Terry de Gunzburg’s name may not yet be familiar to the wider Israeli public, but her luxury cosmetics brand, By Terry, is well known to beauty lovers worldwide.
She is the woman who helped transform beauty at Yves Saint Laurent decades ago, creating, among other products, Touche Éclat, the iconic highlighting pen that has remained a makeup-bag staple for generations and one of the best-selling products in cosmetics history.
Since launching her own cosmetics line, By Terry, de Gunzburg has been described as the “Steve Jobs of the cosmetics world,” constantly inventing new textures, formulas and products across skincare, makeup and fragrance. Now her products are arriving in Israel (through Factory 54 Beauty at Big Glilot and the chain’s website), but the bigger surprise is that de Gunzburg herself is far from new to the country. In recent years, she has been living here on and off.
Bonjour, how lovely to meet you. It is surprising to learn that you live here. How long have you been living in Israel incognito?
“Yes, it is funny. I have always been very private about my life, even before the hostility toward Israel began spreading around the world. It is important to me to keep my private life separate.
“Israel is my home now. Five years ago, my husband and I decided to make aliyah. I told him I wanted to wake up in the morning facing the sea. We built a house in Herzliya, on Galei Tchelet Street, with architect Ilan Pivko, and life in Israel is a dream come true. We have the cliff, the sea and the beautiful sunsets. It is unbelievable. It's a great gift in my life.”
“Israel is now my main home,” she says. “Every three weeks, I travel to Paris or London to work with my teams. We lived in London for 20 years because my husband, who is a scientist, worked there. But now the home in Israel is our main home. We have a large family, because both of us are married for the second time, with many children and grandchildren, and we celebrate all the holidays here. I am very proud to live here."
“I also want to take the business beyond Israel and into the wider Middle East. "Now is the time, the right momentum."
Did you continue living here after October 7?
“Yes, because more than ever, Israel feels like home. Even during sirens and missile attacks, we never thought for a moment about leaving. I feel much safer here than anywhere else in the world. With antisemitism spreading around the world, and only likely to get worse, there is no place where I feel better than in Israel.”
'Every woman has something beautiful that can be revealed.' By Terry makeup
(Photo: Courtesy of By Terry at Factory 54 Beauty)
Do you speak some Hebrew?
“I’m learning now. I actually grew up in Israel until I was 7, but my mother tongues are French and English. I was born in Egypt, and my parents were forced to leave Cairo in 1957, when Nasser came to power. They managed to celebrate my first birthday, then packed up everything and left when the bombings began in Cairo. So I am used to bombings and shelters. It is in my DNA.
"We moved to Israel, to Kiryat Gat, and I went to school here in first and second grade. My Hebrew stayed at the level of a child of that age.”
“My father was a scientist who had political conversations with then Prime Minister Ben-Gurion. With Ben-Gurion’s encouragement, we went to Paris for a year so my father could complete his PhD. In Paris, he made many scientific discoveries, and that year turned into years because we stayed there.
“Throughout that time, we kept our home on Hazayit Street in Kiryat Gat and visited it every year. I would constantly hear my parents swear that this would be our last year in France. It did not happen for them, but it happened for me. And this is the first time I feel I can finally tell this story, my story, the one people do not know.”
You also began in science as a medical student. What was the twist that led you into the beauty industry?
“Everything happened by chance. I studied medicine and did not like it. I love science, but I did not see myself studying at university for a decade. To be honest, my brain works in two directions. Part of me is a scientist, very grounded and rational, while the other part is very creative, always thinking outside the box, beyond the usual limits.”
She left medicine and enrolled in architecture studies. Her father, whom she describes as demanding even today at age 96, insisted that she study something while waiting for the program to begin. She chose makeup at Carita in Paris.
“I had four weeks of intensive classes that summer, and by the end I had been spotted by Maria Carita herself. She had founded Carita, a unique beauty house that later became a well-known international brand, together with her sister Rosy.
