NIOD: Brand Review & Bestsellers – Before/after Pictures

NIOD is a brand of DECIEM, which also includes Hylamide, The Chemistry Brand and The Ordinary in its offering. DECIEM is a Canadian company based in Toronto. All products are still manufactured in Canada.

The history of DECIEM

The story of DECIEM is the story of its founder Brandon Truaxe, who unfortunately passed away too soon. After several years at Indeed Labs, he decided to leave and found his own company DECIEM (Latin word which means TEN like TEN brands that he will create). Because of his former experience at Indeed Labs, he had a 3-year non-competition clause, forbidding him to create any face product. So instead, Brandon launched food supplement products, body and hair products. Success was immediate with The Chemistry Brand. His anti-aging hand cream is so effective that women also use it for facial wrinkles.

During interviews, journalists regularly asked Brandon if he used his own products and the answer was negative. Because Brandon was in the lab all the time, he had access to the most advanced technology

After a few years of “do you use your own products?”, Brandon launched NIOD, that was his answer. He could say that he used SS, CAIS and MMHC from Niod.

NIOD is the acronym for Non-Invasive Options in Dermal Science which also suggests it is as effective as invasive options.

At the beginning, he did not expect such a craze for Niod, because NIOD is intended primarily for the very specific demands of Brandon and his collaborators, a kind of cosmetics for cosmetic geeks. NIOD is aimed at a niche: skincare-addicts who are looking for products with long-term effects, who like to read labels & decipher ingredients, while trying to understand how such and such active ingredient penetrates to the skin, and how it remains stable in its container and on the skin.

But the users have decided: CAIS received many positive reviews and cosmetic awards.

Brandon notes that many cosmetic brands tout the merits of active ingredients that have been known for ages, such as Vitamin C or niacinamide, and talk about them as if they were a novelty and sell them at a high price.

On the other hand, NIOD which is a real bomb in the industry, with advanced technologies of several years, isn’t appreciated at its true value. So he decided to launch The Ordinary, the 11th brand, with very accessible prices to show us “look, ingredients as old as the world are cheap. If NIOD’s price is so high, it’s because there’s real technology behind it, and expensive ingredients”.

The Ordinary’s best-selling serum, Niacinamide 10% + Zinc 1% costs $1 in ingredients and DECIEM sells it for $5.6 while still making money (Brandon revealed The Ordinary had more margins than Niod).

The genius behind The Ordinary is to get the public interested in active ingredients, and then get them interested in Niod. This strategy worked very well for me anyway, after being bluffed by The Ordinary Buffet + Copper Peptides 1%, I wanted to look for a better formulated product and I bought my first NIOD CAIS 2

In short, if The Ordinary only sells highly concentrated active ingredients and some very old ones, Niod (and Hylamide) offer fully formulated products, highly concentrated in innovative active ingredients.

NIOD is Brandon’s vision. It is the brand that resembles him the most, NIOD is the ideal of cosmetics according to him.

While with The Ordinary, for business reasons, he has released products to please users that he doesn’t believe in, such as highly concentrated AHA + BHA acids and retinols.

Is it effective?

I just put the picture before/after 3 weeks of using CAIS 2 and MMHC 2 to repair my skin barrier (complete routine here). That’s why I rushed to buy lots of other NIOD products. I hope I don’t shock anyone. It’s my skin, it’s not perfect but it’s healing. The pimples have disappeared even though there are days when I wear the mask all day long. The maskne is behind me alleluia, I just have to take care of PIH now.

Niod Bestsellers

If you don’t want pay for a PhD to understand and use these products, here is a simple description of NIOD’s best products, where reviews are almost unanimous on their effectiveness.

This is a summary of the notes I took after reading many blogs, forums… and watching many videos that I was able to consult before choosing the products to buy for me at NIOD.

The products are already indicated in the order of application

Note: this post is NOT sponsored

Check their official website for more details

NIOD products are classified into 4 categories:

1. CORE REGIMEN: these are basic products, which all skins need
2. SUPPORT REGIMEN: these are products that correct a specific problem: pigmentation, congested skin, texture…
3. SURVIVAL: products protecting the skin against external aggressions, they are full of antioxidants
4. YEŠTI: formulations grouped under the code name YEŠTI. These are very deep cleaning products

Categorizing these products makes browsing even more difficult and confuses users. So I just mentioned it in case you’re wondering, but I’ll just going to list the bestsellers, without considering categories here.

