Fourth of July has come and gone (and, thankfully, so has my sunburn). Summer is half way over! Before you know it, you’ll be back at school walking to class hungover way too early because in your summer stupor you seemed to forget that 11am is really still too early to have a class. But let’s not get ahead of ourselves.

It’s still summer and for the past 6 weeks you’ve been working on that tan of yours. And, glass half full, you’ve still got a good 6 or 7 weeks left to bronze yourself. You know what is best paired with a tan? White, coral, turquoise and brown – only the best summer pairings since you put jicama and guacamole together. But to all you Snow White ladies of the universe (I SO feel you, my fair ladied sisters) these colors are universally flattering on every skin tone and every hair color. I have yet to see someone who does NOT look good in turquoise. (Seriously, find me said person and I will buy you a drink.)

Anyway, here are some of my favorite ways to rock this killer summer combo, day or night.

Dress:
I love the eyelet detailing on the dress, as well as the almost-sweetheart neckline. It’s extremely flattering and adorably romantic. The obvious thought would be to go with dainty and feminine accessories, but that’s boring. Add some chunky flair, ladies. Stella and Dot is ALL over these color combos for summer and I’m just loving every single piece. While some of their other pieces are a bit too pricey for this Budget Stylista, they’re having a sale on their SALE (an extra 20% off!) through today so check it out because if you’re going to splurge, now’s the time to do it!

Product Information: Dress – Lulus.com, $42; Shoes – Urban Outfitters, $48; Necklace – Stella and Dot, $35; Bracelet - Stella and Dot, $29.

Pants:
The ankle length on these skinnies makes them universally perfect for heels or flats, so, basically, your entire summer wardrobe. And this brown hobo will transition you straight into fall, but paired with these summer colors it’s not too heavy. If skinny white jeans make you nervous, go up a size. Or, pair with a longer top. (Forever 21 has this adorable ruffled number in turquoise as well!)

Product Information: Shirt – Forever 21, $22.80; Skinny Jeans – Urban Outfitters, $49; Sandals – Urban Outfitters, $34; Bag – Forever 21, $25.80

Shorts
Here’s a way to rock a print but still wear the turq. Paired with a coral accented canvas tote and some brown woven sandals, you’ve got a perfect outfit for a summer day to accent that gorgeous sun kissed skin of yours.

Product Information: Top – Forever 21, $10.80; Shorts – Old Navy, $19.50; Bag – Forever 21, $12.80; Sandals – Forever 21, $14.80

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 purchased by me for review purposes. Because I can never have too much makeup!)

What it is: Benefit Hoola Bronzer

Why this should be in your bag: Because everyone looks better with bronzer, unless you’re rocking the Dita-Von-Teese “I’m so pale it hurts my eyes” thing. Not that I’m knocking the pale faces – I’m a fair-skinned lady myself. I just think I look dead without bronzer. As for why this specific bronzer, Benefit Hoola is SUPER-pigmented (check out the swatch comparison to Rimmel Natural Bronzer). This means that a little is going to go a long, long way. Plus, it’s matte, which is shockingly rare amongst bronzers, but means that you can wear it daytime or nighttime and not look too done up or like a twelve-year old glitter addict.

(Hoola - left, Rimmel - right)

How to use it: I like to use bronzer last so apply everything else (blush, eyeshadow, eyeliner, concealer, etc) as usual first. For best application, I chose not to use the small brush that was included with Hoola. Yes, it’s soft and may be good for contouring, but for overall application it’s not great . A big, fluffy bronzer brush (like this one from Sephora) is best. Lightly swirl your brush in Hoola, tap off the excess and swipe on your cheeks, forehead, and nose, which are areas where the sun naturally hits. Gorgeous!

Spend the cash or simply pass? Still in debates. Main reason: price. The pros of Benefit Hoola are the pigmentation and matte-ness (yes, I know it’s not a word) – it’s going to last a long time and is really versatile and wearable. I’ve read beauty blogs where girls use the same container for a year without hitting the pan. (Editor’s Note: I’ve had mine for over a year and it’s still going strong!) I use bronzer daily, so I can totally justify spending $28 dollars. That’s only 8 cents a day if you can get a full year out of it! Of course, I don’t know how long this one is going to last and I cannot bring myself to spend $28 for a new bronzer every 2 months. For now, spend, but I will keep you posted!