“Maria sent me to do makeup on her behalf for a Vogue shoot. I was so far removed from that world and told her I did not know enough. Her answer was: ‘Never say you don’t know before you have tried.’ She had no hesitation about sending me, for the very first time, to work on the prestigious September issue of French Vogue, devoted entirely to haute couture.”
“I did makeup the way I knew how: perfect skin, perfect red lipstick, perfect lashes, a slight glow on the cheeks and a little on the chin,” she says. “That became my signature, with no eye shadow, simply because I still did not know how to use eye shadow well.”
The shoot changed her life. “It was the September issue of Vogue France, the most important issue of the year, with the best designers, the best photographers and the best editors,” she says. “Suddenly I had the confidence of someone with chutzpah, as they say in Hebrew. Not only did I not fail, but they also loved my work and took me again and again. I never returned to university. I became a makeup artist by chance. As they say in Hebrew, it was from heaven, with a little talent and a little blessing.”
'Every morning when I wake up, that is the best moment. I always look forward'
(Photo:PR)
Ten years later, in 1985, she met Yves Saint Laurent. “The house of Saint Laurent hired me to reinvent its beauty line and make it more interesting and more suitable for customers’ needs,” she says. “Until then, to be honest, the makeup colors were very strong and not very practical, and the quality was not the best. My job was to translate Monsieur Saint Laurent’s elegance into skincare and makeup, to create sophisticated and new formulas.”
Her work for the house went far beyond Touche Éclat. “I created very iconic products for them, not only Touche Éclat,” she says. “I created the world’s first primer for them, when nobody yet knew what that was, and also the first highlighter for glow. Skin quality is the great secret to a radiant look.”
That philosophy still guides By Terry. “To this day, I instruct my team to create products that make the skin more beautiful and emphasize its natural beauty,” she says. “By Terry has secret formulas that make the skin beautiful, glowing and flawless.”
Many braMany makeup brands have tried over the years to imitate the Touche Éclat pen you created for Saint Laurent, but none have managed to replicate its success.
“It is true. Touche Éclat is an extraordinary product. The truth is, I am now creating it again at By Terry, and soon I hope to launch the new generation of Touche Éclat with my own brand. There is something to wait for.”
Why did you name your brand By Terry?
“All my life I was half French and half English, and my grandmother was Syrian, because the whole Middle East was then under British-French rule. But the choice of the name By Terry was not because of my half-English orientation. It was simply always the credit I received over the years in fashion magazines. They always wrote the makeup credit as Carita by Terry or Yves Saint Laurent by Terry.”
She knew she would leave Saint Laurent when Yves Saint Laurent himself retired. “I could not imagine working at Saint Laurent under anyone other than Yves,” she says. “Monsieur Saint Laurent had very few people close to him, with only Alber Elbaz, Pierre Bergé and me. I knew he would retire because he was very ill. I decided to leave, even though Pierre Bergé very much wanted me to stay. But I could not work under another designer in his place. I left immediately after him, and in 1998 I founded By Terry.”
What were the early days like?
“I wanted to create a new concept, the ultimate luxury. In the beginning, I created makeup like haute couture, by order only. I made special makeup for private clients with personal packaging and the best raw materials in the world.”
Because her name was already known in the fashion industry, clients came from around the world, including Hong Kong and Australia, for custom looks matched to their haute couture wardrobes.
“They would send me sketches of haute couture clothes from Chanel, and I would create makeup looks for them personally,” she says. “There was no quality like that. Very quickly, I understood that I also wanted to produce a makeup collection that would be available to the wider public, based on the same principles and with the same uncompromising quality. That is how I created my global brand, and the success was immediate.”
Her clients include public figures, stars and models, though she refuses to name them. “Several first ladies of world leaders and a very long list of famous actresses and models buy By Terry,” she says. “But honestly, that interests me less. I do not work for celebrities. I work for the ‘ordinary’ woman. I want every woman to feel like a star in her own life. With the right foundation and the right concealer, you can feel that way and with a lot of confidence. You win the game.”
