Over the years, beauty influencer and content creator?Desi Perkins?has shared everything from home decor tips to pregnancy details with her more than 4.4 million Instagram followers and her 3.2 million YouTube subscribers. But it was a how-to video about naturally covering up blemishes that inspired her to venture beyond the screen.
“Everyone struggles with skin issues, so showing natural solutions and a healthy skin regimen really resonated with my audience,” Perkins explains. “I quickly realized that I was hooked on skin care and would someday create a line.”
She launched?Dezi Skin?in April 2021. And although the brand is aimed at all skin types and tones, it specializes in ingredients based on her Mexican heritage. “I believe the best ingredients are from the land, and Mexico has an abundance of natural resources that have been used for centuries in traditional remedies,” she says. She notes that a “Dezi Fruit Juice” blend — a mixture of Mexican plum fruit, dragon fruit, acai berry, tamarind, mango, soursop, guava and avocado — is included in every product.
The married mother of two has been interested in organic skin care since she was a young girl in Los Angeles. “My mom has always been a strong influence in regards to inner and outer beauty,” she says. “I remember aloe vera was the answer to everything — we’d grow the plant in the backyard and cut it open to use on our body and face. My family also boiled guava leaves and put the water on our skin.”
That’s why, she adds, her motto is “Be creative!” She even has a tattoo on her wrist emblazoned with the word “create.” “It reminds me to keep innovating and moving forward,” she says. “I think people are afraid to evolve, especially with their personal beauty routines.”
Ahead, the founder of Dezi and Dezi Skin shares her beauty essentials with CNN Underscored.
Perkins shares that she’s been using this soft (and super-affordable!) matte lip cream for years to achieve that perfect, creamy-colored nude lip. “It’s really high on my list,” she says. Each of the brand’s 18 pigments is named after a cosmopolitan city. Her go-to shade??London.?
Related: The 20 best red lipsticks of 2023, according to experts
The overnight moisture sleep mask — infused with a fruit extract combo and vitamin C — tightens and revitalizes skin for a radiant complexion in the morning. “It’s especially great before a big event because the results are pretty instant,” she says. “I sleep with it and wake up with plumper and hydrated skin.”
Related: The 16 best peptide skin care products for plumper skin
Officially, this toxin-free gel is designed to leave curls soft, shiny and crunch-and frizz-free. But Perkins says she squeezes a dab into her palm and uses it in “multiple” ways. “It’s my absolute favorite to get that slicked-back look,” she says. It’s also the secret ingredient to her sleek updo style.?
Related: The 20 best air-dry creams for frizz-free hair, according to experts
Perkins keeps fresh with an antiperspirant free of aluminum salts, parabens and baking soda. (Her?preferred scent?is a blend of eucalyptus, spearmint and cedarwood.) “It actually works,” Perkins says.??
Perkins raves that this mascara is “the best on the market.” For starters, “it has a small brush so it gets into every lash and it does not transfer onto the lower lash line,” she says. The smudge-proof, carbon black formula is also sweat and humidity resistant, washable with warm water and can last for up to 16 hours.?
Related: 19 smudge-proof mascaras, according to experts
Good to the last drop: The refreshing and invigorating aroma from this herb brings a cooling sensation to the skin when applied topically and can help revive depleted energy when inhaled deeply, among other benefits. Perkins says she keeps a bottle of the oil in her purse. “It helps me with nausea and migraines.”?
“It’s the fastest and easiest way to get those perfect waves in my hair,” Perkins says of this 1.25-inch, ceramic-coated triple-barrel tool, which creates a crease-less tousled style. It’s also easy to pack, thanks to a removable handle.
Related: The 15 best heat protectant sprays, creams and oils for all hair types
