It was 2012 when Desi Perkins, a cocktail server at the time, did her husband’s Halloween makeup and wound up getting bookings as a makeup artist. From there, she started making YouTube videos and her platform took off (she now boasts 3.32 million followers on Youtube alone). Now, the beauty vlogger is launching a much anticipated skincare brand, Dezi Skin, starting with just one product—the Claro Que C Vitamin C Serum.
“Even though I entered into the beauty world with makeup, I have always understood the importance of skincare,” Perkins tells Glam. “As my career started to grow, it became increasingly important to be transparent with my followers and show them more of my authentic self. This meant showing them my face without makeup and also exposing them to my everyday life—not just the glamorous parts.”
“The more I started to show my authentic self, the more I became interested in the power of skincare,” she adds. “While I do love makeup, there is power in loving myself without it, and it became clear to me that I wanted other people to experience the same love for their skin.”
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Perkins began working on the brand two years ago and describes the process as both fun and challenging. “It definitely took a lot of patience and trials and testing,” she says, stressing that she was more than happy to take her time. “I never wanted to rush it. Speed to market was not important to me. I really wanted to develop something that would truly improve the skin.”
That said, she knows you might not be so sure of the product’s efficacy. ”I’m aware that a lot of people are skeptical of influencer beauty products and wanted to take the time to create a formula that performed really well,” Perkins says. “The most important thing was that the formula actually worked and that people would see a difference in their skin.”
To create the formula, she studied the different forms of vitamin C (there are quite a few of them) and landed on THD ascorbate, an increasingly popular, oil-soluble, stable form of the skin superhero. Vitamin C is widely known for its brightening and has been shown to impede melanin production, helping to fade dark spots and give skin a natural glow.
That’s exactly what the Dezi Skin Claro Que C Vitamin C Serum promises. “Being Latina, my skin has always been more prone to hyperpigmentation and dark spots, so I wanted my first product to address those issues head-on with my favorite ingredient, vitamin C,” she explains in a press statement. “It’s truly changed my skin and now I can’t live without it!”
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Perkins also wanted the formula to pay homage to her Mexican heritage (note the Spanglish play on words in the serum’s name, too). “I sourced natural fruit extracts and created an antioxidant ‘juice,’ which is in the formula at active levels, not just low markeing levels,” she says. The blend includes a cocktail of Mexican plum fruit, dragon fruit, acai berry, tamarind, mango, soursop, guava, and avocado extracts.
Two other points of pride for Perkins are the serum’s texture and the brand’s polished look. Of the texture, she says, “It is not sticky or tacky at all. It has a little bit of body when you pump it onto your finger or cheek, but then completely melts the moment you start pressing it into your skin. It’s a really wonderful, sensorial experience.”
As for the brand look and feel, she adds, “I’m very drawn to natural elements and neutral colors. I wanted the brand to feel calm but not boring; inviting but also powerful.” It’s her attention to detail that kept her from launching more than one product to start. Two years in the making, she wanted to create a beautiful skincare experience while also delivering a product that would really work for her following.
And her patience seems to be paying off. Less than 24 hours since the serum debuted, the serum is already almost sold out. (Expect a restock in two weeks). Though the line is kicking off with just the one skincare staple, Perkins says “a lot of incredible products are on the way.”
Shop the Claro Que C Serum ($64) today at deziskin.com.
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