Tragic story behind founder of skincare brand The Ordinary
We all know cult beauty brand The Ordinary, but do you know the heartbreaking story of its founder?
Iranian-Canadian entrepreneur Brandon Truaxe first came onto the beauty scene after co-founding DECIEM The Abnormal Beauty Company in 2012.
He had the world at his fingertips and one of the hottest beauty brands on the market but then, in 2019, his sudden death would shock the world.
Well, here's what happened.
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Truaxe was born in Tehran on 19 June 1978, and his family moved to Canada in 1995. He went on to study computer science at the University of Waterloo, graduating in 2001.
After graduating, Truaxe's love of skincare began to shine through and he founded a few companies, before co-founding DECIEM in 2012, which led to the development of the cult brand, The Ordinary in 2016.
The revolutionary, simple-ingredient beauty company released a line of 27 products, a testament to the care and effort the founder placed into his brand.
The company was doing spectacularly well, earning rave reviews from celebs and the public alike - and it seemed as if The Ordinary and DECIEM were going from strength to strength.
So much so, in June 2017, as sales climbed, beauty giant the Estée Lauder Company announced that they had taken a minority stake.
And Truaxe kept his fans updated via Instagram, but in 2018 his posts became erratic.
He ended collaborations with brands, called the beauty industry a scam, and in October announced he was shutting down operations.
"This is the final post of Deciem, which we will shut down all operations until further notice, which will be about two months. Please take me seriously," he wrote.
The 3,000-word letter was later deleted and Estée Lauder was successful in suing Truaxe and having him forced out of the company that October.
In December 2018, it was revealed that the co-founded had been hospitalised for various mental health concerns.
A month later, he died at the age of 40, with Canada's National Post saying that: "it is understood he fell from a condominium building near Toronto’s downtown."
The company took to Instagram to issue a statement when he died, saying: "Brandon, our founder and friend. You touched our hearts, inspired our minds and made us believe that anything is possible.
"Thank you for every laugh, every learning and every moment of your genius. Whilst we can’t imagine a world without you, we promise to take care of each other and will work hard to continue your vision. May you finally be at peace. Love, (forever) your DECIEM."
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Shola Lee