31.1.14

Month Off... | January

So the first month off of 2014 is over. Muj and I kicked off the year with booting takeaways for the month. Despite living quite literally across the road from a chippy I've managed to resist every form of takeaway food for the month. We did this last year at some point and I managed to do it then but only just. It was really difficult back then and I kept craving things like mad. This month just felt different for some reason. Muj and I had a McDonald's on the 31st whilst through in Stirling perusing Primark and then decided that was us, no takeways for the next month. We had originally started these as 30 days off but figured it would just be easier to go the whole month.

So despite the alluring scent of the local chippy for some reason, every time I thought about just packing it in and going to get something all I could think about was the amount of fat that goes into making that 'delicious' food. It gave me the boak, just thinking about all that fat, grease and how shite I'd feel after eating it managed to just put it right out my mind! Every other takeaway didn't cross my mind in the slightest, even when Louis was hinting at a Tuesday Domino's, I wasn't interested at all. This month has been really good as I feel it's helped me re-evaluate how I look at food. I want to put healthy, nourishing food into my body that's going to help it and be put to the best use. I want to fuel my body correctly and feel good about myself.

Now that the month is over, yeah sure I'm 'allowed' takeaways now but I can't see me rushing out to go get one tomorrow. Maybe not even the next again day either.Sunday is food shop day so it's out the window then. Now that I come to think about it, I might not be able to fit in a takeaway ;)


30.1.14

A Friday night playing bingo you say?

Last Friday three of my friends and I headed off to the bingo. Yeah you read that right, bingo. My friend Dayle decided to get us a Groupon (I think) voucher for the four of us to play bingo, have dinner there and have a wee drink. We'd all been moaning that we wanted to try bingo so she must have been listening!


We headed in, a bit later than we were supposed to as Muj and I had a panic about dabbers and ran to Poundland just in case. As we ran in to the reception, Mel and Dayle were waiting for us and finishing getting registered sorted out. Muj and I filled out our forms and we were ready to go. The woman who got us all sorted took us into the hall and explained how it all worked. I don't know about the rest of the girls but I absolutely shat my pants. 

This room was filled with what looked like hundreds of tables, the place was massive, it was a lot bigger on the inside! ;) and it looked like it was filled with veterans. Men and women who had been at this for years and knew what the fuck they were talking about. In walked us 4 early to mid twenty year olds giggling and looking very red in the face!


We were set up with our temporary membership cards, our bingo books and complimentary dabbers (of fucking course!), asked what food and drink we wanted then we had a bit of time before the main event. We were quietly whisper-chatting and figuring out what we were actually doing and to my utter horror we were shushed. SHUSHED! For figuring out what to do. I really had to bite my tongue and hold back the scathing response that was trying to escape. In silence and slightly red-faced we returned to our booklets to continue trying to learn. This is when I started to panic, I thought we had to go through the 6 page booklet every time a number was called out which in hindsight is really bloody stupid and pretty much impossible but I started to get very nervous until our food was delivered and the woman that brought it out explained. Just as well she did, I honestly thought I was going to have a nervy b and I wasn't the only one! After joking with Mel that she should bring her knitting, she actually did!


We had much more fun than we thought we would once we had calmed down a bit and got right into the swing of it. Number called, quick scan of just one page, dab the number, count how many more you need before you should call out. Panic during the whole game about what you'll actually call if you do win, I'm not joking, I spent most of the time during the games thinking about what I should shout. What's appropriate? The classic 'BINGO', the 'right' that was the favourite of the night or a proper cheer if you win big? Unfortunately I didn't find out as I didn't win a single thing and neither did the girls. No beginner's luck for us unfortunately but now that we know the rules and how to play thanks to the lovely couple of ladies sitting next to us who prompted us when we looked lost (unlike the bloody shushers!) hopefully we'll get on a lot better next time.


