Back-to-school is right around the corner, and for many of you, the inevitable final year of college is looming.

Breathe in.
Breathe out.
It’s going to be OK.

Heading into your senior year well-prepared (and well-hydrated) makes all the difference, so here’s 9 things to keep in mind before you embark on the beginning of the end:

1. Check on Everything:
First things first, make a meeting with your academic advisor (yes, you have one) and make sure you have all the classes you need to graduate. If not – sign up for them immediately. Don’t wait to take your second required P.E. class until the last semester  — the classes could fill up and leave the only option available something that doesn’t fit with your academic schedule. (Or worse, it could be at 8am on a Friday.) Figure out if you have departmental requirements to fulfill. Find out when deadlines are and what the expectations are. Be aware of every step required towards you wearing your cap and gown and grabbing that diploma at the end of the year.

2. Senior Participation:
If your school has any special senior traditions or rights-of-passages, prepare for them. Do you need to decorate a special gown to wear for on-campus events? If so, get busy and decorate! Plan to participate in everything. Your hard work over the last three years has earned you this upperclassmen status, so bask in its glory!

3. Prep:
If you are planning to attend any kind of graduate school or professional program after college, set up a schedule for what needs to get done. If you are taking an exam such as the LSAT or GRE, and you haven’t started studying – figure out what you’re doing. If you’re ready to start applying to schools, ask for your letters of recommendation (while your professors still remember you/have time to write one!) and set a date to send your personal statement out. Make sure you have a schedule to stick to because once school gets going, things get crazy. Read More »

Summer is just around the corner!

Err, well, kind of, anyway; it turns out that being home for summer vacation does not mean that it’s actually summer weather.  So, unfortunately I am not sitting on a beach (I tried, but the wind was cold and my leg hair grew back in 4 seconds) and went on a hunt to find fragrances that remind me of the beach (and that have super cute summery bottles!) instead.

So take a timeout from your finals, put on a bikini and spray one of these summertime fragrances. It won’t make the 80 degree days come any sooner, but you’ll smell so good you just won’t care.

Lilly Pulitzer Beachy: Nothing screams summer to me more than a Lilly dress, and the perfume is the same way.  It comes in an adorable bottle and includes scents of watermelon, citrus, and flowers. This scent will really take you from late-night-in-the-library to iced-tea-with-sand-between-your-toes in just one little spritz.

Mark (by Avon) Instant Vacation Costa Rica: This fragrance is worth more than its $16!  Its tropical fruit aromas can easily make you feel relaxed and take you away from your finals. In fact, this may be the exact thing to throw into that bag before heading off to the ‘brary for another all-nighter.

Michael Kors Fiji: Michael Kors has four summer island scents; Fiji, Hawaii, Bermuda, and Capri, but Fiji seems to be the best rated.  Fiji has scents of waterfalls, birch wood, mangos, and kiwis. A cheap “trip” to Fiji? Thank you, Mr. Kors! Read More »

According to studies (and common sense…no pun intended) smell is the most powerful sense known to trigger memories. Each different scent can give us flashbacks to certain times and nostalgic moments past and, hell, even a season.

If you, by chance, decide that you would like to smell like “Spring 2009,” some of the fragrance trends for this season include:

-Limey (But who really wants to smell like the aftermath of a tequila shot?)

-Sandalwood with creamy lactones (Such as coconuts, which your nose considers synonamous with the beach)

-Deep, dry amber notes (Yes, the gem)

-Rose Violet (Featured in almost all perfumes)

-Tuberose orange flower (Huh?)

Okay, so I know what you’re thinking. “Thanks? Am I supposed to go a market now and rub a tuberose orange flower all over myself?” Well, you can if you want to, but an easier way to create that spring scent-track (like a soundtrack for your nose) is to hit up your local Sephora and check out the newly featured perfumes created for Spring ’09. Here are a few of my favorites: Read More »

I consider myself to be relatively fashion forward. Not to the degree where I mimic everything I wear from the latest episode of Project Runway, but I would like to think I have a nice healthy happy-medium of trendy and classic.

I am not however, a very adventurous dresser. But today as I am getting ready for a little BBQ with some friends, I am in an appearance crisis—my hair looks heinous.

It’s the weather, and the fact that I am in dire need of a trim, and that I am out of my obsession/necessity to live, Paul Mitchell Super Skinny Serum. But no matter the excuses, my hair looks horrid, and I am just not willing to show up with my hair in a messy bun again, nor do I own a baseball hat.

I cannot justify pulling a Britney Spears solution to this hot-mess of hair and shaving it off, (mostly because tomorrow I swear I’ll buy more Super Skinny Serum and the world will be right again) but I also cannot leave the house looking like this.

As I searched my apartment for anything to be used to hiding my hair, I looked fondly over to my really cute Lilly Pulitzer bandanas, which I bought because they were so damn cute, yet a year later still have yet to find a use for them. Read More »