The Deciem is not an Asian Beauty brand but this blog isn’t an Asian Beauty-only blog. I have a heavy preference to review Asian beauty products because of advanced innovation, affordability and unique ingredients that promise effectiveness and The Deciem — hailing from Toronto, Canada — aims to do just that. Not only does The Deciem focus its marketing angle that it’s a “skintellect”, but it strives to educate its consumers with tons of skincare science tidbits so they can make informed decisions. And because there’s minimal marketing BS, the 10 or so brands under The Deciem are remarkably affordable AF, particularly The Ordinary which runs from $6 – $15 per bottle. I’ve been seeing these bottles everywhere on Instagram but never knew they were so affordable until someone wrote out the price. I happen to visit Toronto this summer so of course I’m doing a photo tour of the Bay Street location! There currently aren’t any New York City locations opened yet but from my maniacal Googling, NYC’s first store will open soon in 2017 across Bryant Park at 475 5th Ave! Learn more about The Ordinary and the other brands coming out of The Deciem by clicking through. Also remember that they ship internationally and Standard Shipping is only $4.99 to the states or it’s free for orders over $25!
Getting There/Location
Toronto Yorkville
1240 Bay St. Unit 113
Toronto, Ontario M5R 2A7
Canada
TheDeciem.com
While the address says its on Bay Street, it’s actually located inside a shopping mall and the The Deciem unit is located on Bellair and Cumberland cross streets. It has a cheeky sign that says it’s “NOT BAY 1” in that it’s NOT a subway entrance because the real Bay Station entrance is next to it. As a tourist, I opted to go to the Yorkville location because it was close to Bloor Street, a popular high-end shopping area with Gucci, Holt Renfrew, Roots, J. Crew, Aritzia and more retail therapy. From there, I walked down Yonge Street to find more shops but I think you can also walk down Queens Park for a look at nature. I also walked to Joe Fresh (now closed in the states) and then to Allan Gardens as they had free admission to see their public greenhouses.
Shopping mall at 1240 Bay Street, you have to walk toward Bellair Street for The Deciem.
“NOT a subway entrance people!” I think it should say “We have acid” instead. Skincare jokes anyone?
SQUEE!!!
::Heavy breathing on window::
There are plenty of other locations planted in high-traffic areas. There was a closer store on Queen Street (popular shopping street) near my Airbnb however it looked closed for renovation. If you’re going to be near the Distillery District, I would go to The Deciem location there because it’s the biggest one! Check out The Deciem’s Instagram video of it! I didn’t know it was there until I already left as it’s not located near the major walkway.
A Little More About The Brand
The Deciem is actually a parent company that will house a multitude of brands underneath it. In Latin, Deciem means ten so you would guess that there’s going to be ten brands but their website has a ton of “coming soon” labels and the biggest tease is the release of “Abnomaly”. Back to their most popular and accessible line, The Ordinary. As the name suggests, these items are made from ordinary, yet proven and powerful ingredients that will give you results. Their price points are very attractive because they won’t overprice their formulas since most skincare ingredients are commodities and made with commodity technologies. For example, Hyaluronic Acid costs the same for almost any skincare clinic to use, yet the final product price will change depending on the skincare brand that’s selling it, even if they use less of the ingredient. What’s worse is that the concentration of star ingredients from these expensive skincare companies aren’t even disclosed. This is why The Ordinary is self-described as “Clinical formulations with integrity” which is shown in their clear labeling, fair pricing and efforts in educating the public about skincare science.
In short, we have been overpaying for basic skincare and we need to get out of the retail Matrix.
So then why are the NIOD and Hylamide lines more expensive? As how the store rep explained it to me, The Ordinary focuses on immediate, short term results and each bottle is formulated with one goal instead of having multiple goals. For example, their “Lactic Acid 10% + HA 2%” is only meant to act as a direct acid with some ingredients to help soothe the irritation. This bottle is priced at $6.79 because there’s really only one main ingredient, Lactic Acid (a commodity). The only exception is the “Buffet” serum priced at $14.80, the most expensive in line because it’s the only bottle to have multi-technology peptides in one serum. The Ordinary is formulated for short-term effects like fine lines, brightening, and overall hydration. NIOD uses more advanced technologies and ingredients and has more antioxidants for better long-term skin health so you won’t see immediate results. Hylamide is a middle-ground between both short and long-term benefits of The Ordinary and NIOD.
