted a screenshot of a Sunday Times Magazine profile that compared him to Donald Trump. In his caption he defends the president and asks his followers to respect Trump in the same way that they would respect their family. It’s not clear why Truaxe chose to start defending the president at this time, especially given that the article he’s referring to was published back in 2016.
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The @cosmeticsbusiness “saga” continues. Our loving Human Resources Director, Neha, who manages the many needs of our almost 700 loving employees, not I @btruaxe, terminated 2 members of our team in the United States last month because we don’t yet have a need for a dedicated US PR team in addition to our current one managed by our peacefully-loving @dionnelois who has been with us since we started about five years ago. These 2 members of our team were hired directly by our ex Co-CEO a couple of months before. We have much respect for these 2 loving and lovely girls and told both of them that, once we do organize a US-based PR team in the near future, we will offer them to join us again. They were both offered significant notice payments despite neither US laws nor their contracts with us requiring us to issue such payments. Our “entire US team” minus these 2 individuals are happily running our fast-growing US business. Please visit our cozy stores in NYC to meet them and feel their warmth like I do every time I visit them. 💙🦋 -Brandon
A post shared by THE ABNORMAL BEAUTY COMPANY (@deciem) on Apr 5, 2018 at 6:47pm PDT
April 5: Truaxe Diverts Blame in Firing Accusations
Truaxe posts another media screenshot to his page emphasizing that he is not the one who decides who gets fired. Instead, he directly calls out his Human Resources Director for making the decision. He then denies reports that he had fired his whole U.S. team, saying only two people were let go. His hands-off response to these lay-offs are especially interesting given his previous reaction to Kilner’s firing.
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Hi @nicolalkilner (💛🐌). I saw your beautiful soul the first time you walked into the otherwise-corporate lobby of @bootsuk in peaceful Nottingham. I have loved this same beautiful soul until this very moment—because, when you had every chance to share negative energy with @elleusa/@elleuk, you instead chose to give respect to the beauty of what we had shared. Nicola, it’s I, Brandon. Please, please—respect our history and tell ELLE that our goodbye had nothing to do with @drtijionesho. You know that @smjr2000 committed his life since he was 15 years old to help educate the world about HIV. He joined me at DECIEM a year before you did when we had so little money and were struggling to find means to spend on marketing our first products in the UK, because we both knew that such effort would make DECIEM an initial success and would also allow Boots to recognize what an incredible buyer you were at such a young age. When we met at @timleach9’s cozy flat in London in February this year, I offered you kindness and forgiveness for having had forgotten our trust. On this beautiful occasion, you told me that Shamin had told our team that I had psychosis. On the next day, I called you and told you that I would fire Shamin if you were certain that he did indeed cloud our team’s judgement of me—and, yet again, you betrayed the love Shamin has shown all of us at DECIEM from a time before you had joined us—all the while knowing that Shamin would never mean to hurt me, you, our team or our world. Your absence today hurts me, but I cannot invite you back into a loving family whose hard-working, brother-like Shamin you betrayed. I can forgive you for telling ELLE incorrectly that I “stripped” you from your title to be a “coworker” while you and I know that it was your loving decision—but I can never forgive myself if I ever forgive what you did to Shamin. I hugged your beautiful mom in Nottingham last month. You and I both love her—like we love each other. 💙🦋 -Brandon
A post shared by THE ABNORMAL BEAUTY COMPANY (@deciem) on Apr 8, 2018 at 2:49pm PDT
April 8: Truaxe Responds to a Recent Interview with Kilner
In yet another media screenshot (where are the products?!) Truaxe addresses a recent interview between Kilner and ELLE in which she told the magazine,”I truly believe Brandon has good reasons for everything he does.” Truaxe’s emotional response to the article was pretty personal and it seemed out-of-place to casually share it on Intagram, “Nicola, it’s I, Brandon. Please, please–respect our history.” Truaxe also repeatedly talks about Kilner’s betrayal and how she can never be forgiven for some of her actions. “I hugged your beautiful mom in Nottingham last month,” he tacks on at the end. Is all this really appropriate for a company page?
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@nicolalkilner 💚🌳 (I’ll always be the kid we both know 👶🏼 🍼💚)
A post shared by THE ABNORMAL BEAUTY COMPANY (@deciem) on Apr 10, 2018 at 2:39pm PDT
April 10: Truaxe and Kilner Bury the Hatchet?
If there’s one thing Truaxe loves, it’s emojis… and screenshots. He combines both in this amicable exchange between himself and Kilner.
He is really losing it! #deciem #theordinary @B_TruthSleuth pic.twitter.com/lHVVKSjOya
— Leigh Reedy (@leighr1173) April 25, 2018
April 25: Truaxe Urges Followers to Call 911
In the most disturbing incident to date, Truaxe posted a now-deleted video to Instagram urging his followers to call 911. He tagged the location of the video as a small airport and there appears to be an issue with his baggage. In the background, a man referred to as Jonathan can be heard saying, “I’m trying to help you, Brandon. You need to calm down. You’ll end up getting killed.” Truaxe, looking directly into the camera, responds, “This is abuse. Please tell them I was getting sued and this is going to go on the Deciem Instagram account in exactly one minute.” In a second deleted video he leaves comments under the post continuing to ask his followers to call 911. In his urgency, he also manages to include tree and camel emojis. He adds, “They have my luggage” and “Call police.”
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Don’t Burn After Reading. September(ish). 😛🌳
A post shared by THE ABNORMAL BEAUTY COMPANY (@deciem) on Apr 25, 2018 at 8:07am PDT
April 25: Don’t Burn After Reading?
After a pretty terrifying string of posts, Truaxe posts another video later in the day. Still in the same outfit, he smiles widely at the camera and teases some sort of new product. “Don’t burn after reading,” he says and captions the post with an emoji sticking out its tongue. There is literally no explanation or even mention of the previous posts, a choice with led confused followers to become frustrated. “Is this some elaborate performance art? Like, what the fuck,” said one Reddit user in response to the videos. Another commented about Truaxe’s lack of respect for the police, “Why in God’s name does he think it’s ok to clog up the system with 100’s if not 1000’s of his followers calling the police?”
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👊🏼🍼💚
A post shared by THE ABNORMAL BEAUTY COMPANY (@deciem) on Apr 26, 2018 at 11:55am PDT
April 26: Truaxe Goes on a Rant
Following the baffling events of the day before, Truaxe returns to Instagram to rant about the criticism he’s received, “I’m just really enjoying reading all the idiots that write on Instagram and all the sloppy journalists that can’t even afford their phone bills who are saying that I’ve got mental health issues.” He then threatens to sue all of the “vultures.”
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💙🦋
A post shared by THE ABNORMAL BEAUTY COMPANY (@deciem) on Apr 27, 2018 at 5:47am PDT
April 27: The End of the Road?
Racked gained access to a series of emails Truaxe sent to all of his Deciem employees, attorneys and to Leonard Lauder and Estée Lauder executives. In them he writes, “I’m done with DECIEM and EVERYTHING. No need to discuss.” He also posts a video to Instagram telling his followers he loves them and that he is going home.
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🦆💚
A post shared by THE ABNORMAL BEAUTY COMPANY (@deciem) on Apr 28, 2018 at 3:09pm PDT
April 28: … Or Not?
In a post the next day, Truaxe walks around New York City and hurriedly mentions some new products he has coming out. It seems that rumours of him leaving weren’t true after all? He says one of the products is a, “quote on quote bleaching cream.” This references the incident in which Truaxe was accused of racism a few months back. When he talks about it, his eyes go wide and it seems like he’s joking around. It’s a move that seems pretty immature and insensitive. He also spends time talking about Trump Tower.
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Do Not Burn Before Hearing. It’s a film. 🌳… 😜🍼👊🏾🍆♥️💙🐪🦋👊🏼💜🎂😢😁🤬😜… 🍆🍼💜😢😜……………,,,,,,,,,, [shh…ad up ). 🦋💙
A post shared by THE ABNORMAL BEAUTY COMPANY (@deciem) on May 1, 2018 at 4:18pm PDT
May 1: Burn After Reading Explained?
In a new video, Truaxe wanders around his hotel room talking a mile a minute. “I don’t support Trump, or whatever, maybe I do,” he says at one point. In a whispery voice he goes up to a wall and says, “Something’s behind this room. I’m going to figure it out with a shot of this pill they gave me… I don’t know, they keep restocking my mini bar.” Then he’s suddenly talking about a movie and hysterically laughing. It seems to have something to do with his Burn After Reading post. It’s all very confusing.
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Hi everyone—I love you. I’m sharing with you here an email from me that is very serious. While this email answers many questions, it leaves many more questions unanswered because I and we are still cleaning our home to make our small world “a better place for you and for me”. 💚💚🌳
A post shared by THE ABNORMAL BEAUTY COMPANY (@deciem) on May 23, 2018 at 6:09am PDT
May 23: Problems Beneath the Surface?
In this quick video Truaxe alerts followers that he’s found some “really bad wrongdoings” from some of Deciem’s shareholders. He doesn’t elaborate further but says, “It’s a serious matter. This is not games.”
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I love you, and you @deciemchatroom. 💚🌳
A post shared by THE ABNORMAL BEAUTY COMPANY (@deciem) on May 25, 2018 at 6:53am PDT
May 25: Get Your Product Info Elsewhere
With followers continually asking for more product information on the Deciem Instagram page, Truaxe posts a response making it clear that the Deciem page does have info but to ideally go to other sources. “It’s better to find it on other channels, because if you read it here, you probably won’t trust it as much,” he says. Interesting marketing tactic…
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@richardbranson, I’ll forever owe you, possibly without you ever knowing that I do. Everyone—I’m not on “drugs” or “mentally”-incapacitated. I simply love @richardbranson and I am simply telling you and @richardbranson that I love @richardbranson. Simple, complicated matters beside a beautiful Kasbah Tamadot which is across a river from a village that represents the birthplace of the thought of avestan.com about a decade ago. [Ali—the story of Avestan will never change. Wake up please. 🧡❤️🌳]. @richardbranson: 💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚❤️🌳
A post shared by THE ABNORMAL BEAUTY COMPANY (@deciem) on May 26, 2018 at 4:36am PDT
May 26: “I’m Not on Drugs”
In a quick post, in which Truaxe professes his love for Richard Branson, he clarifies in his caption, “I’m not on ‘drugs’ or ‘mentally’-incapacitated.”
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The odd thing about our new lab that’s under construction now in Toronto’s beautiful Liberty Village is that it’s larger than our entire current headquarters (or tail-quarters because Brandon doesn’t have a head and we believe in him 😛). It may just seem “odd”, but imagine how comical it’d seem if you were a competitor wasting time with a bunch of fake accounts here “bashing” us for no valid reason at all while we are peacefully, but not gracefully at all, turning the beauty business on its ugly head so it becomes a beautiful business itself. 💚🌳
A post shared by THE ABNORMAL BEAUTY COMPANY (@deciem) on May 28, 2018 at 8:24am PDT
May 28: Truaxe Calls out a Mystery Competitor 
In a post dedicated to Deciem’s new lab in Toronto, Truaxe segways into some sort of weird hypothetical, “Imagine how comical it’d seem if you were a competitor wasting time with a bunch of fake accounts here “bashing” us for no valid reason at all.” We have to wonder which skincare competitor he’s referring to. Who’s out to get him? Where’s the proof? Why post it on this picture? So many questions!
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Our co-worker is back—but never behind. We love you, @nicolalkilner. You’ll always be our only 🐌—and always stronger than any 🐅 can ever hope to be or become. 🧡💛🌕😜
A post shared by THE ABNORMAL BEAUTY COMPANY (@deciem) on Jul 3, 2018 at 7:04am PDT
July 3: Kilner Reinstated as Co-CEO
After a month of Instagram calm and a feed full of products, Deciem was back in the news again. This time, however, it was for the announcement of Nicola Kilner’s return. 2018 has been a pretty wild ride for Deciem so far and the year is far from over, but Kilner’s return seems to be a positive step forwards. Even so, speculation still surrounds the Abnormal Beauty Company. From the negative Glassdoor Reviews to the collection of deleted Instagram posts, customers aren’t 100% sure what to believe or think about Deciem. One thing that’s never been in question is the quality of the products, which is perhaps why customers are so involved in all the controversy. At the end of the day, when the head of a company takes over its social media and uses it as their own personal account, there’s almost always going to be drama. And it doesn’t seem like Truaxe is ready to give up the reigns any time soon.
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Without filters. A revolution is coming. Every one of you who has been laughing aT me will with certainty face criminal prosecution. Estée Lauder Companies Inc. has been the biggest stock promotion. Richard Duntas, Bernard Ass (LVMH), Marica “Tracy” (Bliss, Remedè, Soaper Due Per Shoe), Hyatt (Grand Hyatt, Andaz, er al), Marriott (St. Regis, W, Marriot, et al), So many porn “studios”, nearly all @deciem employees, most of “Hollywood”, Gill Sinclair, India Knight, Caroline Hirons, India Knight, RBC, BMO, Boots, KKR, most of the Lauder family, Estée Lauder Companies Inc., Karim Kanji, Antonio Tadrisi, DF Mc, LVMH, Dia Fooley, Michael Davidson, Hanif, Zark Fatah, Inditex (Zara, Massimo Dutti, etc), H&M, $100 monkey, Too Faced (founders too), TSG, Alshaya, Amanresorts, Erwin Zecha, Oliver Zecha, Steven R Riddle, the Coc and Corcky managers, PRIDE organizers, IT Cosmetics, Nicola L ReadingTons, all of Dishoom, All of Delaunay, David Yurman, Tom Ford, Tim Cooke. McKesson, Rexall, Jamin Asaria, David Jackson, York Heritage and others — sentencing doesn’t begin with any point but sentences like this one do. Ben Affleck, Brad Pitt, George Clooney, Michael Less, Stephen Spellberg e.T., AON are also included with certainty. ARGO stood for “Ali Roshan GO”. You idiots. Father, please please be safe if you can for the next few hours. I love you all. -Brandon (RIYADH, please be EXTREMELY CAREFUL in the next few hours). Aurora (TSX) : you are finished. Michael Basler, Gordon Wilde, David Trinder, Eric Jacobs, Allan Gerlings, Dalton Pharma SS, Michael OH CON ELLE, Charm IS T A 007, Robert Jones, Cascade, Prince Al Walid, The White Company, Obagi (brand and doctor), Freedom Health, ESHO-isT, Alexandru Serban and baggage, Apotex: Goodbye also. Peace is coming. 🦁🦋 🐪. It’s clear now. @esteelaudercompanies @richardbranson @realdonaldtrump @gowlingwlg_ca @zuck @musicianjessecook, et. al.
