From CollegeCandy: 10 Life Hacks to Instantly Turn Your Day Around

10 Life Hacks to Instantly Turn Your Day Around

Everyone has those days – either you wake up in a bad mood or something happens to put you in a bad mood. You just feel “blah” and want to crawl into bed and sleep until the next millennium. Been. There.
On days like those, it’s essential that you have a backup plan to get yourself out of your funk. An arsenal of happiness-makers, so to speak. Just turn to your happy list and you’ll be back on your way to feeling like yourself.
Don’t have a go-to list like this? Our friends at CollegeCandy are here to provide some inspiration. Just click on over to check out their top 10 ways to instantly turn your day around. You’ll be feeling better in no time.

Looks on Campus: Marcela – Southeastern Louisiana University

Looks on Campus: Marcela – Southeastern Louisiana University

Marcela’s breezy, preppy style was a breath of fresh air on a hot Louisiana day. Her color combo of mint and neutrals felt very mint julep, while her staple accessories made her look easy for any girl to replicate.

Marcela 101                              

Name: Marcela
School: Southeastern Louisiana University
Major: Spanish
Year: Senior

Let’s Talk Fashion

Who or what inspires your style? “Emma Watson and Blair Eadie. I like getting ideas from movies and street style blogs. They always inspire me to hunt down things for less. I’m always amazed when Blair Eadie wears something from Old Navy!”
Where do you like to shop? “Anthropologie, J. Crew, TJ Maxx. I like a mix of prep and girly, and TJ Maxx has everything.”
How would you describe your sense of style? “A little bit of hipster and a little bit of preppy—a prepster!”
Why did you choose this particular outfit? “I wanted to coordinate but not over-coordinate. My shorts make a statement, but I plan everything else around that statement.”
What fashion advice would you give to other students looking to improve their style? “Do not wear what you’re not comfortable in—people can tell. Be true to who you want to portray and others will respond to that.”
What are your favorite trends right now? “I like turban headbands, high-waisted shorts, and the boyfriend/tomboy vibe. Olivia Palermo does the tomboy/girly mix really well.”
Do you have any favorite fashion designers? “I always like Chanel, but Karl scares me a little!”
What do you do for fun? Do you have any unique hobbies? “I Netflix a lot. Yep.”
What movie or music artist would you say describes your style? “500 Days of Summer and Billy Joel. Relaxed and classic.”
Which cities do you think reflect your style the most? “NYC & San Francisco.”

Elements of Marcela’s Outfit

1. Everyday Bag

 

A basic yet awesome bag is what every on-the-go college gal needs! Marcela’s tote has both texture and various neutral tones, which allows it to work with every outfit while still being super functional.
2. Blouse

In these late summer months, staying cool is essential. Marcela’s top is sleeveless, lightweight, and neutral-toned, meaning it pretty much goes with everything. The perfect top? I think so!

What do you think?

What do you think of Marcela’s outfit? Is it difficult to balance looking cute for class and beating the heat? Do you love Marcela’s color combo here? Let us know in the comments!

4 Easy Ways to Stay Healthy on Campus

4 Easy Ways to Stay Healthy on Campus

It’s the last day of August, so by now you’ve either completed your first week of the fall semester or are just about to start. Whether you’re a returning upperclassman or a first year student experiencing college life for the first time, living on campus presents a whole new set of challenges to face on a daily basis.
Living on campus can be a tough transition from the comforts of home for many students, and, even if you’ve lived on campus before, getting back into the routine of things after a long summer break can be just as challenging.
As young adults with few health concerns to worry about, we often take our good health for granted and can easily succumb to unhealthy habits notoriously common among college students. But it’s so important to keep an eye on your health – not only for your well being now, but for the future as well. Read on below for 4 easy ways to maintain good health on campus all semester long.

1. Get Enough Shut Eye

Unfortunately, college life and sleep deprivation often go hand in hand. Juggling a busy schedule packed with classes, study time, activities, and socializing can be a tough task to tackle, and somehow, getting adequate sleep is often left out of the picture.
Time management is a skill that you will need to master to keep up with the many demands of college life, but make sure you don’t skimp on sleep in order to make room for everything. Lack of sleep drastically impairs our mood, energy levels, memory, and ability to focus and concentrate, and therefore substantially hinders academic performance.
Sleep is one of the most important things the body and mind need in order to function properly so make sure you schedule at least 7-8 hours of sleep a night as a top priority.
To help make your home away from home as comfortable as possible,

Geek Chic: Back-to-School Edition

Geek Chic: Back-to-School Edition

Ah, back-to-school season. That glorious time when summer lounging is starting to feel a little stale, you’re getting an itch to see your friends again and actually be productive, and your new binders and notebooks are super organized because they’re still, well, new.
Much as you may love your school, though, do you ever wish you could be zipping around on a broomstick instead? Or seeking out new life and new civilizations? Or battling the evil denizens of the Hellmouth? (Okay, probably not the last one.)
For this Back to School Edition of the Geek Chic column, we’re featuring outfits inspired by some of your favorite characters and what they wore on their first days of (fictional) school.

