Princess Marcella Borghese
Encyclopedia
Marcella Borghese, born Marcella Fazi, (1911 – January 19, 2002) was a manufacturer of cosmetics.
in 1911. In 1938 she became the second wife of the widowed nobleman Paolo Borghese
, Duke of Bomarzo and Prince of Sant’ Angelo of San Paolo, and acquired the title of Princess. Records of her titles and that of the family can be found in the Office of Consulta Araldica
in Rome. She gave birth to two twin boys, Francesco and Livio, the same year. She also had a daughter, Anita Mauritzi, from a previous marriage.
The fashion-conscious princess had toiletries, including makeup, made specifically for her using the natural ingredients found around the Villa Borghese
in Rome, where the family lived. She wanted to create a line of lipsticks in a wider variety of shades than what was available at the time, and once Pope Pius XII
gave the cosmetics his blessing, pushed forward with the idea.
, the founder of Revlon. The two struck up a lifelong friendship, as he helped her to create her cosmetics line, and bought it as a subsidiary of the company.
Revlon
, a mainstay brand in department stores at the time, was losing market share to newcomer Estée Lauder
, whose higher price points and limited distribution strategy edged out the more established brands. Most of the competition took notice, and countered with department store-exclusive brands: Coty
launched Dina Merrill; Fabergé had Juliette Marglen; Charles of the Ritz
purchased the already established Alexandra de Markoff and Lanvin
; Max Factor
's contribution was called Geminesse; and, of course, Revlon's contribution was Princess Marcella Borghese. While most of these names invoked status and prestige, Revlon's was the only one associated with legitimate royalty.
One of Borghese's first collections included brightly colored lipsticks and nail colors to match the vivid colors of her fashion designer friend, Emilio Pucci
's knitwear. Her Montecatini
Cosmetic line, named after her favorite spa, (and an ancient town in Tuscany), used the healing properties of the Terme di Montecatini mud and the mineral waters. The innovative Princess was one of the first people to create a skincare line which was based on the natural therapies of a spa.
Borghese (as the line came to be known as) was the most enduring and successful of the aforementioned brands.
) and Estée Lauder
. Borghese's presence began to weaken, as retailers consolidated floor space to the more profitable brands. Revlon's entire prestige portfolio would stagnate for the next several years, trailing along as rivals ate away at their increasingly shrinking market share.
Ownership of Revlon changed in 1985 (in the infamous takeover by Ronald Perelman
's Pantry Pride), and new ownership sold off Revlon's non-cosmetics businesses to renew its focus on beauty. Borghese was infused with marketing and research & development capital. The brand regained market share as a luxury niche brand.
fragrance license to Saudi investors. Halston-Borghese, as it became known, was owned by the investment group until 2000 when it was sold to American Georgette Mosbacher
, who had success with the La Prairie brand in the early 1990s. She dropped the Halston reference and again the line was known as simply Borghese.
, launching a sub-brand called Kirkland Signature by Borghese. The classic Borghese line is currently exclusive to Lord & Taylor
and Bloomingdale's department stores. It is also sold in regional apothecaries and drugstores. In an October 2008 Vogue
magazine interview, Georgette Mosbacher stated, "Borghese is a profitable name. I have plans to turn Borghese into a lifestyle brand over time which will include bedding, home furnishings and personal accessories. In the face of so much consolidation, brands need to think beyond the obvious markets. I feel we can reach new groups of consumers with these additions."
In October 2009, Borghese became the first cosmetics house to launch a line of home textiles for the bedroom. The Villa di Borghese collection is composed of bed pillows, comforters and throws. It is the result of a licensing agreement between Borghese Inc. and United Feather and Down. The line launched in Bloomingdale's on October 15, 2009 and will be exclusive to Bloomingdale's stores.
There is also currently a Borghese nailcare collection available in most major drugstore chains including Walgreens, CVS, Longs and Rite Aid. The nailcare collection launched in 2008 through a licensing agreement with Coty Inc.
Plans are in place to introduce an eyeware collection through a licensing deal with Icon Eyeware.
Marcella Borghese remained involved in the line named after her until her death in 2002 in her home in Montreux, Switzerland. She was 90 years old, and was buried in the family crypt at the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore in Rome.
History
Marcella Fazi was born in SicilySicily
Sicily is a region of Italy, and is the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. Along with the surrounding minor islands, it constitutes an autonomous region of Italy, the Regione Autonoma Siciliana Sicily has a rich and unique culture, especially with regard to the arts, music, literature,...
in 1911. In 1938 she became the second wife of the widowed nobleman Paolo Borghese
Paolo Borghese (born 1904)
Prince Paolo Borghese, Duke of Bomarzo, Prince of Sant Angelo of San Paolo was an Italian nobleman of the Borghese family. He was born in Cafaggiolo. His father and mother were Marco Borghese, Duca di Bomarzo and Isabel Fanny Louise Porges. His first wife was Anne dei Conti Scheibler, whom he...
