Borghese is a skincare line that prides its origin in the Tuscan Hills of Italy. Because Borghese has such a fine skincare and makeup reputation, one area which has not been represented is that of the tools of the trade: makeup brushes. They have finally joined the competition in creating some gems. If you look at this new line of makeup brushes, you would say they scream of Italian fine wood craftsmanship. Hey, maybe they are made in New York, but they look Italian, ok?

I stopped by the Lord & Taylor Borghese counter, which is quite a familiar place for me. About five years ago, I started to use Borghese skincare. At that time, the former John Wanamaker store used to have quite a bit of Borghese in-house events. Mud facials were the specialty and therefore, I became accustomed to using a lot of their skincare and makeup. While I always thought they were more of a skincare treatment line, I have collected quite a bit of colors from them over the years. The sales associate for Borghese knows me well (does that come as a surprise to you?) and I phoned her last week telling her I wanted to stop by for a makeover and to check out the new brushes. She was delighted and always cordial when I entered the store on Saturday.

On my eyes, we decided on a trio that is best for my coloring. The trio is plummy as a theme but subtle enough to be worn with anything as opposed to its other trio which is an olive/rust/white combo (I forget the Italian names of the colors). Because I chose the more "cool" trio, the lipstick which is coordinated with it is a pale neutral/wine color which is similar to Mary Kay's Shell lipstick. Used with a dark wine lip pencil, it has potential, but basically nothing special about it. If I had one my eyes in the trio she used, I would have used more definition. She lined my eyes in Plum Espresso (not a new pencil this fall, but something I immediately liked). Because my lashes are quite dark I would have lined my eyes in a deeper color, if not black. She was going for a soft look but sometimes you can go so soft that you are borderline washed out. I have known her to always have a "light" hand. She is quite blonde and fair and I suppose she has a hard time working with coloring other than her own. The look was nice for what I would be doing once I arrived home: going biking on my new mountain bike with my boyfriend. But going to a wedding or a posh restaurant for dinner? We would definitely need to talk about applying more oomph into the look. As a matter of fact, on the way home, I used my own Avon Glosstick in Plum Shadow over the lipstick she used to give more color. Something noteworthy here is the new powder foundation from Borghese that has an SPF of 8 (not the best, but better than nothing) - the new Cura Naturale Dual Effecto Powder Makeup ($28.50). She used that on my face and it had a nice matte effect and is something those of you who shun liquid makeup may want to try.

Finally, I asked her to unveil the new brushes. She warned me of their expense but I have already spent lots of money on brushes in the past - how bad could the prices be? If I were to buy the set of 7 brushes, it would cost close to $250.00. Fortunately, the Borghese marketing people are smart enough to realize they would not sell many sets, so they do sell them individually. All brushes have a lifetime guarantee.