They say a leopard can’t change its spots, but you, my friend, can change your makeup shade. Now that summer is coming and we will all be getting a little sun kissed, it’s imperative that we make a few makeup tweaks to reflect our new skin tone! I cringe when I see a girl walking around with a face that doesn’t match the color of her body, and whether her makeup is too light or too dark, that obvious makeup line on her jaw is not cute.

If you don’t have the money or time to buy a new shade of powder every time you tan, what should you do? Blend, blend, blend! In this video I’ll share some secrets to keep you looking fresh this season instead of like you belong on the Jersey Shore.

Got something awesome everyone needs to know about? A really singer? A wicked new book? A product, like Yes To Carrots,  that truly changed your life? 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!

We all have those friends who seem to have a perfect something.

Perfect skin… and then they complain about their one teeny tiny pimple as they stare at my “wow, how unfortunate; her skin looks like it belongs in 7th grade” face.
Perfect hair…every strand is always in place, it never gets greasy or frizzy, it never gets Jew-fro-y in the humidity.
Perfect metabolism…you know those biatches who you wish you could hate as they chow down on their 4th piece of pizza in their size 27 jeans but you can’t hate them because they are so great?

Well, for years, my friend Jess has had the perfect tan; always radiant, glowing, never orange, never streaky, never Simon Cowell looking (I mean really, the dude should just wear a sign that reads “Some people choose alcohol, but self tanner is my drug of choice”).

Anyway, I never thought to ask dear ‘ol Jess what her tan-perfect secret was – I figured it was just one of those things that she would always have down perfectly and I would admire her glow whilst accepting the fact that I am and will always be Pasty McPasterson pals with Snow White. (What up, home girl?)

But then tonight the secret was revealed, and much like those exclusive behind the scenes of your favorite reality show shows, I was fascinated, intrigued and wanted to know more. At last, the tan curtain had been lifted.

Turns out, Jess uses TanTowels. Individual towelettes (much like the ones you get at restaurants where they think you are going to eat like a hot mess) to wipe on your face and body. They are packaged for individual use and, as Jess points out, they are a blessing from the traveling gods since you can throw these bad boys in your carry-on and not worry about getting strip searched by the female guard with the mustache.

She claims they don’t streak, don’t turn you orange and are the secret to her perfect weekend glow sans the risk of sun damage, and, the more importantly, sans the risk of looking like Snooki. And with the temperature rising and the short shorts coming out of hiding, these handy little slices of sunless heaven are definitely something worth Knowing about.

Uh, we're not in Acapulco anymore, dude.

By the time Spring Break draws to an end, you’re actually looking forward to going back to school, either because you’ve had about as much family time as you can handle, you’re starting to realize just how much money you’ve spent, or you just really miss your besties/$1 slices at 2am/late night episodes of Chelsea Lately on the couch.

But while you may be looking forward to seeing your friends, getting back to your favorite professor’s lecture, and maybe even that cute guy you were flirting with before the break, I guarantee you’ve forgotten about the other people you’ll be forced to deal with. The uber annoying ones who always pop up after our beloved break.

Here are the worst 5 people you’ll run into after Spring Break. Avoid them at all costs if you want to retain any of the serenity you gained during your time off:

Super Tan
Good for you, you went to Cancun for Spring Break and spent all day lying out in the sun baking yourself. We can see the un-natural, leathery color and texture your skin has taken on since before the break, thanks to the all-white wardrobe you’ve sported since coming back/that watch tan line that you are obviously waving in my face as you roll up your sleeves in class. Congrats, but I don’t care. Nor do I care to hear your totally unfunny remarks about how I’m so pale and my “legs match your brand new white sweatshirt from the awesome resort you stayed at.”

