Desi Perkins is due any day now. The 33-year-old entrepreneur with 4.2 million Instagram followers is expecting her first child and is well into her third trimester. She’s excited, of course, but also just ready to jump into motherhood.
“People say at the end you’re going to be like, ‘Get this baby out of me,’” Perkins tells Shondaland. “I always thought that I’d think, ‘No way.’ But now I’m at that point. I’m starting to feel a little heavier. I have to go to the bathroom twenty times a day. But the napping part is great because usually I’m not able to turn myself off.”
Not being able to switch off is a byproduct of being in the business of influencing. After all, as a popular Instagramer, your career is to share virtually every aspect of your life on social media. For “mega influencers” — those with one million followers or more — being an open book about anything and everything is part of the job description.
Perkins, who rose to social media stardom as a beauty vlogger on YouTube, was used to doling out makeup advice or her favorite fall fashion looks. But when she started opening up about her infertility struggles, something changed. Not just for her followers, but for herself, too.
“It had a lot of control over me because I was living this secret,” Perkins says. “I finally shared a little bit. I was very nervous. I got so much feedback and realized how many of my subscribers were actually suffering through infertility as well.”
That realization compelled Perkins to share even more about her infertility journey. She wanted to help destigmatize the subject, which is so often isolating and emotionally draining.
“I felt like, ‘Wow, what a disservice not only to myself because I’m letting this control me and I’m letting myself feel ashamed of this, but also to other women who are going through the exact same situation,’” she says. “You feel alone. But the minute I opened up, I stopped feeling alone altogether, which is such a powerful thing.”
You can’t always talk to friends about infertility, Perkins explains.
“They’re there, but they might not always understand,” she says. “The fact that I have this source of people also going through it — and I didn’t even know because I never talked about it — was so eye-opening. It doesn’t only make me feel more powerful, but it’s helping other people as well, and I’ve not been afraid of one thing since.”
Her fearlessness is evident in everything she does, from tackling traditionally taboo topics online to being one of the few Latina content creators with such a massive and loyal following. Her cultural identity is a key element that fuels her creativity. A skit she filmed with her husband, Steven Perkins, titled “Being married to a Latina” has garnered 7.4 million views on TikTok.
“Growing up I really needed someone to look up to that was like me,” she shares. “Especially when you’re Mexican-American, there are a lot of identity issues. They say you’re not Mexican enough, you’re not American enough. It’s really difficult to find that balance and just be who you are.” Today, Perkins has stepped into that role model position for Latinx youth who tell her that she’s the person they look up to. “It’s one of the best compliments I could get,” she says.
In addition to preparing for parenthood, Perkins is also preparing for her empire. Over the summer, she launched Dezi, her eponymous line of sunglasses that instantly sold out. Followers have been asking for restocks nonstop. Was she expecting this level of enthusiasm?
“I was not because I definitely would have pre-ordered more,” she says, laughing with a subtle air of disbelief. “With Covid going on, I was actually very nervous. I wasn’t sure how things would be selling.”
But when she began promoting the line, she saw the interest was still there. In fact, it was rock solid and growing by the second.
“I thought it wasn’t going to sell out,” Perkins reveals. “However, when we did sign-ups, I realized people were really excited. When the Instagram page grew so fast, I thought, ‘Oh my God, we didn’t order enough.’”
Perkins and her team are working overtime to finalize a restock, a process that’s prolonged by pandemic-related delays and obstacles. Currently, it looks like the in-demand sunglasses will return in mid-October, which also happens to be around Perkins’ due date.
“Apparently the restock is set to go live at the same time as my baby,” she says, chuckling a bit at the irony. “So this should be interesting for me.”
Eventually, the plan is for Dezi to expand beyond sunglasses. Perkins envisions the brand touching on all the aspects of her life that fans have come to associate with her: beauty, fashion, lifestyle. A big part of that brand evolution will be motherhood, too. She wants to make everything, from home décor to baby blankets.
“I just love to create, whatever it is,” Perkins says. “I love mixing textures and doing unexpected things. And then when you get that sample, it’s this incredible feeling. It’s almost like a high from something coming out exactly as you wanted.”
As it turns out, she’s working on a new project at this very moment. But she’s staying mostly mum about it, at least for now.
“There’s already something else coming down the way,” hints Perkins. “I’ve actually been working on two totally different categories.”
Whatever it is, flexing her creativity will be at the heart of it, just as it’s been for everything else she’s done so far.
“When I was younger, I wanted to do so many things,” she shares. “I said I was going to be a singer, a designer, an artist, this and that. I got a tattoo on my wrist years ago — before I even started all of this — that said ‘create’ to remind myself that’s what makes me happy. There’s so much I want to do, so I just look forward to the possibilities.”
Mekita Rivas is a Washington, D.C. based writer and editor. She primarily covers style, culture, and politics. In addition to Shondaland, her writing has been published in The Washington Post, Wine Enthusiast, Glamour, Brides, Refinery29, and others. Follow her on Twitter @MekitaRivas.
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