The Autumn Tag

Hey guys! I love doing tags and I love Autumn, so when I saw this cute little tag created by Georgina at Makeup Pixi3 I just had to do it!

For Autumn, what is your...

1.  Favourite thing about it?  I love cosying up in all the clothes that have been stored away over Summer! Boots, warm coats, cosy jumpers and beanies are the best! I love going on walks through the countryside too, the colours are so gorgeous this time of year.

2.  Favourite drink?  I'm not actually a big fan of hot drinks, but I do like relaxing with a mug of hot chocolate before bed some nights, and I've also started to drink green tea for the health benefits. It's seemed to improve my skin a bit and makes me feel generally better and have more energy.

3.  Favourite scent/candle?  I've only really got into scented candles over the past year or so, but at the moment I'm loving a three-wick vanilla candle I bought in Primark, it smells gorgeous and looks nice on my bedside table too!

4.  Best lipstick?  My favourite Autumnal lipstick is Rimmel's Kate Moss Matte Lipstick in 107. I love darker colours on my lips in Autumn and this is gorgeous and very wearable!

5.  Go to moisturiser? I have oily skin and even in Winter it doesn't dry out so I use Clinique's Dramatically Different Moisturizing Gel all year round. I do use a richer moisturiser in my evening skincare routine though, at the moment I'm loving Neal's Yard Power Berry Daily Moisture, it smells gorgeous and keeps my skin hydrated and feeling really soft.

6.  Go to colours for the eyes?  I love brown and bronze colours on my eyes in Autumn, I like keeping my eyeshadow simple, especially if I'm wearing a darker lip colour. MUA's Heaven and Earth palette has some gorgeous Autumnal shades, and it's basically all I wear on my eyes throughout this season, and for just £4 it's an amazing bargain!

7.  Favourite music or band/singer to listen to?  Recently I've been absolutely loving Passenger's album 'All The Little Lights', and Jake Bugg's album..erm..'Jake Bugg'. They're both so lovely to relax to in the bath or when you're having a little pamper night!

8.  Favourite outfit to wear (i.e. boots & a scarf combo)? I love wearing skinny jeans, a warm jumper, ankle boots and a thick scarf. I also like wearing skater dresses with leggings and boots and about a hundred layers!

9.  Autumn treat?  (i.e. a new scarf or bag you have your eye on) There's nothing really big that I've got my eye on at the moment, but I'd love to pick up a few items from my recent Autumn wishlist!

10.  Favourite place to be?  Either curled up in front of the fire reading or watching a film, or relaxing in the bath with some scented candles, relaxing music playing and a face mask on! I love going out for walks through the woods as well, I'm probably outside more this season than I am in Summer!

I really enjoyed doing this tag, feel so Autumnal now yay! What's your favourite thing to do in Autumn? I'd like to tag:

Hannah from champagnetote

Lauren from laurenmidd

Laura from LauraThinksAbout

Grace from blondiesstylefix

and Melissa from itsmemel

My top three primers

For some reason, I absolutely love primers! Bit of a weird obsession to have, I know, but I just love the way they can transform my problem skin into flawless skin with virtually no pores within seconds. I don't like wearing a full face of make up, and only use foundation when I'm going on a night out or for a meal, so I love the weightless feel primers can give your skin, while still adding coverage. Here are my three favourites!

Revlon's Photoready Perfecting Primer is my all time favourite. I've heard some people say they find it hard to blend because the texture is so thick, but I don't find this at all. The texture is creamy and smooth, and it blends perfectly on my skin. It really smooths and mattifies my skin too, and it blurs away pores so they are literally invisible. I often wear this on its own as it just makes my skin look amazing but it's great as a base too!

I'd heard really great reviews about Nivea's Daily Essentials Express Hydration Primer (what a mouthful!) so I was excited to give it a try. I picked it up from Boots when it was on offer for less than £3 which is an absolute bargain. It has the classic Nivea skincare scent and the texture is much lighter than the Revlon primer, quite like a gel. It smooths on really easily, and is perfect to use in place of a moisturiser because it really does keep your skin hydrated. It didn't seem to mattify my skin or hide any pores but it is light and refreshing to use when you want to keep your makeup simple. For the price I'd definitely repurchase this product, but I can't see that being any time soon as a little goes a long way!