The One Who’s Not Over It
Spring Break is fun, obviously. MTV wouldn’t devote a week to covering it if it were boring and uneventful. But it happens, you enjoy yourself and then it’s over. Normal people move on, get back to school and spend their nights at the library giggling to themselves as they flip through the photos in everyone’s FB albums. And not-so-normal people, like this guy/girl, just move the Spring Break to campus, partying every night, dancing on bars, taking body shots off of creepy old people, hooking up with randoms and hitting the tanning beds by day to keep up that Cancun glow. It’s over, dude. Put down the Corona and help me with this Anthro project.

The Bragger
Their Spring Break was epic, the best ever, and way better than yours (no matter what you did). They got drunker, partied harder, tanned longer, laughed more and had more fun than you will ever know. You got a fun story to share? They’ve got one to top it. And you’ll hear it again and again and again. And each time, things will get bigger, crazier, more expensive, etc. And while that streaking story was funny the first time around (I mean, streaking is funny), it gets old after the 12th re-tell.

The Loser Who Just Lost His Virginity And Now Thinks He’s God’s Gift To Women
We all know this guy, the really awkward guy who never has any luck with girls. Well, somehow, he managed to find some girl on his Carnival Cruise who was drunk enough actually willing to sleep with him, and now he thinks he’s some sort of sex god. He somehow manages to bring every conversation back to his “crazy sex” with “the super hot Latin chick,” whether you’re talking about your Spring Break booty or the giant Philosophy exam you’ve got next Tuesday. (Note: while less common, this also applies to women as well. Little girl goes away a virgin, finds some muscley guy from ASU and suddenly knows all there is to know about sex. And for the next two weeks, every statement of hers begins with “Well, when we tried it ______ style….”)

Hair Braider
Really? People still do this?

I’ll admit in all shallowness, one thing excites me more than anything about the summer time: busting out short skirts! But there’s one problem.

While slipping on a slinky mini dress the other night, I looked down at my legs in horror. Walking around in bermudas all day had given me a beautiful golden tan…from the knee down. Nothing is more annoying than those pesky little tan lines that seem to cue strangers onto the shape of the shirt you wore the day before. Luckily they can be done away with (tanning bed free…because damaged skin is never, ever sexy).

Your first option is to pick up some sunless tanner and fill in the blanks. Pick a shade that matches the depth of your tan, not what your normal skin tone would be. Exfoliate that skin well to avoid streaking, and apply! If you want to get perfect color, and if you have a little more patience, a gradual tanning lotion might be a better bet. It’ll take several days to build the color, but you’ll be better able to get the exact shade of tan you want.

Not a gal who’s good with details? Make a much needed investment in an all over spray tan. Most tanning salons (and Benefit make up stores) have a spray tan booth, and you can pick a subtly glowing color to avoid looking like Tara Reid’s long lost twin. This way you won’t have to worry about filling in every pale spot, and you’ll get a more consistent overall color.

If you’re in the midst of a tan line crisis, there are ways to conceal your tan lines stat. Lorac makes an instant build-able body bronzer that you can layer on to achieve your desired color. It’ll only last for one application, and you can wash it away in the shower. I can also attest to the fact that it is water-proof (well more like crazy-dancing-in-a-sweaty-bar proof). Sally Hansen and Neutrogena make cheaper alternatives that you can pick up at Walgreen’s as well.

Patience is really the key. Each product has a variation in its hue, and one is bound to match up with your half-sun-kissed glow. If no product seems to help you match your stubborn farmer’s tan, lucky for you, sheer black tights are in this season.

It’s better to use bronzer than get melanoma, ladies! Protect your pretty mug and still look summery fresh.

[I want it, I need it, I can’t live without it. There are so many things on store shelves and racks right now that we want to take home and hang in our closets. Things that are so cute, everyone should know about them. We’ll share ‘em with you here (because we’re that nice), but as far as actually getting them goes….well, you’re on your own with that one.]

I’ve never paid much attention to the Tory Burch brand. Seeing every girl and her mother walking around in those flats with the instantly recognizable golden medallion was quite enough. However, I recently stumbled upon these gladiators, and I have to say that they’re one of the nicest pairs I’ve seen.

I need em, I need em, I need em!

The Stanton sandal is made of leather and comes in black or tan. There are three square buckles: one each at the ankle, arch, and toe. The sandal appears more elegant than some other gladiators, which can have so many straps or buckles covering your feet that you might as well wear sneakers. What also makes this design a bit different is that the straps do not simply run parallel to one another. I like how two straps form an X across the top with two straps running along the sides, making it incredibly flattering on any ankle.

