The history behind the name: Once upon a time in 1938 a 17-year-old Italian girl named Marcella Fazi married a widowed nobleman named Paolo Borghese and promptly became a Princess. Princess Borghese, like so many of us, loved beauty products and had her toiletries specially made for her using only the finest natural ingredients found on the grounds of her villa in Rome. With aspirations of developing a lipstick line of her own that boasted a wider array of hues than were readily available in those days, in 1956 she finessed an introduction to the founder of Revlon, Charles Revson. Soon her eponymous line launched a collection of bright lipsticks and nail polishes that complemented her couture designer pal Emilio Pucci's famed knitwear. A luxury brand, that soon became known simply as Borghese, was born.
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Bourjois
How to pronounce it: boor-jwah
The history behind the name: Way back when in 1863 a French man named Alexandre Napoleon Bourjois came to the rescue of Parisian actresses when he created "the world's first powder blush."
His invention, Pastel Joues, (today, their Bourjois Signature Blush, $12) was much more comfortable to wear than the heavy, greasy stage makeup the women were used to and it caught on like wildfire.
When it comes to makeup and beauty brands, there are those good old, simple-to-say American brands like CoverGirl or Revlon. Then there are intimidating foreign names like Shu Uemura that can leave you feeling like Nomi in "Showgirls" when she says her couture gown is "Ver-SAYCE" instead of "Ver-Sa-Chee." Read: more than a little mortified.
So why is it so hard to figure out how to say the names of some beauty brands? (Heck, even non-beauty brands -- Miu-Miu, anyone?)
Number one: many hail from far away lands where they make complete sense to the locals but are undecipherable to us foreigners. Number two: more than a few are simply foreign people's names -- again easy-to-pronounce if you're from the specific country but less so when you're not. (ie. Yves Saint Laurent = Eve Sahn Loran) Number three: some are simply made up words derived from the founder's past or some driving force behind the business. Those are the most difficult to figure out because, unlike trying to pronounce, say, an Japanese or French last name, even the bilingual among us don't have a clue where to begin.
In an effort to help you become the most well-rounded makeup and beauty brand connoisseurs possible, Total Beauty brings you unbiased reviews, and proffers all sorts of beauty advice. Now we're here to offer up this pronunciation guide. Click on through and you'll find out how to say the names of 10 very popular brands -- and you'll also learn a little bit about their history and what/who they're named after.
Banished forever will be those moments spent cowering at Sephora too shy to ask for a product by name. (It may be hokey, but knowledge really is king.)
