Second Life

Liat Baruch is a celebrity stylist and personal shopper. Widely known for her work with the Richie family, Baruch was one of the genius minds behind the viral looks for Sofia Richie's recent France wedding that set the internet ablaze. She's here to talk about creating those next-level looks and give us her best advice on honing our personal style, the pieces worth investing in, and how to shop like a professional.

Perhaps best known for her makeup-focused “get ready with me” TikTok videos, which have received over 85 million views from her 1.2 million followers, Emira D’Spain creates viral content about beauty trends and tips as well as her life in New York. She recently became the first Black, trans model to work with Victoria’s Secret and has appeared on covers for Galore and Tmrw magazines. But before she was modeling and making her own beauty content, Emira was actually working at Paper Magazine—first as an intern until she worked all the way up to becoming the publication’s beauty director. It was there D’Spain launched a Snapchat show called Snatchural, which helped her find her voice as a creator and ultimately take the leap to strike out on her own.

Charlotte Palermino is the CEO and co-founder of the skincare company Dieux Skin. If you’ve been on Instagram in the past few years, chances are you’ve seen Dieux Skin’s Forever Eye Masks or best-selling Deliverance serum grace your timeline. With an emphasis on sustainable packaging, result-driven formulas, and ingredients backed by clinical studies, Dieux Skin has gone absolutely viral. Today, Palermino talks about everything from just how to apply her maximalist product routine to the only things you actually need, plus the research behind cannabinoids in skincare.

Levain Bakery founders Pam Weekes and Connie McDonald met at a Manhattan swimming pool while training for a triathlon. Not long after, they set out to create a bakery together. What started as an artisan bread shop quickly gained traction for its Chocolate Chip Walnut Cookies, referred to by The New York Times as “the largest, most divine chocolate chip cookies in Manhattan” in 1997. Today, Levain has 11 locations, with a 12th storefront coming to Los Angeles this summer. Prior to it all, though, Weekes spent her early career in fashion working for greats such as Norma Kamali and Adrienne Vittadini, and McDonald worked in the finance industry for eight years. To hear how the two pivoted their careers to create a highly successful cookie company, tune in to this week’s episode.

In this episode, we bring you behind the scenes of our June cover with Who What Wear’s vice president of social media, MacKenzie Green, and actress and singer Halle Bailey. You may know Bailey as one half of the Grammy-nominated R&B duo, Chloe x Halle, or from her role in the Freeform series, Grown-ish. Now, she’s making a splash as the newest Disney princess in the live-action movie, The Little Mermaid. She’s here to talk about everything that went into making the incredible film, including bringing us inside the re-creation of iconic moments from the original animation.

As a writer and podcaster, Aubrey Gordon is working to debunk common wellness fads, educate people about anti-fat bias, and ultimately inspire action for fat justice. After years of blogging under the pseudonym Your Fat Friend, Gordon now has two books, What We Don’t Talk About When We Talk About Fat and New York Times best seller “You Just Need to Lose Weight” and 19 Other Myths About Fat People. She’s also the co-host of the wildly popular podcast Maintenance Phase. But before she was engaging readers and listeners through thought-provoking media, she spent 12 years as a community organizer, helping to get pro-LGBTQ laws passed, including making Oregon the second state to require insurers to cover healthcare for trans people. To hear how a letter to a friend catalyzed Gordon’s pivot to her current work and why she’s not planning on stopping anytime soon, tune in to this week’s episode.

Senior fashion editor Allyson Payer brings us inside her brand-new story "Red Carpet Recap: The It Celebs, Trends, and Designers Everyone Is Talking About." For this story, Allyson tapped experts—including celebrity stylist Tara Swennen; Catherine Kallon, the founder and editor of Red Carpet Fashion Awards; and even the social media management platform Dash Hudson—for the scoop on what went the most viral and why. Tune in to hear who she deemed the It celebs of the season, the designers making the biggest buzz, and so much more.

Whether it’s in wellness, fashion, public safety, or beyond, there’s no question that Heather Vandenberghe is an absolute force. As the CEO of the wellness company Flexpower, she’s working to reposition pain relief as a core component of people’s routines. Before she was giving recovery products a major upgrade, she actually spent most of her career spearheading marketing teams at iconic fashion brands such as Bebe, Louis Vuitton, and Tommy Hilfiger. But when Vandenberghe was working at LVMH as the youngest vice president in the company’s 150-year history, a personal tragedy shook her world and made her reconsider everything. To hear how Vandenberghe navigated this devastating time and how she pivoted her career in the process, tune in to this week’s episode.

