Only just a few days before I bought this, I thought "I'm not going to spend that much money on a concealer pen. Come on!" And this being fresh in my mind from just recently reading some blog reviews about it, I swatched it (why do I do this? my bank account asks). This is my first time trying something from By Terry. I have to admit, something puts me off about these newly established brands and I just can't justify paying similar to what you would pay for Guerlain and Dior etc for these lesser known brands. So I have no idea what came over me when I told the sales girl that "I'll to take this one in 02 Cream please!"
After using the Touche Veloutee, I can't say that I'm in love. I'm still a bit on the fence. Everytime I grab it to use it, I wish I would fall in love with this product because the packaging just makes it seem so luxurious and lovely. My first impression when using this was that I don't like the brush at all. It is 3 times bigger than that of YSL Touche Eclat, Chanel's Eclat Lumiere Highlighter pen and Mac's Prep + Prime Highligher Pen and also feels about three times stiffer. The bristles are not soft and it was quite uncomfortable rubbing it along my sensitive under-eyes. I couldn't take it and patted the product in with my fingers.
The actual concealer smells divine (rose scented I believe), and the texture is very creamy. It has strong coverage yet is lightweight which already makes it better than most of the concealers on the market. However, I still don't think it trumps my holygrail Covergirl under eye concealer which is $18 for 9g. There was slight creasing in my wrinkles (yes wrinkles! urgh) after a few hours of wear but nothing that's going to turn me off from using it again. In terms of correcting, I think that's all a bunch of BS. Dark circles are either genetic or from lack of sleep, none of which makeup can fix.
Now Terry Gunzburg is the lady behind YSL's infamous Touche Eclat and has now established her own brand. The Touche Veloutee actually smells really really similar to my Le Teint Touche Eclat Foundation come to think about it! I definitely believe that she has improved the formula since Touche Eclat as the Veloutee has fuller coverage and has more of a matte finish.
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| comparison of Touche Eclat to Touche Veloutee |
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| comparison of brush size |
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| Sans Touche Veloutee |
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| With Touche Veloutee |
As you can see, I don;t really have terrible dark circles to begin with. But the Veloutee does hide most of the discoloration and flattens the appearance of bags under the eyes. I used Maybelline's Dream Matte powder and Real Techniques Contour Brush to set the Veloutee.
For $79 I definitely think it's more worth it than YSL's Touche Eclat which is $55 for 2.5mL (insane!). Do I love the packaging? Yes, it's absolutely beautiful and just feel expensive. It's chunky and extravagant. The formulation is nice but it wouldn't hurt to have a little more stronger coverage. If you suffer from dark circles, this product is great for when you're on-the-go (i.e. rushing to work and applying your makeup on the train etc) as it is just so convenient.