A post shared by THE ABNORMAL BEAUTY COMPANY (@deciem) on Oct 8, 2018 at 5:41am PDT
October 8: Deciem’s Doors are Shuttered and Oh, Apparently a Revolution is Coming…
This is it. The Instagram video that’s signalled the end of Deciem. The company’s customers were sent into a frenzy after Truaxe capped off a year’s worth of utterly confusing behaviour with yet another minute long monologue filmed in the back of a moving car in which he states that almost everyone at Deciem “has been involved in a major criminal activity, which includes financial crimes” and that he would be shutting down all operations until further notice. Many of the company’s New York stores were closed on the same day and its website indicated that ten locations in Canada and four locations in the U.K. were shuttered as well.
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3 emails to say less than one word but more than 0 words.
A post shared by THE ABNORMAL BEAUTY COMPANY (@deciem) on Oct 11, 2018 at 4:56am PDT
October 11: Minority Stakeholder Estée Lauder Sues Truaxe Right Out of Deciem 
After three days of chaos and and speculation Truaxe posted another update on Instagram. This time it’s screenshots of a legal notice sent by Mark Gelowitz, a partner at Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt LLP in Toronto, on behalf of the Estée Lauder Companies, which own a minority stake in Deciem. The notice addresses the company’s alleged intentions to sue Truaxe in the Ontario Superior Court of Justice and summons him to a Toronto court house this morning. It also seeks to remove Truaxe from Deciem’s Board of Directors and looks to appoint Nicola Kilner (Deciem’s co-CEO) as the sole interim CEO of Deciem. In addition, Estée Lauder asks that Truaxe be prohibited from employing or terminating any Deciem staff, communicating with employees, suppliers, or business partners, and issuing statements on its social media accounts. However, if Truaxe’s most recent post is to be believed, he’s currently in Amsterdam accusing a Hilton DoubleTree hotel chain of placing a half-empty bottle of Jack Daniel’s outside his suite.
October 12: A Toronto judge removes Brandon Truaxe as Deciem’s CEO Only one day after the Estée Lauder Companies applied for an injunction to remove Brandon Truaxe as Deciem’s CEO, the Ontario Superior Court has officially barred Truaxe from any involvement in operations of the company he founded five years ago. Co-chief executive Nicola Kilner will serve as interim CEO.
October 20: Brandon Truaxe sends threatening emails to Estée Lauder execs, who, in response, have been granted a restraining order
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jessicakehoe · 5 years
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BREAKING: Brandon Truaxe is Officially Out as Deciem’s CEO
Over the last year Deciem has built up something of a cult following and the Toronto-based company has exploded globally, opening up stores in major cities like New York, London and Amsterdam. They’re most known for their super affordable skincare line, The Ordinary. But they’re also known for their eccentric founder and CEO, Brandon Truaxe. This year, Truaxe decided to single-handedly take over Deciem’s social media accounts and the events that followed ranged from entertaining to straight up bizarre. The past six months have been filled with drama and we’re here to take you through every bit of it. From public firings to posting pictures of trash, check out Truaxe’s social media journey so far.
January 12: Deciem Shades Drunk Elephant
Our Deciem timeline begins with Reddit after one user spotted a dig at Drunk Elephant on The Ordinary’s website. The shade was buried within the description of their marula oil, “Referred to as a ‘luxury’ oil by some… It’s a fantastic oil in every sense of the word despite its affordability. One would have to be drunk to overpay for Marula.” The terminology here pointed a clear finger at fellow skincare-brand Drunk Elephant, who charges $90 for a 1oz bottle of marula oil in comparison to a $10 bottle of the same size from The Ordinary. The (now deleted) call-out seemed pretty unprofessional, especially because of its placement on the company’s official website.
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The words in this video mean more to me than to anyone. I will talk to you beautiful people on our social channels from now on. I'll maintain an email subscription list and you can subscribe to it by simply sending an empty email to [email protected]. I'll share my thoughts that relate more to life than DECIEM on my own Instagram feed @btruaxe. We are all humans. We are not consumers, races, genders or sexualities. 🌎 Our social team won't respond to any comments on this post because I will respond to all of them personally. Please ask any order or product questions on another post or via DM so that I can commit time to this post. ❤️
A post shared by THE ABNORMAL BEAUTY COMPANY (@deciem) on Jan 24, 2018 at 9:01am PST
January 24: Truaxe Begins his Social Media Takeover
Truaxe posted a chatty selfie-type video to Deciem’s Instagram page–the first of many–stating, “I have now cancelled all of our marketing plans… From now on I’m going to communicate personally with you.” Given Deciem’s substantial following, it seemed like a pretty drastic change and a huge undertaking.
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Hi :-) You have often asked us why we refer to our team as monkeys. Our lovey @nicolalkilner used to be a buyer at @bootsuk. She once told me that a major beauty brand always hired sales representatives who looked like models because their presence in meetings was impactful. I can't think of anything dumber than choosing people who are to represent your values based largely on their appearance. So I decided that we are going to very specifically not care about our team looking like models (if some of us do, then we are doubly lucky), and instead be so humble to say we are symbolically monkeys, because monkeys are the origin of all of us, whether or not we are models. But I also don't think monkeys are better than any other animal. Animals and us are all together working on this beautiful small planet we call Earth. I fell in love with all animals during my fortunate visits to Africa and South East Asia. I particularly love elephants because my very good friend Gill Sinclair of our caring and patient retailer, @victoriahealth, loves them and because an elephant once let me ride his loving back in Java, Indonesia, near the Borobudur Temple. Lastly, speaking of elephants, I once wrote that one would have to be drunk to overpay for Marula oil which was a distasteful joke that arose from my familiarity with the beautiful brand, @drunkelephantskincare. @tiffanymasterson: I'm sorry. When I met you at the WWD breakfast, I saw a beautiful soul. And you have worked hard to build a beautiful brand. Please forgive me. I have now adjusted that distasteful post and we will donate $25,000 to the peaceful elephant charity that your brand supports: @savetheelephants. Our super-fast and loving @smjr2000 will arrange for this donation to be made this week. Hug, Brandon ❤️ (Update: the donation has been made and elephants are smiling 🐘❤️)
A post shared by THE ABNORMAL BEAUTY COMPANY (@deciem) on Jan 28, 2018 at 8:53pm PST
January 28: Truaxe Addresses the Drunk Elephant Comment 
Two weeks after the Drunk Elephant dig was shared on Reddit, Truaxe addressed the situation via social media. The post, though clearly good-intentioned, was also a very strange rambling of thoughts. Once you get past the musings of monkeys and models, an apology can be found towards the end. Truaxe acknowledges that what he said about Drunk Elephant was a distasteful joke and then casually adds that he will donate $25,000 to Save the Elephants in response. All in all, it was a very sweet way to apologize, but the elaborate (at times, baffling) caption just stirred up more conversation about founder. Back over on Reddit, one user posted, “I remember that one. I also remember thinking, If you got time to write this ‘masterpiece’, you got time to get my 100ml moisturizer back in stock, son.” Another simply asked, “Wtf did I just read.”
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If you walk in front, you lead only yourself and see no one who's behind. To help those who work with you, you have to walk behind them. ❤️
A post shared by THE ABNORMAL BEAUTY COMPANY (@deciem) on Feb 1, 2018 at 11:42am PST
February 1: No More Bosses
In his next selfie video, Truaxe announces that he will drop his CEO title and now be referred to simply as a “worker.” “I’ve never liked any of my bosses in my life. So, I don’t want to be a boss, I want to be a friend,” he says.
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I'll eliminate all plastic including our shopping bags, droppers, foundation bottles (which cost more than glass bottles because they're "sophisticated" plastic). Alessandro and Hajar, please tell our suppliers that this plan will complete by end of 2018. Peter of Mong Packaging, I'm sorry that we won't use plastic any more. You're such a good person. I'll sponsor you and your family to come to Canada if you want and you can work at DECIEM. Alan of Idealpak, this direction means more business for you ❤️🐴 (@apple please add a donkey emoticon because there's no horse in Morocco as far as I can tell). Sorry everyone that I'll repeat this note several times today with different videos. I love you, Brandon. (It's sunny here. ❤️🌕)
A post shared by THE ABNORMAL BEAUTY COMPANY (@deciem) on Feb 4, 2018 at 2:04am PST
February 4: Deciem’s Feed is Garbage
No, but actually… it’s literal garbage. Truaxe interrupts Deciem’s usual feed to post pictures of trash. He captions the post with a pledge to go plastic free, and while he’s at it, cuts ties with his plastic packager. He goes on to offer Peter (who has now been publicly fired) a sponsorship for him and his family to come to Canada and work at Deciem. The caption is pretty uncomfortable to read. The four people mentioned in the post probably deserved a meeting or even an email, not an Instagram caption. Truaxe’s offer of sponsorship also feels a little inappropriate for the platform, especially given the circumstances.
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Stop being mean to kind animals. DECIEM will never test on animals. EVER NEVER EVER IN A MILLION YEARS.
A post shared by THE ABNORMAL BEAUTY COMPANY (@deciem) on Feb 4, 2018 at 2:03am PST
February 4: Truaxe Photographs a Dead Animal
In the midst of the garbage posts, Truaxe comes across a dead animal. He then proceeds to kneel next to the body, upload a picture of the corpse to Instagram and then scold his followers, “Stop being so mean to kind animals.” It’s a little confusing given we don’t know if this sheep died of natural causes or not. Truaxe then goes on to say that Deciem will never test on animals and while we praise the brand for being cruelty free, the picture of the sheep and the videos of the garbage feel a bit unnecessary. It’s clear that the Deciem Instagram page is not controlled by a formal marketing team.
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Riad is our factory manager. His family adopted me when I needed help. His brothers Hashim and Faras run our US e-commerce. His other brother Ammar sells our products in Iraq, where they're from. His youngest brother Omar is coming to Canada to join DECIEM. Astrid and @diafoley, Riad is not my boyfriend (I'm not gay). He's my brother and I love him (and his beautiful mother who's my mother). Because of Estée Lauder's investment, I have been able to give the family a gift of $500,000 in January. They're building a home. And Riad is now travelling the world with me until March. I love you, Riad 🐘❤️🐪. Astrid, see you in Amsterdam to build my baby, Avestan. Our baby, Avestan. ❤️
A post shared by THE ABNORMAL BEAUTY COMPANY (@deciem) on Feb 4, 2018 at 2:15am PST
February 4: He Also Wants to Mention that He’s Not Gay
In Truaxe’s tenth post of the day (none of which have had anything to do with specific Deciem products) he describes his relationship with factory manager, Riad. He talks about his love for Riad and his family and then tags two people in the post, letting them know that he is not gay. He then casually mentions another massive donation. This time, half a million dollars for Riad’s family.
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Hi :-) I had the best time yesterday posting about my day. Many of you love what I did. But a few of you disliked it, criticized it and even unfollowed us. I won't argue with you. I'll listen to you and build a social content management team. We don't have such a team because our social content has always been my doing but it was too curated for no reason until recently. While Mira and our amazing creative team work together to hire this social content team, I'll be in Kenya and Namibia to evaluate the best way to donate $150K to hungry children as promised in our Vitamin C post a couple of weeks ago. I'm also donating $50K of my personal savings for this cause. Random charities aren't the right way to donate but I'll find the right way to donate for us. Meanwhile, our lovely other Brandon will be here with you on social answering your questions and sharing good energy like always. I love you and I'll speak to you soon. I can't wait to meet some of you at our stores starting with Covent Garden. And then I'll go back to Morocco to find the beautiful man who gave me the soap so he can help me share the soap with you. And this soap will be very special because we will donate all of our gross profits from its sales to create good jobs for good people in beautiful Morocco. We are already successful and don't need to profit at all from a peaceful soap. ❤️🐪
A post shared by THE ABNORMAL BEAUTY COMPANY (@deciem) on Feb 5, 2018 at 6:09am PST
February 5: Truaxe Promises a Proper Social Media Team
After eleven posts in one day and a reported loss of 5,000 followers, Truaxe addresses his recent Instagram behaviour. “Many of you love what I did. But a few of you disliked it, criticized it and even unfollowed us,” he wrote before promising to build a new social content management team. Once again he mentions his charity work, “I’ll be in Kenya and Namibia to evaluate the best way to donate $150k to hungry children… I’m also donating $50,000 of my personal savings for this cause.” Unfortunately, Truaxe’s constant touting of how down to Earth and charitable he is, ends up making him seem a little more self-righteous than humble.
February 6: Truaxe Fires TJ Esho via Instagram
In another example of inappropriate use of social media, Truaxe publicly fires cosmetic doctor Tijon Esho. Esho, who worked with Truaxe to create Deciem’s lip-care brand, Esho, later told Racked that he was not notified of his firing prior to the public Instagram post. “The formulas were rushed. And almost everyone hated them… Our lovely customers who bought ESHO and hated it, please forgive me.” It’s a pretty savage farewell to one of his co-workers and one that definitely shouldn’t have happened over Deciem’s social media account. The post has since been deleted.
