Ep 49 Remembering Brandon Truaxe, Founder of Deciem & The Ordinary

In honour of the untimely passing of Brandon Truaxe, we are re-releasing our original episode in conversation with the brilliant mind behind Deciem and The Ordinary. We had the privilege of hearing the complete backstory behind the founder’s remarkable career, from his childhood to his first high school job to studying computer engineering to walking away from two beauty businesses before making headlines and commanding 25,000 + people wait-lists with his “Abnormal Beauty Company”.

When The Ordinary launched in 2016, never before had such incredible formulations, centred around hero ingredients like vitamin C and retinol, been delivered in minimalist packaging at rock-bottom prices. (When we asked him about this blockbuster, budget-friendly creation de-throning prestige skincare 10 times its price, he said: “There’s nothing luxurious about being taken for an idiot.”) As evidenced in this episode recorded when Brandon was at the top of his game, the controversial innovator was funny, brilliant and sensitive. His radical transparency would earn him a cult of skincare fans—and some trolls. But his passion for doing right by the customer never wavered, and his genius will never be forgotten.

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