Let me start off by saying that I am a firm believer in spending money on quality makeup.  Oftentimes well-trusted and expensive brands of makeup are more effective, longer lasting and – shocking – a much better product all around.  However, there are times when buying the expensive stuff is just stupid.

Case in point: when new makeup trends come along. It is silly to spend a ton of money on something without knowing if you’re really interested in the product or if it’s just all the hype. This is the perfect time to invest in the cheaper version to see if it’s something you want to incorporate into your makeup routine long-term. If it is, you can fork over the cash for the better stuff later.

Below are some of the major makeup trends happening right now that (if you get inundated with the ads as much as I do) you’re probably dying to test out. I included the expensive version and the cheap(er) version so you can try them on for size without going for broke. Read More »

Victoria Beckham may be Idol’s newest judge.

Steven Tyler’s moves aren’t what they used to be.

Are guys OK with just cuddling?

Penelope Cruz is gonna have one beautiful baby.

The 13 sexiest movie scenes ever.

Drink to a better complexion?

Damn, girl. She’s lookin’ fiiiine.

And this is why you should never let your bf see a stripper.

Gwen Stefani’s had 2 kids?!

Rihanna doesn’t need a restraining order.

Everyone hates Jon and Kate.

Who’s nominated for a VMA?

Welcome to a new College Candy feature: The Rival Rundown! We’re taking a look at the oldest, fiercest, and even funniest rivalries between colleges and universities all over the country. We’re going to be examining everything from mascots to mess halls to the most obnoxious traditions, all with the intent of determining which schools are ballin’ out of control.

And if you’ve always wanted to give props to your school on CC, now’s your chance! Shoot us an email explaining what’s awesome and unique about your school (or what stinks about Rival U) at rivalrundown@collegecandy.com!

This week, we focus on one of the most intense rivalries in all of sports. Only eight miles (and immeasurable animosity) separate the campuses of UNC-Chapel Hill and Duke University. Both are excellent schools with terrific athletic traditions. Between two seemingly similar schools, who will win the Battle of the Blues?

1. Mascot Matchup

UNC- The Tar Heels take their nickname from a reported exchange between Civil War soldiers about Carolina’s fidelity to the Confederate cause.
Duke- The Blue Devils got their name from an homage to French soldiers during WWI, Les Diables Bleus.

Three credits to: Duke. Though both nicknames have military origins, the Confederates eventually lost and the French were among the Great War’s victors. Way to pick a winner, Duke. Read More »

You know what’s super awkward? Sex. All that nudity and rubbing and body parts all over the place. It’s a recipe for disaster. There are about a billion things that can go wrong, from cutting open your head on the corner of a dresser (been there) to dropping a wad of drool on your man’s face (done that). And if we took a moment to truly reflect on what it’s like to fart during the entire thing, well, I’m pretty sure we’d all just stop sexing all together.

I’m sure most people don’t put as much thought into the intricacies of sexy time as I do, but I am sure that plenty of sexually active adults have considered the multitude of things that could go wrong during the act. Does everyone have the same fears (babies and disease)? Do guys fears differ from a girl’s? Is a queef as big a deal to everyone else as it is to me (and do other people laugh uncontrollably when one happens)?

I asked my friend who is a boy to give me his thoughts. Read More »

When you’re wearing high heels, the last thing you want to do is walk a long distance from your parking space to the store. Well, frankly, the last thing you want to do is walk at all, which is kind of impossible. But the city of Seoul in South Korea is all over this one with its Women Friendly Seoul Project, a plan to turn the city in a more heel-friendly place. Sounds pretty awesome, huh?

The city plans to paint close to 5,000 public parking spaces pink to reserve them for women. Other measures are being taken as well to improve the overall quality of life for women in the city. The program will pave streets to make them more high-heel friendly, improve lighting, build additional women’s public restrooms, create safe parks for women, add more public day-care centers, and expand an already-existing women’s taxi service. By 2010, the city’s transformation into a so-called women-friendly haven will be complete.

While these improvements may help reduce the frustration of everyday inconveniences for women in Seoul, they will probably not foster gender equality, which is a hot-button issue in South Korea that the government has had limited success in addressing. In fact, these efforts just might undermine women’s attempts to compete in a male-dominated society. Read More »

It’s finally here: week ten of my summer internship at Magazine X in New York City. I’m proud to report that I’ve made it through numerous days of unpaid labor and braved the horrible commuting conditions (apparently Mother Nature decided that this summer was going to be characterized by either torrential downpours or blazing heat, and nothing in between), and I actually managed to have a pretty good time while doing so. I only had to get someone coffee twice (and I could get myself one too, so leaving the office for a Starbucks run wasn’t too awful), and I have a ton of good clips to add to my resume.

So what have I learned? Read More »

While hoodies don’t exactly have a rep for being fashionable, every girl has a few in her closet. They are pretty much THE staple in every college wardrobe since they are comfy, warm, and easily slip on over whatever you wore to bed last night. Even hardcore fashionistas have lazy days!

Since you most definitely have one (or 6) zip-ups in your closet, I’ll give you a few different ways to wear them so you look more casual cute and less “Holy sh*t I just woke up in my boyfriend’s room and I’m 20 minutes late for class so I’ll just borrow his clothes and run out of the door.”

Contrary to popular belief, that is not cute. Read More »

This Week’s Article: Reverse Emasculating Trends by askmen.com.

This week’s article warns men to get rid of emasculating trends in their relationship. I didn’t realize this was such a problem, but apparently men are being emasculated from coast to coast and someone at AskMen thinks it needs to stop.

And he means business.

The article puts men in their place right from the start: “When women emasculate us, it’s often because we let them do it. Our wives don’t want to think of us as anything less than men — they only think about us like that when we act like that. All those emasculating trends in our relationships, we’re complicit in them. If you no longer feel like the man of the house, it’s at least partly your fault.”

Of course, showing any signs of having an actual human soul will lead your girlfriend to see you as a girly child and treat you as such. If you’re not pounding your chest and tearing the flesh off a dead zebra, something is very, very wrong with you. And your lady hates it.

Let’s see what the “men” at AskMen advises the boys to do: Read More »

You know you’re a major celebrity if your Twitter page can become an impromptu press release.

When that happens, it also shows how ridiculously unprofessional you are.

Last night, Paula Abdul took to her official Twitter account to announce that she is not returning to judge American Idol next year. As usual, the major news outlets picked up on this immediately and began reporting it, actually quoting her tweets (one of which replaces the word “one” with “1.”) Now, it’s one thing for a celebrity – or anyone, for that matter – to tweet their feelings about a breaking story. It’s another thing entirely to break the story first on your Twitter page.

This isn’t the first time that a celebrity has taken to Twitter to make information public that should be private, or at least released through another medium. In June, Perez Hilton tweeted about being assaulted by Will.I.Am’s manager just after the incident occurred, pleading for help. Currently, Eminem and Nick Cannon are engaged in a very public Twitter feud that is borderline…well, actually, completely ridiculous.

I have no problem with celebrities using Twitter to reach out to their fans and make themselves seem more down-to-earth. But celebrity Twitters are not substitutes for a good publicist and a telephone, and they are definitely not replacements for reputable news organizations. Yes, there is virtue in hearing news straight from the horse’s mouth, but an announcement on the Internet written with 140 characters or less screams a lack of professionalism. Read More »