February: Meanwhile on Reddit…
The public ousting of Esho along with Truaxe’s strange series of posts got a lot of people interested in the company. Redditers started digging further into Deciem and found a ton of Glass Door reviews that had some pretty concerning content. From claims of yelling and bullying, to reports of sexism, racism and sexual harassment, the reviews painted a picture of a very unhealthy work environment. One poster, who referred to himself as an embarrassed favoured employee, painted a picture of an oligarchy-style hierarchy. The poster, who was in the favoured group, revealed he received a much higher salary and bigger bonuses. Of course, we do have to take anonymous reviews with a grain of salt.
February 9: Former Employees go on the Record
Three former employees came forward to talk about the growing Deciem drama. The three kept their anonymity but revealed that they had worked at the Toronto facility between 2016 and 2017. The trio confirmed many of the rumours, including reports that Truaxe frequently yelled at employees. They also confirmed allegations of body shaming, with all three noting that factory manager Meena Razach would pinch at people’s stomachs. Riyadh Sweden (previously mentioned in Truaxe’s ‘I’m not gay’ post) was also described as being a “bully” and a “huge problem.”
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❤️🌎
A post shared by THE ABNORMAL BEAUTY COMPANY (@deciem) on Feb 10, 2018 at 7:22am PST
February 10: Truaxe Reprimands Followers 
Five days after Truaxe’s last speech, he once again addresses the disapproval towards his behaviour on social media. “Despite my respect for you, you continue to be disrespectful on this account,” he says into the camera. “I’m going to start changing things because Deciem… I founded Deciem, so our social account is actually my property. I’ve welcomed you, but if you’re going to abuse it I’m going to ask you to leave…” He then reports that Deicem would now be deleting all negative comments.
February 11: Truaxe Accused of Racism 
As concern continued to grow over Truaxe’s behaviour, one follower commented, “Brandon are you okay??” underneath a post. He replied, “Yes but you don’t seem so well. Please use Modulating Glucosides when it’s out. Goodbye.” Not only was the response rude, but Affinity reported that the suggested product may have skin-lightening properties. Since his response was aimed at a person of colour, it seemed like Truaxe was basically telling the follower to bleach her skin. The comment created a lot of upset and he ended up giving a statement to Teen Vogue, “Whoever assumed that MG, which calms inflammation, relates to ‘bleaching’ skin is either a hateful person or one who assumes everything and understands very little.” Regardless, the response was pretty rude whether he meant it that way or not.
February 22: Truaxe Lays Off his Co-CEO
Co-CEO Nicola Kilner was let go from Deciem and soon after Stephen Kaplan, chief financial officer at the brand, resigned. In response to the firing, Truaxe told WWD, “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.” This statement is in stark comparison to Truaxe’s thoughts at the beginning of the month, in which he tells his followers he doesn’t want to be seen as a boss. After the firing, Kilner told ELLE that when it came to Truaxe, “It was never [just about] business. It was much more personal.”
March 25: The Firings Continue
One month later, Racked reported that Truaxe had fired his whole U.S. team. The decision seemed extremely rash and, again, had people wondering if everything was really running smoothly at Deciem.
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Our upcoming store on Fifth Avenue. Never disrespect a harmless human in need of care. 💙🦋
A post shared by THE ABNORMAL BEAUTY COMPANY (@deciem) on Apr 3, 2018 at 11:00pm PDT
April 4: Deciem Uses a Homeless Man to Promote Their New Store
This photograph had a lot of followers upset. The picture, which appears to have been taken without the man’s consent, left a bad taste in people’s mouths. It only got worse when Truaxe addressed it. “This person is disrespectful to the beauty of the library; he is disrespectful to the beauty of Fifth Avenue,” he told Racked. “But this person was so peaceful. He was just reading his book, which homeless people should do more of.” Ouch. The comment is problematic for many reasons and the drama continued when Truaxe posted a screenshot to Instagram of a comment left by an upset viewer. He did not block out their personal information which led to accusations of bullying from other followers. Truaxe then quickly deleted the picture and offered the original commenter $20,000 worth of Deciem products…
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Hello @cosmeticsbusiness and the person who is quoted in your headline: It is always an insult to any President of any country to compare him or her to a small, growing entrepreneur who is a citizen of another country (Canada). Any President, including @realdonaldtrump, is working on much more complex issues that affect billions of people in the United States of America and around the world than I (@btruaxe) will ever have to face in my lifetime. I am very simply building a very simple beauty business that happens to be successful because of the love and support our kind followers, or rather our kind observers, have shown me and my team by caring for us on here and by buying our good, affordable products. Whether you agree or disagree with some or all thoughts of @realdonaldtrump, please respect him as the President of a powerful nation and don’t compare me with him. Your comparison would make both of us, and anybody intelligent, angry. Please respect Presidents of countries and founders of businesses in the same way that you would respect your family, your friends, your colleagues and our collective world at large. 💙🦋 -Brandon
A post shared by THE ABNORMAL BEAUTY COMPANY (@deciem) on Apr 5, 2018 at 7:17am PDT
April 5: Truaxe Responds to Trump Comparisons
Truaxe posted a screenshot of a Sunday Times Magazine profile that compared him to Donald Trump. In his caption he defends the president and asks his followers to respect Trump in the same way that they would respect their family. It’s not clear why Truaxe chose to start defending the president at this time, especially given that the article he’s referring to was published back in 2016.
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The @cosmeticsbusiness “saga” continues. Our loving Human Resources Director, Neha, who manages the many needs of our almost 700 loving employees, not I @btruaxe, terminated 2 members of our team in the United States last month because we don’t yet have a need for a dedicated US PR team in addition to our current one managed by our peacefully-loving @dionnelois who has been with us since we started about five years ago. These 2 members of our team were hired directly by our ex Co-CEO a couple of months before. We have much respect for these 2 loving and lovely girls and told both of them that, once we do organize a US-based PR team in the near future, we will offer them to join us again. They were both offered significant notice payments despite neither US laws nor their contracts with us requiring us to issue such payments. Our “entire US team” minus these 2 individuals are happily running our fast-growing US business. Please visit our cozy stores in NYC to meet them and feel their warmth like I do every time I visit them. 💙🦋 -Brandon
A post shared by THE ABNORMAL BEAUTY COMPANY (@deciem) on Apr 5, 2018 at 6:47pm PDT
April 5: Truaxe Diverts Blame in Firing Accusations
Truaxe posts another media screenshot to his page emphasizing that he is not the one who decides who gets fired. Instead, he directly calls out his Human Resources Director for making the decision. He then denies reports that he had fired his whole U.S. team, saying only two people were let go. His hands-off response to these lay-offs are especially interesting given his previous reaction to Kilner’s firing.
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Hi @nicolalkilner (💛🐌). I saw your beautiful soul the first time you walked into the otherwise-corporate lobby of @bootsuk in peaceful Nottingham. I have loved this same beautiful soul until this very moment—because, when you had every chance to share negative energy with @elleusa/@elleuk, you instead chose to give respect to the beauty of what we had shared. Nicola, it’s I, Brandon. Please, please—respect our history and tell ELLE that our goodbye had nothing to do with @drtijionesho. You know that @smjr2000 committed his life since he was 15 years old to help educate the world about HIV. He joined me at DECIEM a year before you did when we had so little money and were struggling to find means to spend on marketing our first products in the UK, because we both knew that such effort would make DECIEM an initial success and would also allow Boots to recognize what an incredible buyer you were at such a young age. When we met at @timleach9’s cozy flat in London in February this year, I offered you kindness and forgiveness for having had forgotten our trust. On this beautiful occasion, you told me that Shamin had told our team that I had psychosis. On the next day, I called you and told you that I would fire Shamin if you were certain that he did indeed cloud our team’s judgement of me—and, yet again, you betrayed the love Shamin has shown all of us at DECIEM from a time before you had joined us—all the while knowing that Shamin would never mean to hurt me, you, our team or our world. Your absence today hurts me, but I cannot invite you back into a loving family whose hard-working, brother-like Shamin you betrayed. I can forgive you for telling ELLE incorrectly that I “stripped” you from your title to be a “coworker” while you and I know that it was your loving decision—but I can never forgive myself if I ever forgive what you did to Shamin. I hugged your beautiful mom in Nottingham last month. You and I both love her—like we love each other. 💙🦋 -Brandon
A post shared by THE ABNORMAL BEAUTY COMPANY (@deciem) on Apr 8, 2018 at 2:49pm PDT
April 8: Truaxe Responds to a Recent Interview with Kilner
In yet another media screenshot (where are the products?!) Truaxe addresses a recent interview between Kilner and ELLE in which she told the magazine,”I truly believe Brandon has good reasons for everything he does.” Truaxe’s emotional response to the article was pretty personal and it seemed out-of-place to casually share it on Intagram, “Nicola, it’s I, Brandon. Please, please–respect our history.” Truaxe also repeatedly talks about Kilner’s betrayal and how she can never be forgiven for some of her actions. “I hugged your beautiful mom in Nottingham last month,” he tacks on at the end. Is all this really appropriate for a company page?
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@nicolalkilner 💚🌳 (I’ll always be the kid we both know 👶🏼 🍼💚)
A post shared by THE ABNORMAL BEAUTY COMPANY (@deciem) on Apr 10, 2018 at 2:39pm PDT
April 10: Truaxe and Kilner Bury the Hatchet?
If there’s one thing Truaxe loves, it’s emojis… and screenshots. He combines both in this amicable exchange between himself and Kilner.
He is really losing it! #deciem #theordinary @B_TruthSleuth pic.twitter.com/lHVVKSjOya
— Leigh Reedy (@leighr1173) April 25, 2018
April 25: Truaxe Urges Followers to Call 911
In the most disturbing incident to date, Truaxe posted a now-deleted video to Instagram urging his followers to call 911. He tagged the location of the video as a small airport and there appears to be an issue with his baggage. In the background, a man referred to as Jonathan can be heard saying, “I’m trying to help you, Brandon. You need to calm down. You’ll end up getting killed.” Truaxe, looking directly into the camera, responds, “This is abuse. Please tell them I was getting sued and this is going to go on the Deciem Instagram account in exactly one minute.” In a second deleted video he leaves comments under the post continuing to ask his followers to call 911. In his urgency, he also manages to include tree and camel emojis. He adds, “They have my luggage” and “Call police.”
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Don’t Burn After Reading. September(ish). 😛🌳
A post shared by THE ABNORMAL BEAUTY COMPANY (@deciem) on Apr 25, 2018 at 8:07am PDT
April 25: Don’t Burn After Reading?
After a pretty terrifying string of posts, Truaxe posts another video later in the day. Still in the same outfit, he smiles widely at the camera and teases some sort of new product. “Don’t burn after reading,” he says and captions the post with an emoji sticking out its tongue. There is literally no explanation or even mention of the previous posts, a choice with led confused followers to become frustrated. “Is this some elaborate performance art? Like, what the fuck,” said one Reddit user in response to the videos. Another commented about Truaxe’s lack of respect for the police, “Why in God’s name does he think it’s ok to clog up the system with 100’s if not 1000’s of his followers calling the police?”
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👊🏼🍼💚
A post shared by THE ABNORMAL BEAUTY COMPANY (@deciem) on Apr 26, 2018 at 11:55am PDT
April 26: Truaxe Goes on a Rant
Following the baffling events of the day before, Truaxe returns to Instagram to rant about the criticism he’s received, “I’m just really enjoying reading all the idiots that write on Instagram and all the sloppy journalists that can’t even afford their phone bills who are saying that I’ve got mental health issues.” He then threatens to sue all of the “vultures.”
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💙🦋
A post shared by THE ABNORMAL BEAUTY COMPANY (@deciem) on Apr 27, 2018 at 5:47am PDT
April 27: The End of the Road?
Racked gained access to a series of emails Truaxe sent to all of his Deciem employees, attorneys and to Leonard Lauder and Estée Lauder executives. In them he writes, “I’m done with DECIEM and EVERYTHING. No need to discuss.” He also posts a video to Instagram telling his followers he loves them and that he is going home.
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🦆💚
A post shared by THE ABNORMAL BEAUTY COMPANY (@deciem) on Apr 28, 2018 at 3:09pm PDT
April 28: … Or Not?
In a post the next day, Truaxe walks around New York City and hurriedly mentions some new products he has coming out. It seems that rumours of him leaving weren’t true after all? He says one of the products is a, “quote on quote bleaching cream.” This references the incident in which Truaxe was accused of racism a few months back. When he talks about it, his eyes go wide and it seems like he’s joking around. It’s a move that seems pretty immature and insensitive. He also spends time talking about Trump Tower.
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Do Not Burn Before Hearing. It’s a film. 🌳… 😜🍼👊🏾🍆♥️💙🐪🦋👊🏼💜🎂😢😁🤬😜… 🍆🍼💜😢😜……………,,,,,,,,,, [shh…ad up ). 🦋💙
A post shared by THE ABNORMAL BEAUTY COMPANY (@deciem) on May 1, 2018 at 4:18pm PDT
May 1: Burn After Reading Explained?
In a new video, Truaxe wanders around his hotel room talking a mile a minute. “I don’t support Trump, or whatever, maybe I do,” he says at one point. In a whispery voice he goes up to a wall and says, “Something’s behind this room. I’m going to figure it out with a shot of this pill they gave me… I don’t know, they keep restocking my mini bar.” Then he’s suddenly talking about a movie and hysterically laughing. It seems to have something to do with his Burn After Reading post. It’s all very confusing.
