Launching onto the Instagram scene in 2014 with a slightly blurry selfie simply captioned “? #girl #selfie #love #instagood”, let’s just say things have come quite far since then for lifestyle influencer Marta Sierra. With an account bursting with colour and creative poses, Marta’s eclectic feed has since gone on to gain over 258K+ loyal followers βeach treated to her vibrant travels from Amalfi to Miami, Rome to Lisbon.
Tracking Marta down in Belgium, the home of boyfriend Tomβs family, we called on the 24-year-old to become the latest Instablogger to undertake our Fast 50. Here, she talks everything from dancing in the streets to starting Instagram as a fun hobby.
Missed the last articles in the 50 Questions series? Click the links to read interviews with Hannaliciousβ Hanna Friberg, NovaLanaLoveβs Farina Opoku, and Bonnee Fahlstrom.
1. Best beauty product of all time? The Glamglow facial masks
2. Five beauty products you canβt live without? Tom Ford eyeliner, a great mascara, matte lipstick (crushing on the Charlotte Tilbury ones at the moment), eyebrow liner, and hair oil
3. Hair βdoneβ or messy? I love my hair messy! I often use a sea salt spray to achieve some extra volume and texture throughout my whole lengths
4. Favourite fragrance? Lately I havenβt been using any fragrance. I prefer to let the smell of my haircare products shine (obsessed with the Gisou line!)
5. Favourite item of clothing? I have a big love for jumpsuits. Same cuteness as a dress but more comfortable!
6. Favourite fashion brand? That I can afford: Zara. That I cannot afford: Dolce & Gabbana
7. Gym or exercising outdoors? Gym
8. Healthy eating or treating yourself? Healthy eating. I really feel much better in all senses when I feed my body with clean, nutritious foods
9. Can you cook? I donβt practise it a lot, but YES :p
10. Favourite food to indulge in? Any sort of Italian food: pasta, lasagna, risotto⦠you name it!
11. First thing you pick from the mini-bar? Coke Zero
12. Best place to eat out? La Maison de Katrin in Mykonos where I had one of the most romantic dinner with Tom for my birthday
13. Happiest moment? I donβt really have just one happiest moment. I try to enjoy little and big things, from dancing in the street to celebrating big events!
14. Saddest moment? My grandfather passed away a couple of months ago. He supported me in everything I did and was really open minded. I miss him a lot
15. Blog or YouTube? Youtube all the way! Donβt have a channel myself though (not yet :p)
16. Iphone or camera? Camera. I used to use both, but now always my camera
17. Type of camera? Leica Q. Before, I used the Nikon D750
18. Facetune or untouched? Untouched. Never used Facetune and would not even know how it works :p
19. Lightroom or VSCO? Lightroom for desktop! I love all the options and variety of this program!
20. Favourite filter? I use my own Presets that I created for Lightroom. You can find them at www.bymartasierra.com
21. Favourite way to edit pics? I like to add some temperature and tweak the colours to give a little vintage touch, specially the blues
22. 9-5 job or full-time influencer? Before summer, I was a full-time student. Since then, full-time
βinfluencer”
23. How did you first get your start in Instablogging? I had an account that I used only for friends where I followed some influencers and thought that could be a fun thing to do. It really just started as a hobby where I could create and express myself!
24. How much time goes into a normal picture found on your Instagram account? It depends. Some pictures take only a couple of minutes while others can take a half hour
25. What’s your top Instagram tip? Show your personality and who YOU are! Donβt compare yourself too much but focus on what makes you special and the things you love. Some extra tips:
– Be consistent! If you want to build an audience, you have to work hard and create often
– Practice makes perfect (even though perfect does not exist, luckily :p). It takes a long time and a lot of repetition to become good at something
26. Who takes your pics? My boyfriend, Tom. I asked him in the beginning if he wanted to take some pictures of me and he supported me from the start. Although he didnβt love the photography part right away, he really likes to do it now and I think he became so good at it! So a big thank you!! :p
27. Career highlight since being an influencer? Launching my Presets and especially getting so much positive response! It means a lot to see people creating great things and to be a small part of that. Besides, I was able to meet some really amazing people through Instagram!
28. Career lowlight since being an influencer? I donβt really have a specific lowlight, but as an influencer, you travel often which means you donβt see your friends and family as often as you want to
29. Best campaign youβve ever worked on? I canβt really choose as there are many brands I have built a great relationship with and many more exciting campaigns to come
30. Worst thing thatβs happened to you on a photo shoot? Nothing very bad. I fell countless times, had groups of people staring at me, and got kicked out of a supermarket or two, but all in all β just funny memories!
31. The best gift youβve ever received as an influencer? A trip to Los Angeles where I met some really fun girls that have become good friends
32. Last thing you googled? What would Audrey Hepburn do? No, just kidding :p. I think searching the directions of some restaurant
33. Favourite film? ‘The Notebook’ (cheesy, but goodie)
34. Favourite book? βFrom Zero to Oneβ β Peter Thiel
35. Favourite song? βDonβt stop me nowβ β Queen
36. Living in the city or living by the beach? Living in a city by the beach β my hometown Barcelona :p. But if I had to choose, living in the city. NYC is at the top of my list!
37. Favourite travel destination? Italy: good food and cute villages!
38. Most Instagram-worthy spot? Positano and Greece as a destination. I love the colours and overall vibes
39. Top three essentials to pack when traveling? A book, a hydrating face mask for the flight,
and some comfy sneakers
40. Going out clubbing or quiet dinner with friends? Quiet dinner with friends. I prefer to talk than to shout :p
41. Partner or single? Partner. Iβve been together with Tom for 6 years now.
42. Siblings? Yes, I have a younger brother Cayetano that I love to death!
43. What city are you currently living in? Between Barcelona, my hometown, and Ostend in Belgium, where Tom’s family is from
44. Celebrity crush? Ryan Gosling and Angelina Jolie
45. Pets? I use to have a pet Mishi, but he passed away a year ago. Will always be a real cat lady!
46. What is your best asset? I think my positiveness. I see the glass as refillable π
47. Biggest misconception about you and your job? That Iβm on vacation all the time. I do travel a lot, but I wouldnβt call it super relaxing :p. Thereβs a lot of content creation, collabs, deadlines, mails, etc. Most of the time I end up working over 12 hours a day shooting, editing and creating videos and stories. But love everything about it!
48. Top five Instagram accounts to follow? @Tezza, @Mindsetofgreatness, @Queenofjetlags, @Sukiicat, @Leoniehanne
49. Favourite quote you live by? “The most dangerous thing you can do in life is to play it safe” β Casey Neistat
50. Top career tip? Someone once told me: βIn the real world, you can’t do what you love, you have to love what you doβ. Thatβs the worst advice Iβve ever heard! Do something that makes you jump out of bed everyday (or most days), find your passion and follow it. Donβt be afraid to listen to yourself β youβre never going to be great at something that you are not in love with.
All images: Marta Sierra
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