What I don’t love, however, is the $265 pricetag. I’d have to work long and hard (and turn up the charm for some major tips) to add these to my collection. A girl can dream, though.

I was born with a skin-tone that falls somewhere between “fresh milk” and “blank paper.” I’ve heard every “where are the Seven Dwarves?” and “Ah! You’re blinding me!” joke in existence, replacing my joyful anticipation of summer with an ominous dread. As girls with non-glow-in-the-dark skin flounce down the street in their shorts and minis, my legs have been relegated to hot, dark jeans.

In years past, in order to reach the deep, savage “normal-people” color I have so longed for, I have resorted to the religious application of self-tanners, which, while making me darker, have also made me smellier. And we all know nothing is more appealing to a man than a girl who smells like chemicals and has weird, orange-streaked sheets. And to top it all off, after my daily self-tanning regimen, there would almost inevitably come the cruel mockery of the phrase “you’re so light!”

Sigh.

And so, after too many self-conscious summers, with my shorts (and skin) hidden away, I have decided to forget my regimens, leave the jeans at home and embrace the light. That’s right, I’m pale, so suck it! White is in this season!

Sisters of the Pale Force, let us unite! Forget about smelly self-tanners and tedious bronzers; slap on some sun screen and go. Go out in your shorts, your skirts, your tank tops and bikinis! Stop risking your health, your money and your time trying to be something that you’re not. Fair skin is beautiful and we should embrace it, not hide it! After all, in 20 years all those perfectly bronzed girls will be getting Botox and we’ll be getting the younger men!

I don’t know who decided that tan is beautiful; clearly they had never seen Dita Von Teese’s porcelain skin. Or Nicole Kidman’s. Summer ’09 is the season of pale, so bring. it. on.

And to anyone who has a problem seeing past our legs: put on your sunglasses, that’s what they’re for.

When you’re trying to get in and out of the shower as quickly as you can to head on to bigger and better things, (a.k.a the beach), it can be easy to bypass seemingly unimportant tasks.  You probably wash your face, your body and your hair, but do you take the time for proper exfoliation?  I’m guilty of this myself, especially in the summertime when my skin doesn’t seem so dry and flakey.  But that all changed yesterday.

While walking in Trader Joe’s, I found myself in the beauty aisle (because it’s right by the wine) and fell in love with a sea salt exfoliating grapefruit scrub. It smelled delicious, so I threw it in my basket (along with TJ’s cookies, some cereal and the best dark chocolate covered pretzels on this planet). When I got home I ate a few pretzels, tore off my clothes and took my new salt scrub to the shower. And what a lovely shower it was. It took only one go with my new salt scrub to remember why exfoliating is so important.

The Sparknotes version:

1. Exfoliating makes your skin softer, which is especially great in the summer because your skin – especially those tootsies in the flip flops – is exposed and  braving the elements.

2.  Softer skin leads to better shaving, less nicks, cuts, and ingrown hairs.

3. When you clear away dead skin your great beach tan (or bottled glow) will last longer.

Now that we are all reminded why it’s worth the extra minute a couple times a week, here are some products you should try out.

Like I said, I’m in love with my new Trader Joe’s Purify Grapefruit Chamomile Sea Salt Scrub.  It was $6 for a really big jar and smells delicious! The citrus scent will totally wake you up in the morning. The only bummer is you have to get it in the store, and I know not all of us are lucky enough to live near a TJ’s (sad-face).

Clinique Sparkle Skin Body Exfoliator:  I’ve also used this product, and while it doesn’t smell as yummy, it will leave your skin looking clean and feeling soft.

Bath and Body Works: There’s The Rub: This is a nice cooling sea salt scrub, but it may be a little rough.  If you like it rough (you dawg), it’s a great product to use twice a week.

Or, if you’re feeling crafty and/or cheap, making your own sea salt scrub is really easy.

Don’t underestimate the power of soft skin this summer. Take the extra 5 minutes to pamper yourself and you’ll see (and feel!) immediate results!