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Hi everyone—I love you. I’m sharing with you here an email from me that is very serious. While this email answers many questions, it leaves many more questions unanswered because I and we are still cleaning our home to make our small world “a better place for you and for me”. 💚💚🌳
A post shared by THE ABNORMAL BEAUTY COMPANY (@deciem) on May 23, 2018 at 6:09am PDT
May 23: Problems Beneath the Surface?
In this quick video Truaxe alerts followers that he’s found some “really bad wrongdoings” from some of Deciem’s shareholders. He doesn’t elaborate further but says, “It’s a serious matter. This is not games.”
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I love you, and you @deciemchatroom. 💚🌳
A post shared by THE ABNORMAL BEAUTY COMPANY (@deciem) on May 25, 2018 at 6:53am PDT
May 25: Get Your Product Info Elsewhere
With followers continually asking for more product information on the Deciem Instagram page, Truaxe posts a response making it clear that the Deciem page does have info but to ideally go to other sources. “It’s better to find it on other channels, because if you read it here, you probably won’t trust it as much,” he says. Interesting marketing tactic…
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@richardbranson, I’ll forever owe you, possibly without you ever knowing that I do. Everyone—I’m not on “drugs” or “mentally”-incapacitated. I simply love @richardbranson and I am simply telling you and @richardbranson that I love @richardbranson. Simple, complicated matters beside a beautiful Kasbah Tamadot which is across a river from a village that represents the birthplace of the thought of avestan.com about a decade ago. [Ali—the story of Avestan will never change. Wake up please. 🧡❤️🌳]. @richardbranson: 💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚❤️🌳
A post shared by THE ABNORMAL BEAUTY COMPANY (@deciem) on May 26, 2018 at 4:36am PDT
May 26: “I’m Not on Drugs”
In a quick post, in which Truaxe professes his love for Richard Branson, he clarifies in his caption, “I’m not on ‘drugs’ or ‘mentally’-incapacitated.”
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The odd thing about our new lab that’s under construction now in Toronto’s beautiful Liberty Village is that it’s larger than our entire current headquarters (or tail-quarters because Brandon doesn’t have a head and we believe in him 😛). It may just seem “odd”, but imagine how comical it’d seem if you were a competitor wasting time with a bunch of fake accounts here “bashing” us for no valid reason at all while we are peacefully, but not gracefully at all, turning the beauty business on its ugly head so it becomes a beautiful business itself. 💚🌳
A post shared by THE ABNORMAL BEAUTY COMPANY (@deciem) on May 28, 2018 at 8:24am PDT
May 28: Truaxe Calls out a Mystery Competitor 
In a post dedicated to Deciem’s new lab in Toronto, Truaxe segways into some sort of weird hypothetical, “Imagine how comical it’d seem if you were a competitor wasting time with a bunch of fake accounts here “bashing” us for no valid reason at all.” We have to wonder which skincare competitor he’s referring to. Who’s out to get him? Where’s the proof? Why post it on this picture? So many questions!
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Our co-worker is back—but never behind. We love you, @nicolalkilner. You’ll always be our only 🐌—and always stronger than any 🐅 can ever hope to be or become. 🧡💛🌕😜
A post shared by THE ABNORMAL BEAUTY COMPANY (@deciem) on Jul 3, 2018 at 7:04am PDT
July 3: Kilner Reinstated as Co-CEO
After a month of Instagram calm and a feed full of products, Deciem was back in the news again. This time, however, it was for the announcement of Nicola Kilner’s return. 2018 has been a pretty wild ride for Deciem so far and the year is far from over, but Kilner’s return seems to be a positive step forwards. Even so, speculation still surrounds the Abnormal Beauty Company. From the negative Glassdoor Reviews to the collection of deleted Instagram posts, customers aren’t 100% sure what to believe or think about Deciem. One thing that’s never been in question is the quality of the products, which is perhaps why customers are so involved in all the controversy. At the end of the day, when the head of a company takes over its social media and uses it as their own personal account, there’s almost always going to be drama. And it doesn’t seem like Truaxe is ready to give up the reigns any time soon.
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Without filters. A revolution is coming. Every one of you who has been laughing aT me will with certainty face criminal prosecution. Estée Lauder Companies Inc. has been the biggest stock promotion. Richard Duntas, Bernard Ass (LVMH), Marica “Tracy” (Bliss, Remedè, Soaper Due Per Shoe), Hyatt (Grand Hyatt, Andaz, er al), Marriott (St. Regis, W, Marriot, et al), So many porn “studios”, nearly all @deciem employees, most of “Hollywood”, Gill Sinclair, India Knight, Caroline Hirons, India Knight, RBC, BMO, Boots, KKR, most of the Lauder family, Estée Lauder Companies Inc., Karim Kanji, Antonio Tadrisi, DF Mc, LVMH, Dia Fooley, Michael Davidson, Hanif, Zark Fatah, Inditex (Zara, Massimo Dutti, etc), H&M, $100 monkey, Too Faced (founders too), TSG, Alshaya, Amanresorts, Erwin Zecha, Oliver Zecha, Steven R Riddle, the Coc and Corcky managers, PRIDE organizers, IT Cosmetics, Nicola L ReadingTons, all of Dishoom, All of Delaunay, David Yurman, Tom Ford, Tim Cooke. McKesson, Rexall, Jamin Asaria, David Jackson, York Heritage and others — sentencing doesn’t begin with any point but sentences like this one do. Ben Affleck, Brad Pitt, George Clooney, Michael Less, Stephen Spellberg e.T., AON are also included with certainty. ARGO stood for “Ali Roshan GO”. You idiots. Father, please please be safe if you can for the next few hours. I love you all. -Brandon (RIYADH, please be EXTREMELY CAREFUL in the next few hours). Aurora (TSX) : you are finished. Michael Basler, Gordon Wilde, David Trinder, Eric Jacobs, Allan Gerlings, Dalton Pharma SS, Michael OH CON ELLE, Charm IS T A 007, Robert Jones, Cascade, Prince Al Walid, The White Company, Obagi (brand and doctor), Freedom Health, ESHO-isT, Alexandru Serban and baggage, Apotex: Goodbye also. Peace is coming. 🦁🦋 🐪. It’s clear now. @esteelaudercompanies @richardbranson @realdonaldtrump @gowlingwlg_ca @zuck @musicianjessecook, et. al.
A post shared by THE ABNORMAL BEAUTY COMPANY (@deciem) on Oct 8, 2018 at 5:41am PDT
October 8: Deciem’s Doors are Shuttered and Oh, Apparently a Revolution is Coming…
This is it. The Instagram video that’s signalled the end of Deciem. The company’s customers were sent into a frenzy after Truaxe capped off a year’s worth of utterly confusing behaviour with yet another minute long monologue filmed in the back of a moving car in which he states that almost everyone at Deciem “has been involved in a major criminal activity, which includes financial crimes” and that he would be shutting down all operations until further notice. Many of the company’s New York stores were closed on the same day and its website indicated that ten locations in Canada and four locations in the U.K. were shuttered as well.
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3 emails to say less than one word but more than 0 words.
A post shared by THE ABNORMAL BEAUTY COMPANY (@deciem) on Oct 11, 2018 at 4:56am PDT
October 11: Minority Stakeholder Estée Lauder Sues Truaxe Right Out of Deciem 
After three days of chaos and and speculation Truaxe posted another update on Instagram. This time it’s screenshots of a legal notice sent by Mark Gelowitz, a partner at Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt LLP in Toronto, on behalf of the Estée Lauder Companies, which own a minority stake in Deciem. The notice addresses the company’s alleged intentions to sue Truaxe in the Ontario Superior Court of Justice and summons him to a Toronto court house this morning. It also seeks to remove Truaxe from Deciem’s Board of Directors and looks to appoint Nicola Kilner (Deciem’s co-CEO) as the sole interim CEO of Deciem. In addition, Estée Lauder asks that Truaxe be prohibited from employing or terminating any Deciem staff, communicating with employees, suppliers, or business partners, and issuing statements on its social media accounts. However, if Truaxe’s most recent post is to be believed, he’s currently in Amsterdam accusing a Hilton DoubleTree hotel chain of placing a half-empty bottle of Jack Daniel’s outside his suite.
October 12: A Toronto judge removes Brandon Truaxe as Deciem’s CEO Only one day after the Estée Lauder Companies applied for an injunction to remove Brandon Truaxe as Deciem’s CEO, the Ontario Superior Court has officially barred Truaxe from any involvement in operations of the company he founded five years ago. Co-chief executive Nicola Kilner will serve as interim CEO.
The post BREAKING: Brandon Truaxe is Officially Out as Deciem’s CEO appeared first on FASHION Magazine.
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Deciem is Getting Sued by Minority Stakeholder Estée Lauder
Over the last year Deciem has built up something of a cult following and the Toronto-based company has exploded globally, opening up stores in major cities like New York, London and Amsterdam. They’re most known for their super affordable skincare line, The Ordinary. But they’re also known for their eccentric founder and CEO, Brandon Truaxe. This year, Truaxe decided to single-handedly take over Deciem’s social media accounts and the events that followed ranged from entertaining to straight up bizarre. The past six months have been filled with drama and we’re here to take you through every bit of it. From public firings to posting pictures of trash, check out Truaxe’s social media journey so far.
January 12: Deciem Shades Drunk Elephant
Our Deciem timeline begins with Reddit after one user spotted a dig at Drunk Elephant on The Ordinary’s website. The shade was buried within the description of their marula oil, “Referred to as a ‘luxury’ oil by some… It’s a fantastic oil in every sense of the word despite its affordability. One would have to be drunk to overpay for Marula.” The terminology here pointed a clear finger at fellow skincare-brand Drunk Elephant, who charges $90 for a 1oz bottle of marula oil in comparison to a $10 bottle of the same size from The Ordinary. The (now deleted) call-out seemed pretty unprofessional, especially because of its placement on the company’s official website.
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The words in this video mean more to me than to anyone. I will talk to you beautiful people on our social channels from now on. I'll maintain an email subscription list and you can subscribe to it by simply sending an empty email to [email protected]. I'll share my thoughts that relate more to life than DECIEM on my own Instagram feed @btruaxe. We are all humans. We are not consumers, races, genders or sexualities. 🌎 Our social team won't respond to any comments on this post because I will respond to all of them personally. Please ask any order or product questions on another post or via DM so that I can commit time to this post. ❤️
A post shared by THE ABNORMAL BEAUTY COMPANY (@deciem) on Jan 24, 2018 at 9:01am PST
January 24: Truaxe Begins his Social Media Takeover
Truaxe posted a chatty selfie-type video to Deciem’s Instagram page–the first of many–stating, “I have now cancelled all of our marketing plans… From now on I’m going to communicate personally with you.” Given Deciem’s substantial following, it seemed like a pretty drastic change and a huge undertaking.
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Hi :-) You have often asked us why we refer to our team as monkeys. Our lovey @nicolalkilner used to be a buyer at @bootsuk. She once told me that a major beauty brand always hired sales representatives who looked like models because their presence in meetings was impactful. I can't think of anything dumber than choosing people who are to represent your values based largely on their appearance. So I decided that we are going to very specifically not care about our team looking like models (if some of us do, then we are doubly lucky), and instead be so humble to say we are symbolically monkeys, because monkeys are the origin of all of us, whether or not we are models. But I also don't think monkeys are better than any other animal. Animals and us are all together working on this beautiful small planet we call Earth. I fell in love with all animals during my fortunate visits to Africa and South East Asia. I particularly love elephants because my very good friend Gill Sinclair of our caring and patient retailer, @victoriahealth, loves them and because an elephant once let me ride his loving back in Java, Indonesia, near the Borobudur Temple. Lastly, speaking of elephants, I once wrote that one would have to be drunk to overpay for Marula oil which was a distasteful joke that arose from my familiarity with the beautiful brand, @drunkelephantskincare. @tiffanymasterson: I'm sorry. When I met you at the WWD breakfast, I saw a beautiful soul. And you have worked hard to build a beautiful brand. Please forgive me. I have now adjusted that distasteful post and we will donate $25,000 to the peaceful elephant charity that your brand supports: @savetheelephants. Our super-fast and loving @smjr2000 will arrange for this donation to be made this week. Hug, Brandon ❤️ (Update: the donation has been made and elephants are smiling 🐘❤️)
A post shared by THE ABNORMAL BEAUTY COMPANY (@deciem) on Jan 28, 2018 at 8:53pm PST
January 28: Truaxe Addresses the Drunk Elephant Comment 
Two weeks after the Drunk Elephant dig was shared on Reddit, Truaxe addressed the situation via social media. The post, though clearly good-intentioned, was also a very strange rambling of thoughts. Once you get past the musings of monkeys and models, an apology can be found towards the end. Truaxe acknowledges that what he said about Drunk Elephant was a distasteful joke and then casually adds that he will donate $25,000 to Save the Elephants in response. All in all, it was a very sweet way to apologize, but the elaborate (at times, baffling) caption just stirred up more conversation about founder. Back over on Reddit, one user posted, “I remember that one. I also remember thinking, If you got time to write this ‘masterpiece’, you got time to get my 100ml moisturizer back in stock, son.” Another simply asked, “Wtf did I just read.”
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If you walk in front, you lead only yourself and see no one who's behind. To help those who work with you, you have to walk behind them. ❤️
A post shared by THE ABNORMAL BEAUTY COMPANY (@deciem) on Feb 1, 2018 at 11:42am PST
February 1: No More Bosses
In his next selfie video, Truaxe announces that he will drop his CEO title and now be referred to simply as a “worker.” “I’ve never liked any of my bosses in my life. So, I don’t want to be a boss, I want to be a friend,” he says.