Starfleet Academy

With such a chic, streamlined look, this is one uniform I’d be happy to wear every single day! The cadets of Starfleet Academy in San Francisco are training to be officers in Starfleet, the peacekeeping armada of the United Federation of Planets.

Looks on Campus: Asha – Loyola Marymount University

Looks on Campus: Asha – Loyola Marymount University

At Loyola Marymount University, orientation season has begun, unfortunately causing the sea of sweatpants to roll back onto campus. However, Asha really stood out among the crowd, and I just knew I had to speak to her about her style.
The coolest thing about Asha’s outfit? Almost every piece is thrifted, gifted or shopped from her family’s closet! Time to take some notes:

Asha 101                   

Name: Asha
Year: Senior
Major: Women’s Studies
School: Loyola Marymount University

Let’s Talk Fashion

Who or what inspires your style? “I really like Tracee Ellis Ross and Solange, but in terms of why I wear what I wear, I cruise a lot of Tumblr fashion websites and kind of just wear what I feel.”
Where do you like to shop? “Really wherever’s cheapest. I do a lot of Forever 21. In fact, I haven’t really shopped in a long time. I’ve been going through people’s closets – my mom’s, my cousin’s, my sister’s – whatever I can get for free is best since I’m a college student.”

Nail Art How-to: Watermelon Nail Art

Nail Art How-to: Watermelon Nail Art

I recently acquired some great new summer colors on my travels, so, before summer is really over, I wanted to give you guys a final, quick summery nail art tutorial before we head into all those back-to-school posts!
I’m a watermelon addict – its something I wait all year for, so I decided to channel that in a few easy steps with the adorable ice cream polishes I got from Etude House. This nail art is great because you can choose to do it on an accent finger only, or do your entire hand without having it look overwhelming.
Read on to find out how to create your own watermelon-inspired nail art:

What You’ll Need:

• A bright coral-y pink color – mine was Etude House’s Sweet Recipe Ice Cream in OR201 (Grapefruit) (similar)
• A pink and lilac color – I used Etude House’s Sweet Recipe Ice Cream in PK001 Strawberry) (similar) and PP501 (Blueberry) (similar). You can choose different colors or just stick to one, but I wanted to go all out this time
• A white polish – I used China Glaze’s White on White
• A green polish – Sally Hansen’s Green With Envy
• A black polish – Wet N Wild’s Blackmail
• A dotting tool
• A top coat

Looks from Books: Fashion Inspired by Divergent

Looks from Books: Fashion Inspired by Divergent

Welcome to the latest edition of Looks from Books, which aims to prove that you can look smart, while still being book-smart, too. Fashion inspiration can be found between the pages of your favorite stories, on well-designed book covers, and in your favorite characters… if you read closely enough.
This week, we’re casting our gaze to the future… the dystopian future, that is… as well as at an already-hyped future cinematic release, in Veronica Roth’s Divergent! 

Inside Cover

Divergent is a dystopian science fiction novel set in a futuristic Chicago and was written for young adults by Veronica Roth.
There, society is divided into five “Factions,” each dedicated to an all-encompassing virtue, guided by what they best believe to combat the evil that grows in society: Abnegation (the selfless), Erudite (the intelligent), Candor (the honest), Amity (the peaceful), and Dauntless (the brave).
Upon turning sixteen, all must choose which Faction they will devote their lives to, and when the time comes for Beatrice “Tris” Prior, she leaves behind the Abnegation world in which she grew up, to move into the realm of the Dauntless. Her path is a difficult one, and she soon finds that being brave doesn’t always mean she’s not afraid. And what she’s most afraid of, is for her new family to find out what she truly is… Divergent.
Divergent was published in the spring of 2011, and its sequel, Insurgent, was published in 2012. The final installment of the trilogy, Allegiant, is set to be published this October.

A Fashionable Literacy

The Divergent movie is currently in production, and is set to be released in March 2014. Golden Globe nominee Shailene Woodley was cast as Beatrice Prior, while fellow Dauntless member Four – chosen from a pool of many of Hollywood’s hottest gents, including Alex Pettyfer, Lucas Till, and Alexander Ludwig – will be played by Theo James. Erudite leader Jeanine Matthews will be played by Oscar winner Kate Winslet.
The costume direction for the film is helmed by Carlo Poggioli, whose work can be seen in the upcoming Romeo and Juliet, starring Hailee Steinfeld and Douglas Booth. His work is most present in period films, appearing in Van Helsing, The Brothers Grimm, The Raven, and Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter. Therefore, it will be interesting to see what he can do with a view of the future, instead of the past.