Nicki Minaj and Ricky Martin go 'Viva Glam' for MAC

Back before Nicki Minaj was a kaleidoscopic music sensation, she was a teenager growing up in Queens, trying to glam it up for a dance.

"When I went to my prom, I went to the MAC counter and got my makeup done. That was the first time I had makeup professionally applied to my face. I was young and in school and I could not afford it at the time," she says. "I'm a big makeup girl. Makeup makes me come alive. When it's done the right way, it can change your mood. I'm all about contouring and shimmer and glitter and pink blush."

Two hit albums later, Minaj finds herself fronting the MAC "Viva Glam" campaign, with fellow entertainer Ricky Martin.

Her lipstick, dubbed "Nicki," alongside Martin's "Ricky" lip conditioner, have helped the campaign - launched in 1994 - raise an impressive $250 million to help people living with HIV/AIDS.

All proceeds from the "Viva Glam" products go directly to charity; Minaj and Martin's lip concoctions have outsold the previous celebrity collaboration with Lady Gaga.

Minaj says signing up with the brand for a second time, after releasing her top-selling "Pink Friday" lipstick in 2010, was an "organic" experience.

"MAC to me always had the best makeup. I'm just being honest. It always looks rich. When I got into the business, everyone who did makeup had MAC products," she says.

Even though her ensembles are rainbow-hued, along with her appearance, Minaj says that when she's not performing, she sidesteps the heavy artillery.

"I have to wear makeup every day for work so I don't wear it on my off days. I just wear my Viva Glam shade every day. We run through some astronomical number per week. I asked my makeup artist how I went through so much lipstick," she says. "It takes me a couple of minutes to get ready if I'm not doing makeup. If we're doing makeup, I sit in the chair for about 40 minutes. We know exactly what we're doing. We always do the eyes first."

Martin, meanwhile, is living in New York while starring in Evi! ta on Broadway and says he's expanded his product repertoire with MAC's Zoom Lash mascara.

" I actually use this in my mustache to make it stand out darker under the bright lights," he says. "Obviously being in Evita, there's a bit more to my routine than usual."

Mostly, Martin's regimen consists of washing his face. Getting ready, he says, takes "just a few minutes and then I start the day with my boys."

What's his life like in the city with his twins, Matteo and Valentino, almost 4?

"I have a very good support system and yes, kids are a handful, but there is nothing better than waking up in the morning and seeing those beautiful faces. I'm a hands-on dad," says Martin.

Minaj, too, has more going on. She voiced Steffie, a woolly mammoth, in the summer animated release "Ice Age: Continental Drift," and wants to do more screen work.

"Of course. I was so honored to be part of that. I had a little tiny role. They gave us our own screening to watch it and my team came to see it. I could not believe it. Since I was a little girl I wanted to do cartoons and to get this opportunity in a major movie, I was so honored," she says. "I'd love to act, but it's hard to find the time to work it into my schedule. I sang in school and that was my first love. I want to have a moment. Hopefully I'll be able to announce an acting role in the next 18 months."