Make-up infused with skincare has always done it for me. I sincerely hope it’s doing it for you, too – after all, it sits on your face for a lot longer than skincare alone and therefore has the scope to do far more than just cover spots.
Forward-thinking By Terry have taken the baton and run with it. Last year, the brand unveiled a foundation that is equal parts serum and foundation. This year, they’ve gone a step further, adding concealer, powder, primer and blusher to the Densiliss family. The new range: DREAMY. Here’s a breakdown…
The Serum Foundation / Terribly Densiliss Foundation // This isn’t new but as it birthed the below babies I thought an overview may be wise (and it’s now available in four new shades, bringing the total colour count to fourteen). This puppy contains a host of skin-nourishing ingredients which improve the appearance of lines and kick dull/sluggish skin up the backside. Key to its efficacy (and that of the below range) is the mimetic factor: patented plant extracts that mimic growth factors in the skin and therefore boost collagen production, strengthen the skin and fight oxidative stress in one whammy.
The Skincare Primer / Terribly Densiliss Primer // Forget the word primer. The idea of a sealant springs to mind when the word primer is employed; this couldn’t be further from the By Terry version. For starters, this can be used as skincare rather than as a preparation for foundation. If you choose to do this, use it as your last skin potion in the morning and expect a smoother appearance/some degree of blur to mask fine lines and spots. Under foundation, it works to keep everything looking springy and plump over the day. For those of you who have bought the Eve Lom primer which is, in its skincare-cum-primer-cum-optical-blur aim broadly similar, this is a little less shiny and might therefore be a better option if you have a tendency to become greasy over the course of a day.
The Creamy Concealer / Terribly Densiliss Concealer // The eye, as we age, is at the fuzzy end of the lollipop. It becomes baggier, puffier, discoloured and more wrinkled as time has its wicked way. Nowhere could skincare makeup – to be referred to as SCMU henceforth – be more usefully enlisted. A swipe of this wand covers fairly dark circles and, once on, will help to sculpt and firm, hydrate and fill, smooth and correct both instantly on a superficial level and over time as an eye cream would. While I am extremely impressed, two notes: first, don’t use this on spots – it is useless at covering them and moves over time; second: do set with a powder – the creaminess which is part of this one’s brilliance also means a touch of slippage unless your eyes are the driest of the dry. Available in six shades.
The Invisible Powder / Terribly Densiliss Compact // Powder has a bad reputation. I lose count of the number of people who tell me they simply can’t stand the stuff because it makes their skin look dull and caked while accentuating wrinkles. I’m afraid to say that the use of a powder can all too often be the bringer of such ills whether through poor formulation or overzealous use. Be afraid to wield your brush no more – this powder does no such thing. The formulation is soft focus and light-reflective, providing a slightly-matte-but-mainly-radiant finish that can be used to set foundation or by itself for light coverage. If doing the latter, I suggest pairing it up with the primer – together, they’ll provide skin that looks barely made up but is more luminous and even. Available in eight shades.
The Enlivening Blusher / Terribly Densiliss Blush // By Terry’s signature aesthetic: perfected skin, glowing cheeks, a bright lip; all about replicating the flush of good health and suffusing the skin with a glow through their SCMU. Blusher: very important for the old look of youthful health. As in the case of powder, blusher can appear caked (which is an easy mistake to make if the pigments are suspended in too much powder and a lot therefore needs to be applied). No such troubled waters here – this one is pigment-dense and sweeps onto the cheek uniformly, requiring fairly little in the way of make-up nous. Available in six shades.