Ciara Sims

We all have days when we are in need of a little bit of inspiration and even if we don't need it, it's nice to be surrounded by stunning images and breath taking quotes. Here's how I keep inspired.

Tumblr is my inspiration station. I love it so much and I wish the mobile app showed the blogs how they really look on the computer. I've spent quite a bit of time getting my Tumblr to look just how I like it and I love looking through other blogs. The creativity on Tumblr is amazing.

Whenever I buy a magazine I always cut out images that stand out to me and stick them into a sketch book. This is something I find really relaxing and it's somewhere I can look to for fashion and beauty inspiration. I guess I am a bit old fashioned in the sense that I really like to write things down and stick images into books or on my walls rather than always doing it on my phone. I just really like to be able to physically hold something. Also this sketch pad doubles up as photography backgrounds sometimes.

Pinterest. Not a lot to say about this one really. Pinterest was made as a source of inspiration. If you're not on Pinterest then you need to be and you can follow my Pinterest boards here.

I take film studies at A Level so clearly that is something I am interested in. I love cinematography and think it is so fascinating. Often I will scroll through the film accounts on Twitter for inspiration because some of the shots from films are breath taking.

Two walls in my bedroom are absolutely covered in posters, postcards and pictures. I love it so much and each thing either creates a memory or gives me something nice to look at. Also, I'm not allowed to paint my walls so it allows me to make my room a bit more colourful and more 'me'.

Recently I've been really getting into Instagram. I've had it for years but I never really used to post that much. However, now it is something that I really enjoy doing. I also love seeing all my friends pictures and there are some amazing accounts out there that will give you endless inspiration. Some of my favourites are - @isaboleta, @sihamhamdan and @cecietcelacestca.

How do you find inspiration? Don't forget to leave me your Pinterest/Instagram/Tumblr links!

Ciara x

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When I started year 7 I had no idea how school was going to go. It felt like my GCSE's were decades away and I had loads of time. But as the years went on, they got closer and closer and crept up on me. Suddenly my whole year group was plunged into mock exams, revision sessions and mountains of things to do. I was so nervous about all of my exams. I was stressed and short tempered and it must have been a nightmare for my family to live with me. I dreaded going into the exams and after coming out of the exam hall and hearing everybody talk about their answers, I was convinced I hadn't done too well on any subject.

Yesterday was GCSE results day and I opened my results and saw 6 A*'s and 5 A's. This, I wasn't expecting at all. I'm not just 'playing it down' or anything like that. I honestly had no idea that those were the grades I earned. I exceeded my expectations in every way. I'm still in shock really that I am capable of producing those results and I know the year 7 me wouldn't have even dreamed of opening such a great results paper. The whole way through my school life I've told myself that I'm no good, that I cant do it and that I'll never be one of those 'high achievers' and if anything, what these exams have shown me is that actually that is all nonsense. I can do it and I did.

I wish I could go back and tell myself that all the effort I'm putting in, all the hard work, will pay off. It won't be wasted. But all that worry, all that stress and frustration, all of that is for nothing. There's no point in it at all, but it does show that you're bothered. If you weren't worried at all, then it obviously doesn't mean much to you.

But whatever grades you receive do not define you. They are important in that moment because you've worked for them and you don't want to be disappointed. But they don't define who you are and that's not the end of your future. You have so many paths to choose from and you can do whatever you want to do. You just have to stick to it and give it your all and I promise you, however things go, you will be just fine.

Ciara x

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Those of you who have been reading my blog for a while may have noticed that there have been a couple of changes going on. A major one being the name of my blog. I changed my blog name from Space Dreams and Marshmallows to An English Rose because I felt like I had out grown my old name and while it was a name that was connected to me it didn't really have anything to do with what I was blogging about. I wanted a name that was more appropriate for a beauty blog yet was still connected to me in some way so I chose An English Rose.

