A lot of people have issues with their skin, which is totally normal. I have problems all the time! The key is finding what works for you and you alone! While I make recommendations to you all the time, it’s always based on my personal experience. Just because a product works for me doesn’t mean it will work the same way for you, which is why I encourage trial and error. It’s important to create a skin care regiment that works with your skin and not against it. Don’t force some fancy kit on your face just because it worked for someone else!

That being said, in this video I’m going through some very basic tips and suggestions for caring for your skin. I’m talking everything from cleansers to sunscreen, why you need ‘em and how to use ‘em. (And I shouldn’t have to tell you how important sunscreen is, ladies!) If you have any questions, leave ‘em in the comments!

Got something you want me to cover? Post it in the comments below. And don’t forget to follow us on YouTube and check out my other videos right here!

Now in a perfect world an elaborate skin care regimen can be very good for your skin, but let’s get real. When you’re coming back to the dorm at 4am and crashing, your makeup smearing off on the pillow is the closet thing you get to skin care.

It is a good idea to have a solid skin care system, especially if you have an issue like acne or dry patches that need treatment. But with so many steps, it’s all or nothing and you need a back up plan that you’ll actually use and that actually works!

So when time is tight or you are feeling lazy there are three very important steps to hit.

1. Remove makeup

2. Cleanse

3. Moisturize

Here are some products that can kill two (or three) birds with one stone.

Philosophy Purity Made Simple ($10-32 sephora.com)

This great little product dissolves makeup, dirt and oil, so it removes makeup and cleanses your face at the same time! Its also pH balanced so you don’t need a toner. Just throw a little moisturizer on after washing with this stuff and you’re good to go.

Olay Daily Facials ($7.50 in drugstores)

These little miracle cloths do just about everything. Simply wet the cloth, work up a lather, and scrub all the makeup off your face (even waterproof mascara!). It cleanses your skin while exfoliating, toning and hydrating. It’s so effective you might be able to throw out all of your other products all together. Your skin will feel amazing!

Caudalie Instant Foaming Cleanser ($10-26 sephora.com)

This fabulous gentle foaming face cleanser is made from all natural ingredients. Its soap, sulfate, paraben and dye free. It foams up to dissolve makeup and absorb dirt and oils and it’s pH balanced to leave skin feeling moisturized. The best part – you don’t even need water! You can keep this little pump by your nightstand to keep your skin looking great even when you are too lazy (or wasted) to go to the bathroom!

In this weekly series, actress / model and fabulous CC blogger, Jen, will be using her make-up know how to teach us all how to look flawless in class, out at a party, or grabbing coffee with that cutie from Psych 101.]

This week Jen gives us the lowdown on skincare: keeping it clean, beautiful and not-so-obvious that you were up until 4am playing Quarters with the roommates writing a paper. Grab a pen and paper – you will want to take notes.

If you have a specific make-up question, leave a message in the CC Facebook group, or email Lauren@collegecandy.com with the title “CC Make-Up Question,” and she’ll make sure Jen hears your woes and addresses them.

Saturday night: You’re at a frat party. You just won three consecutive games of beer pong. You don’t think twice about drinking your cups, despite the fact that you’ve seen the ball land in other peoples’ used cups, roll along the basement floor, and watched the ball pass between thirty-something unwashed hands.

What gives?!?

Obviously, beer pong isn’t the most sanitary party game out there. But you have the “water cup,” right? That cup of tepid, dirty water is totes gonna disinfect that old, recycled ping pong ball (that was most likely found under someone’s bed 10 minutes before party time). Or not.

Some microbiology students at George Washington University decided to test exactly how detrimental to your health beer pong can be. If you like beer pong, you may want to skip this article.

After a somewhat mild night of beer pong, consisting of eight students and thirty beers, the budding scientists collected samples from each of the beer pong cups and the water cup. What’d they find? A haven for germs. Bacteria from the E. Coli, salmonella, and pneumonia families were present in every single test tube containing samples from the game. Oh, and that water cup that everyone used to clean the balls? That was the most infected, and housed the most bacteria growth over night.

This study centered on beer pong only, but what about other potentially sickening games? When’s the last time you did a kegstand, putting your mouth on the tap that’s been who-knows-where after a dozen other people slurped down a few seconds worth of brew? How about the time you stood in for flip cup, and rotated through other peoples’ cups round after round?

We put our mouths everywhere when there’s cheap beer involved (and some of us really put our mouths everywhere), but we’re super cautious about where we place our ASS when we’re in a public place? Just some food for thought.

Not that you have to quit beer pong — hell, no! To be just a tad cleaner, change out the water cups and beer pong balls throughout the night, and keep your own beer cup to drink out of after the ball hits (just dump the shot’s worth of beer into your own cup).

Alcohol is bad enough for your immune system; don’t give germs a better opportunity to take up residence in your body.

Jumping on the organic bandwagon a little late, I just discovered Kaia House, the foremost source for organic skin and beauty care. Kaia House focuses on banishing the use over of harmful petrochemicals, parabens and other skin offenders, and offers 20 lines of premium organic and natural products including celeb-trendy Osea, Perfect Organics, Red Flower, and Biotique.

But when it comes to beauty products, is going out of your way to buy organic really worth it? Absolutely, according to Kaia House. And after reading their extensive list of un-safe (and common) chemicals that should be avoided when purchasing beauty products, I think I’m a convert.

Read up on the dangers lurking in your makeup bag and then head to KaiaHouse.com for a more comprehensive list. Your skin will thank you!

In your facial cleanser: Petrochemicals

Check the ingredients for: Comidopropyl Betaine, Coco Betaine, PVP/VA Copolymer, and Propylene Glycol, Sodium Lauryl Sulfate.

Possible effects: eye impairment, intestinal damage, kidney and liver problems, breathing problems, cysts, skin spots, rashes and hair loss.

In your face cream: Polyethylene Glycol

Check the ingredients for: PEG-8, PEG-80 Glyceryl, Cocoate, Peroleate and PEG 15 Soyamide/IPDI Copolymer.

Possible effects: increased likelihood of leukemia, uterine, breast, and brain cancer.

In your hair spray: Phthalates

Check the ingredients for: Dimethylphthalate, Diethylphthalate, and Dibutylphthalate

Possible effects: premature sexual development in girls and increased child asthma rates. Phthalates have been linked to breast cancer since 1997.

In your foundation: Butylated Hydroxyanisole

Check the ingredients for: Butylated Hydroxyanisole and preservatives.

Possible effects: Used as an anti-oxidant preservative, Butylated Hydroxyanisole has been known to cause breast cancer tumors to multiply.