There’s nothing more therapeutic than a good cup of hot tea.  I’m a lipton girl, I use tea bags.  This will hopefully give you an understanding about how confused I was when I realized this was loose tea.  Much to my surprise, I’ve been sipping this stuff daily. My mother had a cup as well, and now she’s dipping into my tea stash too!  First of all, I’m a sucker for packaging.  These little cardboard canisters are chic and simple, making them fabulous.

All you do is scoop a spoonful into the clothbag and steep it into your mug or tea kettle of hot water. A little honey and sugar, and it’s perfection!  At first I thought, this is going to be way too much work for a cup of tea!  But the 8 seconds of labor really, really pays off.  I’m an old fashioned girl, so I was completely content with the Royal English Breakfast blend ($13.95).  Apparently, Beyonce and Taylor Swift love the Sassy Green Tea with Acai.  Smart choice ladies.  Acai (pronounced Ah-Sah-Yee) is amazing for the body!  For the more eclectic tea drinker, Tea Village Co. also offers white, jasmine, oolong and an assortment of other varieties. One canister will yield 40-45 servings of tea.  Yes, anything over $5 is a bit pricey for tea, but don’t we all love a little relaxing getaway every once and awhile.  I think so.  I’m re-ordering!

Note: This product was sent to me by a PR representative for review.

The image above is that of my wall. My entire room reflects the things that inspire me. I believe that if I see it, feel it, breathe it and believe in it, it has to happen. I lived in NYC for a mere 3 months. Every second, every crowded subway, every illegal honk from cabbies, every smirk or glare from passers by…all amazing. I search Craig’s List daily, just searching for my first apartment in the Big Apple. I thanked God for every morning that I awoke to the hustle and bustle of my residence on the Upper West Side.

So, this blog is my inspiration hub. It’s the things that make me happy, the things that I want to share. I wanted to start a blog about scarves, candles and Starbucks. And my love for city life. And for amazing music, not the crap that’s on the radio. And all other great treasures of the world! So, here’s a deeper look into the life of Erin, the lady you know as Scandalous Beauty…

I have three materialistic obsessions. Beauty products (clearly), scarves (you’ll see me wearing them all four seasons and with any outfit) and candles!!! If I ever start another blog, it will be all about candles!!! I’m currently burning Vitivo’s Creme Brulee Candle. Let me tell you, I want to dig out the wax and eat it. Sounds nasty, but there is no way it can’t taste as amazing as it smells! My room smells like an enchanting French Pastry. Seriously.

Vitivo’s description calls it “Delicate and smoothly delicious, this good enough to eat scent is a symphony of flavors from the cupboards of your granny’s still warm kitchen; finely ground vanilla bean, exotic Hawaiian raw sugars, fresh creamery butter, and caramelized honey harvested from the heart of your most cherished memories.”

Luckily, this candle will burn for 50 hours. I always light this after a long day at work, while I am blogging, or even when I am about to play in my makeup case. Nevertheless, this luxury candle instantly makes my room a little more fabulous. I’ve seen these candles in many different higher end boutiques and department stores. Glad it looks great in my room too! Vitivo makes over 5 collections of candles, with over 50 scents to choose from. They also have hand soaps (a great way to give your bathroom a luxury look and feel), reed diffusers and a bunch of other goodies. Interested? Check out Votivo.com for a list of retailers or to order online!

Although I’ll be alone for Valentine’s Day this year *sniffle*, there’s no reason why I can’t have a bit of pleasure to myself. Luxury candle company Diptyque has created a lovely, feminine scent called Red Roses. Diptyque says “Nestled in a very British-style box, the elegant candle blushes with pleasure: from the glass to the wax, it shows its true colors! Tender rose, audacious rose, girly rose…anything goes! It breaks away from traditional codes, but remains true to its essence: a mixture of antique rose petals, and aromatic geranium leaves. A subtle, nuanced blend that celebrates the quintessential flower. Available for purchase at at the Diptyque store in San Francisco & New York in addition to other stores such as Aedes, Barneys, Bergdorf Goodman & Saks in the United-States, Noor in Toronto and Ogilvy in Montreal.

Lovely.

This my be my favorite scent from Bath and Body Works. I’m in love with all things vanilla, but this scent has a darker, sexier edge to it. I’ve been wearing the Eau de Toilette everyday for the past 3 weeks! There is even a buy 2, get 1 free sale still in the works. I’ll hit the mall tomorrow and get two shower gels and a body cream. They even have the candle for $10! Love, love, love this stuff!!!! View the entire Vanilla Noir collection, and stock up!

Happy Easter!!!

I guess you all know that Spring is my favorite time of year, it’s perfect weather, everything looks beautiful, and you can bust out the flip-flop’s and spaghetti straps. Thymes Red Cherie is Spring. The scent reminds me of the blossoming flowers that can be found all around.

Thymes says “Sweet, flirty and a little bit unpredictable, Thymes Red Chérie makes you smile from head to toe with a luscious mix of sparkling pomegranate, ripe red cherries, passion flower and jasmine…sparked with Asian lychee and a tease of fruity musk. And, since it’s loaded with skin-loving vitamin E and antioxidants, it leaves you with a healthy glow that’s nothing less than non-stop gorgeous.”

I tried the body lotion, and a little goes a very long way, scent-ly speaking. So, I would highly advise you to pick up the candle, home fragrance mist and sink set, which includes hand wash and lotion in a cute little caddy. This is the perfect way to bring in the Spring season!!!!