'I wanted to create a new concept, the ultimate luxury.' By Terry makeup
(Photo: Factory 54 Studio)
Are you excited that your brand, like you, is now making aliyah to Israel?
“Yes. The connection with Factory 54 Beauty is the right one for By Terry. They understand luxury and they understand clients. Like me, they pay attention to every small detail. I know that matters to Israelis, who appreciate luxury and deserve the very best. Israelis understand hotels, restaurants and cosmetics.”
She says it was important to her that the brand succeed in Israel, even when others questioned the business logic. “I also want to prove to my team that I was right,” she says. “They thought Israel was a very small market that consumed so much time. I told them I do not care. With God’s help, this will be a huge success story because I am committed to it. All you need is faith.”
What makes a woman an icon?
“You must also have inner beauty, not only outer beauty. True glow is when you have something inside as well. I hate the fact that only supermodels are considered beauty icons. Every woman has something beautiful that can be revealed.”
What inspires you?
"I'm inspired by everything around me: nature, landscapes, food and even the matcha I drink every day. We are now launching a unique matcha product that combines a serum, cream and balm in one spray. It is a product that will reshape women’s skincare routines. We already launched it in Paris and it is a big hit.”
One of her bronzer sprays, she says, was inspired by a cup of dark tea. “It is like self-tanning, but in makeup,” she says. “There is nothing like it. We launched it two years ago and it has already sold one million units worldwide.”
What is your best skincare tip?
"Thorough daily cleansing, hydration, nourishment and sunscreen. The skin needs both hydration and nourishment. Just as the body needs both water and nourishment, so does the skin. And of course, sunscreen, especially in Israel.”
Her makeup philosophy has always been “less is more.” “I love skin with coverage that is not opaque,” she says. “As for color on the lips and cheeks, that is already a matter of personal choice.”
Any special tip for surviving the hot, humid summer?
“Protection, protection, protection. I have a spray with hyaluronic acid that fixes any makeup that has smudged. All my products are resistant to heat and humidity. I invented the new formulas because of the hot flashes I started having during menopause. My powder is also made with hyaluronic acid and turns into a cream on the skin.”
'Israelis understand hotels, restaurants and cosmetics'. Terry de Gunzburg
(Photo: PR)
What are By Terry’s five bestsellers?
"Baume de Rose, which is 'the Rolls-Royce of lip balm', the Hyaluronic Concealer, the CC Serum, the twist mascara with two settings for length and volume, and the Hyaluronic Powder, which is 'the top of the top' among bestsellers."
What does the color red symbolize for you?
“Red is my lucky color. I used to create a new red lipstick every year for Yves Saint Laurent’s haute couture show. The red lipstick I have in my collection now is the most perfect red I have ever created for one of his haute couture shows. It is made with the highest-quality ingredients, and nothing compares to it.”
What was the best moment of your life?
“Every morning when I wake up, that is the best moment. I always only look forward, thank God.”
And the worst?
“I forgot it. My husband affectionately calls me INGU, initials for I Never Give Up.”
What recently took your breath away?
“It happens whenever I am overwhelmed with emotion, especially when I see my grandchildren. With grandchildren, even more than with children. I have four children and three additional daughters from my husband’s previous marriage, whom I love like my own daughters. Together we have 17 grandchildren.”
'In makeup, my philosophy has always been: less is more.' By Terry products at Factory 54 Beauty
(Photo: Noam Ekhaus)
Complete the sentence “A woman is never complete without...,”
“I always used to say lipstick. In recent years, I have started saying it was a good perfume spray. But for me, it will always be lipstick, in nude or red.”
What would you take with you to a desert island?
"My Baume de Rose, because you can use it anywhere: on the lips, on the cheeks and even on the dry skin around the nails."
What is it like living between three homes in Herzliya, Paris and London?
“Actually, it is between four homes, because I also have a home in New York, where some of my children live. It is a little complicated. Sometimes I wake up and ask my husband, ‘Where are we?’ But life is very interesting this way, despite the occasional inconvenience. It makes me feel more alive and protects me from the boredom that can come with too much comfort.”