Review Time! ♡ : MAC Cosmetics Lipstick in "Viva Glam Rihanna"

Hey lovelies! So back around November of 2013, MAC Cosmetics quietly announced that they were going to release another collection to the Viva Glam family along with another face to their campaign, following the release date to be late January of 2014. Along the years since Viva Glam years has been existing, we've had the faces of Ru Paul, Missy Elliot, Dita von Teese, Fergie, the collaboration of Lady Gaga and Cyndi Lauper and the following year of Nicki Minaj and Ricky Martin, but this year they have decided to just go with one person, and that one person would speak of high volumes as the new face of this AIDS fighting campaign. She already released a couple of collections over the years with MAC and this time, MAC has decided that since her collections sold very well, they were going to make her join in another collaboration with them. And that person is Rihanna.

This duo set is very different, nothing similar to the Viva Glam Gaga or Viva Glam Nicki, since both of those were light pastel colors. This color is a red true to it's color, much more different even in any of the other Viva Glam lipsticks in the whole collection in my opinion. Without any more temptation, I will now introduce the new lipstick MAC introduces to their Viva Glam family, and that is Viva Glam Rihanna, ready to take the world by storm!

When you get your hands on this baby, it almost feels like your touching silk. The case is so smooth and velvet-y, it's almost feels like a satin finish. This lipstick bullet is interesting, almost like you would want to keep the lipstick itself because of the case. Very unique and different, when opened Rihanna's signature is wrapped around the twist center. Definitely something Rihanna wanted to set herself apart from the other Viva Glam lipsticks.

Photo above swatch in natural sunlight on NC 15 skin.

Viva Glam Rihanna available for $16.00 USD at www.maccosmetics.com or a MAC retailer near you.

The thing that I love about Viva Glam Rihanna is the way it looks when you apply it. In person on the lips, it feels like this classical 1940's pin-up red lipstick and it just makes you feel sultry, confident and sexy. However, I honestly felt like Viva Glam Rihanna was a little bit underwhelming. In the description on MAC's website says it's a "Frosty Blue-Red" but on the lips, it looks more orange based. The lip color itself has gold specks underneath in the undertone, and that might be why it has a little bit more of that golden sheen you can see through it. The thing that really makes me a little sad though was the fact that I was expecting a little more something daring that Rihanna was going to pick as her lip color for the Viva Glam family. Something similar to her limited edition lipstick from the year before called Heaux, which was a deep plum purple, much similar to MAC's Rebel. I only got around 3 hours of wear before I had to re-apply, so I definitely recommend putting on a little bit of lip primer before applying. The lovely thing that I like about this lipstick was that it left a nice light berry stain after it wore out, and it looks almost like a "your lips but better" look.

Dupes: For some odd reason, I feel as though Viva Glam Rihanna is like if MAC's Ruby Woo and Russian Red had a baby. Ruby Woo is a little bit too orange, but Russian Red is more blue-based. If you take Ruby Woo as it is, and just take a teeny-tiny few swipes of Russian Red on a precision brush, add just of bit of gloss since Viva Glam Rihanna is a frost finish and both Ruby Woo and Russian Red are matte finishes, I think you'll get a good close one. Not quite similar, but definitely close.

Overall Rating: 3.8/5

Application: 4

Coverage: 3

Color Payoff: 4

Texture: 5

Wear Time: 3

Packaging: 5

Conclusion: Viva Glam Rihanna is a lipstick you should definitely try out if your into your red lipsticks. The one thing that stands out the most about this color was the fact that this is totally something Rihanna would wear on a daily basis and it's one of her natural looks. I was expecting Viva Glam Rihanna to be a little bit better, but the fact about the whole system of how Viva Glam by MAC works is one to respect. Every penny and proceeds goes straight to the AIDS foundation, so I will be happy towards the fact that your money will be going to a good cause when you purchase this. Viva Glam Rihanna is a nice color, and it's SAFE if you want something that's a little more natural looking. It's a lipstick that has a quality that stands out of the entire Viva Glam collection, but is it something that stands out of every lipstick MAC has made known to man? You'll definitely know the answer when you go and find this lipstick to try at a stand or store near you.

I hope you enjoyed my review for MAC Cosmetics Viva Glam Rihanna! And I actually will be purchasing the MAC's Viva Glam Rihanna Lipglass soon and will be doing a full product review and swatches post, so keep an eye out for that lovelies! And let me know if you end up trying on this lipstick! :)

If you want to shop for Viva Glam Rihanna on MAC's website, click here!

Thank you so much for reading!
Love you, xx