Fashion Week is coming faster than you can change your outfit. I am so freakin’ excited! As I was reminiscing the hottest looks of last season, I found this look from DSquared. The look will look great on anyone of any skin tone, and I can’t wait to try it on!!! Here’s how MAC duplicates it.

M∙A∙C Indian Wood Paint Pot was applied all over the lid, through bottom lashes, as well as the inner corner of eye and then layered with Goldmine Eye Shadow. M∙A∙C Blacktrack Fluidline was drawn all around the eye with a feline-flip at the end. The flip was winged out from the outer corner of the eye and defined into an “s curve” shape towards the inner part of the crease. Beauty Marked Eye Shadow was applied inside of the “s”, and Smolder Eye Pencil lined the inner water line of the eye for definition. M∙A∙C PRO Reflects Glitter in Gold was then applied over the lids to complete the fierce/glamorous look. Pro Lash in Coal Black coated lashes top and bottom.

Don’t forget, the Spring foundation look is “candlelit” skin, that has a dewy sheen. I can’t wait for Spring!!!! I’ll be reporting the trends as they are happening!!

So, what the heck can I expect to see backstage at a major fashion event? I’m hoping to snap pics of the biggest names in makeup, fashion and runway modeling, plus a few products that we can investigate! I’m blown away at how much of a process goes into doing everything, just to showcase what we, the consumer, must have six months from now! Our economy is a trip huh?

If you are on the East Coast like me, I hope you are enjoying this BEAUTIFUL warm front that has come in. It feels like those first beautiful days of Spring were you want to just hang out outside and enjoy the good life. I am a total Spring/Summer junkie, and this is getting me ridiculously excited for the months to come!

Are you Spring beauty ready?? If you are like me, you embrace trends and try to make them your own. You use guidelines and tweak them. You just love to be your own person, all the time. Well, last year, I reported the Spring/Summer Fashion Week beauty trends, which you can find here.

I interviewed MAC Director of Makeup Artistry Bianca Alexander, who told us the key aspects for beauty. Among the list, she included “soft, candlelit” skin, and strong eye lashes. This is great news, it gives us the opportunity to look “made up” without looking “made up”.

Go ahead and get the scoop on all things Fashion Week, at NYmag.com. Isn’t Victoria looking so hot at Oscar De La Renta last year???

My grandmother just moved into a plush new apartment, and it’s to die for. She is retired, single and loving life, so she decided to make her new place her own little paradise. It was my duty as a loving grandchild and future Harlem co-op owner to invest in a few beauty-ful things for the snazzy place. Here’s what I got her!

Madie loves candles just as much as I do. I decided to get her a candle that looked and smelled amazing. Thus, the best choice for this was Tocca! The scents are very rich and inviting, plus they make the most rundown place smell eloquent. She loves “Stella”, that boasts the smell of Blood Orange. They also have other scents like Grapefruit Cucumber, Sweet Milk, Watermelon and Guava Red Currant. Mmmm, I simply adore Tocca.

For her bathroom sink, I got her the Mandarin Coriander Sink Set with caddy. Maybe this is kind of tacky, but she smelled it in our powder room at home and always commented on it. The set leaves your skin feeling and smelling amazing. I remember looking at the name of the scent and thought, wtf? That probably stinks! But it was a beautiful scent, and I’m sure it will stay replenished in our bathroom for months to come!

As a matter of fact, we have Thymes all over the house. My mommy uses the Wild Ginger Body Wash and I can smell it beaming off of her in the morning. The next thing I really want to try is the Honey Melon candle, doesn’t that just smell scrumptious??

Sadly, Fashion week is over. This is a 7 day holiday for many of us, others can be annoyed by it. So, I waited until after it was over to report on it! Here’s a view of the tent from 40th street.

I had the privilege of sharing the MAC forum with a few of my fellow beauty fanatics. One of my favorite artists, Bianca Alexander, gave us the scoop on what went down backstage. The picture to the left is a close up of the MAC booth, plasma TV’s and sketches of the looks beneath.

Polished, beautiful skin is at the forefront. “Candlelit” skin with a beautiful sheen is the way to go. This can be achieved with Face and Body Foundation.

Strong eyelashes are key! (Try the new lashes MAC has debuted at your local counter or store, they were designed by lash expert Christina Smith. She has custom made lashes for just about every celebrity.)

Mineralized SkinFinish Natural is used to sunkissed, sexy skin. It snuck in and took the place of bronzer! (Speaking of which, I saw tons of this being used on Kim Kardashian at GlamBlush)

For this Fall, Bianca says that black eyeliner is still a hit. You can’t go wrong with black liner, be it pencil, creme or shadow. (Ever since I saw The Devil Wears Prada , I have been a sucker for liquid liner. Liquidlast liner is so long lasting that you need an oil-based remover to take it off!)

The million dollar question, what would be a great set of shadows for brown skinned sistas?? Bianca suggests Bronze all over the lid for a metallic shade, Bamboo as a subtle highlight, Embark for a plumish/brown crease (Charcoal Brown for lighter skin) and Carbon to line. Perfect.

Interested in how the trends come about?? She explained that backstage is literally where it all happens. The directors work alongside the designers to get ideas for the show. Makeup and hair tests are done before the show to make sure the whole bit works, and thus, a trend is born. A few months later, those products end up at MAC counters and stores for us to wear!

There is a bit of the scoop, more to come!!!