Kim Petras Is the New Face of MAC Cosmetics' Iconic Viva Glam Lipstick: 'Princess Moment' (Exclusive)

Kim Petras just made a major beauty move, and in a word, it’s glam.

The Grammy-winning singer, 31, was just announced as a celebrity ambassador for MAC Cosmetics. To kick off her partnership, Petras stars in the latest campaign for the brand’s iconic Viva Glam lipstick.

Petras and pop star Danna Paola, who’s also been named a celebrity ambassador, are joining the brand at an extra-special time. 

This year, MAC Cosmetics is celebrating both its 40th year in the beauty biz, as well as the 30th anniversary of the creation of Viva Glam, the lipstick known the world over for its lasting impact both in and outside the beauty industry. 

In 1994, Viva Glam launched with a vibrant blue lipstick and a clear mission: to give every penny from sales of the product to the MAC Aids Fund, which supports organizations helping underserved individuals living with and affected by HIV/AIDS.

K.D. Lang became the face of the lipstick’s second iteration and the collaboration cemented the brand’s relationship with the biggest change-makers in entertainment. Since then, Chloë Sevigny, Dita Von Teese, Fergie and Sia have all lent their faces and voices to Viva Glam campaigns.

Now, it’s Petras’ turn, and as a genuine MAC Cosmetics fan, it’s an opportunity she’s more than ready for.

“It took me one second to say yes to a Viva Glam campaign. It was just something that was very present when I was learning about gay culture,” Petras tells PEOPLE exclusively of this “princess moment.”

Makeup has always been “special” to Petras. 

The transgender artist shares that she started wearing makeup at 12 after she’d begun her hormone therapy journey. “It was just mascara and a little brow gel, but I remember that being so amazing because before that I needed to go to school in boys' clothes and have my hair back,” she shares, adding, “It felt very freeing and I can't describe that feeling and how much that meant to me.”

Petras says one of her first memories of MAC Cosmetics is seeing one of its iconic black eyeshadow pots on her mother’s vanity. “I used to steal this black [shade] with a little bit of shimmer that she used to do her eyeliner with [because] I was always really fascinated by that.”

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At 7, she had a curiosity for makeup, but lacking skills, Petras “just looked like a raccoon,” she remembers. 

In school, she recalls not really being "the popular kid.” As a result, Petras would spend most days sitting by herself, listening to music and spritzing MAC Cosmetics’ Fix Plus Makeup Setting Spray on her face. 

“Me and my few gay friends at school would always have it in our bags and spray it on each other all the time. I remember the smell and the fab time that we had,” says Petras.

These days, “MAC's kind of like a lucky charm,” she says. “I was wearing Ruby Woo at the Grammys when I won.”

Petras says Viva Glam’s goals align with her own. 

“A lot of my career and my life is very based on I wish we could just treat everybody the same. Not on gender, not on where they're from, not on how much money they have, not on how they look,” Petras shares

“MAC agrees. And Viva Glam, which has raised over half a billion dollars, stands for equality: sexual equality, gender equality, racial equality and environmental equality,” she says. 

The brand’s focus on trans youth especially, is “very close” to her heart. 

“There's kids who are being kicked out of their homes, who are homeless from a young age for being themselves. There's access to treatment laws being passed in the world right now that target transgender children and kids and that really sucks to see and it's such a wild time that I really think it's really important to me to be able to help and give back in this way — and what a fab way it is,” she says. 

Viva Glam has the power to make people feel beautiful on the outside and inside, Petras says. “To buy a lipstick, and then to feel good about it too is such a special thing. When I was young, Viva Glam educated me about a lot of HIV issues. I was seeing the campaign and then looking into them raising money for HIV. It's cool to to look back and be like, ‘This product has really helped a lot of people.’"

For the 30th anniversary campaign, MAC Cosmetics is asking the world to put your money where your mouth is by purchasing one of four MACximal Silky Matte Viva Glam Lipsticks ($25 each). While Viva Empowered, Viva Heart and Viva Planet are past Viva Glam shades that boast the brand’s new formula, Viva Equality is entirely new.

Petras wears Viva Heart, a blue-red hue, during the interview. “It's a really beautiful '90s muted red. I pair it with a liner that's called Cherry and it just gives me crazy confidence and I feel really put together.”

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Viva Equality, a deep neutral hue, “would probably look amazing on everyone,” Petras says. Meanwhile, she describes Viva Planet, a beige-mauve shade, as “a more casual nude, for me.”

Petras feels best in her skin when she’s out in nature with her dogs. “When I kind of go out into the world, makeup makes me really confident. I wear a lot on stage for the people all the way in the back. But, I appreciate being without makeup, and I'm really happy that I can still like myself without it.”