Content creator Debasree Banerjee on creating a community and using makeup as a therapeutic tool

With protective face masks being the norm, switching up your eye makeup has never been more important now. Lipsticks are likely to slip-slide under a mask, and a sharp contour will get hidden (and smudged too!). You could play it safe—a simple cat-eye will never do you wrong—but if you have the inclination to try something new, this is the time to do it. If you're looking for out-of-the-box eye makeup inspiration, a quick scroll through Debasree Banerjee's Instagram will give you the push you've been looking for to try something really fun. The content creator has used every colour in her palettes, whether it is a subtle wash of orange or a graphic line in a bright blue. “Makeup is therapeutic for me, and I love colours. While playing around, I really got into fun bold looks on my lids. I wanted to break the stereotype and make these fun colours more wearable,” she says. We spoke to her about her love for makeup, the content she loves to create, and the impetus for creating her own brand, Debasree Beauty.

On building a community

For Banerjee, creating content was a way to create a community of people that could share in the love for makeup artistry. “I used to watch a lot of YouTube videos and follow influencers that recommended products that I would actually go and buy like it was a suggestion from one of my friends. I wanted to do the same—be someone's sister or friend," she says. Now, on her YouTube channel and Instagram feed, with 232,000 and 304,000 followers apiece, fans and friends tune in to get a sneak-peek of Banerjee's hauls, days in her life and tutorials. She'll share the beauty product she loves—"lipstick and mascara" and the trends she's not a fan of—"when you use a lot of foundation and blend it with your hands, or when you use lipstick as an under-eye colour corrector," as well as workout photos, travel snaps and personal sneak-peeks. But while the follower count keeps ticking up, she still uses her social media as a platform to channel her creativity: “playing with makeup makes me feel magical. It is an expression and interpretation of my current mood."

On creating her own makeup line

After years of testing the best makeup and skincare picks available on the market, Banerjee was ready to create the exact product she was looking for. Enter: D/Fine, which a cream formula that is activated with water to create a high-intensity pigment that you can control, build and layer to create any eyeliner look you're trying to create, with no smudging, bleeding or fall-out. “I wanted to give people the courage to experiment with makeup, and subvert what we consider ‘normal’ in terms of makeup," she says. “People often ask if I actually go out wearing the intense looks I create, and most of the time, my reply is a definite yes, because there's nothing stopping me from wearing something out of the ordinary." Plus, she doesn't think that makeup necessarily needs to be conventionally pretty or easy to pull off. “Your skin can be a medium to create art,” she says.

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