, Duke of Bomarzo and Prince of Sant’ Angelo of San Paolo, and acquired the title of Princess. Records of her titles and that of the family can be found in the Office of Consulta Araldica
Consulta Araldica
The Consulta Araldica was a college instituted by royal decree on 10 October 1869 to advise the Italian government on noble titles, coats of arms and related matters. It was part of the Ministry of the Interior...
in Rome. She gave birth to two twin boys, Francesco and Livio, the same year. She also had a daughter, Anita Mauritzi, from a previous marriage.
The fashion-conscious princess had toiletries, including makeup, made specifically for her using the natural ingredients found around the Villa Borghese
Villa Borghese
Villa Borghese may refer to:*The Villa Borghese Pinciana , the villa built by the architect Flaminio Ponzio , developing sketches by Scipione Borghese, who used it as a villa suburbana, a party villa, at the edge of Rome, and to house his art collection.**The Galleria...
in Rome, where the family lived. She wanted to create a line of lipsticks in a wider variety of shades than what was available at the time, and once Pope Pius XII
Pope Pius XII
The Venerable Pope Pius XII , born Eugenio Maria Giuseppe Giovanni Pacelli , reigned as Pope, head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of Vatican City State, from 2 March 1939 until his death in 1958....
gave the cosmetics his blessing, pushed forward with the idea.
Charles H. Revson
In 1956, Italian-American businessman Gino DiGrandi introduced Borghese to cosmetics magnate, Charles RevsonCharles Revson
Charles Haskell Revson was a pioneering cosmetics industry executive who created and managed Revlon through five decades.-Early age:...
, the founder of Revlon. The two struck up a lifelong friendship, as he helped her to create her cosmetics line, and bought it as a subsidiary of the company.
Revlon
Revlon
Revlon is an American cosmetics, skin care, fragrance, and personal care company founded in 1932.-History:Revlon was founded in the midst of the Great Depression, 1932, by Charles Revson and his brother Joseph, along with a chemist, Charles Lachman, who contributed the "L" in the Revlon name...
, a mainstay brand in department stores at the time, was losing market share to newcomer Estée Lauder
Estée Lauder Companies
Estée Lauder Companies, Inc. is a manufacturer and marketer of prestige skincare, makeup, fragrance and hair care products. The company has its headquarters in Midtown Manhattan, New York City.-History:...
, whose higher price points and limited distribution strategy edged out the more established brands. Most of the competition took notice, and countered with department store-exclusive brands: Coty
Coty, Inc.
Coty, Inc. is the world's largest fragrance company, founded in 1904. It is also a beauty products manufacturer whose main businesses are fragrances , followed by color cosmetics , toiletries and skin care...
launched Dina Merrill; Fabergé had Juliette Marglen; Charles of the Ritz
Charles of the Ritz
Charles of the Ritz is a former cosmetics brand known for its line of perfume fragrances.-Foreground:In 1916, coiffeur Charles Jundt took over the Manhattan beauty salon of the New York City Ritz hotel. He founded his own cosmetics company in 1919, and in 1926, began marketing beauty products...
purchased the already established Alexandra de Markoff and Lanvin
Lanvin (clothing)
Lanvin is a high fashion house founded by Jeanne Lanvin.-History:Lanvin made such beautiful clothes for her daughter that they began to attract the attention of a number of wealthy people who requested copies for their own children...
; Max Factor
Max Factor
Max Factor & Company is a cosmetics company, founded during 1909 by Maksymilian Faktorowicz , Max Factor, a Polish-Jewish cosmetician. Max Factor & Company was a related, two-family, multi-generational international cosmetics company before its sale in 1973 for $500 million dollars...
's contribution was called Geminesse; and, of course, Revlon's contribution was Princess Marcella Borghese. While most of these names invoked status and prestige, Revlon's was the only one associated with legitimate royalty.
One of Borghese's first collections included brightly colored lipsticks and nail colors to match the vivid colors of her fashion designer friend, Emilio Pucci
Emilio Pucci
Emilio Pucci, Marquis of Barsento , was a Florentine Italian fashion designer and politician. He and his eponymous company are synonymous with geometric prints in a kaleidoscope of colours.-Early life:...
's knitwear. Her Montecatini
Montecatini
- Places in Italy :* Montecatini Terme, health resort in Tuscany* Montecatini Val di Cecina, village and mining town to the south of Pisa*Montecatini, hamlet in the comune of San Martino in Rio...
Cosmetic line, named after her favorite spa, (and an ancient town in Tuscany), used the healing properties of the Terme di Montecatini mud and the mineral waters. The innovative Princess was one of the first people to create a skincare line which was based on the natural therapies of a spa.