My grannie on my mum's side is called Mary Rose and I was named after her with my name being Ciara Rose. I love my name for this reason because I feel connected to her so I thought it was really nice to have 'Rose' somewhere in my blog name. Now I not only have a name that is connected to beauty but a name that I really like because it means something personal to me.

With a name change also comes natural changes such as a new header and design. I am trying to tweak my design as I go along and will hopefully end up with a design I am completely happy with but at the moment I think I am getting there. I think my header image suits the new name and the colours all tie in nicely together. There is still so much more I want to do but that will take time and some coding so after many YouTube tutorials I'm sure I will get there in the end.

This month I am also taking part in the Bloglovin' follower challenge! This is where Bloglovin' are encouraging blogs with under 10,000 followers to try and gain as many followers as they can in the month of August. At the end of August, the top 3 blogs which have gained the most followers will be featured on Bloglovin's own blog and website! I think this is a really good thing for Bloglovin' to do and it enables bloggers to connect and engage with other readers and bloggers!

So follow me on Bloglovin' and stick around to see where An English Rose is headed next!

Ciara x

Ps. If you follow me on Bloglovin' and have your own blog then leave your link below and I'll follow you back!

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The lovely Lauren from Cupcakes and Candyfloss and I have got together to create a new tag that we thought would be fun to post about and get other bloggers involved in. I'm sure there are tags already out there that are similar to this but, we have come up with the lipstick or lip gloss tag! I am a lip product fanatic. They are definitely the one product which I couldn't live without. I also think they are just so fun to buy! There are so many variations out there that mean you can create any look you want and change up your everyday routine just by wearing a different colour or formula. You also don't have to be a pro to apply them nicely which helps massively. Lipsticks and glosses are usually the first pieces of makeup that a little girl is introduced to, so that's probably were my love of lip products stems from. Anyway, in this tag I will be talking a little bit about my favourite lip products and whether I'm a lipstick or lip gloss kinda gal myself.

Lipstick or Lip Gloss?

These days I definitely prefer wearing lipstick to lip gloss purely because I like bright colours and I am yet to find a really pigmented lip gloss that doesn't wear off in 45 seconds. I also hate my hair getting stuck to my lips every time the wind blows or I turn my head a little bit too quickly. But lip glosses definitely have their place. When I was at school I tended to wear lip glosses because they fade naturally so you don't have to keep reapplying them and you don't have to worry about that dreaded line left around the outside of your lips. At my school we were also not allowed to wear loads of makeup so a find lip glosses much more subtle.

My Top Picks:

I've built up quite a big lip product collection and I love looking through it to pick out my lip of the day but of course, I have my favourites and most worn lippies:

I really love the bright orange colour of my Revlon Colorburst Matte Balm in 235 Mischievous (£7.99) but it can be a bit challenging to work with. Because this is a matte crayon it can sometimes cling to dry patches on my lips so I need to plan ahead if I want to wear this and make sure my lips are lovely and smooth. On a more positive note, when I do have Mischievous on I don't have to worry about it fading horribly or disappearing quickly and I feel really nice wearing it. Oh and it's minty which I really like.

When nothing else seems to be working out my go to lipstick is definitely the L'Oreal Color Riche in Eva's Nude (£6.99). If I could only wear one lip product ever for the rest of my life then I think it would be this. Don't get me wrong, I love a bright lip but there is something so natural and pretty about this colour that you could wear it forever and never get bored. It's a really lovely pinky peach with slightly golden undertones. It's so easy to apply, fades evenly and feels really comfortable on.

Probably my favourite lipstick to wear in the summer is the Revlon Colourburst Lip Butter in Tutti Frutti (£7.99). This is such an easy lipstick to wear. It's a true orange which I love, but it's sheer enough that it isn't scary at all and actually looks really relaxed and fresh worn during the day. I love Tutti Frutti, it's flattering and goes with just about any makeup look that I tend to wear. I just put on one coat and I'm good to go. If you want to try orange lips but you're a little bit shy of them then this is a brilliant starting point.