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I'll eliminate all plastic including our shopping bags, droppers, foundation bottles (which cost more than glass bottles because they're "sophisticated" plastic). Alessandro and Hajar, please tell our suppliers that this plan will complete by end of 2018. Peter of Mong Packaging, I'm sorry that we won't use plastic any more. You're such a good person. I'll sponsor you and your family to come to Canada if you want and you can work at DECIEM. Alan of Idealpak, this direction means more business for you ❤️🐴 (@apple please add a donkey emoticon because there's no horse in Morocco as far as I can tell). Sorry everyone that I'll repeat this note several times today with different videos. I love you, Brandon. (It's sunny here. ❤️🌕)
A post shared by THE ABNORMAL BEAUTY COMPANY (@deciem) on Feb 4, 2018 at 2:04am PST
February 4: Deciem’s Feed is Garbage
No, but actually… it’s literal garbage. Truaxe interrupts Deciem’s usual feed to post pictures of trash. He captions the post with a pledge to go plastic free, and while he’s at it, cuts ties with his plastic packager. He goes on to offer Peter (who has now been publicly fired) a sponsorship for him and his family to come to Canada and work at Deciem. The caption is pretty uncomfortable to read. The four people mentioned in the post probably deserved a meeting or even an email, not an Instagram caption. Truaxe’s offer of sponsorship also feels a little inappropriate for the platform, especially given the circumstances.
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Stop being mean to kind animals. DECIEM will never test on animals. EVER NEVER EVER IN A MILLION YEARS.
A post shared by THE ABNORMAL BEAUTY COMPANY (@deciem) on Feb 4, 2018 at 2:03am PST
February 4: Truaxe Photographs a Dead Animal
In the midst of the garbage posts, Truaxe comes across a dead animal. He then proceeds to kneel next to the body, upload a picture of the corpse to Instagram and then scold his followers, “Stop being so mean to kind animals.” It’s a little confusing given we don’t know if this sheep died of natural causes or not. Truaxe then goes on to say that Deciem will never test on animals and while we praise the brand for being cruelty free, the picture of the sheep and the videos of the garbage feel a bit unnecessary. It’s clear that the Deciem Instagram page is not controlled by a formal marketing team.
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Riad is our factory manager. His family adopted me when I needed help. His brothers Hashim and Faras run our US e-commerce. His other brother Ammar sells our products in Iraq, where they're from. His youngest brother Omar is coming to Canada to join DECIEM. Astrid and @diafoley, Riad is not my boyfriend (I'm not gay). He's my brother and I love him (and his beautiful mother who's my mother). Because of Estée Lauder's investment, I have been able to give the family a gift of $500,000 in January. They're building a home. And Riad is now travelling the world with me until March. I love you, Riad 🐘❤️🐪. Astrid, see you in Amsterdam to build my baby, Avestan. Our baby, Avestan. ❤️
A post shared by THE ABNORMAL BEAUTY COMPANY (@deciem) on Feb 4, 2018 at 2:15am PST
February 4: He Also Wants to Mention that He’s Not Gay
In Truaxe’s tenth post of the day (none of which have had anything to do with specific Deciem products) he describes his relationship with factory manager, Riad. He talks about his love for Riad and his family and then tags two people in the post, letting them know that he is not gay. He then casually mentions another massive donation. This time, half a million dollars for Riad’s family.
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Hi :-) I had the best time yesterday posting about my day. Many of you love what I did. But a few of you disliked it, criticized it and even unfollowed us. I won't argue with you. I'll listen to you and build a social content management team. We don't have such a team because our social content has always been my doing but it was too curated for no reason until recently. While Mira and our amazing creative team work together to hire this social content team, I'll be in Kenya and Namibia to evaluate the best way to donate $150K to hungry children as promised in our Vitamin C post a couple of weeks ago. I'm also donating $50K of my personal savings for this cause. Random charities aren't the right way to donate but I'll find the right way to donate for us. Meanwhile, our lovely other Brandon will be here with you on social answering your questions and sharing good energy like always. I love you and I'll speak to you soon. I can't wait to meet some of you at our stores starting with Covent Garden. And then I'll go back to Morocco to find the beautiful man who gave me the soap so he can help me share the soap with you. And this soap will be very special because we will donate all of our gross profits from its sales to create good jobs for good people in beautiful Morocco. We are already successful and don't need to profit at all from a peaceful soap. ❤️🐪
A post shared by THE ABNORMAL BEAUTY COMPANY (@deciem) on Feb 5, 2018 at 6:09am PST
February 5: Truaxe Promises a Proper Social Media Team
After eleven posts in one day and a reported loss of 5,000 followers, Truaxe addresses his recent Instagram behaviour. “Many of you love what I did. But a few of you disliked it, criticized it and even unfollowed us,” he wrote before promising to build a new social content management team. Once again he mentions his charity work, “I’ll be in Kenya and Namibia to evaluate the best way to donate $150k to hungry children… I’m also donating $50,000 of my personal savings for this cause.” Unfortunately, Truaxe’s constant touting of how down to Earth and charitable he is, ends up making him seem a little more self-righteous than humble.
February 6: Truaxe Fires TJ Esho via Instagram
In another example of inappropriate use of social media, Truaxe publicly fires cosmetic doctor Tijon Esho. Esho, who worked with Truaxe to create Deciem’s lip-care brand, Esho, later told Racked that he was not notified of his firing prior to the public Instagram post. “The formulas were rushed. And almost everyone hated them… Our lovely customers who bought ESHO and hated it, please forgive me.” It’s a pretty savage farewell to one of his co-workers and one that definitely shouldn’t have happened over Deciem’s social media account. The post has since been deleted.
February: Meanwhile on Reddit…
The public ousting of Esho along with Truaxe’s strange series of posts got a lot of people interested in the company. Redditers started digging further into Deciem and found a ton of Glass Door reviews that had some pretty concerning content. From claims of yelling and bullying, to reports of sexism, racism and sexual harassment, the reviews painted a picture of a very unhealthy work environment. One poster, who referred to himself as an embarrassed favoured employee, painted a picture of an oligarchy-style hierarchy. The poster, who was in the favoured group, revealed he received a much higher salary and bigger bonuses. Of course, we do have to take anonymous reviews with a grain of salt.
February 9: Former Employees go on the Record
Three former employees came forward to talk about the growing Deciem drama. The three kept their anonymity but revealed that they had worked at the Toronto facility between 2016 and 2017. The trio confirmed many of the rumours, including reports that Truaxe frequently yelled at employees. They also confirmed allegations of body shaming, with all three noting that factory manager Meena Razach would pinch at people’s stomachs. Riyadh Sweden (previously mentioned in Truaxe’s ‘I’m not gay’ post) was also described as being a “bully” and a “huge problem.”
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❤️🌎
A post shared by THE ABNORMAL BEAUTY COMPANY (@deciem) on Feb 10, 2018 at 7:22am PST
February 10: Truaxe Reprimands Followers 
Five days after Truaxe’s last speech, he once again addresses the disapproval towards his behaviour on social media. “Despite my respect for you, you continue to be disrespectful on this account,” he says into the camera. “I’m going to start changing things because Deciem… I founded Deciem, so our social account is actually my property. I’ve welcomed you, but if you’re going to abuse it I’m going to ask you to leave…” He then reports that Deicem would now be deleting all negative comments.
February 11: Truaxe Accused of Racism 
As concern continued to grow over Truaxe’s behaviour, one follower commented, “Brandon are you okay??” underneath a post. He replied, “Yes but you don’t seem so well. Please use Modulating Glucosides when it’s out. Goodbye.” Not only was the response rude, but Affinity reported that the suggested product may have skin-lightening properties. Since his response was aimed at a person of colour, it seemed like Truaxe was basically telling the follower to bleach her skin. The comment created a lot of upset and he ended up giving a statement to Teen Vogue, “Whoever assumed that MG, which calms inflammation, relates to ‘bleaching’ skin is either a hateful person or one who assumes everything and understands very little.” Regardless, the response was pretty rude whether he meant it that way or not.
February 22: Truaxe Lays Off his Co-CEO
Co-CEO Nicola Kilner was let go from Deciem and soon after Stephen Kaplan, chief financial officer at the brand, resigned. In response to the firing, Truaxe told WWD, “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.” This statement is in stark comparison to Truaxe’s thoughts at the beginning of the month, in which he tells his followers he doesn’t want to be seen as a boss. After the firing, Kilner told ELLE that when it came to Truaxe, “It was never [just about] business. It was much more personal.”
March 25: The Firings Continue
One month later, Racked reported that Truaxe had fired his whole U.S. team. The decision seemed extremely rash and, again, had people wondering if everything was really running smoothly at Deciem.
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Our upcoming store on Fifth Avenue. Never disrespect a harmless human in need of care. 💙🦋
A post shared by THE ABNORMAL BEAUTY COMPANY (@deciem) on Apr 3, 2018 at 11:00pm PDT
April 4: Deciem Uses a Homeless Man to Promote Their New Store
This photograph had a lot of followers upset. The picture, which appears to have been taken without the man’s consent, left a bad taste in people’s mouths. It only got worse when Truaxe addressed it. “This person is disrespectful to the beauty of the library; he is disrespectful to the beauty of Fifth Avenue,” he told Racked. “But this person was so peaceful. He was just reading his book, which homeless people should do more of.” Ouch. The comment is problematic for many reasons and the drama continued when Truaxe posted a screenshot to Instagram of a comment left by an upset viewer. He did not block out their personal information which led to accusations of bullying from other followers. Truaxe then quickly deleted the picture and offered the original commenter $20,000 worth of Deciem products…
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Hello @cosmeticsbusiness and the person who is quoted in your headline: It is always an insult to any President of any country to compare him or her to a small, growing entrepreneur who is a citizen of another country (Canada). Any President, including @realdonaldtrump, is working on much more complex issues that affect billions of people in the United States of America and around the world than I (@btruaxe) will ever have to face in my lifetime. I am very simply building a very simple beauty business that happens to be successful because of the love and support our kind followers, or rather our kind observers, have shown me and my team by caring for us on here and by buying our good, affordable products. Whether you agree or disagree with some or all thoughts of @realdonaldtrump, please respect him as the President of a powerful nation and don’t compare me with him. Your comparison would make both of us, and anybody intelligent, angry. Please respect Presidents of countries and founders of businesses in the same way that you would respect your family, your friends, your colleagues and our collective world at large. 💙🦋 -Brandon
A post shared by THE ABNORMAL BEAUTY COMPANY (@deciem) on Apr 5, 2018 at 7:17am PDT
April 5: Truaxe Responds to Trump Comparisons
Truaxe posted a screenshot of a Sunday Times Magazine profile that compared him to Donald Trump. In his caption he defends the president and asks his followers to respect Trump in the same way that they would respect their family. It’s not clear why Truaxe chose to start defending the president at this time, especially given that the article he’s referring to was published back in 2016.
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The @cosmeticsbusiness “saga” continues. Our loving Human Resources Director, Neha, who manages the many needs of our almost 700 loving employees, not I @btruaxe, terminated 2 members of our team in the United States last month because we don’t yet have a need for a dedicated US PR team in addition to our current one managed by our peacefully-loving @dionnelois who has been with us since we started about five years ago. These 2 members of our team were hired directly by our ex Co-CEO a couple of months before. We have much respect for these 2 loving and lovely girls and told both of them that, once we do organize a US-based PR team in the near future, we will offer them to join us again. They were both offered significant notice payments despite neither US laws nor their contracts with us requiring us to issue such payments. Our “entire US team” minus these 2 individuals are happily running our fast-growing US business. Please visit our cozy stores in NYC to meet them and feel their warmth like I do every time I visit them. 💙🦋 -Brandon
A post shared by THE ABNORMAL BEAUTY COMPANY (@deciem) on Apr 5, 2018 at 6:47pm PDT
April 5: Truaxe Diverts Blame in Firing Accusations
Truaxe posts another media screenshot to his page emphasizing that he is not the one who decides who gets fired. Instead, he directly calls out his Human Resources Director for making the decision. He then denies reports that he had fired his whole U.S. team, saying only two people were let go. His hands-off response to these lay-offs are especially interesting given his previous reaction to Kilner’s firing.
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Hi @nicolalkilner (💛🐌). I saw your beautiful soul the first time you walked into the otherwise-corporate lobby of @bootsuk in peaceful Nottingham. I have loved this same beautiful soul until this very moment—because, when you had every chance to share negative energy with @elleusa/@elleuk, you instead chose to give respect to the beauty of what we had shared. Nicola, it’s I, Brandon. Please, please—respect our history and tell ELLE that our goodbye had nothing to do with @drtijionesho. You know that @smjr2000 committed his life since he was 15 years old to help educate the world about HIV. He joined me at DECIEM a year before you did when we had so little money and were struggling to find means to spend on marketing our first products in the UK, because we both knew that such effort would make DECIEM an initial success and would also allow Boots to recognize what an incredible buyer you were at such a young age. When we met at @timleach9’s cozy flat in London in February this year, I offered you kindness and forgiveness for having had forgotten our trust. On this beautiful occasion, you told me that Shamin had told our team that I had psychosis. On the next day, I called you and told you that I would fire Shamin if you were certain that he did indeed cloud our team’s judgement of me—and, yet again, you betrayed the love Shamin has shown all of us at DECIEM from a time before you had joined us—all the while knowing that Shamin would never mean to hurt me, you, our team or our world. Your absence today hurts me, but I cannot invite you back into a loving family whose hard-working, brother-like Shamin you betrayed. I can forgive you for telling ELLE incorrectly that I “stripped” you from your title to be a “coworker” while you and I know that it was your loving decision—but I can never forgive myself if I ever forgive what you did to Shamin. I hugged your beautiful mom in Nottingham last month. You and I both love her—like we love each other. 💙🦋 -Brandon
A post shared by THE ABNORMAL BEAUTY COMPANY (@deciem) on Apr 8, 2018 at 2:49pm PDT
April 8: Truaxe Responds to a Recent Interview with Kilner
In yet another media screenshot (where are the products?!) Truaxe addresses a recent interview between Kilner and ELLE in which she told the magazine,”I truly believe Brandon has good reasons for everything he does.” Truaxe’s emotional response to the article was pretty personal and it seemed out-of-place to casually share it on Intagram, “Nicola, it’s I, Brandon. Please, please–respect our history.” Truaxe also repeatedly talks about Kilner’s betrayal and how she can never be forgiven for some of her actions. “I hugged your beautiful mom in Nottingham last month,” he tacks on at the end. Is all this really appropriate for a company page?