We're heading back on the 8th for another go and because we joined we were given vouchers for another free meal and dessert this time! I'll fill you all in if I hit a win next time. If I do then the money will be going towards the imats trip I've decided to go on with Hailey from haileysbeautyworld in June!


29.1.14

WIW #5 | The thankful maintain

Another weigh in week has rolled on in and as each week comes and goes, I'm less anxious about stepping on the scales. I've accepted that I won't have losses every single week. Even if I eat 'properly' and get exercising done, the scales might not always show a loss (I do take measurements into consideration as well but I hope you see where I'm coming from!) Acceptance is key. I'll gain, I'll lose and I'll even maintain. Which is exactly what happened this week. After last week's gain I'm very relieved with staying the same weight.

Last week: 228.8lbs
This week: 228.8lbs
Loss: 0

I've been much more on track with my eating this week and I'm getting into the habit of logging and submitting my food diaries on myfitnesspal. I feel like the site really keeps me on track and I'm starting to become annoyed if I miss something. Exercise wise I haven't done much, my bi-monthly walk to the jobcentre and back which totalled a whole 34 minutes then there was just under an hour of walking on the same day heading to an interview and then back home. Apart from that I haven't done anything else. I've not restarted C25K like I said I would and I think it's mostly out of fear. I don't want to fall again. If I do, chances are, this close to badly spraining it, I could injure it even further (maybe even break it?). On the other hand, I'm not a doctor and don't know that for certain. I could just be making excuses for myself, it wouldn't be the first time.

Now onto my measurements, again I'm happy to be getting into the habit of whipping out the measuring tape every two weeks, stripping off and checking those inches! I don't have particular inch loss goals, I'm not sure what is considered healthy or how you would even decide what to consider healthy (for example, when taking BMI into consideration, it doesn't take into consideration athletes, I don't know if things like this also affect inches or not) Do you know what I mean or am I rambling?
  • Bust - 48/47 -1inch
  • Underbust - 40/40 No loss
  • Waist - 39/39 No loss
  • Stomach - 47/48 +1inch 
  • Hips - 49/49 No loss
  • Butt - 49/49.5 +0.5inch
I'm not really surprised with the inches put on or the ones not shifted at all considering the lack of exercise. The inch off my tatas though, I had to double check that one! The measuring tape doth not lieth. I feel like I've had plenty time off exercising and I really need to kick it up a few gears and get sweaty at least 3 times a week if I want to make a difference to the numbers on the scales and tape but also to my clothes size, my mental health and the smile on my face!

To finish off today's post I'm leaving you with some motivational images. Seeing them is really a wee kick up the butt sometimes and lets be honest, I'm in need of a big one just now!





I'm feeling very positive about my healthy future and sure it might not last forever or for very long before I have a dip but I'm focusing on the good just now and I'll focus on the good even when I'm feeling shite. Hopefully it'll see me through!

27.1.14

MNY and Models Own | NOTD


So I'm pretty crap at doing my nails, despite having over 50 nail polishes, I either can't be arsed or it just turns out utterly shite and I take it off. I picked up these MNY Maybelline polishes from my local British Heart Foundation a while ago but I can't remember for the life of me how much they cost. I'm willing to bet it was about £1 though as that's usually how much I spend on nail polish. Hello Poundland! 

I started off with just these two MNY Maybelline colours, they don't have shade names though just numbers. The purple is 553 and the accent pink is 261. I love my accent nail but decided it was a bit too boring for once, enter Models Own Juicy Jules to spice it up! I am by no means as expert or even an intermediate at nails but I'm quite proud of this look and think it's fab!

In the bottle both the MNY shades have a blue glitter through them, on the actual nail I think it only comes across with the purple shade (553). My Juicy Jules might have to go in the bin soon too, it's gone all gloopy and horrible which is a shame as I love it! To glitter up the accent nail, I used some cosmetic sponges that I've had in my drawers for about two years now, doing absolutely nothing. After seeing lots of ombre and sponge art NOTDs, I figured I'd give it a go myself!







