MAC VIVA Glam RiRi

MAC's VIVA Glam line has long been a favorite of mine. VIVA Glam was my first MAC lipstick purchase in the '90s, when it was the only shade and didn't carry a "I" to indicate which one. I tend to wind up buying anything from the line that remotely appeals. Then I heard that they'd be doing a frosted blue-red and knew I was in for it. (I don't know that I've mentioned this before but you're probably the only person who reads this blog, dear stranger, so I buy everything that appears here. :) )

First of all, the packaging on this one is gorgeous. I want a million lipsticks in this packaging:

Then you roll up the color and oooooooooh:

Unlike RiRi Woo, the product itself doesn't have Rihanna's signature molded in, the signature is on the interior portion of the tube. Honestly, the branding doesn't appeal or detract for me, this is a gorgeous package and a stunning lipstick.

Here it is on me - reminder if you haven't read my pale foundation posts, I'm very pale. I have a lot of trouble with red lipsticks either looking brown or orange or pink instead of red.

This is poised to become a favorite spring and summer color for me, which means I should probably back this up while it's available. (This is limited, like the previous Nicki Minaj, Lady Gaga, Cyndi Lauper, and so on VIVA Glam lipsticks. Folks at my MAC store say it should be available for six months to a year. It also comes in lipglass but I don't wear lipgloss - swatches show the colors to be very close.)

I know I promised Punk Couture lipstick swatches and photos next but I had to interrupt due to my excitement about this color (and it's still available!) I might also make a post about the Anastasia Beverly Hills Dipbrow Pomade in Ebony, which I'm wearing in this photo - it's amazing and easy to use.

Chantecaille Future Skin - Full Face Test (and what KVD looks like)

I'm losing hope, my pale foundation watchers. Here's the results of the full day skin test with Chantecaille Future Skin in Porcelain:

Day 1

Chantecaille Future Skin in Porcelain
MAC lipstick in Studded Kiss

Day 2

Chantecaille Future Skin in Porcelain

MAC Huggables lipstick in Rusty (lightly applied)

Pink, pink, pink and more pink. This oxidization appeared about an hour and a half after application, and to the credit of Chantecaille, stayed steady at this level for the rest of the day. I'm disappointed but it's closer than the Koh Gen Do. Unfortunately, I think it broke my face out - I had to go two days without foundation of any kind to clear up the bumpiness (I usually get rashes, so this was a new one for me.)

Here, let me show you what it's up against, since I'm being so picky. Kat Von D Lock-It Tattoo Foundation in Light 42:

Bright Outdoor Light:

KVD Light 42
MAC Punk Couture and Violetta (layered)

More indirect outdoor light:

(same as above)

Indoor lighting:

Kat Von D Light 42
MAC Punk Couture lipstick (heavy application)

That's after all day of wearing on that last photo. The other two were after several hours. No pink, no orange, perfect match to my neck and chest. Why, oh why, didn't I back up a few bottles of this?

Upcoming: Punk Couture Lipsticks general swatching and round up. I also caved and bought the RiRi VIVA Glam, so expect swatches and photos when that arrives - I'm hoping for a replacement for KVD's Adora lipstick, love the color, hate the formula. 

Koh Gen Do Maifanshi Moisture Foundation Face Test

So, after going through all of those swatches, I came down to a small list of winners. I decided to try the Koh Gen Do Maifanshi Moisture Foundation in 001 first, as it was nice to apply but I had worries about further oxidization. This foundation did something I wasn't expecting - it got more pink as I wore it. I've never seen a foundation oxidize in quite this way and I'd love it if someone could explain it to me. They usually go orange or dark or brown, at least in my experience.

This foundation applies and blends amazingly well and has decent coverage. It does live up to the name - two days of wear and my skin seemed to be a little less dry even in the middle of typically very dry winter skin conditions.

After day one at about eight hours of wear:

Koh Gen Doh Maifanshi Moisture Foundation in 001 at eight hours

Photo taken in natural light, no flash

As you can see, my face is having a bit of doesn't match body issue. It didn't go orange but it certainly did get pinker.

I tried it on a second day and took a photo in the only reasonable amount of natural light I could find - my car. Sorry. This went just as pink as day one, but here you can see it at about three hours of wear, not nearly as pink and much more neutral. Everything about the application was the same, the only thing different, down to the eyeshadow palette I used is day two's MAC Instigator lipstick.

Koh Gen Do Maifanshi Moisture Foundation at 3 hours wear

photo in (car, sorry) natural light

Depending on how the others from the short list perform, this one may be further down the list than I anticipated. The application is great, it's nice to my skin, but the continual slide into pink is a little disappointing.

Next up: Chantecaille Future Skin in Porcelain two-day test.

Foundation Swatches

Quick - you're pale, your favorite foundation has just been discontinued (again,) and you haven't even looked for a replacement in years. What do you do? If you're me? You panic and go and get, I'm not exaggerating here, 24 different foundations color matched to you by a variety of counter sales folks, make up artists, and other pros to swatch and find the next foundation for the CPTB (Cosmetic Powers That Be) to discontinue. (This seems to be a thing with pale foundation - in fact, Torq (my spousal compatriot) jokes every time I find one - "So, how long until they discontinue this one?" or most recently, "Are you going to send the company a condolence letter on their impending discontinuation?")

(Super long post and swatches after the cut)

Pale Skin and Blush/Bronzer/Highlighter

A question I often see posted around forums is, "I'm pale, so I don't use bronzer, right?" Well, not if you don't want to, of course but you can if you want to. The issue with bronzer when you are pale is that it's so very often orange-based which works well on a medium skin tone but not so much for us pale folks. I also find that very soft, pink shades are recommended as blushes for pale folks and that may not provide the flushed look you're going for.

Many people have recommended the Too Faced Milk Soleil to me but most unfortunately, it contains sodium saccharine. (I have a sulfa drug allergy and this goes along with it. Too Faced uses this to make the bronzer smell sweet, like chocolate.) I will see if I can find a similarly-toned guest swatcher for that one.

A lot of folks recommended Urban Decay's Naked Flushed. Possibly because it was new, probably because it was failing for folks with medium skin tones and they assumed that meant it was geared for the pale. I'm sorry to say, not for me - the bronzer is very orange, the highlighter is very dark, and the blush is too much for me. The highlighter shade is actually comparable to NARS Orgasm.

NARS is the eternal favorite of the blush world and I can see why. I've been using Laguna for years and just recently jumped on the Orgasm bandwagon. Where I think NARS falls flat here, though, is the highlighter. Copacabana is the commonly recommended highlighter and it's too bright and too light, in my opinion, for most highlighting needs.

Here's a (poorly done, I'm sorry to say) swatch set of the Urban Decay Naked Flushed Palette (highlighter, bronzer, blush) and the most commonly recommended NARS items (Copacabana highlighter, Laguna bronzer, Orgasm blush) each in a heavy and then blended swatch.

The NARS colors disappear into my skin, leaving not much else than a healthy glow. The Urban Decay palette leaves a bold look - which works for some but may not be what you're looking for. Stay tuned as I try Francois Nars's suggestion for contouring shades for pale skin - taupe eyeshadows.

Up Next: Foundation Swatches - They're here! Sephora finally got around to discontinuing my Kat Von D Light 42, so I finally got around to finishing the swatches.