Photo Tour & Recommendations
You can shop all brands under the same roof and each brand line pretty much fits on one shelf unit. I was surprised to see that their were a lot of sold-out items like the new serum foundations. I expected the stores to have more on hand but due to the popularity of the The Deciem lately, you won’t have luck at the brick and mortar stores either. The sales rep got many calls with customers asking to hold onto certain items and there were a ton of times she said there weren’t any more left. If an item was sold out, the price card was flipped over to its blank side and you won’t see any boxes behind the tester.
It certainly doesn’t.
The Ordinary! Testers galore. If there weren’t any boxes behind the tester, it was sold out. If you have trouble deciding, just get the “Buffet” which has a multitude of peptides for the most amount of skin benefits.
Oops blurry. The Glycolic Acid 7% Toning Solution was also sold out (biggest bottle in the middle)! 🙁 If your skin can tolerate direct acids, I would recommend this one. If you like Pixi’s Glow Tonic (at 5% Glycolic Acid), this one is even stronger.
With The Ordinary, since most of the bottles are one-dimensional with one goal, you can buy multiples and layer or even mix them together to create a customized routine. I’d consult with your sales rep and ask which ones you can mix if you have your eye on several bottles. It would help to know what your skin concerns is first so the rep can make recommendations.
The Vitamin C bottles were all there.
Vitamin C Suspension 23% is definitely gritty feeling with the HA Spheres. The newer Vitamin C Suspension 30% in Silicone was much smoother and less drippy than its predecessor.
The newest drops from The Ordinary – Serum Foundations.
Only $6.70 for foundation. Top Shelf is Serum Foundation (serum-like referring to its texture).
Lower Shelf: Coverage Foundation at $6.90. Notice all the missing boxes of sold out colors.
NIOD line on the table.
NIOD
Hylamide line on top. The SubQ (purple box) was very popular and multiple calls came in to hold it at the cashier. WhiteRX on bottom.
The Chemistry Brand for specific hand, foot and body hydration and other needs like inhibiting hair growth.
White Rx is their skin brightening line but…
…this wasn’t what I had in mind. This is a swatch of White Flash. A white flash indeed (too much Titanium Dioxide).
I really want to try their Stemm High Amino Acid Shampoo and Black Fulvic Conditioner!
Fountain is their dietary supplement line that you drink for better hair, better skin, what-have-you.
More Fountain drinks. Check out the Deciem’s Website for the full range.
More NIOD on top and HIF haircare on the bottom (professional hair care for very specific needs like color, density support, curl, anti-aging, etc).
Closer HIF look. I would get the anti-aging one for my mom when The Deciem opens in NYC.
More NIOD, but Sanskirt-wut?
AB Crew is designed more for fitness, there’s actual protein powder for sale. Shave cream, hair gel, after shave, and whatever-the-fuck Shredding Oil is. This is definitely a men’s line.
Store Experience
I wasn’t that familiar with all the brands under The Deciem when I went to Toronto in August but seeing everything displayed helped me get a taste of all their brands in one go. I loved getting to touch and smell everything in the store. While most of The Ordinary’s Colours (foundation) were sold out. The sales rep helped me pick out my shade so I could buy it at a later date when everything’s back in stock. There was a mirror and she was trained to swatch foundation along your jaw line and gave me a good second opinion. She also was able to explain the differences between each brand in laymen’s terms. There are small shopping baskets available and you can clearly see what items aren’t in stock because there wouldn’t be boxes behind the testers and the price label would be turned to its blank side. It’s a small store but it packs all of The Deciem’s brands just fine so there wasn’t a need for it to be bigger.
I think the only improvement is to have more literature/signs displayed at each brand shelf so customers can easily read the differences between each brand and/or product rather than ask a sales rep every time. I think having an iPad with descriptions and even a way to recommend products based on concerns would help the less informed because not everyone will come in knowing what they want or need. I remember I was Googling everything that seemed of interest on my phone but of course that was killing my data and battery so I only left with three bottles (but I wanted everything). I hope this is a sneak peek of what’s to come in the New York City location soon! I don’t have a date of the opening yet look out on The Deciem’s Instagram for more news! Are you excited? What are your favorites from The Deciem so far?
