Rihanna’s Birthday Roundup: Cosmetics and Controversy

RiRi [Hearts] MAC. (Instagram)Up in smoke. (Instagram)

Rihanna is celebrating her 25th birthday today in classic RiRi style: making headlines, both good and bad.
The good news first -- MAC announced on Wednesday that the “Stay” singer and the cosmetics giant have partnered for a multi-season collaboration, the first for the company and any celebrity. And she’s not just lending her name and face – MAC is calling Rihanna its “creative partner” and she will have a heavy hand with the 31 products in the RiRi [Hearts] MAC line. The first, RiRi Woo red lipstick, will be unveiled on May 4 with a pop-up shop at her concert inside Brooklyn’s Barclays Center.
“When it comes to creating things, I like to get my hands in there,” she told Women’s Wear Daily. “When you think of makeup, the brand that pops into your mind — for something legit — is MAC. Whatever color you want, it’s like ‘Let’s go to MAC.’ I’ve been using MAC on tour for such a long time it was a natural fit for me. I have always loved makeup, and I always said that if I do it, I want to do it with a credible brand.”
[Related: Rihanna's Most Scandalous Moments (Photos)]
After that announcement, Rihanna posted a photo of a few of the products, all marked with “RiRi [Hearts] MAC” in her handwriting, on Instagram. “That's right baby, I'm a #MACgal now!” she wrote. “Get into it, package designed and products created from scratch by yours truly! Thanks to the EPIC team at #MAC for giving me the opportunity to play and share my favorite s**t with my fans and yours.”
Rihanna. (Instagram)However, some other Instagram photos made fans really take notice. On Tuesday, the day before Rihanna’s birthday, her best friend and personal assistant, Melissa Forde, posted a series of the singer laying around in a bikini … smoking a funny-looking cigarette. “#whobad @badgalriri #smokeitupsmokeitup,” Forde wrote as the caption for one pic of Rihanna from behind in a cloud of smoke. In another photo of the birthday girl exhaling, Forde wrote, “Bitch I got that flame.”
Also on Tuesday, a behind-the-scenes video from her London Fashion Week debut hit the web. In it, Rihanna can be seen going over last-minute details on the pieces from her Rihanna For River Island line, as well as the models’ hair and makeup. “Part in the middle, straight … blunt,” she tells an assistant after inspecting one catwalker’s hair.
In another scene, she and the models pose together for photos before the big show last Saturday. And later, as each girl struts down the runway in her creations, Rihanna is seen dancing backstage while watching on a monitor. “That’s so sexy,” she yells over the blaring music (her own, of course).
Although her first fashion line was mostly panned by critics – The Daily Beast called it “a horror show. The clothes were hideous and without an ounce of panache or style between them.” – Rihanna didn’t seem to mind. On Tuesday, she posted a screengrab of Vogue’s website on Instagram with the caption, “Anna Wintour thank you for covering my show!!!”
Do you think Rihanna’s 25^th year will be more subdued or should we expect even more drama?