WIRETAPPED DEUXMOI

LENA RAFF: HOW WAS DEUXMOI BORN?

DEUXMOI: It was born during quarantine. I had a career in fashion for many, many years and lived in New York. When everyone was ordered to leave work and stay home, I think the optimist in me thought it would be a week or two, even though my boss literally was like, "this is not going to be over for three years."

So, I was home, like everyone else, not knowing what was going on, and scared about my job. I was really nervous, kind of scared to leave my apartment. I had this [Instagram] account that originated in 2013 as sort of a fashion and lifestyle account, and it had a website attached to it that we’d write articles for—because that’s just what you did back in 2013.  Back then it was called Deuxmoi. It went on for a couple years and then I just abandoned it. I had another job, and it was hard to maintain. When I was home bored doing nothing, I picked it up and posted to Stories. I said, "if you guys have had any encounters with celebrities, write in and I'll post 'em." Just a way for everyone to read something and pass the time. It started off really anecdotal: people telling their stories about celebrities. Of course, a lot of them were scandalous, so that's what drew people in. At the time, I didn't censor anything because I only had 35,000 followers; it wasn't a thing. And it just snowballed from there.

LR: HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE DEUXMOI TODAY?

DM: It’s a community of people who like to learn about the same things—and it's not always celebrities or celebrity gossip. I actually try not to use the word gossip. I use the words news, information, and intel, because at this point, I'm looking to grow and compete with the other celebrity news outlets. Gossip, to some people, is a dirty word.

Sometimes what we cover has to do with lifestyle; sometimes it has to do with travel or beauty or restaurants. Those are the three main things other than celebrities that people like to learn about. The coolest things to do, eat and buy.  I always try to tie it back to the celebrity aspect, though, because that's how we started.

LR: WHAT DO YOU LOVE ABOUT YOUR WORK?

DM: The community. They make me laugh. Sometimes I have contentious relationships with people in the DMs or fandoms, but that's fine. That's all part of it. It can't all be a bed of roses—it wouldn't be interesting; it would be boring.

LR: DO YOU EVER PLAN TO UNMASK YOURSELF?

DM: If there is incentive to do so, yes. I'm finding that I'm missing a lot of opportunities to connect with this community that has become really important to me by not being able to do appearances. I published a book [Anon Pls.] without being able to do book signings, you know what I mean? At first that piece didn't bother me. I also managed this account and simultaneously worked my job in fashion for two years. A lot of protecting my identity was because I was nervous I was going to get fired somehow. I never got laid off through Covid—I don't know how. Well, actually, I do know how: I was fucking awesome at my job. I'll say it, there you go.

Anyway, I always had this fear in the back of my mind that my job was going to find out that I was leading this double life (which is what my book is really about), and I was going to get fired. But that's not an issue anymore. And I feel like I'm missing out on that connection by staying in the shadows. I've become more open to meeting people; I've gone on a lot more meetings in person then when I started. I think it took me a long time to get to that comfort level, but I am there.

LR: WHY DID YOU CREATE A FRAGRANCE?

DM: I'm obsessed with fragrance and specifically with fragrance oils. I think they last longer and the scent is more potent. I'm not one of those people who shies away from walking into a room and having people be like, what's that smell? Or, oh my God, you smell so good. My goal is to be smelled, I guess. So, I've always been really into fragrance, personally, and I wanted to share that with my audience.

I approached Melanie [Apple, founder of Voyage et Cie] because she has the best perfume oils. They’re all-natural, and I think it's important how they’re made. She’s really proud of her oils. I went into her store [in L.A.] and smelled them all. She doesn't advertise this, but she has a lot of celebrity clients, which was why, besides the fact that I love her fragrances, I wanted to work with her. I felt like there was a synergy there. I don't like to just do random shit because I love beauty. I was kind of like, "do you want to collab?" And she was like, "sure." She, again, didn't know anything about me. I think her husband might also be a Hollywood producer. She doesn't talk really about any of this, but I know she's in there somehow.

LR: WHAT MADE YOU CHOOSE THE BEACH AS INSPIRATION?

DM: The beach is something that I like to smell all year round. It just makes me happy. It puts me in a good mood; it makes me feel sexy. Part of something the Deuxmoi community bonds over and asks a lot about is travel. They want to know where celebrities are vacationing so they can go to those places. There's a section on my app that we're developing that is all vacation destinations as recommended by the audience.