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@nicolalkilner 💚🌳 (I’ll always be the kid we both know 👶🏼 🍼💚)
A post shared by THE ABNORMAL BEAUTY COMPANY (@deciem) on Apr 10, 2018 at 2:39pm PDT
April 10: Truaxe and Kilner Bury the Hatchet?
If there’s one thing Truaxe loves, it’s emojis… and screenshots. He combines both in this amicable exchange between himself and Kilner.
He is really losing it! #deciem #theordinary @B_TruthSleuth pic.twitter.com/lHVVKSjOya
— Leigh Reedy (@leighr1173) April 25, 2018
April 25: Truaxe Urges Followers to Call 911
In the most disturbing incident to date, Truaxe posted a now-deleted video to Instagram urging his followers to call 911. He tagged the location of the video as a small airport and there appears to be an issue with his baggage. In the background, a man referred to as Jonathan can be heard saying, “I’m trying to help you, Brandon. You need to calm down. You’ll end up getting killed.” Truaxe, looking directly into the camera, responds, “This is abuse. Please tell them I was getting sued and this is going to go on the Deciem Instagram account in exactly one minute.” In a second deleted video he leaves comments under the post continuing to ask his followers to call 911. In his urgency, he also manages to include tree and camel emojis. He adds, “They have my luggage” and “Call police.”
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Don’t Burn After Reading. September(ish). 😛🌳
A post shared by THE ABNORMAL BEAUTY COMPANY (@deciem) on Apr 25, 2018 at 8:07am PDT
April 25: Don’t Burn After Reading?
After a pretty terrifying string of posts, Truaxe posts another video later in the day. Still in the same outfit, he smiles widely at the camera and teases some sort of new product. “Don’t burn after reading,” he says and captions the post with an emoji sticking out its tongue. There is literally no explanation or even mention of the previous posts, a choice with led confused followers to become frustrated. “Is this some elaborate performance art? Like, what the fuck,” said one Reddit user in response to the videos. Another commented about Truaxe’s lack of respect for the police, “Why in God’s name does he think it’s ok to clog up the system with 100’s if not 1000’s of his followers calling the police?”
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👊🏼🍼💚
A post shared by THE ABNORMAL BEAUTY COMPANY (@deciem) on Apr 26, 2018 at 11:55am PDT
April 26: Truaxe Goes on a Rant
Following the baffling events of the day before, Truaxe returns to Instagram to rant about the criticism he’s received, “I’m just really enjoying reading all the idiots that write on Instagram and all the sloppy journalists that can’t even afford their phone bills who are saying that I’ve got mental health issues.” He then threatens to sue all of the “vultures.”
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💙🦋
A post shared by THE ABNORMAL BEAUTY COMPANY (@deciem) on Apr 27, 2018 at 5:47am PDT
April 27: The End of the Road?
Racked gained access to a series of emails Truaxe sent to all of his Deciem employees, attorneys and to Leonard Lauder and Estée Lauder executives. In them he writes, “I’m done with DECIEM and EVERYTHING. No need to discuss.” He also posts a video to Instagram telling his followers he loves them and that he is going home.
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🦆💚
A post shared by THE ABNORMAL BEAUTY COMPANY (@deciem) on Apr 28, 2018 at 3:09pm PDT
April 28: … Or Not?
In a post the next day, Truaxe walks around New York City and hurriedly mentions some new products he has coming out. It seems that rumours of him leaving weren’t true after all? He says one of the products is a, “quote on quote bleaching cream.” This references the incident in which Truaxe was accused of racism a few months back. When he talks about it, his eyes go wide and it seems like he’s joking around. It’s a move that seems pretty immature and insensitive. He also spends time talking about Trump Tower.
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Do Not Burn Before Hearing. It’s a film. 🌳… 😜🍼👊🏾🍆♥️💙🐪🦋👊🏼💜🎂😢😁🤬😜… 🍆🍼💜😢😜……………,,,,,,,,,, [shh…ad up ). 🦋💙
A post shared by THE ABNORMAL BEAUTY COMPANY (@deciem) on May 1, 2018 at 4:18pm PDT
May 1: Burn After Reading Explained?
In a new video, Truaxe wanders around his hotel room talking a mile a minute. “I don’t support Trump, or whatever, maybe I do,” he says at one point. In a whispery voice he goes up to a wall and says, “Something’s behind this room. I’m going to figure it out with a shot of this pill they gave me… I don’t know, they keep restocking my mini bar.” Then he’s suddenly talking about a movie and hysterically laughing. It seems to have something to do with his Burn After Reading post. It’s all very confusing.
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Hi everyone—I love you. I’m sharing with you here an email from me that is very serious. While this email answers many questions, it leaves many more questions unanswered because I and we are still cleaning our home to make our small world “a better place for you and for me”. 💚💚🌳
A post shared by THE ABNORMAL BEAUTY COMPANY (@deciem) on May 23, 2018 at 6:09am PDT
May 23: Problems Beneath the Surface?
In this quick video Truaxe alerts followers that he’s found some “really bad wrongdoings” from some of Deciem’s shareholders. He doesn’t elaborate further but says, “It’s a serious matter. This is not games.”
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I love you, and you @deciemchatroom. 💚🌳
A post shared by THE ABNORMAL BEAUTY COMPANY (@deciem) on May 25, 2018 at 6:53am PDT
May 25: Get Your Product Info Elsewhere
With followers continually asking for more product information on the Deciem Instagram page, Truaxe posts a response making it clear that the Deciem page does have info but to ideally go to other sources. “It’s better to find it on other channels, because if you read it here, you probably won’t trust it as much,” he says. Interesting marketing tactic…
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@richardbranson, I’ll forever owe you, possibly without you ever knowing that I do. Everyone—I’m not on “drugs” or “mentally”-incapacitated. I simply love @richardbranson and I am simply telling you and @richardbranson that I love @richardbranson. Simple, complicated matters beside a beautiful Kasbah Tamadot which is across a river from a village that represents the birthplace of the thought of avestan.com about a decade ago. [Ali—the story of Avestan will never change. Wake up please. 🧡❤️🌳]. @richardbranson: 💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚❤️🌳
A post shared by THE ABNORMAL BEAUTY COMPANY (@deciem) on May 26, 2018 at 4:36am PDT
May 26: “I’m Not on Drugs”
In a quick post, in which Truaxe professes his love for Richard Branson, he clarifies in his caption, “I’m not on ‘drugs’ or ‘mentally’-incapacitated.”
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The odd thing about our new lab that’s under construction now in Toronto’s beautiful Liberty Village is that it’s larger than our entire current headquarters (or tail-quarters because Brandon doesn’t have a head and we believe in him 😛). It may just seem “odd”, but imagine how comical it’d seem if you were a competitor wasting time with a bunch of fake accounts here “bashing” us for no valid reason at all while we are peacefully, but not gracefully at all, turning the beauty business on its ugly head so it becomes a beautiful business itself. 💚🌳
A post shared by THE ABNORMAL BEAUTY COMPANY (@deciem) on May 28, 2018 at 8:24am PDT
May 28: Truaxe Calls out a Mystery Competitor 
In a post dedicated to Deciem’s new lab in Toronto, Truaxe segways into some sort of weird hypothetical, “Imagine how comical it’d seem if you were a competitor wasting time with a bunch of fake accounts here “bashing” us for no valid reason at all.” We have to wonder which skincare competitor he’s referring to. Who’s out to get him? Where’s the proof? Why post it on this picture? So many questions!
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Our co-worker is back—but never behind. We love you, @nicolalkilner. You’ll always be our only 🐌—and always stronger than any 🐅 can ever hope to be or become. 🧡💛🌕😜
A post shared by THE ABNORMAL BEAUTY COMPANY (@deciem) on Jul 3, 2018 at 7:04am PDT
July 3: Kilner Reinstated as Co-CEO
After a month of Instagram calm and a feed full of products, Deciem was back in the news again. This time, however, it was for the announcement of Nicola Kilner’s return. 2018 has been a pretty wild ride for Deciem so far and the year is far from over, but Kilner’s return seems to be a positive step forwards. Even so, speculation still surrounds the Abnormal Beauty Company. From the negative Glassdoor Reviews to the collection of deleted Instagram posts, customers aren’t 100% sure what to believe or think about Deciem. One thing that’s never been in question is the quality of the products, which is perhaps why customers are so involved in all the controversy. At the end of the day, when the head of a company takes over its social media and uses it as their own personal account, there’s almost always going to be drama. And it doesn’t seem like Truaxe is ready to give up the reigns any time soon.
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Without filters. A revolution is coming. Every one of you who has been laughing aT me will with certainty face criminal prosecution. Estée Lauder Companies Inc. has been the biggest stock promotion. Richard Duntas, Bernard Ass (LVMH), Marica “Tracy” (Bliss, Remedè, Soaper Due Per Shoe), Hyatt (Grand Hyatt, Andaz, er al), Marriott (St. Regis, W, Marriot, et al), So many porn “studios”, nearly all @deciem employees, most of “Hollywood”, Gill Sinclair, India Knight, Caroline Hirons, India Knight, RBC, BMO, Boots, KKR, most of the Lauder family, Estée Lauder Companies Inc., Karim Kanji, Antonio Tadrisi, DF Mc, LVMH, Dia Fooley, Michael Davidson, Hanif, Zark Fatah, Inditex (Zara, Massimo Dutti, etc), H&M, $100 monkey, Too Faced (founders too), TSG, Alshaya, Amanresorts, Erwin Zecha, Oliver Zecha, Steven R Riddle, the Coc and Corcky managers, PRIDE organizers, IT Cosmetics, Nicola L ReadingTons, all of Dishoom, All of Delaunay, David Yurman, Tom Ford, Tim Cooke. McKesson, Rexall, Jamin Asaria, David Jackson, York Heritage and others — sentencing doesn’t begin with any point but sentences like this one do. Ben Affleck, Brad Pitt, George Clooney, Michael Less, Stephen Spellberg e.T., AON are also included with certainty. ARGO stood for “Ali Roshan GO”. You idiots. Father, please please be safe if you can for the next few hours. I love you all. -Brandon (RIYADH, please be EXTREMELY CAREFUL in the next few hours). Aurora (TSX) : you are finished. Michael Basler, Gordon Wilde, David Trinder, Eric Jacobs, Allan Gerlings, Dalton Pharma SS, Michael OH CON ELLE, Charm IS T A 007, Robert Jones, Cascade, Prince Al Walid, The White Company, Obagi (brand and doctor), Freedom Health, ESHO-isT, Alexandru Serban and baggage, Apotex: Goodbye also. Peace is coming. 🦁🦋 🐪. It’s clear now. @esteelaudercompanies @richardbranson @realdonaldtrump @gowlingwlg_ca @zuck @musicianjessecook, et. al.
A post shared by THE ABNORMAL BEAUTY COMPANY (@deciem) on Oct 8, 2018 at 5:41am PDT
October 8: Deciem’s Doors are Shuttered and Oh, Apparently a Revolution is Coming…
This is it. The Instagram video that’s signalled the end of Deciem. The company’s customers were sent into a frenzy after Truaxe capped off a year’s worth of utterly confusing behaviour with yet another minute long monologue filmed in the back of a moving car in which he states that almost everyone at Deciem “has been involved in a major criminal activity, which includes financial crimes” and that he would be shutting down all operations until further notice. Many of the company’s New York stores were closed on the same day and its website indicated that ten locations in Canada and four locations in the U.K. were shuttered as well.
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3 emails to say less than one word but more than 0 words.
A post shared by THE ABNORMAL BEAUTY COMPANY (@deciem) on Oct 11, 2018 at 4:56am PDT
October 11: Minority Stakeholder Estée Lauder Sues Truaxe Right Out of Deciem 
After three days of chaos and and speculation Truaxe posted another update on Instagram. This time it’s screenshots of a legal notice sent by Mark Gelowitz, a partner at Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt LLP in Toronto, on behalf of the Estée Lauder Companies, which own a minority stake in Deciem. The notice addresses the company’s alleged intentions to sue Truaxe in the Ontario Superior Court of Justice and summons him to a Toronto court house this morning. It also seeks to remove Truaxe from Deciem’s Board of Directors and looks to appoint Nicola Kilner (Deciem’s co-CEO) as the sole interim CEO of Deciem. In addition, Estée Lauder asks that Truaxe be prohibited from employing or terminating any Deciem staff, communicating with employees, suppliers, or business partners, and issuing statements on its social media accounts. However, if Truaxe’s most recent post is to be believed, he’s currently in Amsterdam accusing a Hilton DoubleTree hotel chain of placing a half-empty bottle of Jack Daniel’s outside his suite.
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lindyhunt · 6 years
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A Comprehensive Timeline of Every Bit of Deciem Drama this Year
Over the last year Deciem has built up something of a cult following and the Toronto-based company has exploded globally, opening up stores in major cities like New York, London and Amsterdam. They’re most known for their super affordable skincare line, The Ordinary. But they’re also known for their eccentric founder and CEO, Brandon Truaxe. This year, Truaxe decided to single-handedly take over Deciem’s social media accounts and the events that followed ranged from entertaining to straight up bizarre. The past six months have been filled with drama and we’re here to take you through every bit of it. From public firings to posting pictures of trash, check out Truaxe’s social media journey so far.
