Women Who Rock: Debasree Banerjee

If you’re a beauty junkie and a serial social media scroller, toh aisa ho hi nahi sakta that you haven’t heard of Debasree Banerjee. Starting her journey with a humble blog called ‘All She Needs’ back in 2012, Debasree is now one of India’s top beauty bloggers, has created content for some of the best brands in the world, and has an Instagram family of 278k members and counting.

Debasree jab college mein thi, that was when she first turned to YouTube back in 2008-09. Like any other 17-year old teenager, she needed help dealing with skin problems. “I used to follow a bunch of international make-up artists and I turned to them for recommendations to help with my oily skin. That’s when I realised that there weren’t many Indian content creators out there. Meri tarah, there would be other girls in need of online friends, girls on the lookout for tips and recommendations. I wanted to be that friend so I jumped right in to create videos and slowly ek community build karna shuru kiya.”

Almost a decade of doing what she loves the most, Debasree is shining bright and is at the top of her game. Par ye sab hamesha itna asaan nahi tha – “Money is one of the biggest challenges I faced in the beginning. I had to save up to actually invest in products I wanted to try and create content about.” But she drew inspiration from fiercely independent women, including her mother, aur aage badhte gayi. Going through this, she learnt the importance of financial freedom – “It is extremely essential in my opinion. It makes you more mindful of how you are spending your money because you know ki actually paise earn karne mein kitna hardwork aur dedication lagta hai.

Indian parents aren’t always accepting of unconventional career options, but that, fortunately, wasn’t the case with Debasree. “I was studying to be a biotechnologist when I found my true calling. Meri family hamesha supportive rahi hai. In fact, my dad was more excited than me when I broke the news of wanting to become a YouTuber full-time. Unhonein hi mujhe mera first camera gift kiya!

Right from the word go, Debasree fully dedicated herself to creating fun, informative and relatable content for the community she has built, generating millions of views per month. “I usually spend my days playing around with make-up and creating bold wearable looks that mere followers inspire ho sake aur kuch naya seekh sake. My aim is to help the girls pick the right products for themselves with my experience, knowledge and through my reviews.”