Terry de Gunzburg

Terry de Gunzburg is the eponymous perfume line of French makeup artist and beauty entrepreneur Terry de Gunzburg, best known for creating Yves Saint Laurent’s Touche Éclat before launching her own By Terry cosmetics brand. After years in makeup, she turned to perfumery and spent over a decade developing her first fragrances, working closely with Robertet perfumers in Grasse.

The fragrance brand debuted in 2012 with a collection of five eaux de parfum, including Lumière d’Épices, Ombre Mercure, Rêve Opulent, Flagrant Délice and Parti Pris. These early releases highlighted rich materials such as tuberose absolute, ylang ylang, iris butter, rose essence and jasmine sambac, and were positioned as luxurious compositions unconstrained by mass-market briefs. In a Perfume Society interview, Terry stated that she wanted to reconnect with early 20th century perfumery, citing Guerlain and Robert Piguet as references, while keeping the scents clean, modern and not heavy.

The range expanded in 2013 with Terryfic Oud, a darker oud-centric composition created by Jean-Michel Santorini that quickly became one of the brand’s strongest sellers. Later launches such as Fruit Défendu, Bleu Paradis, Rose Infernale and Rouge Nocturne, many composed by Michel Almairac, continued to explore opulent florals, rose-focused themes and shareable unisex styles. Across the line, the emphasis is on high-quality ingredients, polished blends and a balance of classic French perfumery codes with a contemporary, wearable finish.