January 12: Deciem Shades Drunk Elephant
Our Deciem timeline begins with Reddit after one user spotted a dig at Drunk Elephant on The Ordinary’s website. The shade was buried within the description of their marula oil, “Referred to as a ‘luxury’ oil by some… It’s a fantastic oil in every sense of the word despite its affordability. One would have to be drunk to overpay for Marula.” The terminology here pointed a clear finger at fellow skincare-brand Drunk Elephant, who charges $90 for a 1oz bottle of marula oil in comparison to a $10 bottle of the same size from The Ordinary. The (now deleted) call-out seemed pretty unprofessional, especially because of its placement on the company’s official website.
The words in this video mean more to me than to anyone. I will talk to you beautiful people on our social channels from now on. I'll maintain an email subscription list and you can subscribe to it by simply sending an empty email to [email protected]. I'll share my thoughts that relate more to life than DECIEM on my own Instagram feed @btruaxe. We are all humans. We are not consumers, races, genders or sexualities. 🌎 Our social team won't respond to any comments on this post because I will respond to all of them personally. Please ask any order or product questions on another post or via DM so that I can commit time to this post. ❤️
A post shared by THE ABNORMAL BEAUTY COMPANY (@deciem) on Jan 24, 2018 at 9:01am PST
January 24: Truaxe Begins his Social Media Takeover
Truaxe posted a chatty selfie-type video to Deciem’s Instagram page–the first of many–stating, “I have now cancelled all of our marketing plans… From now on I’m going to communicate personally with you.” Given Deciem’s substantial following, it seemed like a pretty drastic change and a huge undertaking.
Hi :-) You have often asked us why we refer to our team as monkeys. Our lovey @nicolalkilner used to be a buyer at @bootsuk. She once told me that a major beauty brand always hired sales representatives who looked like models because their presence in meetings was impactful. I can't think of anything dumber than choosing people who are to represent your values based largely on their appearance. So I decided that we are going to very specifically not care about our team looking like models (if some of us do, then we are doubly lucky), and instead be so humble to say we are symbolically monkeys, because monkeys are the origin of all of us, whether or not we are models. But I also don't think monkeys are better than any other animal. Animals and us are all together working on this beautiful small planet we call Earth. I fell in love with all animals during my fortunate visits to Africa and South East Asia. I particularly love elephants because my very good friend Gill Sinclair of our caring and patient retailer, @victoriahealth, loves them and because an elephant once let me ride his loving back in Java, Indonesia, near the Borobudur Temple. Lastly, speaking of elephants, I once wrote that one would have to be drunk to overpay for Marula oil which was a distasteful joke that arose from my familiarity with the beautiful brand, @drunkelephantskincare. @tiffanymasterson: I'm sorry. When I met you at the WWD breakfast, I saw a beautiful soul. And you have worked hard to build a beautiful brand. Please forgive me. I have now adjusted that distasteful post and we will donate $25,000 to the peaceful elephant charity that your brand supports: @savetheelephants. Our super-fast and loving @smjr2000 will arrange for this donation to be made this week. Hug, Brandon ❤️ (Update: the donation has been made and elephants are smiling 🐘❤️)
A post shared by THE ABNORMAL BEAUTY COMPANY (@deciem) on Jan 28, 2018 at 8:53pm PST
January 28: Truaxe Addresses the Drunk Elephant Comment 
Two weeks after the Drunk Elephant dig was shared on Reddit, Truaxe addressed the situation via social media. The post, though clearly good-intentioned, was also a very strange rambling of thoughts. Once you get past the musings of monkeys and models, an apology can be found towards the end. Truaxe acknowledges that what he said about Drunk Elephant was a distasteful joke and then casually adds that he will donate $25,000 to Save the Elephants in response. All in all, it was a very sweet way to apologize, but the elaborate (at times, baffling) caption just stirred up more conversation about founder. Back over on Reddit, one user posted, “I remember that one. I also remember thinking, If you got time to write this ‘masterpiece’, you got time to get my 100ml moisturizer back in stock, son.” Another simply asked, “Wtf did I just read.”
If you walk in front, you lead only yourself and see no one who's behind. To help those who work with you, you have to walk behind them. ❤️
A post shared by THE ABNORMAL BEAUTY COMPANY (@deciem) on Feb 1, 2018 at 11:42am PST
February 1: No More Bosses
In his next selfie video, Truaxe announces that he will drop his CEO title and now be referred to simply as a “worker.” “I’ve never liked any of my bosses in my life. So, I don’t want to be a boss, I want to be a friend,” he says.
I'll eliminate all plastic including our shopping bags, droppers, foundation bottles (which cost more than glass bottles because they're "sophisticated" plastic). Alessandro and Hajar, please tell our suppliers that this plan will complete by end of 2018. Peter of Mong Packaging, I'm sorry that we won't use plastic any more. You're such a good person. I'll sponsor you and your family to come to Canada if you want and you can work at DECIEM. Alan of Idealpak, this direction means more business for you ❤️🐴 (@apple please add a donkey emoticon because there's no horse in Morocco as far as I can tell). Sorry everyone that I'll repeat this note several times today with different videos. I love you, Brandon. (It's sunny here. ❤️🌕)
A post shared by THE ABNORMAL BEAUTY COMPANY (@deciem) on Feb 4, 2018 at 2:04am PST
February 4: Deciem’s Feed is Garbage
No, but actually… it’s literal garbage. Truaxe interrupts Deciem’s usual feed to post pictures of trash. He captions the post with a pledge to go plastic free, and while he’s at it, cuts ties with his plastic packager. He goes on to offer Peter (who has now been publicly fired) a sponsorship for him and his family to come to Canada and work at Deciem. The caption is pretty uncomfortable to read. The four people mentioned in the post probably deserved a meeting or even an email, not an Instagram caption. Truaxe’s offer of sponsorship also feels a little inappropriate for the platform, especially given the circumstances.
Stop being mean to kind animals. DECIEM will never test on animals. EVER NEVER EVER IN A MILLION YEARS.
A post shared by THE ABNORMAL BEAUTY COMPANY (@deciem) on Feb 4, 2018 at 2:03am PST
February 4: Truaxe Photographs a Dead Animal
In the midst of the garbage posts, Truaxe comes across a dead animal. He then proceeds to kneel next to the body, upload a picture of the corpse to Instagram and then scold his followers, “Stop being so mean to kind animals.” It’s a little confusing given we don’t know if this sheep died of natural causes or not. Truaxe then goes on to say that Deciem will never test on animals and while we praise the brand for being cruelty free, the picture of the sheep and the videos of the garbage feel a bit unnecessary. It’s clear that the Deciem Instagram page is not controlled by a formal marketing team.
Riad is our factory manager. His family adopted me when I needed help. His brothers Hashim and Faras run our US e-commerce. His other brother Ammar sells our products in Iraq, where they're from. His youngest brother Omar is coming to Canada to join DECIEM. Astrid and @diafoley, Riad is not my boyfriend (I'm not gay). He's my brother and I love him (and his beautiful mother who's my mother). Because of Estée Lauder's investment, I have been able to give the family a gift of $500,000 in January. They're building a home. And Riad is now travelling the world with me until March. I love you, Riad 🐘❤️🐪. Astrid, see you in Amsterdam to build my baby, Avestan. Our baby, Avestan. ❤️
A post shared by THE ABNORMAL BEAUTY COMPANY (@deciem) on Feb 4, 2018 at 2:15am PST
February 4: He Also Wants to Mention that He’s Not Gay
In Truaxe’s tenth post of the day (none of which have had anything to do with specific Deciem products) he describes his relationship with factory manager, Riad. He talks about his love for Riad and his family and then tags two people in the post, letting them know that he is not gay. He then casually mentions another massive donation. This time, half a million dollars for Riad’s family.
Hi :-) I had the best time yesterday posting about my day. Many of you love what I did. But a few of you disliked it, criticized it and even unfollowed us. I won't argue with you. I'll listen to you and build a social content management team. We don't have such a team because our social content has always been my doing but it was too curated for no reason until recently. While Mira and our amazing creative team work together to hire this social content team, I'll be in Kenya and Namibia to evaluate the best way to donate $150K to hungry children as promised in our Vitamin C post a couple of weeks ago. I'm also donating $50K of my personal savings for this cause. Random charities aren't the right way to donate but I'll find the right way to donate for us. Meanwhile, our lovely other Brandon will be here with you on social answering your questions and sharing good energy like always. I love you and I'll speak to you soon. I can't wait to meet some of you at our stores starting with Covent Garden. And then I'll go back to Morocco to find the beautiful man who gave me the soap so he can help me share the soap with you. And this soap will be very special because we will donate all of our gross profits from its sales to create good jobs for good people in beautiful Morocco. We are already successful and don't need to profit at all from a peaceful soap. ❤️🐪
A post shared by THE ABNORMAL BEAUTY COMPANY (@deciem) on Feb 5, 2018 at 6:09am PST
February 5: Truaxe Promises a Proper Social Media Team
After eleven posts in one day and a reported loss of 5,000 followers, Truaxe addresses his recent Instagram behaviour. “Many of you love what I did. But a few of you disliked it, criticized it and even unfollowed us,” he wrote before promising to build a new social content management team. Once again he mentions his charity work, “I’ll be in Kenya and Namibia to evaluate the best way to donate $150k to hungry children… I’m also donating $50,000 of my personal savings for this cause.” Unfortunately, Truaxe’s constant touting of how down to Earth and charitable he is, ends up making him seem a little more self-righteous than humble.
February 6: Truaxe Fires TJ Esho via Instagram
In another example of inappropriate use of social media, Truaxe publicly fires cosmetic doctor Tijon Esho. Esho, who worked with Truaxe to create Deciem’s lip-care brand, Esho, later told Racked that he was not notified of his firing prior to the public Instagram post. “The formulas were rushed. And almost everyone hated them… Our lovely customers who bought ESHO and hated it, please forgive me.” It’s a pretty savage farewell to one of his co-workers and one that definitely shouldn’t have happened over Deciem’s social media account. The post has since been deleted.
February: Meanwhile on Reddit…
The public ousting of Esho along with Truaxe’s strange series of posts got a lot of people interested in the company. Redditers started digging further into Deciem and found a ton of Glass Door reviews that had some pretty concerning content. From claims of yelling and bullying, to reports of sexism, racism and sexual harassment, the reviews painted a picture of a very unhealthy work environment. One poster, who referred to himself as an embarrassed favoured employee, painted a picture of an oligarchy-style hierarchy. The poster, who was in the favoured group, revealed he received a much higher salary and bigger bonuses. Of course, we do have to take anonymous reviews with a grain of salt.
February 9: Former Employees go on the Record
Three former employees came forward to talk about the growing Deciem drama. The three kept their anonymity but revealed that they had worked at the Toronto facility between 2016 and 2017. The trio confirmed many of the rumours, including reports that Truaxe frequently yelled at employees. They also confirmed allegations of body shaming, with all three noting that factory manager Meena Razach would pinch at people’s stomachs. Riyadh Sweden (previously mentioned in Truaxe’s ‘I’m not gay’ post) was also described as being a “bully” and a “huge problem.”
❤️🌎
A post shared by THE ABNORMAL BEAUTY COMPANY (@deciem) on Feb 10, 2018 at 7:22am PST
February 10: Truaxe Reprimands Followers 
Five days after Truaxe’s last speech, he once again addresses the disapproval towards his behaviour on social media. “Despite my respect for you, you continue to be disrespectful on this account,” he says into the camera. “I’m going to start changing things because Deciem… I founded Deciem, so our social account is actually my property. I’ve welcomed you, but if you’re going to abuse it I’m going to ask you to leave…” He then reports that Deicem would now be deleting all negative comments.
February 11: Truaxe Accused of Racism 
As concern continued to grow over Truaxe’s behaviour, one follower commented, “Brandon are you okay??” underneath a post. He replied, “Yes but you don’t seem so well. Please use Modulating Glucosides when it’s out. Goodbye.” Not only was the response rude, but Affinity reported that the suggested product may have skin-lightening properties. Since his response was aimed at a person of colour, it seemed like Truaxe was basically telling the follower to bleach her skin. The comment created a lot of upset and he ended up giving a statement to Teen Vogue, “Whoever assumed that MG, which calms inflammation, relates to ‘bleaching’ skin is either a hateful person or one who assumes everything and understands very little.” Regardless, the response was pretty rude whether he meant it that way or not.
February 22: Truaxe Lays Off his Co-CEO
Co-CEO Nicola Kilner was let go from Deciem and soon after Stephen Kaplan, chief financial officer at the brand, resigned. In response to the firing, Truaxe told WWD, “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.” This statement is in stark comparison to Truaxe’s thoughts at the beginning of the month, in which he tells his followers he doesn’t want to be seen as a boss. After the firing, Kilner told ELLE that when it came to Truaxe, “It was never [just about] business. It was much more personal.”
March 25: The Firings Continue
One month later, Racked reported that Truaxe had fired his whole U.S. team. The decision seemed extremely rash and, again, had people wondering if everything was really running smoothly at Deciem.