Maybe next time I do my nails, I'll remember to push back my cuticles and stick some hand cream on!

26.1.14

Nakd Cashew Cookie | Healthy Noms


Time for another Healthy Noms! This week I finally got round to trying a Nakd bar, took me long enough right? I've had so many people telling me I should give them a go so I finally did! I decided to go with Cashew Cookie as I cannot stand raisins or sultanas and this was the only bar I could see in Asda that didn't have any. 

 I have to say right off the bat that I was not a fan of this in the slightest, they weren't what I was expecting and I didn't enjoy the flavour at all. I thought because the bar was just cashews and dates that they might be more texture but it was more like mush, kind of felt like I was eating baby food that had been moulded into a bar. I hate to put up such a negative review but it can't always be happy happy, I looooove this right? 




I only managed to eat half of this bar before I had to stop, just really didn't like it. It's such a shame as I was really looking forward to trying this out! I won't be trying any more from the range, as I said earlier, I don't like raisins or sultanas. Unfortunately Nakd is a no for me but I'd fully recommend everyone try them out for themselves. Just because I don't like them, doesn't mean you won't!

24.1.14

Mini Matalan Haul


I was in Matalan last week and after trying out about 12 pieces of clothing and having none of them fit I moved on to the homeware section of the shop. I didn't do my usual of throwing a hissy fit at the clothes though, I just breathed and got on with it. Progress my friends!

Before I get on with the rest of the post I have to say that the purple plate/dish that my mini haul is sitting on is THE most difficult thing to photograph on it's own. After many, many failed attempts I decided to just stick with the above photo and explain to you all! I haven't decided what I've going to put on it yet, for now I have candles in wee holders on it, I was maybe thinking pot pourri but I thought it might spill out, I'll figure something out! Oh I forgot to mention, it cost 50p. Bargain!


I don't know what you'd call this, a mini vase, a container, whatever it is I fell in love with it! The first thing I thought when I saw it was that I could put my brushes in it. Just now I'm keeping them in a Hello Kitty container but it's getting very cramped. This cost £1 which surprised me as it's quite heavy!


I fell in love with this little ceramic pot? Again I've no idea what it actually is but I'm going to use it to stick some jewellery in. Again, it's all stuffed into a wee bucket type thing and slowly running out of room. Maybe my favourite pieces can go in here! When I picked it up I noticed that one of the flowers was missing 3 petals but I decided to get it anyway because it was just too cute! At 50p as well, I couldn't really say no.


Now for the most expensive part of this mini haul. A big ol' packet of earrings! I very rarely buy earrings as I've got ridiculously sensitive skin and if it's not sterling silver, I go green! However, when I picked up these earrings and flipped them over, I was amazed to see they weren't any kind of metal! I very quickly chucked them into my basket with glee, looking forward to putting them on when I get home. I'm currently wearing the pink ones from the top left and the purple/grey ones from the bottom right. It was £3 for 9 pairs.



So in total, my mini home haul came in at £5. The earrings would have cost that much alone at full price! I do love a good sale bargain. What have you picked up recently? Let me know below.

22.1.14

WIW #4 | The expected gain

Ok so I've spent pretty much the past 2 weeks in bed only leaving the house to go to Tesco to get food and the pub quiz on Sundays. I've either been eating absolute shite or nothing at all. Not really been living up to my blog name ey? I've had quite a dip in my mental health in the last week which lead on from my ankle injury and I kinda gave into it. I've been in a really good place mentally since moving to the new house so I've now had my wee dip and I'm back to kicking butt!

Last week: 226.8lbs
This week: 228.8lbs
Loss: +2lbs 

Unfortunately because of spending all week in bed and eating shite/not eating and not having anywhere near enough water, my weight has suffered. I am quite annoyed at myself but at the same time I know that this isn't 100% accurate, I'm working on upping my water intake again and hopefully it was just retention. I've also been making much more of an effort to prepare and eat good meals. It's only Wednesday but some effort is better than no effort right?

