When Rihanna arrived at West Hollywood’s Quixote Studios on Tuesday night, it became clear why MAC Cosmetics chose her as the brand’s ambassador: She commanded the room with a strong sense of confidence and genuine beauty (it didn’t hurt that she wore a bold berry lip using MAC lipstick’s Rebel shade, either). As the face of MAC Viva Glam, the singer is proud of being able to raise HIV/AIDS awareness among her fans.
“I like to use my voice in very powerful ways and this was something close to my heart, so what better people to team up with when you want to get to the source of something like this than the MAC AIDS Fund,” said the star, clad in a pink gingham Altuzarra ensemble. “MAC is very hands on with this, and I really respect the way they donate their money to charity. You can’t lose with someone like that, so I was very, very excited to team up with them.
Added John Demsey, chairman of the MAC AIDS Fund, of the success found in having the pop star as a spokesperson: “She has raised more money, more awareness, garnered more fans, more engagement than anything we’ve ever done. So the power of Rihanna, coupled with MAC Viva Glam, has been unparalleled.” With more than a combined total of 51 million followers on both Instagram and Twitter, there’s no doubt that RiRi makes an impact with everything she does. As MAC AIDS Fund global executive director Nancy Mahon told us, “We’ve sold $43 million worth of Viva Glam,” and you can bet the singer played a major role in driving up those sales.
While the crowd welcomed the fashion icon with open arms (iPhones up and ready for that Instagram shot, of course), the night was really held in honor of the world premiere of It’s Not Over. The film, presented by MAC AIDS Fund and directed by award-winning documentary filmmaker Andrew Jenks, tells the story of three young people around the world who are living with or affected by HIV/AIDS.
Jenks admitted that he didn’t know much about the subject going into the film, but shared that, “It was a big learning curve for me and understanding all the dynamics and how complicated it is, but there is light at the end of the tunnel if everyone chips in, so hopefully that’s what comes across in the movie.”
During the evening, the director was joined by two of the film’s three subjects, Sarang Bhakre and Paige Rawl, as well as Miley Cyrus, the new face of MAC Viva Glam, with her boo, Patrick Schwarzenegger; Liz Goldwyn and musician Grimes.
With these boldfacers in attendance, let’s hope they help spread word about the film, because as Mahon mentioned to us, the cosmetic company didn’t invest in formal advertisements to promote the film. But one supporter they definitely have on board? Rihanna, of course, as her tweet about the film has already received more than 2,000 retweets. In response, Mahon put it best when she said with a laugh: “Who needs ads when you’ve got Rihanna?”
FROM LEFT: Andrew Jenks, Sarang Bhakre, Nancy Mahon, Paige Rawl and Miley Cyrus (Photo: MAC Cosmetics/WireImage)
Check out It’s Not Over when it becomes available on Netflix and Pivot on Nov. 19, and then worldwide via Netflix and SnagFilms on Dec. 1 (also known as World AIDS Day).
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