  Our upcoming store on Fifth Avenue. Never disrespect a harmless human in need of care. 💙🦋
A post shared by THE ABNORMAL BEAUTY COMPANY (@deciem) on Apr 3, 2018 at 11:00pm PDT
April 4: Deciem Uses a Homeless Man to Promote Their New Store
This photograph had a lot of followers upset. The picture, which appears to have been taken without the man’s consent, left a bad taste in people’s mouths. It only got worse when Truaxe addressed it. “This person is disrespectful to the beauty of the library; he is disrespectful to the beauty of Fifth Avenue,” he told Racked. “But this person was so peaceful. He was just reading his book, which homeless people should do more of.” Ouch. The comment is problematic for many reasons and the drama continued when Truaxe posted a screenshot to Instagram of a comment left by an upset viewer. He did not block out their personal information which led to accusations of bullying from other followers. Truaxe then quickly deleted the picture and offered the original commenter $20,000 worth of Deciem products…
Hello @cosmeticsbusiness and the person who is quoted in your headline: It is always an insult to any President of any country to compare him or her to a small, growing entrepreneur who is a citizen of another country (Canada). Any President, including @realdonaldtrump, is working on much more complex issues that affect billions of people in the United States of America and around the world than I (@btruaxe) will ever have to face in my lifetime. I am very simply building a very simple beauty business that happens to be successful because of the love and support our kind followers, or rather our kind observers, have shown me and my team by caring for us on here and by buying our good, affordable products. Whether you agree or disagree with some or all thoughts of @realdonaldtrump, please respect him as the President of a powerful nation and don’t compare me with him. Your comparison would make both of us, and anybody intelligent, angry. Please respect Presidents of countries and founders of businesses in the same way that you would respect your family, your friends, your colleagues and our collective world at large. 💙🦋 -Brandon
A post shared by THE ABNORMAL BEAUTY COMPANY (@deciem) on Apr 5, 2018 at 7:17am PDT
April 5: Truaxe Responds to Trump Comparisons
Truaxe posted a screenshot of a Sunday Times Magazine profile that compared him to Donald Trump. In his caption he defends the president and asks his followers to respect Trump in the same way that they would respect their family. It’s not clear why Truaxe chose to start defending the president at this time, especially given that the article he’s referring to was published back in 2016.
The @cosmeticsbusiness “saga” continues. Our loving Human Resources Director, Neha, who manages the many needs of our almost 700 loving employees, not I @btruaxe, terminated 2 members of our team in the United States last month because we don’t yet have a need for a dedicated US PR team in addition to our current one managed by our peacefully-loving @dionnelois who has been with us since we started about five years ago. These 2 members of our team were hired directly by our ex Co-CEO a couple of months before. We have much respect for these 2 loving and lovely girls and told both of them that, once we do organize a US-based PR team in the near future, we will offer them to join us again. They were both offered significant notice payments despite neither US laws nor their contracts with us requiring us to issue such payments. Our “entire US team” minus these 2 individuals are happily running our fast-growing US business. Please visit our cozy stores in NYC to meet them and feel their warmth like I do every time I visit them. 💙🦋 -Brandon
A post shared by THE ABNORMAL BEAUTY COMPANY (@deciem) on Apr 5, 2018 at 6:47pm PDT
April 5: Truaxe Diverts Blame in Firing Accusations
Truaxe posts another media screenshot to his page emphasizing that he is not the one who decides who gets fired. Instead, he directly calls out his Human Resources Director for making the decision. He then denies reports that he had fired his whole U.S. team, saying only two people were let go. His hands-off response to these lay-offs are especially interesting given his previous reaction to Kilner’s firing.
Hi @nicolalkilner (💛🐌). I saw your beautiful soul the first time you walked into the otherwise-corporate lobby of @bootsuk in peaceful Nottingham. I have loved this same beautiful soul until this very moment—because, when you had every chance to share negative energy with @elleusa/@elleuk, you instead chose to give respect to the beauty of what we had shared. Nicola, it’s I, Brandon. Please, please—respect our history and tell ELLE that our goodbye had nothing to do with @drtijionesho. You know that @smjr2000 committed his life since he was 15 years old to help educate the world about HIV. He joined me at DECIEM a year before you did when we had so little money and were struggling to find means to spend on marketing our first products in the UK, because we both knew that such effort would make DECIEM an initial success and would also allow Boots to recognize what an incredible buyer you were at such a young age. When we met at @timleach9’s cozy flat in London in February this year, I offered you kindness and forgiveness for having had forgotten our trust. On this beautiful occasion, you told me that Shamin had told our team that I had psychosis. On the next day, I called you and told you that I would fire Shamin if you were certain that he did indeed cloud our team’s judgement of me—and, yet again, you betrayed the love Shamin has shown all of us at DECIEM from a time before you had joined us—all the while knowing that Shamin would never mean to hurt me, you, our team or our world. Your absence today hurts me, but I cannot invite you back into a loving family whose hard-working, brother-like Shamin you betrayed. I can forgive you for telling ELLE incorrectly that I “stripped” you from your title to be a “coworker” while you and I know that it was your loving decision—but I can never forgive myself if I ever forgive what you did to Shamin. I hugged your beautiful mom in Nottingham last month. You and I both love her—like we love each other. 💙🦋 -Brandon
A post shared by THE ABNORMAL BEAUTY COMPANY (@deciem) on Apr 8, 2018 at 2:49pm PDT
April 8: Truaxe Responds to a Recent Interview with Kilner
In yet another media screenshot (where are the products?!) Truaxe addresses a recent interview between Kilner and ELLE in which she told the magazine,”I truly believe Brandon has good reasons for everything he does.” Truaxe’s emotional response to the article was pretty personal and it seemed out-of-place to casually share it on Intagram, “Nicola, it’s I, Brandon. Please, please–respect our history.” Truaxe also repeatedly talks about Kilner’s betrayal and how she can never be forgiven for some of her actions. “I hugged your beautiful mom in Nottingham last month,” he tacks on at the end. Is all this really appropriate for a company page?
@nicolalkilner 💚🌳 (I’ll always be the kid we both know 👶🏼 🍼💚)
A post shared by THE ABNORMAL BEAUTY COMPANY (@deciem) on Apr 10, 2018 at 2:39pm PDT
April 10: Truaxe and Kilner Bury the Hatchet?
If there’s one thing Truaxe loves, it’s emojis… and screenshots. He combines both in this amicable exchange between himself and Kilner.
He is really losing it! #deciem #theordinary @B_TruthSleuth pic.twitter.com/lHVVKSjOya
— Leigh Reedy (@leighr1173) April 25, 2018
April 25: Truaxe Urges Followers to Call 911
In the most disturbing incident to date, Truaxe posted a now-deleted video to Instagram urging his followers to call 911. He tagged the location of the video as a small airport and there appears to be an issue with his baggage. In the background, a man referred to as Jonathan can be heard saying, “I’m trying to help you, Brandon. You need to calm down. You’ll end up getting killed.” Truaxe, looking directly into the camera, responds, “This is abuse. Please tell them I was getting sued and this is going to go on the Deciem Instagram account in exactly one minute.” In a second deleted video he leaves comments under the post continuing to ask his followers to call 911. In his urgency, he also manages to include tree and camel emojis. He adds, “They have my luggage” and “Call police.”
Don’t Burn After Reading. September(ish). 😛🌳
A post shared by THE ABNORMAL BEAUTY COMPANY (@deciem) on Apr 25, 2018 at 8:07am PDT
April 25: Don’t Burn After Reading?
After a pretty terrifying string of posts, Truaxe posts another video later in the day. Still in the same outfit, he smiles widely at the camera and teases some sort of new product. “Don’t burn after reading,” he says and captions the post with an emoji sticking out its tongue. There is literally no explanation or even mention of the previous posts, a choice with led confused followers to become frustrated. “Is this some elaborate performance art? Like, what the fuck,” said one Reddit user in response to the videos. Another commented about Truaxe’s lack of respect for the police, “Why in God’s name does he think it’s ok to clog up the system with 100’s if not 1000’s of his followers calling the police?”
👊🏼🍼💚
A post shared by THE ABNORMAL BEAUTY COMPANY (@deciem) on Apr 26, 2018 at 11:55am PDT
April 26: Truaxe Goes on a Rant
Following the baffling events of the day before, Truaxe returns to Instagram to rant about the criticism he’s received, “I’m just really enjoying reading all the idiots that write on Instagram and all the sloppy journalists that can’t even afford their phone bills who are saying that I’ve got mental health issues.” He then threatens to sue all of the “vultures.”
💙🦋
A post shared by THE ABNORMAL BEAUTY COMPANY (@deciem) on Apr 27, 2018 at 5:47am PDT
April 27: The End of the Road?
Racked gained access to a series of emails Truaxe sent to all of his Deciem employees, attorneys and to Leonard Lauder and Estée Lauder executives. In them he writes, “I’m done with DECIEM and EVERYTHING. No need to discuss.” He also posts a video to Instagram telling his followers he loves them and that he is going home.
🦆💚
A post shared by THE ABNORMAL BEAUTY COMPANY (@deciem) on Apr 28, 2018 at 3:09pm PDT
April 28: … Or Not?
In a post the next day, Truaxe walks around New York City and hurriedly mentions some new products he has coming out. It seems that rumours of him leaving weren’t true after all? He says one of the products is a, “quote on quote bleaching cream.” This references the incident in which Truaxe was accused of racism a few months back. When he talks about it, his eyes go wide and it seems like he’s joking around. It’s a move that seems pretty immature and insensitive. He also spends time talking about Trump Tower.
Do Not Burn Before Hearing. It’s a film. 🌳… 😜🍼👊🏾🍆♥️💙🐪🦋👊🏼💜🎂😢😁🤬😜… 🍆🍼💜😢😜……………,,,,,,,,,, [shh…ad up ). 🦋💙
A post shared by THE ABNORMAL BEAUTY COMPANY (@deciem) on May 1, 2018 at 4:18pm PDT
May 1: Burn After Reading Explained?
In a new video, Truaxe wanders around his hotel room talking a mile a minute. “I don’t support Trump, or whatever, maybe I do,” he says at one point. In a whispery voice he goes up to a wall and says, “Something’s behind this room. I’m going to figure it out with a shot of this pill they gave me… I don’t know, they keep restocking my mini bar.” Then he’s suddenly talking about a movie and hysterically laughing. It seems to have something to do with his Burn After Reading post. It’s all very confusing.
Hi everyone—I love you. I’m sharing with you here an email from me that is very serious. While this email answers many questions, it leaves many more questions unanswered because I and we are still cleaning our home to make our small world “a better place for you and for me”. 💚💚🌳
A post shared by THE ABNORMAL BEAUTY COMPANY (@deciem) on May 23, 2018 at 6:09am PDT
May 23: Problems Beneath the Surface?
In this quick video Truaxe alerts followers that he’s found some “really bad wrongdoings” from some of Deciem’s shareholders. He doesn’t elaborate further but says, “It’s a serious matter. This is not games.”
I love you, and you @deciemchatroom. 💚🌳
A post shared by THE ABNORMAL BEAUTY COMPANY (@deciem) on May 25, 2018 at 6:53am PDT
May 25: Get Your Product Info Elsewhere
With followers continually asking for more product information on the Deciem Instagram page, Truaxe posts a response making it clear that the Deciem page does have info but to ideally go to other sources. “It’s better to find it on other channels, because if you read it here, you probably won’t trust it as much,” he says. Interesting marketing tactic…
@richardbranson, I’ll forever owe you, possibly without you ever knowing that I do. Everyone—I’m not on “drugs” or “mentally”-incapacitated. I simply love @richardbranson and I am simply telling you and @richardbranson that I love @richardbranson. Simple, complicated matters beside a beautiful Kasbah Tamadot which is across a river from a village that represents the birthplace of the thought of avestan.com about a decade ago. [Ali—the story of Avestan will never change. Wake up please. 🧡❤️🌳]. @richardbranson: 💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚❤️🌳
A post shared by THE ABNORMAL BEAUTY COMPANY (@deciem) on May 26, 2018 at 4:36am PDT
May 26: “I’m Not on Drugs”
In a quick post, in which Truaxe professes his love for Richard Branson, he clarifies in his caption, “I’m not on ‘drugs’ or ‘mentally’-incapacitated.”
The odd thing about our new lab that’s under construction now in Toronto’s beautiful Liberty Village is that it’s larger than our entire current headquarters (or tail-quarters because Brandon doesn’t have a head and we believe in him 😛). It may just seem “odd”, but imagine how comical it’d seem if you were a competitor wasting time with a bunch of fake accounts here “bashing” us for no valid reason at all while we are peacefully, but not gracefully at all, turning the beauty business on its ugly head so it becomes a beautiful business itself. 💚🌳
A post shared by THE ABNORMAL BEAUTY COMPANY (@deciem) on May 28, 2018 at 8:24am PDT
May 28: Truaxe Calls out a Mystery Competitor 
In a post dedicated to Deciem’s new lab in Toronto, Truaxe segways into some sort of weird hypothetical, “Imagine how comical it’d seem if you were a competitor wasting time with a bunch of fake accounts here “bashing” us for no valid reason at all.” We have to wonder which skincare competitor he’s referring to. Who’s out to get him? Where’s the proof? Why post it on this picture? So many questions!
Our co-worker is back—but never behind. We love you, @nicolalkilner. You’ll always be our only 🐌—and always stronger than any 🐅 can ever hope to be or become. 🧡💛🌕😜
A post shared by THE ABNORMAL BEAUTY COMPANY (@deciem) on Jul 3, 2018 at 7:04am PDT
July 3: Kilner Reinstated as Co-CEO
After a month of Instagram calm and a feed full of products, Deciem was back in the news again. This time, however, it was for the announcement of Nicola Kilner’s return. 2018 has been a pretty wild ride for Deciem so far and the year is far from over, but Kilner’s return seems to be a positive step forwards. Even so, speculation still surrounds the Abnormal Beauty Company. From the negative Glassdoor Reviews to the collection of deleted Instagram posts, customers aren’t 100% sure what to believe or think about Deciem. One thing that’s never been in question is the quality of the products, which is perhaps why customers are so involved in all the controversy. At the end of the day, when the head of a company takes over its social media and uses it as their own personal account, there’s almost always going to be drama. And it doesn’t seem like Truaxe is ready to give up the reigns any time soon.
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