No measurements this week, which is probably a good thing. I've just come out the other end of this depressive swing and I think if I had to do measurements on top of weight, it would have made me feel so shite again.

Sure I've gained but I don't feel as horrible as I usually would, I'm focusing on the positive points. The main one being, I no longer want to spend all day in bed doing nothing!

21.1.14

Kiss Haute Couture Natural Lashes | A Natural Second Chance


In my 25 years of living I have worn false eyelashes twice, and that includes this pair right here. The first time was New Year a couple years ago and they looked bloody awful. I went for big gaudy looking ones, didn't put them on properly and looked like a tit! This Haute Couture pair, I got from FABBGlasgow (post here) in October and I only got round to using them on Dec 10th for the Bloggers Christmas Party (post here) and it's taken me over another month to get the post up. I'm a shite blogger sometimes!

Due to the debacle of the last lashes I was really hestitant about trying these out but I knew I eventually would. I'm a total noob when it comes to them so I took to twitter before applying them for tips and tricks. Everyone was really helpful! Gotta love those #bbloggers



As you can see they came with plenty instructions on the back of the packet and even within the packet. No less than 12 different languages! I didn't bother with the booklet but did pay attention to the ones on the back of the packet and my trusty twitter tips! 

I loved the wee applicator it came with but it was just too fiddly for me, perhaps once I am more experienced in the art of falsies I'll be able to master it. If you've got any tips, please let me know!



I was absolutely terrified when it came to putting them on. They looked massive and I thought I'd look like a tit, again. Luckily, everyone's tips kept me on the right track and I got them on with minimal fuss. It took a while to get used to wearing them, the first hour or so felt weird as fuck. I kept going to rub my eye and pull them off but I persisted and it settled right down! They didn't look as huge and clumpy as I imagined either, dare I say it they did look slightly natural! I think next time I wear false lashes, I'll trim them a bit so they aren't hanging over but apart from that I wouldn't do anything different!


Unfortunately I forgot to put the lashes back into the try once I'd taken them off so I kinda ruined them and only got the one use out of them. I'll be making sure I don't do that again next time! I think they looked really good though and it's definitely a better experience than the first time. Definitely goes to show you should give things a second chance!

19.1.14

Special K Biscuit Moments Chocolate Flavour | Healthy Noms


Since moving to the new flat, I am now a 2 minute walk from a Tesco Metro so I find myself in there quite a lot. In order to keep myself away from the bakery and crisp section, I've started walking up and down all the aisles and looking out for healthy snacks on offer. Enter Special K Biscuit Moments. I saw these bad boys chilling out next to the biscuits and cookies and at only £1 for 5 packs containing two biscuits, I couldn't say no!

I'm usually not the hugest fan of things like this as they tend to come in fruity flavours with chunks of the fruit in question and it's usually all the fruits I don't like. These biscuit moments were available in strawberry and blueberry flavour but as soon as I saw the chocolate flavour I pounced! The best part - 98 calories per two biscuits! 

They are described as chocolate flavoured filling in a biscuit topped with vanilla drizzle and if that doesn't make your mouth water then just look at them. Look at them! They sound delicious, they look delicious and they definitely taste delicious. Soft yet crunchy, the chocolate flavour filling is just the right amount and the vanilla drizzle compliments is beautifully.




Although they were on offer when I bought them (and from what I can gather, they will be on offer until January 22nd  in Tesco and are also £1 in Asda) I think I will continue to buy these bars. They are delicious, I enjoy eating them and I don't feel guilty after I've had the pair out the packet. Last year when Muj and I were following much better diets, we allowed ourselves two snacks each day at 100 calories each and I'd like to get back to that so these are pretty much perfect! 

Have you tried these tasty biscuits out? Are there any foods you'd recommend I try for Healthy Noms? Let me know below!

