Its 6:00 A.M. and your day is about to begin. You ignore the fact that its negative four degrees outside as you flip through your closet trying to pick out the perfect dress to go with your new chunky heels that you bought at the Barney’s sample sale. Of course you’re not going to tell the jealous girl staring at them in class that they were a sample sale find, you’ll let her think you went on a 5th avenue shopping spree this weekend. Your make-up is perfect, your hair newly curled, you grab your cashmere Marc Jacobs pea-coat and you are out the door. Just in time for your 9:00 class.

If you are a student at The Fashion Institute of Technology, this sounds like a regular Monday to you. To anyone else, this sounds more like a scene from a movie. You probably don’t think that girls like this ACTUALLY exist. They do. Crazy right? For a 9:00 Monday class, you probably wake up at 8:30, grab a hoodie, some Uggs, your Northface, and are set.  The thought of wearing sweatpants to class is horrifying to the FIT student body.  It’s a completely different world, the fashion school world.

Contrary to popular belief, the life of a fashion school student is not one continuous episode of Project Runway.  However, a typical school day is nothing like a day at the average university.  Classrooms are not just for learning.  The competition students face everyday is cut throat.  FIT students are arguably some of the most driven in the nation when it comes to working towards career goals.  They are friendly with each other, of course, but at the end of the day, it’s dog eat dog, and each extremely well-dressed canine is left to fend for himself.  Professors at FIT do not qualify to teach unless they have been working in the industry for 20 years. Most are still active and successful in their fields and choose to teach as a side job.  Opportunity is lurking around every corner and students are ready to tackle it when it comes their way.  Duly noted, they wouldn’t dream to tackle it in sweatpants. Read More »

Yesterday, after a failed attempt to apply chunky mascara to my lashes (it was gross), I decided it was time to restock. Only when I ran over to my local CVS to pick up a new one, I was totally overwhelmed. Do you have any idea how many different kinds of mascara there are? My god! I stood there for ten minutes with 12 different options in my hands trying to figure out which one was the best. They all claim to last the longest, to lengthen the most, to make you the hottest, but which one really works?

And what about foundation?
And moisturizer?
And bronzer?

HOW ON EARTH IS A GIRL SUPPOSED TO KNOW?!

OK, so it might not be the most difficult decision on earth, but with so many options and so little money, it made me sweat. I may know what the commercials say and what some magazine editors say, but how can any of us really know what products are worth buying? So I turned to my friends (I frantically dialed 5 to get a good sampling/variety of advice) and eventually settled on Almay’s Intense I-Color for Blue Eyes, which was recommended by the one girl who didn’t hang up on me when I told her about my life and death situation. And the stuff is awesome! Just knowing someone who had used and loved it made everything so much easier.

So I decided to take it one step further and find out what beauty products the CollegeCandy writers can’t live without. If they love it that much, it’s gotta be good. And knowing that will make my next CVS run (and yours!) a whole lot smoother. Read More »

How he prevent one idol contestant from quitting.

Your feel good cheat sheet.

Please don’t tell me Taylor Lautner is gay.

Watch your backs (and your undie drawers), MSU girls!

Spencer Pratt is making more enemies. If that was possible.

6 things you should never buy online.

[It's pretty obvious that the average CollegeCandy reader has some very strong opinions. Opinions that she likes to share with everyone on the site. We love a strong woman (unless she happens to be charging at us with her fists raised), so we thought we'd give her a real forum to discuss her thoughts, feelings, and perspectives. Every Friday I'll be featuring a hot topic (like going down! ) and leaving it up to you, the readers, to duke it out. So, read it and get your debate on in the comments section below!]

The fashion industry loves to bring back old fashion trends. Sometimes that’s a good thing (hello, waist-cinching belts!); other times, not so good (‘80s linebacker shoulder pads, really?). And then there are those times when I’m just not quite sure what to think. Enter tie dye. Yep, this flower child trend is back on the runways and it’s got me scratching my head. Help me out here ladies, “tie do” or “tie don’t”?

I can sort of see the appeal of tie dye; it tends to be bright, which is always great, particularly in the warm months. It also has a cool abstract thing working and since abstract patterns have been very in for a while now, this look makes perfect sense. On top of that, tie dye has that easy “I totally didn’t spend an hour and a half staring at my closet to pick out this outfit” vibe. Basically, it’s got everything you’d want from your fav beach dress, but now you can wear it around town without having to claim it’s laundry day. Bonus points for the potential DIY factor. Read More »

While her feud with Bethenny Frankel heats up on Bravo’s ‘Real Housewives of New York City,’ off-screen Jill Zarin has pushed the backlash aside to promote her debut book, ‘Secrets of a Jewish Mother.’ Co-written with her mother, Gloria Kamen, and sister, Lisa Wexler, ‘Secrets’ shares practical advice on everything from fashion and dating to money and motherhood.

This season of ‘Housewives’ has taken the fight between former best friends Bethany and Jill to a new level. “I keep getting judged on behavior I may have done already. I sort of wanted to let people know I have tried and I’ve been trying for six months. Should I bawl my brains out? What do you want me to do?” says Jill.

