Charlotte Palermino of Dieux Skin on Building a “Skincare Congregation” and Why You Shouldn’t Stress About Achieving Perfect Skin

June 28, 2021

By: Alanna Martine Kilkeary | skincare.com by L'Oréal

Launching a successful skincare brand requires a lot more than just a pretty product. To Charlotte Palermino, co-founder of Dieux Skin, it also takes honesty, understanding and nuance, too. Ahead, she shares why building a skincare congregation is just as important as creating an effective product, gives us behind-the-scenes details about her notorious skincare-focused IGTVs, plus her advice for aspiring beauty entrepreneurs.

What was the concept behind Dieux Skin and what inspired you to start the brand?

Ultimately, we want people to understand skincare. We don’t want to scare you with misinformation or shame you into buying our products, we want you to see what our product does and if it matches up with what you want, you can buy it. In sharing the nuance of skincare, marketing and formulas, we hope we take some of the leaps of faith out of skincare.

What does a typical day look like for you?

I wake up and immediately make coffee. From there my day oscillates between calls, creating content and now that things are opening up, I’m starting to see friends again which is truly one of the most exciting things of this year.

We absolutely love your informative IGTVs and Reels — what's your favorite part about creating these videos and connecting with your skincare audience in this way?

What first started with me learning and just sharing what I was learning with whoever would listen has turned into this incredible community. People share with me their pain points in understanding skincare. The fact that I can help people figure out what works for them, what doesn't, and save them the stress associated with ‘perfect skin’ (which doesn't exist) is really incredible to me. It’s exciting and motivating to help people understand this industry, their skin and that less is more.

What does your personal skincare routine look like? And what's your favorite way to use the Dieux Forever Eye Masks and the Deliverance Serum?

AM: Splash face with water, Deliverance, Forever Eye Mask paired with Dr. Loretta Tightening Eye Gel, a moisturizer (I’m currently liking the Soon Jung 2x Barrier Repair Cream) and then SPF. I’m a forever stan of the Biore UV Aqua Rich Watery Essence, too.

PM: Double cleanse with Jordan Samuel Skin, Deliverance, .025% tretinoin, moisturizer and on non-tret nights, I’ll do a dab of Aquaphor on my forehead where it gets dry. My favorite way to use the eye mask is to do an eye treatment while I do my eye makeup.

How has working on Dieux Skin impacted your life, and what moment in your career are you most proud of so far?

I’ve become more patient. There are so many delays and unforeseen things that can happen when launching a product that all I can do is show up, do my best and support my team and never take out frustrations on my team. I’m so lucky and this is such a labor of love — I feel really grateful. The thoughtfulness and curiosity of our congregation always floors me. We are building such an inquisitive and kind community.

What does the future of Dieux Skin look like to you?

We want to keep listening to what people want in skincare, but what also promotes the integrity of people’s skin. I got my estheticians license this last year and the biggest takeaway is your skin is an organ, it’s not a trend. What can we do to support and innovate on skincare products that benefit it.

What's your advice for an aspiring beauty entrepreneur?

Understand what niche you’re filling in the space, get co-founders with different perspectives and experience and know it’s probably a good idea if you’re terrified.

Obviously this year has revealed a lot of the work that still needs to be done in the beauty industry regarding inclusion. Share with us some of your favorite Black-and AAPI-owned beauty brands!

Eadem, Topicals, Then I Met You, U Beauty and Hanahana Beauty.

And finally, what does beauty mean to you?

Understanding. Understanding what my body and skin needs, understanding what I need to do, understanding what I do and do not need, while also recognizing it’s perfectly fine wanting something that is a little vain or frivolous. Listening to myself and trusting that. As I get older, I understand that I’m a perpetual student and that realization has given me a lot of confidence, which in a way is beautiful.

Photos: Courtesy of Dieux Skin

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