17.1.14

Crystal Clear Skincare | #2014BloggerChallenge #2

Well here we are in the second week of the 2014 Blogger Challenge. When the email containing this fortnights topic arrived in my inbox I was very pleased - skincare. I've noticed over the past couple months that skincare has slowly become my favourite thing to do, I used to absolutely detest it and just plain couldn't be arsed! These days, I love serums, moisturisers, face masks, the lot! One brand in particular has stood out for me in these past few months and so I'm going to use this 2014 Blogger Challenge topic to talk about them!


The brand in question is Crystal Clear Skincare (website here) I wasn't too familiar with them until the FABB Glasgow event I attended in October. At the event we were given some information about the brand, the back story, aims, etc and then we were very kindly given Lift Away The Years and 10 Minute Glow both of which I didn't use for a while. You can blame moving house for that one, definitely should have labelled boxes better! During the festive period, Crystal Clear were running a promotion called Rockin' Robin. If you found the robin in their website you would get a fantastic offer on one of their products. I managed to pick up a full size Roll Away The Years for just £1. I was beyond chuffed with that!

As soon as Roll Away The Years arrived in the post ( I decided to hunt out the other two items and start using them. Before that my skincare regime was pretty non existent. I'd cleanse my face and moisturise if I remembered and indulged in semi regular face masks but apart from that there wasn't all that much going on. Before I started using the products my skin was in pretty naff condition. Oily, clogged pores, not smooth in the slightest and it just looked dull and lifeless. I was pinning a lot on Crystal Clear doing me a solid!

Oh man did they deliver! I was not disappointed, even from the first use I noticed a difference in my skin. The face mask is a great wee peel off mask that when applied properly (after properly cleansing and patting dry your face) will leave your skin feeling smooth and fresh! Lift Away The Years is equally as fab, it's a vibrating wand with a metal roller ball which feels amazing on your skin! Paired with the intense anti-ageing serum it comes with, your skin is left feeling plump and full of life! Roll Away The Years is a fantastic eye serum that I've been using under my eye and on my brow bone (and also sneakily on my laughter lines). Similar to Lift Away The Year, it has multiple smaller roller balls and leaves your skin feeling fresh and awakened. I like to stick a good layer on before I go to bed and wake up looking fabby!

This brand has not disappointed me in the slightest and my only qualm is that it's a bit on the expensive side for me, being that I'm broke beyond hell. However I think I will be saving up money and stocking up as I love the products so much and I'd love to try more of the range. Permanent wishlist items I reckon!

I know what you're all probably thinking - Alana, this is all anti wrinkle and defying ageing products, you're 25, what the hell?! The way I see it, if I use it now before the ageing happen I can pre-emptively strike it down. It totally works like that right?

16.1.14

Graze Box | The First One


Last week I finally decided to pull my finger out and get a Graze delivery set up. Muj had a code that gets me my first, fifth and tenth box free so I jumped on that. It's a great deal and if you stick with this post, I have my very own code to give you the same offer!

I received my box on Monday and resisted tearing into it, instead taking my time and reading everything. I had a Graze subscription before when they first started but had to cancel it as I didn't have the money to continue it. I've set up these boxes to come every fortnight and as they are only £3.89, I think that's quite affordable! Maybe once I'm in a better off place money wise, I could set these up for every week. (Hey big spender!)


Before I get to the nibbly goodies, I want to quickly go through what else was sent out to me with this first box. The welcome pamphlet contains all the nutritional information for each snack sent out to you which I think is really handy, especially if you are watching your calories, fat intake, protein etc. On the back of this wee booklet is that friend code I was telling you about earlier that gets you your 1st, 5th and 10th box free and if anyone redeems it, I get £1 off my next box or I can donate the £1 to the graze school of farming.


