Today is National Chocolate Day.

Yes, there is actually a day dedicated to chocolate and all it’s creamy, heavenly glory. And that is about as exciting as waking up on Christmas morning (yes, my parents still sign the gifts “Love, Santa.” Don’t judge).

It’s universally known that diamonds are a girls’ best friend, but truthfully speaking, I’d rather have a heart to heart with a chocolate bar any day. (Come on – diamonds can’t possibly taste as good as these.) And I will be taking full advantage of the fact that I have another reason, besides my mood-swing-menstruation-induced-coma, to justify stuffing my face with it this month.

Take 5 bars, here I come!

But why stop at stuffing our faces? Chocolate Day only comes once a year (and for an undisclosed amount time every month, but we’ll leave out that minor detail), so we better indulge while we can, in every possible way. And, honey, there are plenty more ways to enjoy a little cocoa than in Hershey’s form. Read More »

Want some options? Try an engineering class. Lots. of. men.

Your cell phone alarm is going off in your ear to the tune off She Bangs by Ricky Martin, inducing the hangover you worked so hard for last night (note to self: change to something MJ immediately). Your body pillow is the most obliging (and loyal) bed partner you’ve had in months, and the monsoon outside is actually starting to lull you back to sleep. So what’s going to keep you from repeatedly hitting the snooze button and subsequently infuriating your roommates and failing out of school?

The oh so delicious piece of man meat awaiting you at that 9 am roll call.

Now, there’s not going to be a prince charming lurking behind every door, but we came up with a class schedule that is sure to make the grade. Read More »

Just because our economy is in the crapper doesn’t mean your style should be. In fact, one of the best things to come from our current economic….er….challenges is that great discount stores popping up all over the web. We’ve featured a few on CollegeCandy before, but we have a whole new batch of great online shops to pick up the hottest looks at some seriously discounted prices. We know, we know; you love us more than Easter Reese’s.

We get that a lot. Read More »

Let’s talk about skin care. Go into any beauty retailer, find a sales person and ask them to recommend a skin care regimen. Then duck, because you are about to get hit with an avalanche of products your skin “needs.” They’re going to try to sell you a makeup remover, a cleanser, a scrub, a toner, a serum, a moisturizer, a spot treatment, an eye cream and a sunscreen. A really ambitious sales person will try to sell you two of each, a different one for day and night.

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. Read More »

You don’t have to have a Valentine to celebrate on February 14th. The holiday is all about love, be that the love for a family member, a friend, or chocolate lava cake. It is a day to stop, think, and really honor the things and people in our life that we love. Yes, it is mostly celebrated by disgustingly cute and happy and perfect couples, but the rest of us can get a little love too.

This week, in honor of the day of lovin’, we asked our writers what they are just loooovin’ right now.  Me? I’m head over heels for Chelsea Handler, Thai carry-out and 2 Buck Chuck.

Sigh.

Gemma – NYU: I am love love loving on all the awesome tights from American Apparel!! I am SO sick of bundling up all the time, and with them I get to wear my dresses in the cold, and I can’t get enough!  Also, still lovin on Obama. And not necessarily in that order.

Coco: I love the warm weather streak in the middle of winter.

K – GWU: I hate global warming, but I love wearing flip flops in the North East in February…and having a reason to get a pedicure prematurely.

Lauren – University of Michigan: Fiber 1 Toaster Pastries. They are like healthy Pop-Tarts!

Ashley Elizabeth – CU Boulder: Kissing in the rain. Read More »

Remember the days that you could glue pasta onto a piece of paper and call it a Christmas present for Mom and Dad? Those days are long gone, and choosing gifts for parents has become harder than ever. Not only do they always tell you, “I don’t really need anything,” when you want some answers, but you’re a student, and by Christmas that generally means you’re broke.

And, um, you only have a week left! Let us help:

Tips before you buy

-If you can make something your parents will appreciate, go for it. If you’re an art student, consider making a one-of-a-kind piece for your parents; it’s cheap and shows you are putting your education to good use.

