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<\/a><\/p>\nTerry de Gunzburg. ‘More than ever, Israel feels like home’\n<\/p>\n
(Photo: PR)<\/p>\n
Since launching her own cosmetics line, By Terry, de Gunzburg has been described as the \u201cSteve Jobs of the cosmetics world,\u201d 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\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n
Bonjour, how lovely to meet you. It is surprising to learn that you live here. How long have you been living in Israel incognito?
\n\u201cYes, 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. <\/p>\n
\u201cIsrael 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.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIsrael is now my main home,\u201d she says. \u201cEvery 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.”<\/p>\n
\u201cI also want to take the business beyond Israel and into the wider Middle East. “Now is the time, the right momentum.”<\/p>\n
Did you continue living here after October 7?
\n\u201cYes, 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.\u201d<\/p>\n
‘Every woman has something beautiful that can be revealed.’ By Terry makeup <\/p>\n (Photo: Courtesy of By Terry at Factory 54 Beauty)<\/p>\n Do you speak some Hebrew? “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.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cMy father was a scientist who had political conversations with then Prime Minister Ben-Gurion. With Ben-Gurion\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n \u201cThroughout 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.\u201d<\/p>\n You also began in science as a medical student. What was the twist that led you into the beauty industry? 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.<\/p>\n \u201cI 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.<\/p>\n \u201cMaria 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: \u2018Never say you don\u2019t know before you have tried.\u2019 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.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI 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,\u201d she says. \u201cThat became my signature, with no eye shadow, simply because I still did not know how to use eye shadow well.\u201d<\/p>\n The shoot changed her life. \u201cIt 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,\u201d she says. \u201cSuddenly 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.\u201d<\/p>\n ‘Every morning when I wake up, that is the best moment. I always look forward’ <\/p>\n (Photo:PR)<\/p>\n Ten years later, in 1985, she met Yves Saint Laurent. \u201cThe house of Saint Laurent hired me to reinvent its beauty line and make it more interesting and more suitable for customers\u2019 needs,\u201d she says. \u201cUntil 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\u2019s elegance into skincare and makeup, to create sophisticated and new formulas.\u201d<\/p>\n Her work for the house went far beyond Touche \u00c9clat. \u201cI created very iconic products for them, not only Touche \u00c9clat,\u201d she says. \u201cI created the world\u2019s 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.\u201d<\/p>\n That philosophy still guides By Terry. \u201cTo this day, I instruct my team to create products that make the skin more beautiful and emphasize its natural beauty,\u201d she says. \u201cBy Terry has secret formulas that make the skin beautiful, glowing and flawless.\u201d<\/p>\n Many braMany makeup brands have tried over the years to imitate the Touche \u00c9clat pen you created for Saint Laurent, but none have managed to replicate its success. Why did you name your brand By Terry? She knew she would leave Saint Laurent when Yves Saint Laurent himself retired. \u201cI could not imagine working at Saint Laurent under anyone other than Yves,\u201d she says. \u201cMonsieur Saint Laurent had very few people close to him, with only Alber Elbaz<\/a>, Pierre Berg\u00e9 and me. I knew he would retire because he was very ill. I decided to leave, even though Pierre Berg\u00e9 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.\u201d<\/p>\n What were the early days like? 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.<\/p>\n \u201cThey would send me sketches of haute couture clothes from Chanel, and I would create makeup looks for them personally,\u201d she says. \u201cThere 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.\u201d<\/p>\n Her clients include public figures, stars and models, though she refuses to name them. \u201cSeveral first ladies of world leaders and a very long list of famous actresses and models buy By Terry,\u201d she says. \u201cBut honestly, that interests me less. I do not work for celebrities. I work for the \u2018ordinary\u2019 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.\u201d<\/p>\n ‘I wanted to create a new concept, the ultimate luxury.’ By Terry makeup <\/p>\n (Photo: Factory 54 Studio)<\/p>\n Are you excited that your brand, like you, is now making aliyah to Israel? She says it was important to her that the brand succeed in Israel, even when others questioned the business logic. \u201cI also want to prove to my team that I was right,\u201d she says. \u201cThey thought Israel was a very small market that consumed so much time. I told them I do not care. With God\u2019s help, this will be a huge success story because I am committed to it. All you need is faith.\u201d<\/p>\n What makes a woman an icon? What inspires you? One of her bronzer sprays, she says, was inspired by a cup of dark tea. \u201cIt is like self-tanning, but in makeup,\u201d she says. \u201cThere is nothing like it. We launched it two years ago and it has already sold one million units worldwide.\u201d<\/p>\n What is your best skincare tip? Her makeup philosophy has always been \u201cless is more.\u201d \u201cI love skin with coverage that is not opaque,\u201d she says. \u201cAs for color on the lips and cheeks, that is already a matter of personal choice.\u201d<\/p>\n Any special tip for surviving the hot, humid summer?![\"\u05d0\u05d9\u05e4\u05d5\u05e8](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Hy1156dmFMze_0_0_1080_1350_0_x-large.jpg\" "\\"'Every")
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\n\u201cI\u2019m 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. <\/p>\n
\n\u201cEverything 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.\u201d<\/p>\n![\"\u05d8\u05e8\u05d9](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/ryMYLyZ7Gx_0_0_2000_3000_0_x-large.jpg\" "\\"'Every")
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\n\u201cIt is true. Touche \u00c9clat 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 \u00c9clat with my own brand. There is something to wait for.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\u201cAll 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.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\u201cI 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.\u201d<\/p>\n![\"\u05d0\u05d9\u05e4\u05d5\u05e8](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/ByJDYQFzMe_0_0_3000_3000_0_x-large.jpg\" "\\"'I")
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\n\u201cYes. 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.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\u201cYou 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.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n“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\u2019s skincare routines. We already launched it in Paris and it is a big hit.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n“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.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n \u201cProtection, 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.\u201d<\/p>\n
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