Jill sat down with PopEater to spill her thoughts on being snubbed from Bethenny’s wedding, celebrity parenting and what to expect from the rest of this season of ‘Housewives.’ See what she had to say here.

I hate to admit it but I’ve watched a few episodes of The Marriage Ref. (What? There was nothing else on TV!)  While it’s not exactly great television (or even remotely good television), it did get me thinking about the whole idea of having a relationship referee. Those guys in the black and white stripes keep sporting events fair, so imagine what they could do for a couple.

OK, so maybe not an actual ref, but a friend or some other unbiased third party (who looks less creepy than that guy on TV) would be nice.

It’s no secret that fights between a boyfriend and a girlfriend can get really heated really fast. There are just so many feelings to deal with. What starts out as a simple comment soon blows up into name calling, door slamming and silent treatmenting. (It’s a word, OK?)  Both parties are yelling but no one is really listening, anxious to get their feelings off their chest. Sometimes you can work it out, but sometimes it gets to the point where you’re both just too tired to try anymore and someone just gives up. Until the next time when all these old feelings come barreling out.

Wouldn’t it be awesome to have someone else there to keep things fair? To bust out a gavel and make a final ruling? To make sure everyone leaves feeling validated?

Sounds pretty good to me. Read More »

I spy with my little eye a whole lot of pastels.

And no, I’m not talking about those tasty Cadbury mini-eggs (even though I’ve got plenty of those too – they’re so cheap after Easter!).

Pastels reminiscent of the colors of everyone’s favorite chocolate Easter treat have made their way onto store shelves and I am excited!  Pale blues, pinks, yellows, greens, etc. have a way of lifting the spirits, like a warm spring breeze or the smell of flowers on your way to class.

I love how pastels are shamelessly girly and flirty, especially when found in the form of ruffled tops or floral prints. But what I love even more is how seamlessly they work with edgier pieces, adding a feminine flair without making you look too sweet.  With pastels appearing on accessories, in makeup routines (pastel nails are perfect for even the most conservative setting!), and on many, many other items of clothing, there is no excuse not to add a few dainty pieces to your spring wardrobe. Here are a few of my favorite pastel incarnations. Just looking at them makes me yearn for a beer and a patio.

Read More »

As a college senior, I’ve done my fair share of…er…personal research when it comes to hooking up. From that first makeout session in the corner of a very sweaty frat party to my most recent jaunts with some super fine grad students, I’ve dedicated myself to my work. And while my former naive self thought that college boys were like the punch they serve at frat parties (i.e. you never know what you’re gonna get but it’s gonna be good), what I’ve actually found is quite the contrary.

There are actually only 7 types of college hook ups.

And it doesn’t matter where you go to school or who you fraternize with, every girl on every campus will at one point (or many points, you saucy minx!) find herself in bed with one of theses:

1. The Bro:
This fellow is all brawn and no brains and secretly has watched more episodes of ‘The Hills’ than you have.  Not that I’m going to say that this is a problem, but the things he whispers in your ear the whole night make you wonder how many times he has Googled the transcripts from all of the porn movies he owns.  He gives you an awkward-fest drive home in his Tahoe while he listens to Trick Daddy and checks out his reflection in the rear view mirror to make sure his collar is still perfectly popped. You wonder where he keeps his lacrosse stick, because you want to hit yourself upside the head with it. Read More »

Ben and Lauren, the brains behind TFLN

It used to be that I spent a good chunk of my day stalking my friends (OK, my exes) on Facebook, but all that changed the minute TextsFromLastNight came into my life. Now most of my time is spent LOLing at my computer and emailing my latest faves to my friends. And I know I’m not the only one. TFLN, a website born out of a drunken weekend in Detroit, gets over 15,000 submissions a day and 5 million readers LOLers a month. It’s even been nominated for a Webby award, a huge honor in the Internet world, especially for a site that documents drunken debauchery. (Go vote for it!)

Since my very first TFLN encounter (“I used a bag of wine as a pillow last night”) I’ve been determined to meet the geniuses behind it and kiss them on the mouth shake their hands. And I finally got my chance… to talk to them, at least. Last week I got to sit down with Ben Bator and get a behind-the-scenes look at TextsFromLastNight: how it started, where it’s headed, and how they choose which texts will earn a coveted spot on the site.

I also got his direct number so I could send all my drunk texts directly to him, but I’m gonna keep that one to myself.

Read More »

Money!

Happy Tax Day! I know it’s not the best day for those of you who have to hand your hard-earned money over to the government (perhaps a free donut will help?), but some of you might be lucky enough to be getting some cash back. Hooray! If you’re anything like me, you were so excited at the prospect of having triple digits in your bank account that you started spending that money before you even got it.

Good for you! Stimulate that economy! Treat yourself to something wonderful. Just don’t let all the excitement blind you. Below, 5 things you shouldn’t waste your money on. Seriously. Read More »