Got something awesome everyone needs to know about? A really rad singer? A wicked new book? The key to collegiate success? Email your “The Know” ideas to Jill@collegecandy.com or tweet me and I’ll pass them along to everyone right here, every week. Make your kindergarten teacher proud and share!

Prepare to pee a little bit. Don’t worry – it’s totally worth it. I promise.

Your teenage dream is about to come true, and I am not talking about a breathy Katy Perry song.

I don’t know if someone in the music world saw our ‘90s bracket or our ’90s music festival fantasy and got inspired, or if someone out there (The Big Man Upstairs) decided to reward all of us 20-somethings, but Backstreet is BACK. And this time, they’re bringing the Right Stuff with them (pun very much intended).

That’s right, ladies (and gents who happen to care): Backstreet Boys AND New Kids on the Block are hitting the road together as early as March 2011.

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Insert teenybopper scream here.] Read More »

You slowly open your eyes.  It feels like your mouth is filled with cotton balls, you start frantically grabbing for water. But – ouch – there is a bruise on your left arm the size of K-Fed’s gut.  You’re still wearing the clothes from last night and suddenly images of a boy pop into your hazy mind. You feel the warmth of a body beside you in your bed.  Then you remember.

You brought a boy from the bar home with you. He was pretty cute too, from what you remember. But now as you slowly roll over to see his peaceful face drooling all over your throw pillow, you nearly fall off your bed into the pile of McDonald’s wrappers from last night’s fourth meal.  Ok, he’s not that narsty, but the dude does not look like half the man you thought he was at 3 in the morning.

I know it’s happened to the best (and most responsible) of us. You’re in the bar and you see a guy across the room. That “Oh em gee, he totes resembles Gerald Butler” feeling washes over you and and then - boom – the next morning you’re laying next to Shrek.  But why?  I understand a little alcohol can disable your senses, but what about your senses are beer goggles disrupting that leaves the curly haired freak you thought resembled Gerald Butler as your big spoon??

Lucky for us, British researchers have come up with an explanation.  They have discovered drinking is linked to people thinking others are more attractive. (Duh, I could have figured that one out.)  But here’s the real kicker: Women are more affected by beer goggles than men. Ok, gimme an explanation. Read More »

Mac 'n cheese for now, pizza for (when you're drunk) later.

Living in college pretty much means you will be living a notch above a homeless person.  You drink cheap booze heavily, pass out in random places, smell like last night on your way to class and (pretty much) live in a box.  Luckily, we all know that is what makes college amazing.

But still, college can get pretty difficult at times.  You don’t have a car your freshman year to make constant trips to Trader Joe’s, let alone the moolah to buy nice minty tea tree shampoo and Charmin Baby soft toilet paper like Mama buys at home (sigh).  What are you ever going to do without a stocked pantry and a private hot shower (that doesn’t require flip flops and a shower caddy?!?).

Don’t fret, college loved ones!  The college campus is a gold mine for basic needs and perks.  And I promise you, one thing we have up to a homeless man is easy access to what we need. Read More »

How could you not be with Chelsea Handler hosting?!

What’s life gonna be like when we’re 40?

20-somethings are the new adolescents.

Oh god, please don’t let this be true!

These 10 TV characters sure know how to dress.

Leaked pictures from the new Harry Potter movie!

Careful: Those splinters are no joke.

I don’t know what you ladies have been up to this past seven days, but I just got back from the greatest week of my entire summer, visiting my best friend out West. We spent a lot of time just watching movies, talking, and shopping at the biggest mall in North America (for real). Basically, I enjoyed a nice relaxing vacation with the impending start of school being the farthest thing from my mind.

That is until I got home from my week away to find a bunch of  back to school letters from my college staring me straight in the face. That’s right, much to my chagrin, summer is slowly but surely coming to an end.

While this summer has been a sex-free one for me (yes, still! I’m proud of myself too), I have enough sexy summertime memories to be aware that summer might be the greatest season for havin’ sex (although, I don’t think there’s a bad season, really).  Maybe it’s the fact that we’re all wearing little clothing to begin with, or that we can feasibly get naked outside without potentially losing an appendage to frostbite (hey, I am Canadian), but there’s just something fundamentally sexy about summer.

A few months ago, former Sexy Time writer, Kelly, composed a bucket list of places to have sex before you’re done college. With sleeping until noon soon getting replaced by 8am classes, and bonfires replaced with late-night study sessions, I figured that now is a good time to take Kelly’s lead and compile a list of places to get freaky while the days are still long and we’re not yet back to hitting the books.

So, with only a few short weeks until you’re back in the stacks, grab your summer fling and have a little fun: Read More »

When did Natalie Portman get so weird?

7 tips on finding a good guy

Just laugh it up

Elmo def beats Jonah Hill in the maturity contest

Totally not surprised

Officially time to cancel American Idol

Truth: all-nighters just got more fun.

Dearest CollegeCandy readers, I trust by now you’ve heard we’re big supporters of Boxed Wine Wednesday and Thirsty Thursdays. And Get Drunk For No Reason Saturdays….and Mondays.  You’ve seen our reports on the endless benefits of boozing.  Some of you have agreed with our debauched ways, while others balked that constant drinking is wrong.