And so, onto what I actually received in my letterbox friendly box of goodies! I was actually sent an email telling me when my box had been sent out and when to expect it. I was also given a link to have a sneak peek at what I had been sent but I decided to not look and just wait for the noms to get here. I'm growing more patient in my old age!


Seeing as I only get one box every two weeks, I am limiting myself to having two snacks or half the box the first week and the other half the next again week so I can't comment on the actual snacks until next week. If it's not too annoying for you lovely readers, I'll probably start putting up a first look post when I receive the box then a what I though post once I've tried them all.

So as you can see from the above picture, I got Super Carrot Cake which comes with a wee afternoon infusion teabag (nice touch Graze!), British Applewood Smoked Beef Jerky with a slow cooked tomato relish, Billionaire's Shortbread which is Belgian milk chocolate, almonds, cranberries and fudge. I'm not the hugest fan of cranberries but I'm going to try at least one of everything once to give it a go! Last but not least is very nori-sh, Japanese rice crackers with nori seaweed.

I'll let you all know next week how they all taste!

Now to finish this mammoth post (I promise they won't be this long after this one!) I have a little giveaway for you all! In my wee box I was also given 2 £5 gift vouchers for Graze and so I'm going to give away both to two readers! Unfortunately they are only for new Graze customers only but it's a free box and some money off your second box if you do decide to enter! All you have to do to enter is leave a comment below telling me what you think your favourite snack would be of the four I was sent out. Don't forget to leave me an email address to contact you on if you win! You don't have to follow me to enter this giveaway just leave a comment below (although it would be nice if you did!)


 So good luck and apologies again for such a long post!

15.1.14

WIW #3 | On a roll

The 'how in the hell?!' edition

Third weigh in already folks! I like that I'm staying with this habit, although I have just remembered I didn't write this week's weigh in into my notebook. So this week exercise wise got off to a great start, Muj and I started C25K in our local park. It was raining, it was shark week (sorry) and I just felt crap in general. I still did it though and felt fucking fantastic afterwards! Thursday rolled round, Muj and I set out for C25K again and disaster struck!



I only went and flung myself at the concrete on my second last round of running/walking. Not my finest moment but probably amusing to anyone who witnessed it! It's still quite sore but I can walk (quite unsteadily) on it and almost cross my legs! I went to the hospital on Monday night as it was still really painful so I was getting worried, not to fear though, it's just a bad sprain!

Since it happened there has been zero exercise. I've been spending most of my time in bed with an elevated leg and netflix on my tablet. I'm hoping I can at least try the exercise bike or air glider but I know it'll be a good few weeks at least before I'm out trying C25K again!

Now that that's out the way, on to the weigh in...

Last week: 228.2lbs
This week: 226.8lbs
Loss: -1.4lbs

So despite my stupid injury I still managed to pull a loss out of my ass! Speaking of my ass, this week was measurements as well. 

Bust - 49/48 -1inch
Underbust - 40/40 No loss
Waist - 40/39 -1inch
Stomach - 49/47 -2inches
Hips - 50/49 -1inch
Butt - 49/49 No loss

All in all I'd say this was a pretty damn positive week. Minus the concrete hugging of course but I still managed a loss. I'm still trying to get into the habit of updating myfitnesspal everyday with my food but I'm getting there!

How did you do this week? Let me know below!

13.1.14

Clearasil Rapid Action Seal To Clear Gel


I've had this little beauty in my possession for quite some time now and I have no idea why I haven't blogged about it till now! Actually I do, I'm a lazy twat! Well no more. Every time I pick up a product that I love and I've used for ages, I'll be making note of it and reminding myself to write about it! 2014 is the year of organisation.

I actually bought this on my mother's recommendation from Poundland last year after complaining about some nasty spots that would not bugger aff! Apart from hormonal outbreaks, I don't tend to get many spots on my face; it's my shoulder and chest that get it instead. Not a pleasant picture of myself I've painted I know but come one, we get plooks! So I grabbed this when I was out doing some shopping and popped it on not expecting much. My spot was gone in a bloody hour!

