Viva Glam goes va-va-voom

Buy a lipstick, save a life? That’s precisely the kind of power you’ll have when you purchase any of MAC’s five Viva Glam lipsticks and Lipglasses, 100 percent of the sales of which are donated to people living with HIV/AIDS.

The latest, Viva Glam V, has the most arresting spokesmodel yet: Pamela Anderson, who will put her considerable assets to charitable use by telling people to "Get tested" and promoting the universally flattering pearly-pink shade.

MAC Cosmetics’ charitable arm, the MAC AIDS Fund, appointed Anderson last March as its newest spokesperson for Viva Glam V’s advertising campaign. The pneumatic beauty joins an A-list roster that includes Christina Aguilera, Missy Elliott, Linda Evangelista and Chloe Sevigny. Pamela’s specific platform (no pun intended) will focus on the importance of getting tested, getting results, and knowing your health status.

"MAC Viva Glam V is a great campaign to be involved with," says Anderson. "I feel privileged and empowered to help raise funds and awareness on the importance of getting tested. After being diagnosed with Hepatitis C, I knew the importance of knowing your status. Only then can you make informed and wise decisions for your health and life. Everyone, everywhere, has to get tested. It’s the responsible choice. Knowing also helps stop spreading the disease that has no cure… yet."

Since 1994, MAC’s Viva Glam lipsticks (and more recently, lip glosses) have raised over US$44 million for the MAC AIDS Fund.

I remember buying the original Viva Glam hawked by RuPaul in ’94, a classic red that created an instant craze because not only did it raise funds for the worthiest of causes, it was also groundbreaking (the first matte-red lipstick ever put out) and the height of fashion – a trait that characterizes the entire Viva Glam collection. Viva Glam II, promoted by k.d. lang in ’97, was a cool mauve-pink. Viva Glam III in 2000, worn by Mary J. Blige and Lil’ Kim, was a bootylicious plum-brown. Viva Glam IV, launched in 2002 by Elton John, Blige and Shirley Manson, was a pretty frosted rose with gold shimmer. No frumpy, "take your medicine" colors here, just ultra-wearable shades. And now Pamela, clad in the neutral pink and not much else.

"Pamela will advocate the MAC AIDS Fund’s call-to-action mantra ‘Get Tested,’" says John Demsey, chairman of the MAC AIDS Fund. "We chose Pamela not only because she is a highly recognizable pop-culture icon, but because she is so passionate about raising awareness about HIV/AIDS and encouraging people to get tested. As Pamela knows first-hand, once you get tested and learn the facts, only then can you make life decisions. We are confident that with Pamela’s commitment to the MAC AIDS Fund we have the ability to extend our message to an even greater global audience, thereby providing further support and money to those living with HIV/AIDS."

In the first year of the Viva Glam V 2004 launch, the MAC AIDS Fund raised a record $12 million with its diverse lineup of Hollywood, fashion and music stars, from Aguilera to Evangelista to Boy George. Their success can be attributed to the wide appeal of their varied audiences, who together embody the MAC motto of "All Races, All Sexes and All Ages."

And where does all the money go? The MAC AIDS Fund provides vital support to men, women and children living with HIV and AIDS. In addition to Viva Glam, the proceeds from the Kids Helping Kids Cards and the MAC Deck of Cards are distributed to organizations worldwide that provide direct-care services and daily essentials to those afflicted with HIV/AIDS, and that offer HIV/AIDS education, awareness and prevention programs and support the elimination of prejudice and discrimination against HIV/AIDS-affected individuals. The money from that Lipglass you bought is directed to local and geographic regions where the need for HIV-related care and services are greatest. What a way to shop.

MAC, beloved by beauty junkies the world over for its vast range, professional quality and reasonable prices, was created in Toronto, Canada in 1985 and is now part of The Estee Lauder Companies. The company’s popularity has grown through word of mouth from makeup artists, models, photographers and journalists around the world.

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Viva Glam V Lipglass and the lustre lipstick are available at the MAC store in Rustan’s Makati, and the MAC counters in Rustan’s Tower Shangri-La Plaza, Gateway, Cebu, and over 700 locations around the world.