Shop My Closet!

If you saw my post on my goals for 2014, you would've saw that one thing I wanted to do this year was clear out my closet! I have so many items of clothing in great condition that I never wear, so I'm selling a bunch of it on Instagram! A few days ago I started my Instagram shop where I will be selling my gently used clothing!

If you're interested, go on over to laurensclosetclearout on Instagram and have a look around at what I have to offer! I'll be continuing to post on here as I find more things in my wardrobe that I no longer wear.

Friday Favourites

Well I have to start off with the single most important thing that happened this week, and that is the premiere of the trailer for The Fault In Our Stars!!!!! This is my all-time favourite book. If you haven't read it then go read it right now and be sure to catch the movie this June!

This bun with a floral crown is the most precious thing my goodness.

This tweet from Dianna Agron. If lipstick = witchcraft, I must be a full-blown witch by now.

This series of Frozen typography/illustration posters by Risa Rodil.

This comic is too accurate.

Look at this baby koala!!!

Another incredibly accurate comic.

P!nk's performance at the Grammy's (featuring Nate Ruess) was flawless.

This ampersand manicure done by Katy at "Nailed It" is flawless. For anyone who doesn't know, I'm a huge design nerd and a wee bit ampersand-obsessed!

And lastly, Paramore's new music video for Ain't It Fun!

2014 Goals

I've never really been one to make (or keep) new years resolutions. Which is why for the past couple of years I've created a list of goals for myself instead. I like writing them down to keep track of them, and at the end of the year looking back to see what I accomplished. Some goals are easily attainable, and others are bigger dreams of mine, but I like setting those larger goals to really give myself something to work towards. I really hope I get to cross these all off my list in 2014!

1. Go to New York City

I've wanted to travel to NYC for as long as I can remember. I'm such a city girl and it seems like such an incredible place to visit. And, it's not even that far from me (I live in Southern Ontario), so to me this seems like a pretty attainable goal if I find the time and people to go with! I'm already partially there too because I have a few internet friends and we're starting to plan a trip there for this July!

2. Move to Toronto

I currently live about an hour outside of Toronto but I love it there. I'm in Toronto 5 days a week for my internship for school, and I sometimes still come out here on the weekend. Like I mentioned earlier, I'm such a city girl and I can't wait to move here one day. I'm hoping to find a job out here when I'm done school in the spring and then hopefully I can start working towards finding a place and moving out here!

3. Read 10 books

I love reading. But I don't always make time for reading, even though I do have quite a bit of down time (3+ hours of commuting everyday to and from Toronto for example). Last summer when I got my iPad I read book after book after book on it. I typically prefer reading actual physical books, but it's so easy to read eBooks because I always have my iPad with me. If you have any book suggestions, let me know! I have yet to start on this goal but hopefully I'll get a start on it soon!

4. Get published

This is one of those larger goals that I'm not sure if it'll actually happen, but I'm going to try. I am a graphic design student as well as a music photographer so it'd be really cool if something I designed or one of my photos got published in a magazine or book! There's a design magazine called Applied Arts that holds student awards every year and I've never entered but this year I'm going to submit some of my work. It would be so cool to have something I designed published and permanently in that issue of the magazine.

5. Get back into blogging

Well, as you can tell, this one is going quite well so far! I just hope I can keep it up for the rest of the year! I really do enjoy blogging on here, last year I just got lazy and didn't really put the effort into it towards the end of the year. I'm determined not to give up this time!

6. Create more

I've always been an artistic person and I love creating things. Whether it's crafts, DIY projects, painting, drawing, hand lettering - I love it all. However this is another thing I've been lazy about in the past and I'd really like to get back into creating things on a more regular basis. I could also share things I create here on my blog!

7. Photograph 12 shows

I am a music photographer and often shoot shows for my webzine. Last year I was lucky enough to photograph 12 shows, and I hope I get to shoot just as many this year! Music is something I really enjoy, so getting to shoot my favourite bands is so much fun for me.

8. Work harder on AOM

My friend and I run a webzine called Admit One Media (AOM), and last year we both admittedly let it take a bit of a backseat. To be fair, we both had quite busy schedules last year, but this year we have both agreed to put more effort in posting on it and creating content for it such as doing reviews and interviews. It's something we started when we were 16 (4 years ago) so I'd really love to see it continue to grow!

9. Take more pictures

I used to take my camera with me everywhere and photograph anyone and anything. Last year I feel like the only time I took my camera with me was when I was shooting a concert. I really want to get back into taking photos just for the sake of taking them! Not for any purpose other than to enjoy myself and capture memories.

10. Clean out my room & closet

I hate to admit it, but I'm a tiny bit of a hoarder. I don't like to let things go or throw things away. And because of this, my room has accumulated quite the bit of clutter. I really need to go through my things and toss what needs to be tossed. I've been thinking about setting up a shop where I can sell my gently used clothing and accessories that I no longer wear so that way they can go to a more loving home! Especially since I plan on moving out in the next year, this is something that really needs to get done.

Do you have any goals or resolutions you set for yourself this year? I'd love to hear about them!

Stila "In The Moment" Palette

I purchased the Stila In The Moment palette about a month ago during Boxing Week, because it was on sale at Sephora for only $26! I had been wanting to try one of these Stila palettes so when I saw they were practically half their regular price, I got one!

This palette has a beautiful mix of neutrals with some pops of purple which perfectly suits my brown eyes. The shadows are all quite pigmented and easy to work with. A couple of shadows slightly lack pigmentation such as the brightest shade in the palette, Glance, but it can be built up to a pretty bright purple. The palette also comes with a full-size Smudge Stick Waterproof Eyeliner in the shade Tetra, a beautiful deep shimmery purple. The eyeliner is a twist-up pencil and goes on pretty smoothly.

This palette is pretty versatile as you can use it to create a range of looks from neutral, to bright, to deep and smokey! It's quickly becoming one of my go-to palettes for day-to-day use.

 

(L to R: Instinct, Impulse, Glance, Improvise, Catalyst)

(L to R: Desire, Wonder, Spontaneous, Whim, Captivate)

 (Smudge Stick Waterproof Eyeliner in "Tetra")

 (Smudge Stick Waterproof Eyeliner in "Tetra")

Have you tried this palette from Stila? What were your thoughts on it?

2013 Beauty Favourites

I know it's kind of late to be posting this, but since I just got back into blogging here I thought I'd share my favourite beauty products of 2013 with you all!

FACE

Revlon Colorstay Foundation // I've been a fan of the Revlon Colorstay foundation for a few years now. It has great coverage and staying power and really does last all day for me. This is one foundation that I can never be without!

CoverGirl Outlast Stay Fabulous 3-in-1 Foundation // This is a new foundation favourite of mine! This foundation claims to act as a primer, concealer, and a foundation and I agree with that! It has fantastic staying power, covers any blemishes or spots, and has a beautiful finish. If you haven't tried this foundation I'd highly recommend it!

Rimmel Stay Matte Pressed Powder // I don't know what I would've done this year without this powder. It is such a light, weightless powder but mattifies the face without looking heavy or cakey whatsoever. A light dusting of this powder over any foundation and you're set for the day!

Revlon PhotoReady Brozer in "Bronzed & Chic" // This is a bronzer I had heard about in the beauty community for a little while and when I stumbled across it at a flea market for around $5 this year I thought I'd give it a try. I really enjoy this foundation! It's completely matte and I love that there are 4 shades in it so you can choose how light or dark you want to go with your bronzer. I use this daily to warm up my face and add some colour!

MAC Mineralize Skin Finish in "Centre of Attention" // I got this as a birthday gift in October and it is so, so beautiful. I had asked for the MSF in Soft & Gentle for my birthday since I know it's a cult favourite in the beauty community, but my mom surprised me with this one as it was newly released at the time in the Divine Night collection. This combines a beautiful iridescent light pink with gold shimmer. Since I got this in October I've used it almost daily as a highlight. And it's just so pretty to look at too!

MAC Blush in "Royal Sunset" // I purchased my first MAC blush this year and it was this one from the All About Orange collection from this past summer. This is my ideal blush shade. It's a gorgeous satin peachy pink and it has been my go-to blush ever since I got it. (Review + swatches)

NYX Blush in "Taupe" // I'm a big fan of NYX blushes in general (I also own Pinched and Peach), but when I got this blush in Taupe I knew it would instantly become a staple in my makeup routine and it truly has (you can see that I just barely hit pan on it)! I heard about this blush as a contour shade from NikkieTutorials on YouTube who would constantly rave about it and use it in nearly every single one of her videos, so I finally picked one up and I'm so glad I did. If you have a fair skintone I would really suggest picking this up as a contour shade, it's perfect!

Revlon ColorStay Blemish Concealer // This is another lucky flea market find for me! I picked this concealer up for under $5 one day because I needed a new concealer and this one worked out fantastic. It does a great job of covering spots and blemishes, but it also works well as an under-eye concealer or for anything else that needs extra coverage!

EYES

Urban Decay Naked2 Palette // I got this palette for my birthday in 2012 and it has been a staple for me ever since. I rarely go a week without using this at least once. I love the taupey shade range in this palette, and it really is so versatile!

Tarte Aqualillies Eye + Cheek Palette // This was my go-to summer palette. I picked this up in June and I used it so, so much. The eyeshadows are super soft and pigmented and I love the pop of teal among the neutral, golden shades. The blush, highlight, and bronzer in this palette are gorgeous as well but I mostly used the shadows! I still use the shimmery champagne eyeshadow in the palette called Parasol on almost a daily basis as my inner corner highlight too! (Review + Swatches)

ELF Eyebrow Kit in Medium // This is what I used to fill in my brows for most of 2013. It comes with a tinted wax on one side, and a powder on the other. To use it I fill in any sparse areas in my brows with the wax, and then I go over the entire brow shape with the powder. It looks fantastic, doesn't fade or smudge, and the colour is a great match for me. If you're looking for a new (and inexpensive) brow product to try, give this one a go!

MAC Eyeshadow in "Embark" // This is one of the very first MAC products I ever owned and I still use it very frequently. It's a matte, deep, cool brown and it's such a great crease shade for any neutral eye look. I'm surprised I haven't hit pan on it yet since I've been using it a lot ever since I got it a few years ago!

Too Faced Shadow Insurance // I think I used this every single day of 2013, and I amazingly still have some left. I got this in a Too Faced gift set for Christmas in 2012 and it's been my daily eye primer since! All you need is the smallest amount and this sets any eye look right in place for the entire day.

ELF Liquid Eyeliner // This is a big deal for me to have a new favourite liquid eyeliner. I had been using the same liquid liner for probably 4+ years (Maybelline Line Stiletto), but I think it has been replaced with this one. I got this ELF liquid liner in an ELF kit I got for my birthday and I'm so impressed with it, especially considering it retails for only $1! It's a rich, fully opaque black and dries to a matte finish. The applicator is a brush tip which was hard to get used to at first since the Maybelline liner I had been using all those years had a felt tip, but the brush is easy to control and get precise lines with. I'm so glad I got this as a gift because I don't think I would've tried it otherwise, but I love it!

NYX Jumbo Eye Pencil in "Milk" // This has been another one of those products that I use daily. Sometimes I'll use it as an eyeshadow base if I'm wearing bright or colourful makeup, but what I typically use it for is a base for my inner corner highlight. I'll apply a small amount in the inner corner of my eyes and blend it out with my finger or a synthetic brush, and then apply my inner corner highlight shade on top of it. It just helps to really brighten my eyes!

ELF Cream Eyeliner // Another new discovery of 2013 for me was cream/gel liners. This was the very first gel liner I ever tried and I love it! It's very opaque and dark and applies so smoothly. I have this liner in a couple other colours but black is my favourite. It works great to create my signature cat-eye look!

Maybelline Color Tattoo Cream Shadows // These have been such a popular product among beauty bloggers/vloggers in the past couple of years but I didn't try any for myself until this summer, and I fell in love with them! I now have 6 of them, but my two most used shades (as photographed here) are Tough As Taupe and Inked In Pink. These have wonderful pigmentation, last all day without fading or creasing, and work as beautiful bases for any eye look!

Rimmel Scandaleyes Waterproof Kohl Kajal Eyeliner in "Nude" // This is another product I use on a daily basis. I use this eyeliner on my waterline every single day to help brighten my eyes. I used to use a white pencil on my waterline but I find with a nude pencil you still get a brightening effect, but it's more natural looking.

CoverGirl Clump Crusher Waterproof Mascara // This mascara really lived up to its name in that it doesn't clump at all! It made my lashes so long and voluminous without any clumping. And with the waterproof formula it didn't smudge or flake on me at all! (Review)

Sonia Kashuk Eye On Neutral Matte Palette // This is a more recent purchase of mine but it has quickly worked its way up to "favourite" status. This is a beautiful all matte neutral palette. It can be used to create fully matte looks on its own, or used alongside other palettes or shadows! I use at least one of the shadows from this palette every single day. So many palettes I own lack matte colours, so this palette helps balance out all the shimmer and create beautiful looks!

LIPS

Rimmel Kate Moss Lipstick in "07" // This is my favourite and most worn red lipstick. It's a beautiful matte, deep red but it still remains bright and doesn't look too dark or gothic on the lips. I find it to be very wearable. Since it is a matte finish it lasts for a really long time on the lips. This was one of my go-to lipsticks throughout the fall and winter.

MAC Lipstick in "Flamingo" // This is the first MAC lipstick I ever bought and I got it in this summer's All About Orange collection. It's a beautiful light pinky coral with a lustre finish. It is sheer but buildable, and it's the perfect colour for everyday wear if you want something slightly brighter than a nude lip! This is one of my most used up lipsticks and I've only had it for about 7 months so I definitely got a lot of use out of it! I'll be worried when I run out since it is Limited Edition, but it has been repromoted by MAC before so hopefully it will again! (Review + Swatches)

Revlon Lip Butter in "Juicy Papaya" // This was my go-to lip product over the summer for those days I wanted something quick and easy but still nice on my lips. It's a sheer peachy colour that can be slightly built up but is far from opaque. It's a great lip product to use for a hint of colour, shine, and some moisture! (Review + Swatches)

Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics Lip Tars in "Memento" and "NSFW" // I got a set of 4 mini lip tars during the holiday season and I instantly fell in love with them. I had heard a lot about lip tars over the past few years but I never wanted to buy a full size one at the price it was since I knew I would never use it all up. I love that OCC released sets of mini lip tars so I got to try 4 colours for a little over the price of 1 full sized one! My two favourite in the kit are Memento - a great "my lips but better" shade, and "NSFW" - the most perfect bright red lip colour. These are so opaque, long-wearing, and I love that I can mix colours to create my own shades too!

eos Lip Balm // This lip balm has been a favourite of mine for quite some time. It's light on the lips but still moisturizing and leaves my lips nice and smooth. I use this everyday after I exfoliate my lips and before I put on lipstick!

Revlon ColorBurst Matte Balm in "Elusive" // This is a more recent purchase of mine but since I bought it, this has not left my purse. It's such a great nude-pink to wear on an everyday basis. And it has a slight minty flavour which is nice too!

Lush Bubblegum Lip Scrub // This is the only thing I have ever bought from Lush but it is a daily staple product for me. I use this every single morning to scrub off any dead and dry skin from my lips, leaving them nice and smooth for whatever lip product I wear that day!

Maybelline Color Sensational Vivids Lipstick in "Shocking Coral" // This line of lipsticks was insanely popular over last spring and summer when they were released, and for good reason too. This is one of the two shades I bought from the line and these lipsticks are so, so fantastic. They're insanely pigmented, have great staying power, and are comfortable on the lips. I absolutely love this lipstick and I can't wait to break this out again when warmer weather comes back!

NAILS

OPI "Rainbow Connection" // This is one of my favourite glitter nail polishes ever. It's has all different colours of the rainbow in it and the glitters are a variety of shapes and sizes too. It looks like someone sprinkled confetti all over my nails when I wear it!

OPI "My Very First Knockwurst" // This is my favourite nude nail polish. It's the perfect balance of a neutral light nude colour, with just the slightest hint of pink to keep it from looking too brown. It looks so clean and classy on the nails and I love it.

China Glaze "Flip Flop Fantasy" // This nail polish was one of my number one summer shades last year. It's such a gorgeous bright neon coral and it looks fantastic on both fingers and toes!

OPI Nail Envy // This is my go-to base coat and I use it as a base for all of my manicures! This bottle is practically empty now so I need to pick up a new one ASAP!

OPI "You're Such A Budapest" // I absolutely love this pastel periwinkle shade from the Euro Centrale collection from last summer. This is one I'll be wearing again lots come springtime!

Seche Vite Top Coat // I didn't get this top coat until later on in 2013, but it is so great. It makes my nails so shiny and helps my manicures last longer. I love how fast this dries too, because the #1 thing I don't like about doing my nails is the drying time, so this helps out a lot!

Julep "Martha" // I really love this pale pastel pink nail polish I got in one of my Julep Maven boxes last year. It's so girly and pretty but still very clean and classy! I really love pairing this with OPI's Rainbow Connection glitter as well!

OPI "Polka.com" // This is another polish from OPI's Euro Centrale collection that I got this year. It's a beautiful combination of pink, blue, and purple glitters in a clear base and looks so pretty over so many different nail polishes!

OPI "Ski Teal We Drop" // I wore this nail polish a lot during this fall and winter. It's a gorgeous deep teal cream. Usually in the fall and winter my nails are almost constantly deep red colours so it was nice switching it up a bit with this nail polish!

OPI "If You Moust, You Moust" // This is just the perfect pink cream nail polish. Not too light or dark, just bright enough, it's perfect. Such a classic shade. I love wearing it with the OPI Polka.com glitter on top too!

Well, if you actually read all of that, congratulations! This post was quite text-heavy. Hopefully some of you found some new products you might want to try, or maybe you shared some favourites with me! What were some of your beauty favourites from 2013? I'd love to hear about them! Also, if there are any products I mentioned here you'd like to see a review for, let me know and I'd be happy to post one!

Mani Monday #1

Happy Monday everyone! I hope you all had a great weekend. I'm still trying to figure out a schedule for my blog posts, but I think what I'm going to try doing is make posts 4-6 days of the week from Monday to Saturday and then take Sundays to prepare posts for the upcoming week! Since I'm not home from 7am-7pm on weekdays, I feel like Sundays are a good day to figure out what posts I want to make, take any photos I need, and also to relax a bit!

I often paint my nails over the weekend so I figured I'd start the week off with Mani Mondays! This manicure may look familiar to some of you and that's because it is. I did this manicure last May and I loved it so much I recreated it again on my nails this past weekend. We got a ton of snow here in Ontario over the weekend and these daisies are making me anxious for spring!

Nail polishes used: OPI Nail Envy base coat, Rimmel London Black Satin, Sally Hansen White On, Julep Alma, Seche Vite top coat

If there are any weekly post ideas, or just posts in general you'd like to see let me know in a comment! I'll be sharing my 2013 beauty favourites with you all tomorrow so be sure to keep an eye out for that!

Current Wishlist

Triple the Charm Bag // I'm really in need of a new large handbag or tote. When I go into Toronto everyday for my internship I need a big bag to carry everything in - my wallet, gloves, lunch, extra shoes - whatever I may need that day and the one I'm currently using is a few years old and looking pretty worn out. I love the look of this mag from ModCloth and with the colour-blocked neutrals it'd go with any outfit!

LORAC Pro Palette // This palette has been on my wishlist for a couple of years now. I'm hoping to actually buy it soon though! It seems like such a must-have for any makeup lover like myself and I think it'd be a palette that would get almost daily use from me. It's currently out of stock on the Canadian Sephora website, but I hope it comes back soon!

Stay Home Club Tee // Stay Home Club is a Montreal-based company selling clothing, accessories, and other things like pennant banners and pillow cases that I've been a fan of for a while. I have a few things here and there from the company but have yet to buy any clothing. I really love this "Black Metal" (as they call it) tee! It'd go great with an all black outfit with black skinny jeans and Dr. Martens, or I could tuck it into a high-wasited skirt and wear it with flats.

T-Bar Flats // I really love the cute and girly yet vintage look of t-bar shoes! These flats from Asos are too adorable and they're also very afforable! I hope they get my size back in stock so I can pick up a pair for the spring!

Fox Wallet // Any of my friends know that I have quite the obsession with foxes. When I saw this wallet by New Look on Asos I thought it was just the cutest thing. And the colours would totally match the handbag I posted here too!

KESH x American Apparel Crop Top // I love the bold, graphic print of this crop top. It'd look so cute with a high waisted skirt or shorts! I actually first saw this top being warn by Hayley Williams of Paramore on their most recent tour. She wore it quite a bit on the tour and I just fell in love with it.

What are some things currently on your wishlist?

Friday Favourites

The Elie Saab Spring 2014 Couture collection is so beautiful.

I saw Frozen a couple of weeks ago and I loved it so much. I've pretty much been listening to the soundtrack on repeat too.

The hair at Dolce & Gabbana S/S 2014 was gorgeous.

Aerie's new #aerieREAL campaign is amazing. I'm so glad such a big company is finally doing something like this!

This gold cactus from ModCloth is really awesome.

This terrarium light is so cute! 

I've had my eye on this off-the-shoulder dress from Asos for a little while now.

What have some of your favourite things lately been?

I'm Back (Again)!

Hi everyone! Happy 2014!!!

After another long break I've decided to come back and blog again! One of the goals I had set for myself in 2013 was to keep up with blogging on here. I did well for the first half of the year but slowly stopped posting, and now I haven't posted anything in 4 months. Well in 2014 I want to actually successfully complete my goal and blog consistently this year!

The first big difference I'm sure you already noticed is the layout change. I wanted to start fresh this year with a new look to Lipstick & Lacquer and I love the nice clean look of an all black & white layout. Feels like a fresh start! So I guess I'll fill you in a little bit from where we left off. Since September I turned twenty (on October 19th), went to some cool concerts and events, continued working at Target, finished my design portfolio for my final year in school, and now I'm in my last semester of my program! To make this post less text-heavy I thought I'd share a few of my Instagram photos from the past few months to show you what I've been up to!

This probably isn't a big deal to many of you but I finally bought myself a pair of Dr. Martens boots. I've wanted some for quite a few years and I finally bought some and I wear them constantly! (Also this was taken back in the fall pre-polar vortex.)

I celebrated my 20th birthday in October! These are the goodies my parents (well really my mom) got for me and everything here I've used so much already, I love all the products (the MSF is in Centre of Attention and the lipstick is Rebel)!

I went to Buffer Festival in Toronto which was honestly one of the best weekends of my life. I got to meet so many amazing YouTubers and hung out with the best people there.

One of the concerts I went to was Paramore and it was incredible. This was my third time seeing Paramore but this was the closest to the stage I had ever been and it was amazing being so up close! I actually have already bought tickets for Paramore's tour with Fall Out Boy this summer and I have meet & greet passes to meet Paramore, I can't wait!

Lastly, and probably the most exciting for me, is I finished my final portfolio for school (I'm taking Graphic Design) which was the most stressful time in school for me but I'm so happy with the work I created. For my final semester in school (which I am currently in) I had to find an internship somewhere for a few months and I got my internship at Flare Magazine which has been so surreal so far. If you live in Canada be sure to check out next month's issue when it comes out because you'll see my name in the masthead! If you want to see my portfolio online you can see it here!

So now I am working in Toronto 5 days a week at my internship for school, and then on the weekends still working at Target and attempting to have a little bit of a social life in there somewhere. It's crazy busy and hectic but I wouldn't rather be doing anything else.

How have you guys been? I hope you've had a great start to your year and I look forward to sharing my year with you! Also if you have any suggestions of posts I should make, let me know! I was thinking about doing a 2013 beauty favourites post but wasn't sure if it was too late for that? Let me know what you think!