How to Spend $100 at Deciem

Be your own chemist at the skin care company’s first Midwestern outpost.

By Heidi Mitchell

Published Friday at 2:10 p.m.

Rare is the beauty brand that strips away the adspeak and just gives customers what they need. Founded in 2013 in Toronto, Deciem does just that, taking well-studied, effective ingredients and presenting them in their purest form without expensive marketing campaigns or gimmicky packaging. The company’s ninth U.S. location opened here in February, filling a 1,000-square-foot space with shelves upon shelves of serums, mists, hydrators, and masks that start at less than $4 but are as potent as any you’d find for 10 times the price at a duty-free shop at O’Hare. Super knowledgeable staff will school you on which products from the nine in-house lines will calm your troubled skin. Pop in to try geek-friendly hyaluronic acid (for hydration), copper amino isolates (to stimulate collagen), and vitamin C (for brightening) — or just to check out the fabulously restored 1880s brick building. 1401 N. Milwaukee Ave., Wicker Park