Gem and Jo Take On Maynooth University

The Irish summer has well and truly started! And despite the fact that the rain has set in again, we are still feeling super summery. This past weekend we had the nicest day out and thankfully the sun played the game and stayed high in the sky all day! It actually got up to about 18 degrees. Shocking stuff.

We are very fortunate here in Ireland to have such gorgeous green places to explore, every town has something whether it's a park or the grounds of an estate that you can freely wander to your hearts content. So that's what we did, we live nearby Maynooth University, which has the prettiest campus in all of the land (we're a little biased though). Not only is the entire campus covered in trees and flowers, but it also has some secret gardens and even an apple orchard! We intended to bring along a little picnic, however after picking up some coffees we got distracted by the sheer beauty of the place and decided to chill on the grass for a couple of hours, it was wonderful!

Brace yourself, there are quite a few pictures....

This is the apple orchard hidden at the back of the university! It's all in bloom at the moment and it is just the prettiest place! 

This is the oldest native tree in Ireland and it's about 700-800 years old! Cool right?

The campus looks just like Hogwarts and we love that! 

Have you been to Maynooth University? Got any suggestions on where to go next?

Until next time,

Gem and Jo's London Tips

If you didn't know from the countless number of instagrams and blog posts about it, we went to London! And boy did we not realise how many rules there are in that city. No. 1 and possibly the most important..don't stand on the left!! 
So to help all the other unwitting tourists like ourselves, we've made a handy-dandy video about our London tips!
So grab a notebook, a cup of tea (2.5 rich tea biscuits) and watch on people....

Do you have any tips for people visiting London? We'd love to know, so chuck em' down in that there comments section!

Until next time,

Gem and Jo's Travel Tips

Summer for us means travelling. Whether that is hitting the road or hitting the sky, summer is the time when like to get out there and see the world. So with that in mind we decided to share some of our travel tips.

1. If you're jetting off to somewhere that has a different climate to the one that you've come from, wear a convertible outfit. This is an outfit that can be altered slightly to suit loads of different weather. Our favourite is a cute dress that when worn with tights would suit our colder Irish weather, but when worn with sandals is perfect for hot sunny weather. Tights and sandals are super light and don't take up much room in your carry on bag.

2. If bringing checked luggage,don't pack too much into your carry on bag. You don't need seven books, four outfits and three pairs of shoes for a two hour flight. Bring what you need and any valuables, and leave it at that. Airports can get very busy and you don't want to be breaking your back lugging around a massive bag.

3. If you're stuck for space in your bag, buy toiletries in the place your're heading. You can pretty much buy shampoo, conditioner and shower gel anywhere. Unless you're super picky about your toiletries there is no need for these things to take up weight and room in your bag .

4. If you're heading somewhere sunny bring sensitive cleanser and moisturiser with you. The sun, sea water, and chlorine can wreak havoc on your skin and make even the most robust skin sensitive.

5. Check out if your hotel or apartment complex offers pool towel hire. A lot of places offer pool towel hire for a small deposit and this saves you the bother of bringing a huge beach towel.

6. If you're travelling by plane make sure to stay hydrated. That means drinking lots of water and bringing a nice moisturiser with you. The plane air can make you really dehydrated and you don't want to be arriving at your holiday destination looking and feeling like a raisin.

What are your travel tips? 

Until next time,

Gem and Jo's Beauty Hacks

So everyone has their own tricks they like to use when getting ready for the day or night and we thought we would share ours, so we can be of service to world and hopefully help some folks out.
Here are our favourite beauty hacks that have saved us more than we'd like to admit:

1. Wrap your hair in a cotton shirt instead of a towel when getting out of the shower/ bath. This will stop frizz and static and will dry your hair faster!

2. When travelling pack your powder makeup products such as pressed powders, eyeshadows, etc with cotton balls to prevent them from shattering.

3. Use Q tips (cotton buds, for the Irish folks) dipped in makeup remover to fix any eyeliner mistakes without having to start over!

4. When going swimming in the sea, a lake, etc spray your hair with leave-in conditioner such as This One by Aussie. Because your hair absorbs the first thing that's applied, it will be conditioned rather than dry from the harsh water. This can also be done when going to the gym!

5. If you have a plastic retainer (former brace faces like ourselves should have one), put whitening toothpaste (or a whitening product) in it and wear the retainer for a little while. It will help to whiten and keep your teeth straight!!!
Gem likes to use Pearl Drops Beauty Sleep Serum:


6. Use the wand from your expense mascara in cheaper bottles! The only reason you pay so much is for the brush, so don't throw them away! Of course sometimes you get a mascara that has an amazing brush and liquid, they're like hitting the jackpot!

7. Finish washing your hair with a blast of cold water, this will give your hair a nice shine!

8. You can also rinse your body with cold water before applying fake tan. The cold closes your pores and makes for a more even tan. However it is hard to work up the courage to turn to the cold setting in winter!

9. If you've run out of shaving gel, that stuff disappears so fast!, use conditioner instead. It gives a nice close, smooth shave!

10. For really soft feet, apply tons of moisturiser to your feet and then put on cotton socks. This works best if you do it overnight, so you don't have to walk around on soggy feet, ew.  Jo likes to use Soap and Glory's Heel Genius:





Thanks for reading guys, we hope you learned a little from our beauty hacks and that someday they will be of use to you! Let us know if you have any hacks in the comments below, we love hearing from you!

Until Next Time,
XO Gem and Jo