A Day on Princess Cruises Emerald Princess

Being from Southampton, I'm used to the comings and goings of huge cruise ships and it always puts a smile on my face when I hear the ship horn before they leave the dock especially at New Year when the clock strikes midnight. I come from a merchant navy family so cruise ships have always been very present in my life so being able to work with Princess Cruises and experience the behind the scenes of some of their most luxurious ships allows the cruise ship geek in me to become all excited.

Vice Lipstick Palette in Blackmail by Urban Decay

Urban Decay is knocking out banger after banger at the moment and hot on the release of the Full Spectrum palette is Blackmail, the Vice Lipstick Palette filled with twelve tantalising lip shades. It's the most incredible lip palette for lipstick junkies everywhere and if you've tried the Vice Lipstick range already, you'll know what to expect with this beauty.

The Best Japanese Food Outside London

It's not often you come across an incredible and authentic Japanese restaurant in the South that isn't in London so when Kyoto Kitchen first emailed me about coming to try out their food, I was more than intrigued. Rachel & I headed to Kyoto Kitchen which is in Winchester a few weeks ago to sample the menu and it tied in nicely as it was her birthday the same day.

Bring Home the Magic of Christmas

Oh what a wonderful time of year! The Christmas lights have gone up, Michael Buble is singing softly in the background and we can't down our Bailey's hot chocolates quick enough which means it's almost Christmas! My mum has always been crazy on Christmas and has subsequently passed it on to me, so when the decorations come out in shops, I will find an excuse to buy everything. I will be sharing a Christmas decoration haul next week so keep an eye out as there are some real gems. I've also discovered a Christmas grotto of things in Ideal World so grab your credit card...

The Rockstars Collection by Sleek Makeup

There's a few different things that make you realise Christmas is finally upon us, the coca cola truck, the John Lewis advert and of course the Christmas collection from Sleek Makeup. This year they've unleashed The Rockstar Collection, a mix of baked nudes and vibrant jewel toned shadows, souffle highlighters and metallic lipsticks. It's pretty, festive and you'll definitely want to treat yourself.

Auda[CITY] in London by Lancôme

Christmas is my favourite time of year because the makeup palette addict in me has the excuse to buy everything limited edition and pretty. You can never have enough makeup palette options in my opinion. Auda[City] in London is the new palette by Lancôme which pays homage to the ever fabulous Lisa Eldridge, the brand's makeup creative director. London is a city like no other and Lisa captures this in the Auda[City] in London palette beautifully.

The So Eco Stippling Brush

Using makeup brushes have completely revolutionised the way I apply my makeup and I own quite the collection now. Gone are the days of applying my foundation with my fingers because we all did that at one point. I've recently discovered So Eco, a company that makes brushes from recycled and sustainable materials that are compostable, recyclable and bio-degradable.

My Top 5 Merumaya Products

I've been using Merumaya products for almost three years after discovering the brand at a Southampton Bloggers event. One of their PR girls attended the event to introduce us to the brand, the products and the message behind them and I haven't looked back. I've tried a lot of their products and have loved every single one as they just make my skin feel incredible but as with any brand there are always some products that stick out more and so today I'm sharing my top five Merumaya products.

Eyeshadow Primer - Worth the Hype?

As much as I love makeup I am also very lazy so when it comes to applying it, I like simple and easy steps. I started loving face primer way after everyone else because I felt like it was just another step until I found one I really loved. When I first discovered eye shadow primer, I felt exactly the same until one afternoon I pulled out all my makeup and had a play around, turns out I totally loved that too and I haven't looked back.

Urban Decay Full Spectrum Eyeshadow Palette

If there is one thing Urban Decay know how to do, it's colour and boy have they nailed it with the Full Spectrum palette. Thought you didn't need any more colours after the Electric Palette? You were wrong. Full Spectrum launched the beginning of November in a flurry of bright shades, intense shimmers and even a matte white I never knew I needed. If you're not already writing this down on your Christmas wishlist, you're about to...

The Ultimate Winter Hair Treat

If there is one thing that suffers due to the colder weather, it's my hair so I have to really up the hair care routine once the clocks go back. Kérastase hair care is my expensive guilty pleasure and I've recently been using the perfect treatment for my locks that does what is says on the pot while taking no time at all. Let me introduce you to my hairs new BFF...

