We recently connected with Dee and have shared our conversation below.
Dee, we’re so excited for our community to get to know you and learn from your journey and the wisdom you’ve acquired over time. Let’s kick things off with a discussion on self-confidence and self-esteem. How did you develop yours?
I believe it was always there. When I was a teenager, I was never that focused on dating or just validation from others in regards to my looks, so I was able to appreciate who I was as a person much more at a very formative time in my life. Of course, we all have insecurities, but I have always been a big proponent of the mantra, ‘fake it till you make it’ when it comes to building up confidence. Once you do this, it just comes naturally after some time. When you act like you’re the hottest person in the room, you will eventually be that girl.
Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?
I create beauty content that often revolves around makeup and fashion. I often also pull in inspiration from my Malayali Indian upbringing as well and try to pull this all together in the form of visual storytelling and photography. I also try my best to weave in my stance on important socio-political issues when I can.
Recently, I have wanted to expand my content in the form of reviews. I spend a lot of time going out to restaurants and music concerts. Music is also a big passion of mine and I wonder if this can be an organic way for me to weave that into my work.
Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
I believe you need drive, a real vision from the start, and to be less concerned with views. Focus more on what you want to say to your audience and really hone in on that. I believe ten years ago, this wasn’t the case because there were less folks online trying to make content, so you could figure it out as you went along. Now, since so much of the market is saturated, it’s a different ball game. I encourage folks to sit down and craft their vision, how they want to present it and also how they want to differentiate themselves from others in the space.
Okay, so before we go we always love to ask if you are looking for folks to partner or collaborate with?
I would love to collaborate with others. That is something I haven’t done enough of and I realize connecting and getting inspired by other artists and creatives is such a big part of the process. I would love to collaborate with those in the makeup and fashion space, as well as those who are in similar art activist spaces like myself. I think of creatives like Ravjot Mehek and Niha Elety. Their work is able to bring those two spaces together in a beautiful way.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.dutyfreedame.com
- Instagram: http://instagram.com/dutyfreedame
- Twitter: http://twitter.com/dutyfreedame
- Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@dutyfreedame
Image Credits
Cover Photo is taken by Ayman Visuals @aymanvisuals_ All other photos are taken by @dutyfreedame