Well hang on to your hats, ladies, because I’m about to make it oh-so right all over again.

A recently released Norwegian study shows that moderate consumption of wine is tied to higher scores on cognitive tests.  What’s that?  You’re not impressed?  Well I’m not finished.  That same study goes on to show that those who abstained entirely from drinking resulted in lower scores among females.

Still not done!

As luck would have it, getting wasted is also the key to success at work.  Mark Jeffries agreed with you naysayers and initially refrained from the ritual end of the day drinkathon with his coworkers.  Then, when the economy took a nose-dive, he was fired.

Upon looking back, Jeffries realized it was his polite decline of those bar invitations that probably helped escort him out the door of his office.  You see, he never created emotional bonds with fellow staff members.  The not-drinking hurt his shot at building a social niche for himself within the company.

And with that, I invite you to apply this theory to every area of your life.  Drink with classmates, drink with roommates, drink with people you’ve never met before….in the library…the night before finals.

Cheers!

[Got a Dude itch you just can’t scratch? Sick of getting the pity-eyes as you sift through the Self-Help section at your campus bookstore? Over wondering what those boys are thinking?  We got your back, girlfriend. Send your question (Why did he do a total 180??) over to askthedude@collegecandy.com. The Dude won’t sugarcoat it, beat around the bush, or any other weird cliche that means lie to you. Like a nice, juicy hot dog, he’ll be 100% real beef, 100% of the time.  So bring it on, ladies.]

Dear Dude,
I have been with my boyfriend for over 6 months now.  At the beginning, we were both very happy.  But lately, I am miserable.  He goes through random bouts of being depressed about everything, and then short spouts of being extremely pumped and into life.  I love the latter.

The thing that bothers me most, is he never acts pumped about me or into me anymore.  He acts like seeing me is a chore, and our nightly-before-bed phone calls are an obligation.  He always makes excuses to leave early, mentioning being tired, yet he has no problem staying out super late with his friends (or even going to see them right after me when he’s just told me he’s “exhausted”). I don’t even know if he’s really into the relationship or me anymore, but anytime I try to discuss a break or breaking up, he cries and says that’s not what he wants.

He also never defends me.  We had a mutual friend that would “jokingly” get physical with me, and he would stand by and watch it happen.  Yet, if I tried to defend myself against this boy, my boyfriend would stop me and tell me I was being childish.  That’s just one example of many.

I’m so confused about this whole relationship.  Aren’t boyfriends supposed to protect their girlfriends and make them a priority?

Please help me, Dude.
-Wanna Give Up Read More »

It’s that time of year again.  Yep, the time when suddenly it’s the end of August and you are stuck on your bed staring at all of shiz you need to pack into boxes for another successful (and sometimes difficult) year in college.  You get slightly excited for another year to pummel you in the face with good times and countless hours in the lib.  Can you feel it? Your insides tighten, your liver shrivels and shivers and your eyes twinkle. It’s a beautiful thing. Are those goosebumps?

Yes, it’s time to be ready for the school year. It’s time to start packing and gaining ultimate pre-college essentials to give you a chance for an easy ride through the first semester.  Alright CollegeCandy chickas, nurse those excited pangs of pain desire in your liver – we (with a little help from our college blogging friends) are going to get you ready for school!

* Before you even pack up the car, make sure that you don’t forget those necessary items that everyone always forgets to pack.

* Ok, I’m going to be the one to put it out there – I wasn’t much of a ‘laundry-pro’ going into college. I’m not kidding, can I say on here that I Googled ‘how to separate colors’ before doing my very first load? Yeah, embarrassing. Allow me to protect your Google history: here are some things you can think about in regards to doin’ the dirty laundry pile.

* Before I went off to college, shoved in between a thick pile of clothes and a dresser in my dad’s truck, I would have paid a fortune to have a 100+ list full of things to know in regards to college. Here’s the dream realized, free of charge.

* Come finals week, this list will be pasted to your forehead. Read More »

Is it just me or is there another “revolutionary” new makeup product introduced every freaking day?! Just walking into Ulta or Sephora (or even Walgreens!) sends many chicas into fits of hysteria, reaching for the nearest brown bag to regulate their breathing. It’s all so overwhelming.

So how can you know which product – among the sea of thousands – is the best? Which does what you need it to do? Which ones are worth the extra money? Let me help. I don’t know every beauty product out there, but I’ve tested a lot of them and I’ll let you know which are worth the money and which are not.

(Disclaimer: This product was provided to me for review purposes)

What it is: Sigma Complete Brush Kit

Why this should be in your bag: Makeup brushes are essential for any girl who wears eyeshadow, blush, bronzer, etc (read: EVERYONE). Like most, I started out with cheap brushes from the local drugstore, but quickly realized that if I’m buying quality makeup, I should also be investing in quality brushes. A brush of exceptional quality will have soft bristles, little fall-out and pick up lots of product. It’s amazing how much of a difference a brush makes in your application. Good brushes will allow you to look polished and your best, blending when they should and depositing just the right amount of color! However, I have a pretty hard time parting with 50 of my hard earned dollars for one measly MAC brush. I’ve been searching for an affordable alternative to MAC (and other luxury brands) and I think Sigma might fit that bill! Read More »