Buy a lipstick and help a gay: MAC launches new LGBTQ+ fundraiser

MAC Cosmetics will be donating 100 percent of all lipstick sales worldwide during a 24-hour fundraiser. Taking place on June 9, the first-ever VIVA GLAM Day of Giving will see its VIVA GLAM initiative expanded so that proceeds from all lipstick shades will be donated to organisations that benefit the LGBTQ+ community and strive to establish sexual, gender, racial and environmental equality.

Since 1994, the beauty company has been raising money for the MAC AIDS Fund, its philanthropic arm which fights to end HIV/AIDS. The fund is financed by the VIVA GLAM lipstick collection which raises money year-round and champions diversity, individuality and inclusivity. RuPaul was the first-ever face of the VIVA GLAM lipsticks, while self-described “non-lipstick lesbian” k.d. lang, Rihanna, Lady Gaga, Lil Kim and Pamela Anderson have all led campaigns. To date, the brand has raised over $500 million for the cause, funding more than 1,800 organisations supporting equal rights. This is the first time the VIVA GLAM give-back campaign will extend beyond just its signature collection to include all lipstick shades, over 200 of them, in the sales donation.

“MAC is proud to be a place where LGBTQIA+ people have been welcomed since day one,” says Aïda Moudachirous-Reboi, global chief marketing officer at MAC. “RuPaul was our first VIVA GLAM spokesperson in 1994, someone you would not typically see as the face of a beauty brand at that time. And for us at MAC, Pride is both about celebrating the progress we have made as a community and fighting for the many rights and freedoms still to be won.”

This year, homophobic and transphobic opponents of queer rights have mounted a boycotting campaign against brands that partner with people in the LGBTQ+ community. Last week, US retailer Target announced it was removing Pride-theme products after bigoted protestors confronted and threatened employees and destroyed displays in stores. Bud Light has seen sales drop following its partnership with Dylan Mulvaney, while similar partnerships with Maybelline and MAC sparked ridiculous calls for a boycott of make-up brands. While Target and Bud Light conceded under the pressure, MAC is doubling down on its support.

“Today, more than ever, we stand with the LGBTQIA+ community, and we are able to do so authentically because it is fundamental and foundational to our brand DNA,” says Moudachirous-Reboi. “Our end goal is to continue to build a broader community of VIVA GLAM activists because we know that the power of community has the ability to transform society.”