Beautifully Flawed: MAC Viva Glam: Nicki Minaj

I wasn't one of the many who hopped all over the Pink Friday lipstick that MAC brought out awhile back. Now don't get me wrong, I'm all for snatching up the LE items... I just refuse to buy something KNOWING I am not going to use it. And I WAS NOT going to wear that bad boy. Fact is, it would've looked HORRIBLE on me. Could I have freaked it with some liner and gloss and made it work? YEP. But I really didn't feel like spending $15 on a lipstick that I'd have to do some major altering to in order to NOT look ridiculous.

When I got the email with the Viva Glam ad for this lipstick, I immediately thought... here we go again. But I skipped my gut feeling and did a little research anyway to see if this one would be wearable for me. What I found were some comparisons to Pink Friday and a handful of swatches that looked promising; though in the end I had to make an executive decision since there weren't many swatches on darker skin for reference. So, I gave in and bought it since I figured it was for a great cause regardless of how things panned out.

I've had it a few days and have tried it various ways, and I can say that on my skintone, I find it barely wearable out the tube. It does compliment warmer tones better than Pink Friday, but if it had not been Viva Glam... I would be $15 richer for sure. The consistency is a little drier that I expected (I'm a creamsheen woman), but it's certainly full coverage in one swipe, and not drying to the lips. The staying power is great, so be sure to throw a balm on underneath that bad boy to cut down the risk of staining (I woke up the next morning with pink tinted lips even after removing my makeup for the night).

Overall, I think this would look better on fairer skin, or really deep hued beauties, but certainly can be for anyone with a bit of tweaking. My favorite combo thus far is Viva Glam Nicki with Iman Tan liner and Buxom Monica gloss.

What do you guys think about the new Viva Glam Nicki? And... enjoy the swatches!