MAC Viva Glam Nicki and Ricky

I have been going crazy for this collection since I first heard about it last summer/early fall.  It finally has been released, first on the MAC website last week and then it finally got to my local counter at the beginning of this week.  I had been stalking the MAC website for the past week so I could see it when it first came out, I wanted to see as many pictures of the lipstick shade as possible since I was somewhat afraid to order it with just seeing the one promotional picture, my skintone is so radically different from Nicki Minaj's that I can't decide how it will look on me.  It took days for my counter to get this product out and I still haven't seen the Lip Conditioner at the counter yet.  I still am a bit surprised that it only had a small display on the counter and that Shop MAC, Cook MAC still had the biggest area of the counter.  I always thought that Viva Glam was among the biggest sellers for MAC...

The MAC website provides very little in the way of a description of the products so I decided to wait until they were up on the Nordstrom website instead of trying to see what I find on the MAC website.  The Nicki part of this collection is a bright pink lipstick and the Ricky part of this collection is a clear Lip Conditioner (suitable for both genders).  I was most interested in the lipstick of course, I had originally thought that the Lip Conditioner was going to be more of tinted pink hue (before I knew that it had anything to do with Ricky) and I was really excited for a tinted pink lip balm.  Once I saw the Lip Conditioner on the MAC website, I knew that I could skip over it since I don't really need another clear lip balm.

The Nordstrom website contains a full description of both products.  "MAC and hip hop diva Nicki Minaj join forces to to create Viva Glam Nicki, a sizzling shade of flamingo pink with a satin finish.  Every cent from the sale goes toward helping women, men, and children living with and affected by HIV and AIDS."  On Nicki Minaj, this shade looks like a neutral bright pink but it looked very different when I swatched it on my hand at the counter.  It is a bright yellow pink and was much warmer than it looked on the website.  It looked more like a bright coral pink shade on me and was much too warm to be flattering on my skin.  It looked awful on me and I was so glad that I didn't just order it from the website since it looked so different on my skin than it did on Nicki Minaj.  I was so bummed that it didn't work since I have wanted this lip shade for so long...

The Lip Conditioner wasn't even shown at the counter, however I know what a clear lip balm looks like so I feel confident that I can skip over it without looking at the product itself.  "Pop icon Ricky Martin amps up Viva Glam with a lip conditioner that goes from day to dance floor.  Untinted, it keeps lips soft and supple.  Every cent from the sale goes toward helping women, men, and children living with and affected by HIV and AIDS."  This isn't a product that I need at the moment.

I was so upset that this lipstick didn't work for me, I love to support the MAC AIDS Foundation and I was just so excited for another bright pink lipstick to add to my collection.  I just it just wasn't meant to be this time around, hopefully the next Viva Glam release will be better than this one for my skintone.

photo courtesy of Nordstrom