All you do is squeeze out a little product from the doe foot applicator and cover the affected area, I like to do it in a wee circular motion, leave it be for a while and the gel will dry forming a film, almost like a liquid bandage. I often put this on then forget about it, by the time I remember my spot/blemish is either gone or reduced so much that it doesn't bother me! If I do ever use it on my face, I tend to not put any makeup on over it. I know it probably won't affect it but I don't want to take any chances!


Seeing as I bought this last year from Poundland, I don't think I'll be able to get a hold of it again. I've had a nosey on ebay and prices start at 3.50, as much as I enjoy using the product knowing I first bought it for £1, I'd be reluctant to spend more. I'm a cheapskate okay!

Would you recommend any similar products to this? Let me know below!

12.1.14

Braw Gluten Free Snack Bar | Healthy Noms


I'm  really quite awful at healthy snacking so when I got this Braw bar in my Scottish bloggers christmas party goody bag (you can see see a quick wee post about it here)I was quite chuffed. However, I have to say I was quite disappointed. I need to be clear though, my disappointment is from the flavour! I don't really like pears or pear flavoured things but I thought I'd still give it a go!

Braw bars are pressed fruit and gluten free oat bars that come in four flavours; apple & pear, strawberry, cocoa & orange and blackcurrant. They are 100% natural with no preservatives or artificial flavourings. They even count as one of your five a day! I like the fact that they are gluten free as well, meaning those with intolerances can also try them out and not feel left out!

So back to the bar, I didn't really like it. I could taste the apple coming through but the pear was just too much for me. Putting that aside, it was a lovely bar. I thought it was the perfect size and it filled me up enough in between meals to keep me sated and happy. I'll definitely be trying these again but I'll be going for the strawberry and blackcurrant flavours. I'm not going to judge the whole company/their products on just one flavour that I don't like.


You can find out more info about Braw bars and where to buy them on their website brawfood.co.uk and keep your eyes peeled here for future reviews on the other flavours!

Have you tried Braw bars? Any other healthy bars you'd recommend I try? Let me know below!

11.1.14

MUA Matte Lipstick | Wild Berry | Slightly disappointing product


I was in my local Superdrug (it's literally less than 5 minutes walk from my front door, this can't be a good thing!) and thought I'd have a nosey at the MUA section. I'm usually quite disappointed, there's never any palettes and everything else is just a pic'n'mix, if you actually manage to find what you went in for it's a miracle! 

I didn't have anything in mind  but when I saw the matte lipstick range I knew I had to give it a go! I've only ever tried a matte lipstick once so I didn't really have much to compare it to. I've heard they can be quite drying though so I was prepared for that. I liked that they put the matte range in white bullets as they stand out a bit more from the regular range

I went for the shade Wild Berry, giving the red a miss for once! I thought it would go on a deep plum solid shade, be matte and be beautiful. Disappointment was my friend today though as it was nothing like I was expecting. It goes on quite sheer and although you can build up the colour, I often find that the more I try to, the more it takes colour off! It doesn't really come out a deep plum colour either which I was most disappointed in.

The one thing I will give this lipstick is that it isn't drying in the slightest! It feels so soft on my lips and when I purse them together they glide rather than not budging. This kind of redeems it for me as although it's not the shade I was expecting if I do want to have a matte lip one day, I know I can come back to this and not have to faff about with lip balms or glosses thus negating the matte effect.







There are four more shades in the matte line and I think I will be picking them all up to try them out. I'm especially looking forward to trying Scarlett Siren although after my disappointment with this shade I'll try not to have too high hopes. The other three shades (Totally Nude, Pouty Pink and Peachy Keen) aren't really shades I'd go for but as I've been saying this is the year to try the new! And knowing my luck those three will suit me better than the two I liked the best.

Have you tried the matte lipsticks from MUA? Or would you recommend another brand? Let me know below!

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