Borghese (as the line came to be known as) was the most enduring and successful of the aforementioned brands.
After Revson's death
After Charles Revson's death in 1975, Revlon president Michel Berjerac pulled the Revlon brand out of department store distribution altogether, citing rising costs, changing consumer tastes, a corporate shift from cosmetics to consumer goods at Revlon, and the progressively shrinking significance of department stores. Without Revlon's millions of dollars in sales, Borghese (and the entire Revlon prestige portfolio) became very small, insignificant players in an arena that would be dominated by Cosmair (later L'OréalL'Oréal
The L'Oréal Group is the world's largest cosmetics and beauty company. With its registered office in Paris and head office in the Paris suburb of Clichy, Hauts-de-Seine, France, it has developed activities in the field of cosmetics...
) and Estée Lauder
Estée Lauder Companies
Estée Lauder Companies, Inc. is a manufacturer and marketer of prestige skincare, makeup, fragrance and hair care products. The company has its headquarters in Midtown Manhattan, New York City.-History:...
. Borghese's presence began to weaken, as retailers consolidated floor space to the more profitable brands. Revlon's entire prestige portfolio would stagnate for the next several years, trailing along as rivals ate away at their increasingly shrinking market share.
Ownership of Revlon changed in 1985 (in the infamous takeover by Ronald Perelman
Ronald Perelman
Ronald Owen Perelman is an American business magnate. Through his company MacAndrews & Forbes Holdings Inc., he has invested in various companies in grocery, cigar, licorice, makeup, car, photography, television, camping, security, lottery, jewelry, banks, and comic book industries.-Early...
's Pantry Pride), and new ownership sold off Revlon's non-cosmetics businesses to renew its focus on beauty. Borghese was infused with marketing and research & development capital. The brand regained market share as a luxury niche brand.
Post Revlon
Although the prestige portfolio, under Ronald Perelman's leadership, would grow to include many other high-end brands, by 1996 Revlon sold Borghese and the HalstonHalston
Roy Halston Frowick, also known as Halston was a clothing designer of the 1970s. His long dresses or copies of his style were popular fashion wear in mid-1970s discotheques.-Early life and career:...
fragrance license to Saudi investors. Halston-Borghese, as it became known, was owned by the investment group until 2000 when it was sold to American Georgette Mosbacher
Georgette Mosbacher
Georgette Mosbacher is the CEO of Borghese, a cosmetics manufacturer based in New York City, and a fundraiser for the United States Republican Party. In 1987, she purchased the high-end cosmetics firm La Prairie, served as its CEO, and sold it in 1991 to Beiersdorf...
, who had success with the La Prairie brand in the early 1990s. She dropped the Halston reference and again the line was known as simply Borghese.
Costco and beyond
In 2007, Georgette Mosbacher took the brand into CostcoCostco
Costco Wholesale Corporation is the largest membership warehouse club chain in the United States. it is the third largest retailer in the United States, where it originated, and the ninth largest in the world...
, launching a sub-brand called Kirkland Signature by Borghese. The classic Borghese line is currently exclusive to Lord & Taylor
Lord & Taylor
Lord & Taylor, colloquially known as L&T, or LT, based in New York City, is the oldest upscale, specialty-retail department store chain in the United States. Concentrated in the eastern U.S., the retailer operated independently for nearly a century prior to joining American Dry Goods...
and Bloomingdale's department stores. It is also sold in regional apothecaries and drugstores. In an October 2008 Vogue
Vogue (magazine)
Vogue is a fashion and lifestyle magazine that is published monthly in 18 national and one regional edition by Condé Nast.-History:In 1892 Arthur Turnure founded Vogue as a weekly publication in the United States. When he died in 1909, Condé Montrose Nast picked up the magazine and slowly began...
magazine interview, Georgette Mosbacher stated, "Borghese is a profitable name. I have plans to turn Borghese into a lifestyle brand over time which will include bedding, home furnishings and personal accessories. In the face of so much consolidation, brands need to think beyond the obvious markets. I feel we can reach new groups of consumers with these additions."
In October 2009, Borghese became the first cosmetics house to launch a line of home textiles for the bedroom. The Villa di Borghese collection is composed of bed pillows, comforters and throws. It is the result of a licensing agreement between Borghese Inc. and United Feather and Down. The line launched in Bloomingdale's on October 15, 2009 and will be exclusive to Bloomingdale's stores.
There is also currently a Borghese nailcare collection available in most major drugstore chains including Walgreens, CVS, Longs and Rite Aid. The nailcare collection launched in 2008 through a licensing agreement with Coty Inc.
Plans are in place to introduce an eyeware collection through a licensing deal with Icon Eyeware.
Marcella Borghese remained involved in the line named after her until her death in 2002 in her home in Montreux, Switzerland. She was 90 years old, and was buried in the family crypt at the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore in Rome.