The holiday season is officially upon us, which means for the next month or so, there will be lots of holiday parties and opportunities to get dressed up! So why not celebrate the season by wearing some sparkle? Not just for craft projects or dance-recital makeup anymore, glitter can be found on all types of clothes and accessories right now — and what perfect time to wear it than during the holidays? Glitter is pretty, fun and festive, adding to the happy mood of the season. These glittery pieces are all great choices to wear this holiday season, and they’re all just $20 or less each! Read More »

Imagine this scenario: It’s your first year out of the dorms, and you are living (ever so happily) in a nice little duplex off campus.  You can feel the Christmas spirit course through your veins like a Four Loko; quickly and aggressively. You and your lovely roommates decorate a mini tree with blinking lights your parents found in their garage. You drink spiked eggnog and laugh in the face of the holiday spirit.  Your eyes glide blissfully over your wonderful home.  You estimate it’s about large enough to fit at least thirty people comfortably, and maybe fifty if you send that Facebook invitiation out soon enough.

It’s time to throw a holiday party!

But, there is a twist.  Since you’re living off campus, you barely have enough money to support your Velveeta macaroni addiction, nearly enough time to crap, and the creative capacity the size of a kids meal.  You need a cheap, quick, and effortless way to throw a bomb-diggity party your friends will not forget.  And here at CollegeCandy, we’ve compiled a faboosh list of party throwing ideas that will fit your college girl needs for years to come! Read More »

Meet the new Four Loko

Google Cloud will change the way you write your finals

This is the smartest invention ever

4 habits you should adopt in college in college

Tips to beat final exam stress

Fast fixes for a rough week

Boost your resume over winter winter

Sorority pledges tormented by Facebook scammer

Are beer googles fact or fiction?

Top 50 ways to make money

Dealing with grief in college

How to plan the perfect college party

Well, I’m just gonna give it to you straight. Despite having some great music to jam out to, this past month was a rough one. Besides having to cut back on the excessively unhealthy and inappropriate lifestyle I’ve become so accustomed to leading in college—to face the inevitable reality of returning home for the holidays—my favorite site to download music was shut down. Pushing aside my own concerns and complaints for a second, though, I’m pleased to inform you it was not, however, a rough month for music in general.

Like I raved all about last time, phenomenal artists came out with albums last month. Kanye West’s album, My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, and Nicki Minaj’s, entitled Pink Friday, are really the two big ones to pay the most attention to and give a full listen as soon as soon as you get a chance. They’re both nearly flawless, in my opinion. If you happen to have some sort of inexplicable resentment or animosity towards either one or both of them, I’m sure you’ve found it nearly impossible, at this point, to avoid hearing them somewhere or another. Not only are some of the tracks from their new albums already topping the charts, but Nicki and ‘Ye are also being featured in nearly every other popular hip-hop song out there right now. They’re basically the unofficial king and queen of hip-hop these days. Thus, unavoidably, (and to my great satisfaction) they’re also all over this month’s playlist. Read More »

It’s holiday time and at holiday time the LBD goes out the window (OK, not out the window. What a waste! More like to the back of the closet; we all know the LBD will be back by NYE) and in it’s place:

The LRD (the Little Red Dress).

From Thanksgiving to Christmas lord knows we are invited to tons of holiday parties. Some dressy and some a bit more casual. But either way, you can’t go wrong rockin’ an LRD. Nothing says “I’m Festive!” or “kiss me under the mistletoe, cute guy in the ugly sweater!” or “damn that peppermint/chocolate pretzel was good, spoon feed them to me please” like an LRD. Okay, so maybe the last one doesn’t need to be said in an LRD but, mmm, holiday chocolate.

Here are our favorite options for this year’s LRD. From santa red to darker hues to reds in a fun print – you just can’t go wrong! Dress them up with bare legs and a nude pump; dress them down with black tights and suede booties; OR, my all-time favorite combo, opt for grey tights and shoes. It’s less harsh and more unexpected than black (but this works for the more casual options only!)

Happy holidays, ladies in red! Read More »

Mmmm holiday cookies.

I could eat my own weight in Grandma’s “Won’t Fail Fudge,” but do I really want to carry around an extra me in 2010? Not exactly. Spring comes quick here in Santa Barbara, so bikinis and spring runs are just around the corner. If you’re located somewhere where you’ll be wearing large sweaters for the next four months – lucky you! (I guess?) But even if you will be bundled up for a few more months, that doesn’t mean you want to have to trade your skinny jeans for your dad’s sweatpants thanks to a few weeks of indulging.

