MAC Viva Glam GaGa: Darker Skin

I confess!  I am a "little monster" I don't want to admit it, but something about this artist is intriguing.  It took me a long time to get past her "image" but in time, I listened to the sound that came from that tiny diaphragm and was also impressed with her live show.  Who doesn't love GaGa? 
I didn't love her enough to buy the lipstick yet, but I did get a sample of it.  The artist had just opened the tube, and cut me a piece from the lower end of the lipstick and let me take it home to try it.  You all have read reviews, seen swatches, tried it on etc., but a lot of women with darker skin tones haven't seen what it looks like on brown skin.  So, in honor of us "foxy browns" and gave it a whirl. 

(powder donuts? crack?)

I feel like that guy Chris Rock played that was a crack addict.  Some things just need not be done.  So why the post? Well, to back my previous statement before.  Sometimes we have to play the hand we're dealt.  Not every shade, no matter how great the packaging, the artist behind it or the hype surrounding it, just doesn't justify dropping a huge chunk of change to "make it work."  Seriously, if they were giving it away?  By all means go for it, but buying something that doesn't fit just to alter it with layering, mixing, etc. is silly.  Why do that when you know the likelihood of you reaching for it is slim to never due to all the steps you have to take?  What's more, after you've done all the "tweaking" it's not the same color!  So when someone compliments you and says, "Hey Cherub what color is that?"  You apprehensively tell them it's Viva Glam GaGa.  They give you a look that says, "Are you sure?  Mine looks nothing like that."  Then you tell them you lined your lips with "X" then layered it with "X lippie" and then topped it with "X gloss" and by the time you look up they are long gone.  Yep...my point exactly. 

The bottom line:  Don't waste money on a product just because of the hype.  There are so many other colors available, it's okay to "pass" on a few items.  Aren't you worth it?  Cosmetic companies work for the consumer, so if you don't buy they get the message.