Benefit's The Porefessional is another of my favourite primers. I got a sample size of this and have loved it ever since. I use it sparingly because I can't justify the hefty price tag at the moment but it's great to wear under your make up for a more formal occasion when you want your skin to look flawless. The consistency is pretty thick and you do have to work a bit harder to blend it, but the results are brilliant. I love the poreless look of my skin after using this!

What's your favourite primer? Have you tried any of these?

NOTD: Barry M - Raspberry

I absolutely adore Barry M's Nail Paints, and after picking this little beauty up in December last year, it's become a firm favourite in my collection, and I've been waiting for the colder months to set in so I could wear this again! This berry red shade is my go-to colour for Autumn, and I love wearing it to brighten up a dark outfit/make-up look.

I love wearing red on my nails, I think it feels pretty classy and grown up, and I mostly wear pink/coral colours during the Summer months so it's nice to have a change! In these photos I've only used one coat and no top coat, but the colour intensifies so much after another coat. I think it's shiny enough alone but I like to add a top coat to prevent chipping. The consistency is pretty thick, I think Barry M are a bit hit and miss with this, some of my nail paints are quite gloopy whereas others are really thin, but they all give an excellent colour payoff! I'll be wearing this throughout Autumn and Winter, and at only £2.99 it's an absolute bargain!

What are your favourite Autumn/Winter nail colours?

P.S. please excuse the state of my nails, I'm a chronic nail biter and it will be my New Years resolution to stop for at least the 10th year running this year!

autumn wishlist

1.August Classic Chelsea Boots - £60 Topshop
2.Basket Stitch Beanie - £12 Topshop

3.Red and Black Tartan T-Shirt Skater Dress - £17.99 New Look

4. Multi Large CheckScarf - £22 Topshop

5.Black Lace Trim Ankle Socks - £3.50 Topshop

I'm always glad when Autumn comes around so I can pull on my thick tights, ankle boots and cosy scarves that I've had stored away over the Summer! This season my wardrobe mainly consists of autumnal colours - burgandy, green, yellow, purple and brown, and ankle boots are my staple piece throughout the colder months. I'm loving these five pieces which are -unintentionally-nearly all from Topshop, especially the tartan dress which is bang on trend right now, and can't wait to get my hands on them as soon as student loan day arrives! I think this outfit would look really cute with a black leather jacket and thick black tights! What are you guys lusting after this season?

x

august fun

[l-r: me enjoying a night out in Edinburgh, me and my best friend Bryony, yummy curry, rice and salad my sister Heather made, and strawberry milkshakes with Bryony.]

[Not enjoying this English weather!, just chilling with the boys, out for lunch with my big brother and sister - the best jacket potato ever!]

August's been a pretty busy month for me! When I got back from Tenerife I had a lot of friends and family to see and lots of news to catch up on. I was so tired after my late night/early morning flight that I basically just slept all day when I got home, but the next night I went straight out with my best friend Bryony to our favourite Indian restaurant for a much overdue catch up! Afterwards we sat in her car on the sea front eating mini milks, how romantic!
I met a boy in Tenerife....*blushes*, and although I wasn't sure if it would be any more than a holiday romance, we decided to meet up back home! I live in the North East of England and he lives in Edinburgh so I paid him a little visit which was originally meant to be for three nights and I ended up staying for 5, much to his mothers' disapproval I'm sure! My sister Heather also lives in Edinburgh so I had a nice catch up with her and another sister who was visiting from London. Heather made us an amazing curry so I just had to take a picture - sadly the 'being able to cook' gene must have skipped me!
I've been enjoying my last few weeks before going back to university by going on nights out with friends, and meals with the family. It's just really nice to relax after a crazy summer and before the stress of uni hits again (not that I go as much as I should, oooops!)
x

i heart summer tag

Hi guys! The lovely Melissa from It's Me Mel has kindly tagged me to do the 'I Heart Summer' tag, and although I'm a little late since it's getting dark at 8 again now, I thought this would be a nice way to say goodbye to the Summer (not that we had much of one!), sum up some of my favourite Summer products, and prepare for Autumn!

