Why Makeup Queen Desi Perkins Goes Bare-Faced On Instagram

Quarantine forced many people to rethink their values and reevaluate their priorities. For influencer, YouTuber, and Dezi Skin founder Desi Perkins, the definition of beauty itself has evolved since becoming a mom and taking a breather from wearing makeup every day. The most beautiful thing about a person, to her, all lies in their character.

“I think [what makes] a person beautiful [...is] amazing energy,” Perkins tells me over Zoom. “They make me feel good about myself. They're very confident and it doesn't have anything to do with outer appearance. It really just comes down to who you are as a person.”

She hopes to teach her 9-month-old son Ocean to be someone who uplifts others. “I look at him all the time and I just say, ‘You're just going to be so kind. You are going to be the person that sticks up for someone if they get bullied,’” she says.

The goal of making people feel good is the reason why she opted for launching her skin care line Dezi Skin over a cosmetics collection; she wanted to create a product that inspires her followers to celebrate their natural features. “I wanted people to feel very comfortable in their own skin. I know, at times, for people that can be really difficult. Even for me, there are times where it's hard,” she says.

While she still loves a good beat, Perkins knows the importance of keeping it real. “I show myself on stories like this, not always done up — most of the time I'm not — and people let me know that that makes them feel better about themselves: just being bare-faced and being okay with that. So I carried that messaging on into skin care and really being about taking care of yourself.”

Dezi Skin launched with a single product — the Claro Que C Vitamin C Glow Serum — instead of debuting an entire line to ease people into her brand. “If you buy multiple skin care [products] and try it all at once, you're not going to know what's actually working for your skin and what isn't,” she says. “So for this particular product, I felt it was really important to get people to know how this reacts with their skin and then move forward into more.”

On Tuesday, July 28, she debuted the second product: the Dew Me Over Prep, Set, & Refresh Continuous Mist. Formulated with nourishing and brightening ingredients like vitamin C and hyaluronic acid, it hydrates and protects your skin from environmental stressors while also giving you a natural-looking, dewy glow.

The former pro makeup artist definitely hasn’t given up on cosmetics; she’s loving the blush renaissance that’s happening all over social media. “I think it's so pretty and fresh,” she says. She recommends using liquid or cream blushes over powder ones (her go-to is the NARS liquid blush and a new fave is the Freck Beauty Cheekslime Blush + Lip Tint). No blush? No problem. “I have used my lipstick for my lip, and then I'll use it on my cheeks. It gives this really nice monochromatic look.”

You can find the Dezi Skin Claro Que C Vitamin C Glow Serum and Dew Me Over Prep, Set, & Refresh Continuous Mist now on deziskin.com.