Gaga for MAC Viva Glam
I know, I know, my very last post was about Lady Gaga. Well, the one before that was about reproductive rights, so let’s say it’s a theme versus redundancy, okay?
So birthday girl Gaga (happy 24th, Mother Monster X!) joined up with Cyndi Lauper to design a lipstick for the MAC AIDS Fund’s Viva Glam campaign, which donates 100 percent of the proceeds from the sale of lipstick and lip gloss to the global fight against AIDS and HIV:
One of my favorite things about this campaign is how it emphasizes the feminine side of needing to be protected…Too often it seems to me like HIV protection is supposedly something that only gays, junkies and sluts are supposed to worry about. Of course that kind of stereotyping is total bullshit. Take it away, Gaga:
“We want women to feel strong and feel strong enough that they can remember to protect themselves. To have this lipstick as a reminder in your purse, that when your man is laying naked in bed, you go into the bathroom, you put your lipstick on, and you bring a condom out with you. There are no exceptions…This idea of negotiation before intercourse is this kind of ridiculous thing in the age that we’re living in. I would say never, but you must be in a loving, monogamous relationship or married. We’re not in an age when you can have irresponsible, condom-less sex.”
Fuck yeah to empowerment! And special edition MAC lipstick is a bonus; at only about $15, a tube of MAC is one of my surefire pick-me-ups if I’m feeling down, and when the profits go to charity it’s not even a guilty pleasure.
I could tell, sadly, that Gaga’s special edition shade was not going to suit my particular complexion (which, in my opinion somewhat awesomely, always gets delicious descriptors like cafe au lait, praline or caramel) but I had hopes for Cyndi’s shade as a heavy, creamy red…at least, that’s how it looks in the picture. It’s much more of a jewel tone, though, and it looks completely different on me that it apparently does on Ms. Lauper. I picked it up anyway, though!
I feel like a bit of an asshole posting such a cam-ho-tastic picture, but I suppose this won’t be much of a fashion blog if I don’t get over THAT inclination, so here we are:
So not the same color as in the ad. But cute in it’s own way, I thought.
Just as a little bonus, I thought it would be fun to take a look at a couple of the other Gaga looks that were the reason I was hoping to pick up a decent red lipstick, namely the wonderfully chola-tastic bitches in Telephone:
Amazingly, the very first YouTube tutorial I looked at about this turned out to be a great one. My favorite bit is the little droplet of cola still hanging precariously on the edge of the can on the right:
