Gem and Jo Review Maybelline's Master Contour Duo Stick

Are you looking for the quickest contour and highlight of your life? Do you find the amount of time you spend blending everything out absolutely ridiculous? Well stop that. Stop it.
We have found the quickest and easiest contour and highlight and it's all in one little tiny product. It looks like the most unassuming product ever but we are in love with this baby! Prepare to have you mind blown (unless you've already seen this, and if you have then your mind is already blown and how are you reading this? Aliens!)

This is Maybelline's Master Contour V-Shape Duo Stick. It's basically cheekbones in a chubby little crayon and we are not complaining! It's packaging may not be the most appealing but Maybelline haven't been known to wow their customers with amazing packaging. Their Brow Drama packaging could put you to sleep but the products inside are brilliant!

The crayon has two sides to it, hence the name 'duo stick'. One side is a really nice grey toned contour shade and the other is a really brightening highlight tone that is the perfect shade for us pasty Irish girls. We picked up shade 01 Light and it's just right, the fact that the contour shade is grey toned is perfect. In case you didn't know it's a little more believable when a contour shade is slightly grey, that way it mimics a real life shadow on your face and not just a bronze tan. Here's a little swatch for you guys on Gem's arm so you can see how brightening the highlight shade is, even on a pale white ginger.

This duo stick is literally the easiest thing to use in the world. First we run the contour shade into the hollows of our cheeks, over our foreheads and just under our chins. We used a contour brush from Primark to blend it out and let us tell you, there is hardly any elbow grease required to blend this out. We then run the highlight shade over the tops of our cheekbones between our eyebrows and up a small bit towards our hairline and then a little on our chin. Then just blend that shade out using a foundation or buffing brush and your good to go. 

We also think the v-shape to this product might work well on the eyes, using the contour shade on the crease and the highlight shade on the lid. We haven't tested this theory out yet but we will let you know when we do! 

Have you tried this product? What are your thoughts?

Until next time,

Gem and Jo Review L'Oréal True Match La Touche Magique

Well the names of products just keep getting longer...Honestly why do companies feel the need to have about 6 names on things, keep it simple folks.

This concealer is magical, which is great because the word magique is in the name, it would be a little awkward if it was crap. But we are here to tell you it is most definitely not crap, in fact whatever the opposite of crap is, that is what this concealer is.

The full name of the concealer is L'Oréal Paris True Match La Touche Magique: Anti-Fatigue Illuminating Concealer. That is a mouth full. However it does exactly what it says on the tin, it illuminates wonderfully and there is definitely an element of anti-fatigue to it. Now when it comes to highlighting and concealing the under-eye area, Gem finds it quite hard to find a concealer that is bright enough. We all know how pale Gem is, so finding a light enough foundation is hard, nevermind finding a concealer that's lighter than that foundation. But in swoops L'Oréal to the rescue, this concealer is plenty bright enough to satisfy Gem's needs and works just as well for Jo.

The consistency of the concealer is lovely too, great coverage and hardly any creasing. Which is important when it comes to under-eye concealing. So an all round good one? Eh, maybe not...

The one thing about this product is the packaging, twisty-dispenser products are just not our favourite. Anyone else feel like it has hardly any product inside? You just twist for hours and nothing appears. Especially when you first purchase it, it seems like you've twisted for generations and then finally it pops out all over your hand and you waste tons of it.... that's the stuff makeup nightmares are made of. However, that is our only negative comment about this product, it seems to be a genuinely good concealer.

Out of 10? a strong 7.5
Would we recommend it? Yes, especially to the gingers and other pale people out there!

Have you tried this concealer? Let us know in the comments!

Until next time,

Gem and Jo Review Makeup Revolution's Flawless 2

Now this is one pretty palette! And, you guessed it, it's from Makeup Revolution! So not only is it gorgeous, it's also super affordable. 

This one here is a follow on from their Flawless palette and it's very originally named Flawless 2. But we won't hold the name against them, the palette is just far too lovely for that. We're slightly in love!

Compared to Flawless, this palette has a few more mattes and a few less shimmers. Plus it's a whole lot brighter, in fact the majority of the shades are quite bright and highlighting. Perfect for base shadows or for blending darker shades. 

As with all of the Makeup Revolution, the packaging for the palette is nice and sturdy, perfect for travel or for when you accidentally chuck it on the ground. 

We are loving using any of the lighter, matte shades for a base colour and then we pop one of the warm brown tones into the crease to create a simple, day time look. Chuck a little of the shimmery light shades into your inner corner for a highlight and to create a bright, wide eye look. Wanna look even more awake and bushy-tailed? Put some of the light shimmer shades under the lower lash line, just in the very center of your eye. This will really accentuate your eyes and make you seem alive, even if you have slept through 7 alarms. 

Heading to the pub after work? Chuck this in your makeup bag and use the darker shades to create a more sultry look in just a few seconds! Simples! 

Until next time,

Gem and Jo Review Girls On Film

This is about an eyeshadow palette just to clarify, the title of this post is....misleading.

Ah Makeup Revolution, we meet again you beautiful, beautiful brand. Oh how we love you!
If the sheer amount of blog posts about Makeup Revolution hasn't convinced you of our love of this makeup company then we don't know what will. We just cannot get over the quality of these palettes for such affordable prices. For instance, this Girls on Film palettes was just £4 from Superdrug. £4 pounds!! That's crazy cheap for such amazing products.

Girls on Film is a pink-y toned palette with colours that aren't dissimilar to one of Makeup Revolution's Iconic palettes. Kinda a dupe for the Naked 3 too. It comes with 12 shimmer shades and 6 mattes. A nice mix that can create some really pretty looks. And as with all of Makeup Revolution's palettes, the pigmentation (or colour payoff) is incredible. We do however, think that the fallout from the newer palettes is way more than some of our older palettes...conspiracy? Normal people think it's probably just new formulation of their shadows, but we love a good conspiracy. Why do you think we enjoy The Curse of Oak Island so much?
Tell us all your secrets Makeup Revolution!! 

*clears throat* Time to get back on track with the review....

When we first swatched the matte shades (the circle ones at the front of the palette) we weren't too sure of the texture. They seemed kind of silicone like, almost waxy. But once we used them properly on our faces, where they're supposed to go, we were pleasantly surprised at how silky and smooth they went on. 

We're pretty sure it helps the shadows to stay on longer too! Bonus! 

As with most pink-toned palettes, they're perfect for everyday wear. They can create really natural, day time looks that can enhance features. Especially in people with blue eyes! You gots to make those puppies stand out! 

With lovely shimmer and some darker shades this palettes can easily take you from day to night. Simply by adding a darker crease with just one colour, such as the matte black seen in the middle of the palette or the second-to-last brown shimmer, you can really make your eyes pop. And that will take you all through the night, whether you're working the tiles (aka dancing the night away) or milling into a giant tub of Ben and Jerry's. (We don't judge)

For £4 we really couldn't pass this palette up. It's perfect for Gem, who as you probably know has a bit of a problem with pink toned palettes (she's a makeup hoarder, send help!)

We're especially smitten with the champagne shimmer shades in this palette, 

which are your favourites?

Let us know in the comments and be sure to check out our other Makeup Revolution posts.

(We'll just leave these links here.... 1, 2, 3, 4) 

Also if you want to join in on the revolution click here to see their products!

Until next time,

Gem and Jo's Primer Picks

If you haven't tried a makeup primer stop what you are doing and get to your local drugstore. While primers have been around for donkeys years at this stage, hardly any of the high street makeup companies provided them. If you wanted long-lasting makeup, one of the only options was to fork out a few bob for a primer from the likes of Elizabeth Arden or YSL. Well those days a long gone, it seems like every drugstore brand has brought out numerous different primers, suited to a huge range of skin types.

Whether you're as shiny as an oil slick like us or you have dry patches, you are bound to find a primer to suit you. And best of all, you could probably find it in your local Boots store for an extremely reasonable price!

Rimmel's Fix and Perfect Pro: €8.99

                         

This primer is a god send, it has a great price (is always on sale), actually does what it claims and helps your makeup stay on all day long. There are 5 things Rimmel claim this primer does: Smoothes, Restores, Brightens, Mattifies and Perfects. And let us tell you, it actually does all of these things, it instantly mattifies and smoothes your complexion and it creates a lovely glow that works alone or under makeup. We certainly love this one!

We pop this on under our makeup to help it last all day long! This is perfect for our fellow oily peoples!

Makeup Revolution's Ultra Face Base Primer: £5.00

                          

If you haven't heard of Makeup Revolution, get out. We mean it. This is one of our favourite brands at the moment and we cannot stop raving about everything we buy from them! Including this primer. This is a more silicon like primer, which is great for blurring imperfections and smoothing over any lumps and bumps. However, if you are looking for a heavy duty primer, to hide everything and leave your makeup flawless all day, this is probably not the one for you. It's not as long lasting as the Rimmel Fix and Perfect but nonetheless is a gorgeous product that we enjoy using!

Again, we like to pop this on under our makeup to create a smooth, perfected base. 

Find it here. 

Rimmel's Fix and Protect: €8.99

                          

This is a new one for us, and to confess we're not totally sold on it, but for the purpose of this post (which is to give you guys a nice broad range of products) we shall include it. Rimmel just released this into their primer range and it's a welcome addition! Despite our love for the first primer mentioned in this post, the one thing it is lacking is an SPF. This primer fills in that gap. The Fix and Protect primer is basically a product designed to protect your face from everyday harm. Which includes pollution and harmful UV rays, and as a ginger Gem figured this would be perfect for her. As we all know she burns like that pizza your forgot about when your friend called with boy drama. 

So with it's SPF 25 and an anti-pollution protection we were reeled in, hook, line and sinker. 

However, the texture and staying power of this primer isn't the best. It goes on like a suncream, which wouldn't be too bad if it didn't have that suncream smell. It makes us think it's summer when it's not, sad times...

We've worn this one a couple of times under our makeup, but for extra staying power we added the Fix and Perfect primer to our T-zone.   

So there you have it, a nice range of primers for affordable prices. 

Let us know if you've tried any of these or if you have some primer recommendations! 

Thanks for reading!

Until next time,

Gem and Jo Review Makeup Revolution

Following up from our last Makeup Revolution post, which you can check out here, we decided to get some more of their fabulous products!

We picked up one of their very popular 32 Piece eyeshadow palettes and a gorgeous 8 shade cheek and bronzer palette, and boy are they pretty! It's killing Gem to even consider using them (she's a little strange and likes to keep makeup brand new...weirdo...)

Makeup Revolution Ultra Eyeshadow in Affirmation: €11.27 (£8.00)

The packaging of these products is so sleek and clean, and as a plus, it's really sturdy so travelling with these shouldn't be a problemo! 

There are a couple of the 32 piece palettes to choose from and as lovers of both shimmers and mattes we went with Affirmation. It has a collection of pinky-nude colours that will be perfect for just about any occasion and the shimmers will be excellent for when we need a little glam! 

Also, this palette comes with a completely matte black eyeshadow that is gonna work wonders as an eyeliner when we don't want the hassle of liquid liner. 

Honestly, how pretty are the shades in this palette?? It pretty much has a colour for every occasion and for that we salute you Makeup Revolution! 

Makeup Revolution Ultra Blush palette in Hot Spice: €8.41 (£6.00)

We kinda wish this palette said "Blush" on the actual palette's packaging, we think it's really cute! But alas, the packaging is kinda plain, a little boring but that is not to say the inside is not super exciting!! 

This cheek and bronzer palette is the epitome of pretty! The shades are a really summery peach tone and the highlighter is to die for! Plus there's a blush/highlighter combo shade for when you want the ultimate glowy-look! 

There are some shimmery shades, which we were a little iffy about at first but we will learn to love them because they are beautiful on the skin! Plus there's also matte shades that will compliment our super oily faces perfectly! 

This palette is the perfect palette for summer, and the darker shades will take you right into Autumn/Winter meaning it's a general all rounder. At £6.00 for 8 blushes you can't go wrong with this absolute beaut! 

We will definitely be looking up some more products from Makeup Revolution, they are playing a blinder right now and we are excited to see what they do in future! 

What do you think of Makeup Revolution? 

Until next time,

Gem and Jo's First Impressions - Makeup Revolution

How pretty are these beauties?! We are seriously in love! 

So Jo was recently in sunny Fuerteventura (leaving Gem lonely and sad in the land of rain) and while she was there she found a little shop that had a Makeup Revolution stand! How lucky is that? Considering you have to buy Makeup Revolution online in Ireland, we certainly didn't expect to find it on an island off the coast of Africa! 

Jo picked up 2 of these beauts, one is a pinky toned palette called Iconic 3. Anyone else getting a little hint of naked 3 in there? We certainly are, in fact we would go as far as saying its a dupe for that particular Urban Decay product. It's also pretty similar to the W7 In The Buff palette (you can see our post on that here). 

The pink tones of this palette surprisingly compliment the Irish skin tone, and not many can do that! Plus the shimmery shadows are gonna be perfect for this summer, everyone loves sparkles in the sunshine, right? 

The second palette Jo picked up is called Essential Shimmers and it is honestly the perfect palette to use when you've got that gorgeous summer glow! A little tan and some of these shimmery shades and you will look like a summer goddess* 

(*Terms and Conditions Apply)

Unlike the first palette, this one has all shimmery shades rather than a mixture of matte and shimmer, but we do not mind because every single shade included is beyond perfection! To say we're excited to use this one is an understatement! 

What's your go-to summer palette? 

Until next time,

Gem and Jo Review Rimmel's Fix and Perfect Pro Primer

Well looky here! We have returned... our exams have left and summer has arrived! We are free elves!! 

We are super excited to tell you guys our thoughts on this product, we are seriously in love with Rimmel London's Fix and Perfect Pro Primer! And to make things better, we picked it up while it was on sale in Boots! 

When it's applied, this primer first feels creamy but then as it's worked into the skin it becomes slightly serum-ish (that is most definitely not a real word...ah well.). It's a thick consistency but you can see immediate results! The packaging claims that it's a 5-in-1 product, saying it smoothes, resurfaces, brightens, mattifies and protects. And we are here to tell you that it does exactly what it says on the tin! 

Honestly, this is one products that does all it claims to do, and it most definitely resurfaces which is a tough one to perfect! When it's applied before your foundation, you can see such a difference in your skin! And don't even get us started on the amazing mattifying powers of this primer! As you probably know from our other makeup posts, we are super oily-faced people and no matter what we use we need to powder during the day or we risk looking like oil slicks. However, when we used this primer we didn't need to powder at all! That's a first in our books! It prolonged our foundation wear by hours! 

We've been reading online reviews of this primer too, so we could tell what you guys would think about it too and boy were we surprised! We have yet to find a bad review, everyone we looked at said they loved the products and that they would most definitely be re-purchasing. And we feel the exact same, this is one super-duper product! 

We're giving this one a 10/10!

We bought ours from Boots for the sale price of €6.35 (The usual price is €8.85). You can find it on Boots here or on Rimmel London's website here. 

What's your favourite primer right now? Have you tried this one?

Until next time,

Gem and Jo's April Favourites

It's that time again when we tell all you lovely folk what we've been loving for the past month. So sit back, relax and enjoy. 

Don't forget to thumbs up and subscribe! We would be ever so grateful. 

Until next time, 

Gem and Jo Review Anne Weekes Camouflage Cream*

We all get bad skin days when nothing seems to work and we just feel like covering our heads with a paper bag (okay maybe not everyone gets like this but we can guarantee there's at least a few of us out there!).  Well recently we were introduced to this amazing Dublin based concealer company called Anne Weekes, and let us tell you, this stuff is a saviour.  Anne Weekes were kind enough to send us some of their concealers to try out and show you guys just how amazing they really are.

The concealer comes in 14 different shades so you are sure to find one that really suits your skin tone. There is also a green toned one which would be great as a base for cancelling out any redness. The website is fantastic for helping you pick out the perfect shade as each shade description has loads of information about the undertones of each colour and how they relate to other shades. You're not gonna end up looking like a oompa loompa on their watch. 

With this stuff, a little goes a long way. Each pot of this amazing stuff costs €25.00 but it will last you ages. The teeniest tiniest amount will cover even the worst spots and blends evenly into the skin.

If you're still not totally sure what shade would best suit you after looking at all the shade descriptors, they offer samples which are €3.50 for the top seven shades and €7.00 for all 14. These samples actually have a lot of product in them and will at least last you up to a weeks worth of applications. 

Anne Weekes also offer a finishing powder which makes their concealers waterproof. This stuff seriously works. We tried to scrub the concealers off our arms with water and it didn't budge at all. But a quick stroke of a makeup wipe and it is easily removed without any hassle. 

We had heard that their concealer was also great at hiding tattoos. We had to admit, we were a bit skeptical when trying this out but we just follow the instructions and we were seriously amazed. We just put a base of green to cancel out the black and then used a concealer that matched the skin tone. Vóila it had disappeared. 

We were incredibly impressed with this product and would definitely repurchase it. It comes in so many shades, covers just about anything and we haven't had any negative skin reactions to it at all. Plus at €25.00 a pot, this stuff comes in at much cheaper than highend concealers that aren't half as good. It's goodbye to the paper bag head forever!

Check out the Anne Weekes website here.

Also shout out to Jenny for the use of her arm and tattoo. Thanks gurl. 

Until next time,