Wind in the Willows at The Mayflower

The Wind in the Willows is one of those classic stories we all read as kids so when it was announced, The Mayflower in Southampton would be one of the theatres for its world premiere to the stage I was a little more than excited. Southampton Bloggers have recently teamed up with The Mayflower to bring shows and productions to a wider audience through the power of blogging and it's a collaboration I'm really looking forward to. Wind in the Willows was our first collaboration and I have the low down on the show, the evening and what to look forward to when it hits the London Palladium in 2017.

Kat Von D Everlasting Liquid Lipsticks

Kat Von D... This has been a long time coming and with the launch of the famed beauty range launching on our side of the Atlantic last month, it was only right I bought something to try when I was in London recently. Shopping with bloggers can always be a little spendy but I feel I was very well behaved on my latest excursion to Debenhams Oxford Street with Megan & Laura. Read on to find out what shades I bought...

Birchbox X Tatler

How beautiful is this months Birchbox? You can always count on the Tatler collaboration to be pretty spectacular and anything with a peacock feather gets my vote. For November, Birchbox have teamed up with the fab team at Tatler for a party perfect box of treats for all subscribers with products guaranteed to turn heads is what you'll find this November.

Three Moisturisers Worth the Splurge

I'm a moisturiser collector which isn't always a good thing. I get to try out lots of different moisturisers for the purpose of this blog, some I love, some I hate but because I always have a mountain as back up, I don't always repurchase my favourites. I decided earlier on this year that I'd scale it back and only use what I really want to and I have found some skincare gems. As I've hit my late twenties, my skin cries out for different creams and I have three I think are worth the splurge.

Build Your Own Birchbox at Selfridges

I was in London last week for a couple of different events, one of them being to create my own Birchbox in Selfridges on Oxford Street. I met with Beth from Birchbox UK in the Beauty Hall of Selfridges where you'll find the Birchbox pop up shop. This year the pop up shop will be open until the 28th December, so you have plenty of time to go and create your own. 

Wrapping up with Cosy Scarves & Fox Bags

I hope you love Autumn because this post is Autumnal AF. From the background to the outfit, I practically ate Autumn and threw it up in this post. Delightful aren't I? Arran and I had a rare week day off together recently so we set a very early alarm and went to a beautiful, vintage tearoom for breakfast. It gets so busy and we weren't risking not getting a seat and our morning pancake fix. If you haven't tried Halladay's Tearooms in Bedford Place, Southampton then you really must.

In My Mailbox

So you guys are really liking my In My Mailbox series so I'm going to keep it going for a while. I really love watching unboxings on Snapchat and Youtube and seeing as I don't have a channel, I'm giving you a blog post instead. I do unbox all my parcels on Snapchat (Alicea89) so make sure you're following me there too. This isn't me showing off, I want this to be more like a quick, informative post so please do let me know your thoughts in the comments. I've received everything in this post the last couple of weeks so stay put and grab a cuppa...

Ultra Nourished Hair for Winter with Umberto Giannini

I don't know about you but my hair really feels the effects of the changing seasons so I need something incredibly nourishing for the winter months. Thankfully for my locks, Umberto Giannini have covered all my worries in the form of the Umberto Giannini Indulge range plus all their products have been completely repackaged in a glamorous new style. They're currently sitting pretty in my bathroom. Mix sleek white tubes with rose gold metallic writing and you're on to a blogging favourite.

The Lee Stafford Chopstick Styler

It's not often I'll curl my own hair, I usually head into GHD in Southampton and get it done for me to save me time and the anguish of messing it up but I have discovered the perfect little tool to help me over come how crap I am at curling my hair. Disclaimer - the end result is the best I've been able to do in years and I'm bloody proud of it. 

The £5.50 MAC Cosmetics Diva Dupe

Diva is one of the most popular lipsticks to wear when it comes to your perfect berry toned shade but we don't all have nearly £16 to drop on a lipstick and it appeared I had a Diva dupe sitting in my collection all along. After having a rummage, I found one that you can buy in Boots and still have change for a meal deal from a tenner.