MAC Viva Glam 26 Lipstick Review & Swatches
Viva Glam 26
MAC Viva Glam 26 Lipstick ($20.00 for 0.1 oz.) is a vivid, medium tomato red with subtle, warm undertones and a semi-matte finish. It was richly pigmented in a single stroke, which yielded even coverage that glided across my lips without tugging/dragging.
The texture was firmer and dense but not stiff, so it didn’t slide around while worn. This shade lasted well for over six hours, left a stain behind, and felt non-drying over time.
FURTHER READING: Formula Overview for details on general performance and characteristics (like scent).
Top Dupes
- L'Oreal Le Rouge Avant-Garde (P, $13.99) is cooler (95% similar).
- ColourPop Trust Me (P, $6.00) is more muted (95% similar).
- Revlon Lip Boom (P, $12.39) is lighter (95% similar).
- ColourPop Red Pocket (LE, $7.00) is lighter, cooler (90% similar).
- NARS Don't Stop (P, $26.00) is darker (90% similar).
- Makeup Geek Beauty Queen (P, $12.00) is darker (90% similar).
- MAC High Heels (LE, $21.00) is more muted (90% similar).
- NARS Inappropriate Red (P, $26.00) is darker, cooler (90% similar).
- NARS Dragon Girl (P, $34.00) is cooler (90% similar).
- Giorgio Armani Lucky Red (403) (P, $38.00) is darker, cooler (90% similar).
Formula Overview
$19.00/0.1 oz. - $190.00 Per Ounce
MAC Lipstick comes in a variety of finishes, and the pigmentation and wear tend to be dependent on the finish. The sheer finishes, like Lustres, tend to wear for only a couple of hours and have sheer coverage (as designed) and are non-drying.
Some of the original Matte shades have a stiffer, drier formula, while newer ones have a more velvety, silicone-feel to them, and the latter are creamier, more comfortable to wear, and easier to apply, but most Matte shades are quite pigmented and long-wearing, though some are drying.
The Amplified and Satin finishes tend to have good pigmentation, lightly creamy to moderately creamy consistencies with a bit of shine, and moderate to long wear with deeper, richer shades wearing longer. The Frost and Metallic finishes have the most variance between shades with coverage ranging from semi-sheer to opaque with average wear and non-drying to slightly drying formulas. All MAC lipsticks are vanilla-scented but have no discernible taste.
Browse all of our MAC Lipstick swatches.
This is a seriously gorgeous tone of red! I do have YSL Scout’s Red, which when I did the side by side comparison, is nearly a perfect match. So, I will probably pass on this even though I love it so much. Oh, and I so desperately miss wearing regular tube lipstick when I go out. Especially my favorites, like Scout’s Red!
I like supporting the Viva Glam program and usually pick up each one, regardless of whether I would actually wear the shade, since I have people I can gift the lipstick to. I don’t enjoy warmer based reds. They don’t flatter my skin tone or my 66 year old teeth. It will look wonderful on my daughter so I have someone I can gift it to already in line. It is a worthwhile cause, IMHO, so I will be getting this.
Viva Glam doesn’t count, I think, as the money goes to a great charity so this one is now on my list. It is so pretty, I mostly wear cooler reds, but I can wear warmer as well and I can see a lot of use from this one. A good colour for all seasons.
What a perfect red! Love tomato red and this one looks so smooth & pretty.
Holy Mamma – what a red!
Viva Glam Rosalía is the perfect red lipstick. Pigmented, medium red for everybody, matte but moisturizing and full coverage.
I think MAC wanted to represent here the spanish passion and that’s why they chose the spanish singer Rosalía for this Viva Glam 26. I’m going to wear it a lot this Christmas.