In today’s episode, associate fashion editor Yusra Siddiqui sits down with Who What Wear May cover stars the Jonas Brothers. Four years after the release of Happiness Begins, Nick, Kevin, and Joe are back with The Album, and they’re here to break down everything from key influences to their creative process to how their dynamic as brothers and as musicians has evolved over the years. Plus, they’re diving into the style direction that they’re each excited to showcase on tour.

After just a few short years within the industry, Zarna Garg has comedic achievements most could only dream of. When Garg isn’t touring the world with her show, she’s performing 15 times a week at New York City’s Comedy Cellar, all while creating content for her 709k TikTok followers. Just last week, her brand-new comedy special, Zarna Garg: One in a Billion, premiered on Prime Video. But this hasn’t always been Garg’s life and career. After immigrating to the U.S. as a teenager to avoid an arranged marriage, Garg went on to practice civil litigation law before stepping away to become a stay-at-home mom to her three kids. She eventually decided to write a screenplay called Rearranged—which beat out 11,000 other scripts to win the Top Comedy Screenplay Award at Austin Film Festival in 2019—before eventually pursuing a new career path as a performer.

This week, Hillary is joined by shopping editor Indya Brown and Associate Director of Special Projects Kristen Nichols, who are here to tell us everything we need to know to be the best dressed wedding guests at any and all summer nuptials. They’re breaking down what exactly constitutes the various levels of formality you may see on an invite, the trends that your most stylish friend will definitely be adorned in, and the practical factors to take into consideration to make sure you have a fun time. Plus, we answer a ton of your wedding guest questions, including recommendations for just what to wear—where.

Jessamyn Stanley is an award-winning yoga instructor, internationally acclaimed voice in wellness, and so much more. While Stanley was working to get her MA in performing arts management, a friend introduced her to Bikram yoga. As she began to share her practice on social media, her growing followership encouraged her to enroll in a yoga teacher training course, and the rest is history. Today, Stanley is a regular contributor to Self magazine, has written two yoga books, and has built her own inclusive wellness app, The Underbelly. In this episode, Stanley speaks about the systemic inequity Black women face, especially within the wellness industry, as well as why she believes in the benefits of naked yoga. Tune in to this week’s episode to hear how her pivots, including attending culinary school, helped Stanley find her path.

Today, fashion editor Anna LaPlaca is back on the show to discuss her brand-new story State of Style. In this deep-dive piece, Anna brings us inside what’s hot in the style zeitgeist right now. She’s tapped industry experts to explain the multitude of factors that influence what we’re seeing take center stage at the moment, including fashion psychology and history. You’re going to want to stick around for it all, from the rise of puddle pants to the origins of quiet luxury. Read State of Style here: https://www.whowhatwear.com/state-of-style/ Shop Vince Camuto here: https://www.vincecamuto.com/?cm_mmc=display-abg%7Cabg_spring23_whowhatwear_display%7Cpodcast_roundup

Melissa Ben-Ishay is the founder and CEO of the bite-sized-cupcake empire Baked by Melissa. Since Ben-Ishay and her partners founded the company in 2008, Baked by Melissa has sold over 250 million cupcakes, opened 14 brick-and-mortar stores, and created a thriving e-commerce business. Though Ben-Ishay always loved baking, she actually started her career in advertising, and after being let go from her role as an assistant media buyer, she went to her brother for advice. “Don’t worry. It’s the best thing that ever happened to you. … Go home. Bake your cupcakes. We’ll start a business together,” he told her. From there, Baked by Melissa was born. Tune in to hear how Ben-Ishay continues to evolve her career, including stepping into the role of CEO of the multimillion-dollar company and her most recent pivot to TikTok sensation.

Thought leader, founder, designer, activist, and author Aurora James may be best known as the founder of the accessories and footwear brand Brother Vellies, which has supported artisan communities across Africa and beyond. In 2020, she launched the Fifteen Percent Pledge, a call to action for major corporations to create sustainable and supportive ecosystems for Black-owned business which has signed on companies like Sephora and Nordstrom. On this episode however, she’s here to discuss her highly personal, emotional, and absolutely brilliant memoir, Wildflower. In the book, Aurora shares both beautiful and heartbreaking stories from her childhood to the present day. Preorder now: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/wildflower-aurora-james/1141987008;jsessionid=BF345FD71EF295895AC6677E4DE5B64D.prodny_store01-atgap13?ean=9780593239452&st=AFF&2sid=Random%20House%20Inc_8373827_NA&sourceId=AFFRandom%20House%20Inc