1. Favourite bronzer for summer?

I love love love Seventeen's Instant Glow Gold Bronze Shimmer Brick, that's a mouthful! There are four gorgeous shades in this little compact, and I sweep a contour brush across the powder to create a gorgeous bronzed glow! The lightest shade is also great to use as a highlighter, and I got this for less than £5.

2. You're relaxing on a hammock in a tropical island, what would you be sipping on?

Lemonade, my all time favourite drink, or a Sex on the Beach cocktail with a little umbrella just for fun! I do try not to be naughty and drink at least 2 litres of water when I'm somewhere warm though to stay hydrated.

3. Favourite summer lipstick?

I've been loving bright coral colours this Summer. I'm not really a fan of wearing lipstick in the heat though so while I was abroad this year I was constantly using Revlon's Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stain in Rendezvous. It gives a gorgeous summery colour, smells delicious and stays on all day! 

4. Pool or beach?

I love both but I'd have to choose the pool. I love beach days and swimming in the sea, but applying suncream to sand-covered skin is just such a hassle, and it hurts my feet so much when the sand is too hot!

5. Summer = crazy hair, what's your must have styling product?

This year I loveeeeed using the Aussie Beach Mate shampoo and conditioner. Aussie products have been a staple in my shower for years, and these little limited edition beauties were a godsend abroad! Charles Worthington Sunshine Shampoo is also excellent. It makes my hair super shiny while protecting it from the sun too!

6. Sunbathing or fake tanning?

I fake tan all year round using St Moritz lotion and tanning mitt, which is obviously the safe option of tanning! However, I am guilty of lying out in the sun all day on holiday, relaxing on a sunlounger is heaven, but I make sure to apply a high SPF regularly.

7. Favourite summer nail polish?

I love bright colours on my nails in Summer, especially reds, pinks and oranges. My two most used nail polishes this year were Nails Inc's Portobello and Rimmel's Coralicious. They're both gorgeous, super fast drying colours!

8. Any summer traditions?

I don't have any die hard traditions but I love to go to the park with friends on sunny days and relax, I love wearing summery clothes, going to the beach, family BBQs, taking my doggy Tara for long walks and sitting outside in the warm evenings with a cocktail!

9. Favourite summer scent?

Marc Jacobs' Daisy, every time!

10. Favourite BBQ food?

I'm not a massive fan of BBQ food, I don't eat a lot of meat so I'd always opt for a salad or chicken burger if possible, but I do like the odd hot dog!

11. Favourite summer proof makeup?

Maybelline The Falsies Waterproof was my staple make up product this summer. I feel as long as I have mascara on I can conquer the world! I've also loved Maybelline's Colour Tattoo in On and On Bronze, it stays put all day and is the perfect shimmery shade for Summer.

12. Any summer vacations planned?

I spent my Summer in Tenerife so sadly I've not got any holidays coming up, although I am going back for a week at the end of October for a little reunion with some of the friends I made out there, I can't wait!

Thanks for reading this guys! Think I'll do an Autumn tag next, bit more appropriate haha!

Follow @rosiesiennaxo

a new beginning & the best summer ever!

Hey cuties! I've been absent from the blogosphere for so long now but I finally feel like it's time to get back into it properly and I have lots of ideas for new posts! September always signifies a new start for me with people going back to school/college/university; I'm going into my third year in less than two weeks, scary stuff! I'll have to actually get a real grown up job in less than a year and stop living off noodles... So I thought it would also be a good time to start blogging again, and give sleeplesswithsienna a fresh start!
I've actually not been blogging for so long because I've been working abroad for the summer! I went to Tenerife in June with a company that helps you find work and puts you in a hotel with like-minded room mates, and it was the best decision I ever made. I was feeling really unsure of myself and didn't know what I wanted after Zak and I split up, and really needed to just get away, meet some new people and have adventures, which is definitely what I did!

So that's just a few pictures from my adventures in Tenerife, I had 300+ on my camera but I won't bore you with them all!
How was everyone's summer?!
Much love x