LR: I DON'T KNOW HOW YOU DID IT, BUT IT REALLY SMELLS JUST LIKE THE BEACH.

DM: Like I said, I've been into fragrance oils for years. I met with Melanie and I brought her all of these discontinued fragrances that I had collected. I'd held onto some of them for literally 15 years. I was scared to put them on my skin because I feel like I'd probably break out in a rash, but I couldn't part with them because they smelled so good. So, I brought her all these fragrances and said, "I kind of want to combine all of these into one." And that's how we came up with Plage.

LR: HOW DO YOU DESCRIBE THE SCENT?

DM: It smells like suntan lotion. Like an elevated Coppertone body oil plus a piña colada, but I wouldn't say piña colada. That sounds kind of cheesy.

LR: NO, BUT IN AN ELEVATED WAY.

DM: Yeah, it smells like really expensive suntan lotion.

LR: HAVE YOU ALWAYS BEEN INTO BEAUTY?

DM: I've always been a beauty person. I know a lot about makeup, even though I don't wear a lot, but I'll buy it and I'll try it because I'm interested in it. And, I'm guilty—I’ll watch Get Ready With Me’s on TikTok and then I'll buy the products they're suggesting. I'll buy the products celebrities use; I'll buy the products I read about. I buy everything online. Sometimes I've failed—I've picked the wrong shade of concealer or foundation—but other times I nail it, like with the Armani [Luminous Silk]. I nailed it. I got my shade. From collecting and trying and reading I've learned a lot about beauty.

LR: ANY HOT TIPS? 

DM: I have to say, the Augustinus Bader moisturizer under makeup has been key. When you apply makeup over it, it doesn't slide off your face, because the moisturizer isn't greasy. It makes it sit perfectly. And it really does give you a glow from underneath whatever you're putting on top of it. I've only found that with a couple moisturizers or primers, and this is definitely one of them.

LR: WHAT MAKES A GREAT NEWS ITEM?

DM: A good source. A trusted source.

LR: DO YOU HAVE REGULAR OBSERVERS, A NETWORK?

DM: At this point, yeah. It didn't start off this way. I've developed relationships with people along the way—relationships that have turned into friendships, which I one-hundred-percent was not expecting. It's been a real bonus.

LR: IS THERE A PARTICULAR KIND OF NEWS YOU ALWAYS HAVE YOUR EYES OPEN FOR?

DM: I try to keep it light and bright, so we stick with the breakups, the new couples, the hookups. That's our main focus, because I want the brand to be a destination for people to escape. I don't want it to be too heavy. We don't post about legal stuff or deaths, and things like that. I try to stay away from that, but how many breakups and divorces and new couples can you post about? So, to balance that out, I like to post the things that celebrities are using (like a beauty item), or where they’re going (like a new restaurant or spa), or their coffee orders.

LR: CAN YOU TELL ME A LITTLE BIT ABOUT YOUR HISTORY WITH VIOLET GREY? I UNDERSTAND WE GO WAY BACK.

DM: Well, yes. Of course, I've been a customer, which is why it was so easy for me to make the [Shop My Bag] list of favorite products, because I knew exactly the things I had bought from you guys.

LR: LIKE, WHAT'S MY ORDER HISTORY?

DM: Exactly. It took me five seconds. I must have found out about VIOLET GREY through Instagram. It had to be from Instagram, because when did it open?

LR: TEN YEARS AGO.

DM: I loved the story behind Cassandra opening the brand. I'm a female entrepreneur. I wasn't at the time, but I always felt like I've had that spirit in me. I admired that she decided to start this luxury destination for beauty. And then, I've always had my one eye open for things that celebrities used, and it was a Hollywood celebrity destination for beauty, so that attracted me to it. The selection of brands is a big thing. It feels very boutique, which makes it a great experience. I've been shopping VIOLET GREY for years, and Cassandra's been a really cool mentor to me.

LR: HOW HAS SHE BEEN A MENTOR TO YOU?

DM: She reached out very early and gave me some business advice: "You should be doing this, and you should be doing that." Nothing to do with beauty and nothing to do with VIOLET GREY; she just took the time, personally, to have a conversation with me, which is so cool. She didn't know who I was. She still doesn't; we've never met yet in-person. I hope to meet her, but she had no idea about anything about me. I could have been a crazy person.

LR: SHE HAS A SENSE FOR THESE THINGS.

DM: A lot of what I do is instinct, so I understand that. And really, just, she's a cool lady.