Are Kylie Jenner lips still a thing? I was never obsessed with finding that perfect Kylie Jenner lipstick but I was desperate to find myself the perfect nude. The kind of lipstick that looks effortless and cool and like you've not even tried. For me, this is the Rimmel London Lasting Finish by Kate Lipstick in 03 (£5.49). It's a nice pinky brown nude that looks like a cross between a my lips but better and a 90's inspired Kylie Jenner shade. I think it's a shame that this line of lipsticks don't have their own shade names because they are really great products and the quality is exceptional for a high-street brand. The wear time is good, they fade naturally and they're not drying at all.

I thought I couldn't leave lip glosses out completely so my favourite lip gloss is a Seventeen Lip Lustre (£3.99) from the *Mini Lipgloss Library that I got for Christmas. Now this is really annoying because none of the lip glosses in that set have shade names or numbers so I have no idea what shade this actually is and whether it can be bought on its own but, I have a muted pink shade that contains no glitter and is opaque in one swipe of its doe foot applicator. These Seventeen Lip Lustres are really good. I'll be honest, I don't tend to give the Seventeen makeup counter a look when I go to buy makeup and I only got the *Mini Lip Gloss Library set as a stocking filler from my mum but the quality of these glosses is amazing. They aren't sticky, perfumed or flavoured, they're moisturising and easy to apply. I think the formula is great and you should check them out if you're a lip gloss lover.


From left to right: Revlon Colorburst Matte Balm in Mischievious, Rimmel Lasting Finish by Kate Lipstick in 03, Revlon Colorburst Lip Butter in Tutti Frutti, L'Oreal Color Riche in Eva's Nude, *Seventeen Lip Lustre

I really enjoyed doing this post because it meant that I got to rummage through my lip product collection. I tag Maria from in1997, Andie from Andieology and Lucy from Ooh La Luce - but I encourage everybody to take part and leave me a link below to your post if you do because I want to read them all and hopefully I'll find out about new products that I need to have from you guys.

Don't forget to read Lauren's post!

Ciara x

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*This post contains items which were gifted to me. Full disclaimer.

Last month, my boyfriend and I took a trip to Ireland to visit my family and we ended up staying with my Uncle and Auntie in Murrisk for most of the trip. Murrisk is an absolutely beautiful village in County Mayo which is on the West coast of Ireland and is home to Ireland's Holy mountain - Croagh Patrick. Now I've seen Croagh Patrick many times and I have family members who have climbed the mountain but I've never been all the way to the top myself. I thought that while we were staying there it was an opportunity not to be missed.

Climbing Croagh Patrick was easily one of the hardest things I've ever done and it took us a good few hours to climb all the 762m above sea level to the top and back down again. It was challenging, many breaks were taken and I'm in no rush to go and do it again but I am so happy that I can say I have climbed it. I don't really know what I expected. I expected it to be tough, it's a mountain. But I wasn't prepared for how steep it was at all. Or for the fact that if you went very wrong, it could possibly end quite badly. There wasn't a path or anything, like people think there will be. It's just rocks. But we were fine and we met loads of people coming up and down who were so lovely and offered encouragement. The views when we got to the top were amazing, you could see for miles and if the weather had been a little bit nicer then I could have stayed up there for hours. Even if you don't make it to the top, the views from the half way point are stunning so it's worth it if you try and make it to there.

The whole reason why Croagh Patrick is such a big deal is because Saint Patrick is supposed to have completed a 40 day fast there and legend also has it that the mountain is where Saint Patrick banished snakes from Ireland forever! Each year, on the last Sunday of July, thousands of people from around the world visit the mountain for a day of worship in honour of Saint Patrick. Some of these people even climb the mountain barefoot as an act of penance (you'd never catch me climbing that thing barefoot but each to their own).