-Before you go shopping, set a budget. Decide how much you want to spend on each parent and stick to it. Chances are your budget isn’t going to be very high, so if you want to splurge a bit, consider combining resources with your siblings. Not only will you have more money to work with, but your parents will appreciate that you are mature enough to cooperate.

-If your parents are together, consider buying one gift for both them. It can be something they can enjoy together, and you can either save money or get a more meaningful gift. Read More »

Is it just me, or is Jack Bauer hotter than Keifer Sutherland?

Is sex better with a condom?

The perfect stocking stuffer for bacon lovers in your life.

Fight the urge to splurge, people.

J.K. Rowling can’t lose.

Backwards sweaters are all the rage.

Why finals suck.

Wild camels are ruining Australia.

Wait, people actually play Russian Roulette?

Maybe our thirties won’t be so bad, after all.

The perfect holiday gift for your more earth conscious friends.

Presenting: the best facial cleanser of all time.

[The following is the final installment of a five-part series I'm calling "The Top 5 Things You MUST Do In College." Everyone's already heard about buying flip-flops for the shower, stocking up on veggies to avoid the Freshman 15, and to steer clear of mojitos before midterms, but there are other tips for enjoying college that the experts might have neglected to tell you about.

This series is meant to provide advice for getting the most out of college, rather than just getting through it. So far we've already discussed having a professor as a BFF, checking out what's going on in your college town, joining new clubs, and living with strangers. Now, in the final post, we wrap it all up with one important piece of advice: write for the paper! ]

College is supposed to be the best time of your life, but nothing is ever perfect. Whether you’re dissatisfied with your campus’ food (let’s face it, caf pizza isn’t exactly Domino’s), or you’re peeved about your school’s guest policy (can’t have overnight guests?), or maybe you just don’t like how you’re forced to take core requirements in philosophy when you’re paying big money to get your degree in engineering. Whatever the gripe may be, everyone has one.

But does anyone want to hear it?

Surprisingly, the answer is yes. Read More »

It’s the Holidays! Time for giving fabulous gifts to everyone in your life. But, crap, we’re in a recession and we’re poor college students to boot. So here’s a trick to put a little glamour in your loved ones’ lives without breaking your piggy bank.

Holiday season means beauty gift sets – a box jammed packed with fabulous high end makeup at a deep discount. So here’s a list of great gift sets that make a great gift, even when you break them up. You can cross a bunch of people of your list just by splitting up these sets and giving one product to each person on your list. Or group two or three items to give a whole look for just a little dough.

Bare Escentuals Bare Pleasures Eye Shadow Set – Sephora.com

9 Gifts for $48 ($99 value)

Bare Essentuals has fantastic loose eye shadows that women of all ages adore. This set has NINE different shades. You can give one to your mom, aunts, suitemates, and nieces still leaving a few shades leftover to keep for yourself. You can even pair the colors off to create custom eye shadow duos to add a personal touch. Read More »

I had a philosophy professor once tell me that the greatest thinkers were the synthesizers, the ones who took two or more good things and combined them.  And I think he’s got a point: peanut butter and jelly, sporks, hybrid cars…the world is a better place because of these things. And a new website is combining two of my favorite things: fashion and photography. Flickrista will change the world of fashion as we know it (a new kind of guerrilla fashion, all you Little Js out there?) while showcasing a rotating crop of eye-gasmic photos, as well.

How does it work? Flickrista is a daughter site of Flickr, the widely-popular photo-sharing site. Flickr members can submit their fashion photography to the Flickrista group pool, from which Flickrista editors will choose the best pics to feature on the site. The benefit to this process is that stylists, models, and photographers alike can all get their work noticed and Flickrista group members can interact with one another by sharing comments and suggestions.  And new photos are always being posted, which means more opportunities for inspiration- whether your weapon of choice is a camera or a kitten heel.

[photo courtesy Dezdemonchik via Flickrista]