40 Days and 40 Nights of Primer Reviews

Primer #34.

My parched skin was red, blotchy, and sore. All of my primer testing has let me to realize that many of them are just too drying for my skin, hence I have had to apply more moisturizer to relieve the dryness, perform scrubs and peels to remove the flakiness, and then moisturize and serum-ize again after that. I longed for something soothing, something that wouldn't aggravate my already-aggravated skin any more, and yet continue the search and research on Project Primer. I wandered through our local Dillards store a few days ago, and came upon a counter I haven't visited in a long time, a neglected line, seldom even talked about anymore, but one which I have loved for many years. And indeed I found a primer there to try, and some interesting information to pass on as well.

Once Upon A Time, there really was a Princess Marcella Borghese. She was a Sicilian girl who married a Duke, moved to Rome, and lived in a fabulous home that you can visit today, the famous Villa Borghese, renowned for its stunning gardens. I've seen them and they are beyond beautiful. When Marcella's children got older, she decided to launch a line of lipsticks, and in 1956 she brought them to New York where she became one of Revlon's companies. From there, her line grew to include exclusive Italian-style skincare and cosmetic products, and in 1991 Revlon sold her company to a Saudi company. She remained involved in the Borghese line until her death in 2002, at the age of 90. Borghese as a cosmetics line seemed to falter for a while, disappearing from many stores, and the stores that still carried it seemed to be poorly stocked. But I was happy to see that Borghese is still at our local mall, I love the story of the Princess (being of Sicilian descent myself) and I like a fairy-tale ending.

Now Borghese is owned by Georgette Mosbacher, who had formerly, in three years of ownership of the La Prairie company, turned it around into a huge exclusive-line success, and sold it. Georgette is a woman of a certain age, a Republican National Committee fundraiser, and a New York Socialite (sort of the American equivalent of royalty, if you will.) Now I've got a connection between this Borghese primer and my La Prairie foundation! I do not fly in the face of coincidence, so onto my face these products flew.

I was sure that Georgette, being a mature woman, would want her products to fill the needs of women with aging skin and all the problems that come with that aging. I bought Prima Viso and brought it home to try. I applied this milky-translucent gel to my raw and tender face and waited to see and feel the results. With silicone, glycerin, oils and herbal extracts, it immediately felt calming and soothing. Menthol in the ingredient list made a slight tingling but refreshing feeling, and didn't aggravate my skin problems at all. The primer doesn't really dry down. It left my face glistening and dewy. I applied my La Prairie over top and with just a dab, was able to quickly and evenly spread my foundation over my face. As I waited, I enjoyed thinking about the aging Princess and the mature Mosbacher, the tradition of excellent products they both developed and promoted.

Borghese Prima Viso left my face feeling more comfortable than almost any of the primers I've tested. It's definitely for dry skin. My foundation retained the dewy appearance for which I had purchased it. The crepey cheeks, the large pores, and the little lines in my face appeared softened, with no sinking of product or foundation, and no cracking or uneven wear. My face felt well-moisturized, and there was no flaking and no dry areas at all at the end of the day. My foundation stayed beautifully, with no slippage or bare spots, no uneven wear at all. It appeared to me that Prima Viso allowed a thinner, more sheer application of my La Prairie foundation over top. This definitely looked better than a thick, opaque, cakey look that I had had with some of the other primers. My face was naturally glowing and it appeared as if I were not wearing foundation at all, but just evened out, no redness or imperfections showing at all!

I've decided to overlook Mosbacher's Republican affiliation.

Brava, Princess, Brava Signora Georgette, I lift a glass of Asti to you both for the tradition and excellence of the Borghese line. Prima Viso e Prima! I love a happy ending!
Product Rating, 10. (diece)


Disclosure: This product was purchased by the reviewer, Cavewoman.
Review by Cavewoman