I seriously admire anybody who makes it to the top and my auntie even did this thing for charity one year when she climbed Croagh Patrick every day for a week. Which I think is so impressive because I was really tired the next day and couldn't even think about going up again. Plus there was a man who climbed the mountain every day for a year. A WHOLE YEAR. If that's not impressive then I don't know what is. I think it's something that should definitely be done once in your lifetime and if you ever get the chance to go and see it then you definitely should. Murrisk is beautiful and the mountain makes for some breath-taking pictures. When we stayed at their house I could see the mountain from the bedroom window and that was a view that I definitely think I could never get used to.

Climbing Croagh Patrick is an experience that I will never forget and I'm so happy that I managed to do it.

Ciara x

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source

1. Are you a lipstick or lip gloss kind of girl?

Definitely a lipstick kind of person, I think I only own like two lip glosses, my hair just always gets stuck to my lips when I wear it, it's not for me!

2. You're somehow stranded on a desert island and only have 5 beauty products including skincare in your bag. What are they?

This is such a hard question. I'd probably go with Ultrabland cleanser from Lush because they recommend that you replace your entire skincare regime with just that one product anyway! Then probably NARS Tinted Moisturiser, an eyebrow pencil and some tweezers (my eyebrows need doing no matter where I am, I can't cope if they're gross) and finally probably just some deodorant!

3. Run me through your skincare routine?

Well currently I am doing the Ultrabland challenge which, as I mentioned above, is super strange because Lush recommended literally replacing absolutely everything you usually use with just this one cleanser in order to rebalance your skin's natural oils and things. I'm on day 6 so far and I'm supposed to do it for a month, it feels really strange but it seems to be working so far!

4. Do you have a go to makeup brand?

My go-to makeup brand is probably NARS. Whenever I do any blog posts which involve a makeup look, 99% of the things tend to be from there, I'm definitely a NARScissit.

5. For you, is there one product that is definitely worth the hype?

For a product worth the hype I'd probably say Liz Earle Cleanse and Polish. It's so over-hyped and I didn't expect to like it too much but it's become such a staple for me, I absolutely love it.

6. High-end or high-street?

I know that this is never the answer that people want to this question but I'm totally more of a high-end person. I'd rather save up a bit of money to buy something of really good quality!

7. What's your favourite book?

I usually say The Great Gatsby but I am about to start reading The Bell Jar and I can just feel that it's going to be a favourite!

8. Do you have a favourite band or song?

I just don't have a favourite band or song this is too hard! Right now I've been listening to a whole lot of Catfish and the Bottlemen and Little Comets are also probably a favourite right now! In the long-run I'd probably say that R.E.M. always have a special place in my heart though!

9. If you could have dinner with anybody alive or dead, who would it be and why?

If I could have dinner with anybody I'd want it to be Stephen Fry and Hugh Laurie together, their friendship is freakin adorable and I've always had a bit of a thing for Jeeves and Wooster so I'd totally wanna see that re-created, is that really sad? haha!

10. Finally, any favourite bloggers?

My favourite bloggers are probably Kate at Gh0stparties, Suzie at HelloOctober, Victoria at InTheFrow, Lily at LLYMLRS and Charlotte at TheTeaDrinkingEnglishRose - they're probably quite predictable.

I enjoyed doing this post so much, it's always nice to get to know somebody a little bit more and Andie is just so lovely! I wish her all the best with her Ultrabland challenge and I would love to see how her dinner with Stephen Fry and Hugh Laurie turned out!

Who would be at your dream dinner party?

Ciara x

Don't forget to follow me and Andie on Bloglovin'!

My recent trip to Ireland has definitely left me with the travel bug and I would do anything to go on another adventure to an entirely new country. I don't actually go on that many holidays and so there are still plenty of destinations left for me to dream about. I would love to travel the world one day and I have world maps and postcards from friends and family covering my bedroom walls that feed my wanderlust. So I thought I would round up 10 places that I would do anything to travel to. A girl can dream can't she?

• Peru
• Norway
• Budapest (Hungary)
• New York
• Copenhagen (Denmark)
• Australia
• Thailand
• Mexico
• Sweden
• Jinju (South Korea)

Where is on your travel bucket list?

Ciara x