Step 1: Facial cleansing

Step 2: Serums

FECC – FRACTIONATED EYE CONTOUR CONCENTRATE

• Eye Concentrate
• Is not intended for signs of aging (for aging, CAIS 2 and MMHC2 can be used on your eye contour too)
• It is intended only for pockets, dark circles & fine dehydration lines
• Can be used generously, without stinging the eyes
• General opinion: people are delighted and see a real difference with this product
• pH: 4.00-5.00
• Price : 51€ for 15ml (Deciem link), 39,16€ or -25% with the code NEWFAN on Lookfantastic (link)

In the evening only

Step 3 : Emulsion / cream

MG – MODULATING GLUCOSIDES

• Skin barrier repair emulsion
• Reduces signs of irritation, discomfort, redness, rosacea
• Highly concentrated product: 4 drops are enough for the whole face
• does not contain niacinamide or hyaluronic acid
• General opinion: Skin with rosacea loves this product.
• pH: 4.50-5.50
• Price : 27€ for 30ml (Deciem link), 19,16€ or -25% with the code NEWFAN on Lookfantastic (link)

Niod sells the HV – Hydration Vaccine which seals in hydration. It isn’t moisturizing, it only helps sealing the hydration, and is recommended to extremely dehydrated skin. Reviews are mixed on this product, so I advise you to use your current moisturizer.

Recommended Routines

In short, here are the NIOD products which are unique and truly innovative.
The order of application of NIOD products is clearly indicated in the routines below
.

Note: NIOD products are so liquid that you should not be afraid to use several products at once. Everything will be absorbed.
However, you should only use 3 to 4 drops per product because they are very concentrated. Discreet smell (no added fragrance).

Anti-ageing Routine
Morning: SDSM 2 – CAIS 2 – MMHC 2 – NEC – MG – moisturizing cream with sun protection
Evening : Make-up removal – SS (every other day) – CAIS 2 – MMHC 2 – NAAP – NEC – MG – moisturizing cream

Rosacea / Acne Routine
Morning: SDSM 2 – CAIS 2 – MMHC 2 – MG – moisturizing cream with sun protectionEvening
: Make-up Removal – SS (every other day) – CAIS 2 – MMHC 2 – MG – acne treatment on pimples + moisturizing cream

Damaged skin barrier Routine
Morning: SDSM 2 – CAIS 2 – MMHC 2 – MG – S20
Evening : Make-up removal – SS (one day out of three) – SDSM 2 – CAIS 2 – MMHC 2 – MG – S0

Hyperpigmentation Routine

Morning: SDSM 2 – CAIS 2 – PR – MMHC 2 – MG – S20
Evening: Make-up Removal – SS (every other day) – CAIS 2 – RP – MMHC 2 – NAAP – MG – moisturizer – S0

What to buy?

I highly recommend

1. SS – SANSKRIT SAPONINS (detailed opinion)
2. CAIS 2 – COPPER AMINO ISOLATE SERUM 2:1 (detailed opinion)
3. S0 – SURVIVAL 0 (detailed opinion)

Then, two other products that I really appreciate, whose effect is visible in the long term, are :

1. NAAP – NON-ACID ACID PRECURSOR 15% (visible effect from 2 weeks, more details here)
2. MMHC 2 – MULTI-MOLECULAR HYALURONIC COMPLEX (detailed advice here, if the skin is already moisturized, no effect at all but it’s the only hyaluronic acid serum to be so liquid, it’s great to spread on other layers of product)

Personally, I bought SS – CAIS 2 – PR – MMHC 2 – NAAP – S0 and recently S20
I complete the rest (make-up remover, active ingredients, moisturizing pimple treatment cream) with my anti-acne routine or my simplified “skin barrier” routine here

Where to buy NIOD?

1. You can buy it directly on the official NIOD website here. It’s a site that I highly recommend, I’ve placed several orders with them, they have more stock than resellers, but moreover, the delivery is free and fast (from the UK), no customs fees. Moreover, if you aren’t satisfied with the product (especially at this price), you can send it back to them within 365 days of purchase and get a refund even for products that have been opened (the product must be at least 50% full). Pay for all your purchases on the official website with Paypal, so Paypal will also reimburse you for the return shipping costs
2. There is a site, where the offer is less abundant (for example most of the products are in 15ml and not 30ml) but the price is systematically lower than the official site, it is Lookfantastic. It is an official reseller. They often have offers (for example at the moment, it’s -20% on the whole site). You can look at NIOD products on lookfantastic here. Shipping is from the UK, and free for all orders > 40€. I recommend you to choose this solution only if you have already tested the product, because returns aren’t accepted.
3. If ever the products are out of stock at these two sites, you can always count on FeelUnique, another official reseller. The price is a bit higher but you have -10% for life on your two favorite brands, so don’t hesitate to choose Niod among these two brands. I can also refer you on FeelUnique (click here)

How do I place an order?

Go to the official NIOD website here.

The package is shipped from the UK so this number allows you to track the package to the UK/FR border.

Once the parcel arrives in France, either Chronopost or Colissimo will take over. You will then receive an email from Chronopost or La Poste with the tracking number and a more precise delivery date. As it happens from the UK, the average delivery time is 4-5 working days and without any customs fees.

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All products are closed with a protective cap. It is very easy to know if a product is fake or already opened or not. Have a look at the pictures.
Before the opening, the tablet is gray. After opening, you can see NIOD written everywhere on the tablet. It is impossible to stick the pastille back on and lie and say that the package is “new never opened”.

Note: keep your NIOD boxes, they are super nice, solid and allow you to store your The Ordinary / NIOD products