So, here ere are some tips for navigating holiday parties and rounds at the bar so you can enjoy yourself and still look damn good in the new year.

Surviving Those Holiday Gatherings
Food can seem like the main event at holiday parties, but isn’t the point to mingle and mix with one another?

1. Don’t Go Hungry! Pretty self-explanatory, but don’t do it! Eat sensibly throughout the day, and maybe skip a snack if you want to bank a few extra hundred calories for later.

2. Choose foods that are “worth” it to you. Choosing to have a little taste of the things that you’re really craving, say Christmas cookies or some mini-quiches, while holding back on the other hors d’oeuvres at the buffet line can save you hundreds of calories without making you feel deprived. Pick to have a small portion of your favorite one or two dishes, and load the rest of your plate up with veggies and low-fat dips. Some great options are salsa, guacamole, and other vegetable-based dips. Read More »

Taylor Swift takes home the big award.

But who dressed the best on the CMA Red Carpet?

Don’t get in a car with this woman.

Kristen Stewart proves the 80s are back.

Shorts for a holiday party? Yes. You. Can.

15 signs you and your love are meant to be.

When you’re on a budget you can’t spend your money on just anything. You need items that are versatile, timeless and just plain pretty. And this beautiful dress from ASOS is all that and more.  It is short enough and reveals just enough skin with its strapless design for hitting those clubs on Saturday night. Put on some sexy, strappy heels and you are ready to conquer the dance floor.

When the party’s over, work this dress in a different way. You got a holiday party coming up? Slip it on with a pair of pumps and clutch. A nice family dinner to attend? Put a blazer over the top and you’re good to go. Wanna rock it out? Add a leather jacket, tights and a pair of ankle boots. Read More »

Ahh, New Year’s Eve. A celebration of endings and new beginnings. The last party night of the year, which means it’s also the biggest party night of the year. And that’s exactly why I always get the urge to lock myself in my room and hide under my bed until January 1st arrives.

The anticipation and build-up for the evening mean it’s never as good as you expect it to be. And no matter how much planning you do and how much money you spend, New Year’s Eve always fails to be an extraordinary night. Just because it’s the last night of the calendar year, doesn’t mean it’s going to be any more fun than any of the others. Trust me.

Reason #1 I Hate New Year’s Eve: First of all, it’s essential that you plan ahead. If you don’t make your plans well in advance, you’re risking having nothing to do. Parties get booked up, your friends make other plans, and you’re stuck watching the ball drop with your parents. I don’t like planning ahead. What if I’m forced into deciding to attend a party and then something better comes along? What if, in November, I don’t know what I’m going to be in the mood to do in December?

Reason #2 I Hate New Year’s Eve: Then there’s the expense. If you want to go out, you’re going to have to spend money, and probably a lot of it. Take last year, for example. A group of my friends made plans to go to a bar. We dished out the $75 that would allow us access to an open bar, bought fancy dresses, and got all decked out for the night of our lives. When we arrived, the bar was absolutely disgusting, the food nasty, and the people incredibly sketchy. It turned out we were only allowed to drink well liquor (when we could get near the bar). It also turned out that we could have paid $10 at the door and been allowed to attend the same party and order our own drinks. As if I would drink $65 in Grey Goose. The bottom line is that bars can charge whatever they please on New Year’s Eve and people will pay it. People like me. Read More »

[Every week our style guru takes a celebrity look and breaks it down for you, our poor college fashionista. What does that mean? It means that while the celebrities are spending $5,000 on an ensemble, you don’t have to.

All you have to do is click on the goods and - boom - you can buy the entire ensemble. Yes, we know; there is a spot for her in heaven.]

The holidays are upon us, which means lots of fun excuses to get dressed up (and get drunk). But if you are going to make one pre-new years resolution this year it should be this (say it out loud with me): “I will NOT wear a little black dress to this years’ holiday parties.

There – don’t you feel better now?

What is with the black dress every year? There are so many options, especially this year! Options in ‘so bright you may need sunglasses to talk to me but I sure do stand out in a crowd’ colors. And the best part is? Unlike the celebs above, you don’t need to spend your life savings on a dress. We all know they get hot cider spilled on them at the party, anyways.

Need another reason to give up on black this year? How about the fact that you will finally be able to distinguish this year’s holiday photos from every other year you spent in the same drab dresses?! I knew you’d see the (bright) light.

And I am here to help. This week I bring you: Celebrity Chic on the Cheap: Not Your Average Black Party Dress.

Read More »