Second Life

This week, we are giving a second listen to our very special episode with Claudia Sulewski. Sulewski is the founder of Cyklar, a bodycare brand that bridges the gap between luxurious self-care and efficacious formulas. Before becoming a beauty founder, Sulewski was one of the original beauty YouTubers. She started her YouTube channel when she was just 13 years old, under the name BeyondBeautyStar, posting makeup tutorials, vlogs, and other lifestyle content. By the time she graduated high school, she’d grown a massive following that allowed her to monetize her content as an official YouTube partner and make her hobby her full-time job. Sulewski’s status as an internet sensation reached new heights when Teen Vogue tapped her to host the publication’s YouTube channel as a red carpet correspondent. Her years of experience shooting and editing her own content and using herself as talent for her creative vision were also crucial when she expanded into traditional acting and directing. She’s gone on to lead a successful career on and off camera since getting her start on YouTube, booking roles for hit shows like Shrinking and directing music videos for her fiancé, Grammy Award–winning artist Finneas O’Connell. Her career has now come full circle with Cyklar after years of filming GRWM videos and self-care routines for her millions of loyal followers. Since Sulewski was on the show, Cyklar has officially launched in Sephora and gone viral on social media several times over.

Be sure to check our Instagram, @secondlifepod, for updates on our return date.

This week on The Who What Wear Podcast, Hillary Kerr chats with celebrity stylist Molly Dickson, whose client roster includes the likes of Lana Del Rey, Sydney Sweeney, Sadie Sink, and, most recently, Lexi Minetree on her Elle press tour. Today, Dickson’s giving us the rundown on everything that went into dressing the new Elle Woods—from paying homage to Legally Blonde on the red carpet to pulling inspiration from early 2000s Reese Witherspoon. Plus, she shares the perfect Y2K pieces she pulled from Witherspoon’s personal archives. 

Listen to Molly’s previous episode here!

Watch this episode on our new YouTube channel⁠⁠⁠⁠, and be sure to subscribe!

Cassandra Morales Thurswell is the founder and CEO of Kitsch. However, before starting her haircare and accessories brand, she founded several entrepreneurial endeavors: She opened a restaurant and boutique with her mother, launched a jewelry business, worked at a clothing store, and managed a cupcake shop. She then transitioned to running a series of small businesses, including a spray-tanning company and an inspirational-quote scarf brand, before taking a job designing jewelry for retailers like Forever 21 and Urban Outfitters. At age 25, she started Kitsch with $30,000 in savings and a handmade hair tie. The brand gained traction, and today, Kitsch generates over $500 million in annual revenue, is in 32,000 retail stores across 92 countries, and is the largest self-funded, female-owned beauty brand in the world.

This week on the Who What Wear Podcast, Who What Wear Shopping Director Bobby Schuessler sits down with Nordstrom Fashion Director Linda Cui Zhang to talk about Nordstrom's 125th Anniversary Sale. Cui Zhang and Schuessler give the full rundown on everything from the trends in the 9 to Know section to the 50 new brands debuting in the sale. Plus, Cui Zhang is sharing the one item she would recommend everyone buys from this year's sale. Make sure to shop  Nordstrom's 125th Anniversary Sale, starting July 18. 

Watch this episode on our new YouTube channel⁠⁠⁠⁠, and be sure to subscribe!

Lauren Wang is the CEO and founder of period-product brand The Flex Company. Before even graduating college, Wang held several positions. At just age 15, she freelanced as an HTML website builder. Then during college, she took classes at night while working for IBM and Coca-Cola on their respective marketing teams. A couple years after graduating college, she moved to San Francisco to work in tech at companies such as Autodesk and Upwork. In 2013, after many years of struggling to find period products that worked for her, Wang came up with her initial idea for a better period product. She spent the next year researching the menstrual-hygiene industry, and in 2015, she quit her corporate job to found Flex. In October of 2016, the company began shipping its first product: the Flex Disc. As the company continued to grow, it released its Flex Cup product line and expanded into new categories, and Wang was named an Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year for the Los Angeles region in 2023.

This week, Who What Wear Editor in Chief Kat Collings sits down with Sara Byblow, the costume designer of the new Legally Blonde prequel Elle. They discuss keeping the legacy of Elle Woods's iconic style alive, sourcing more than 70 looks for young Elle's wardrobe, and the meaning behind different shades of pink in the show. Plus, Byblow shares which wardrobe staples carried over from Legally Blonde. 

Watch this episode on our new ⁠YouTube channel⁠⁠⁠, and be sure to subscribe!

Beatriz de los Mozos is the founder and CEO of the shoe brand Flabelus. Before founding her own brand, de los Mozos earned a law degree and a master's degree in comparative politics. She began her professional career in law in London and then transitioned to a legal startup, where she took on the role of sales manager and senior legal expert. However, after her doctor told her that she could no longer wear her favorite shoes due to scoliosis, she came up with an idea for a shoe that would be both comfortable and stylish. She set up a Kickstarter campaign, found a Spanish factory to produce her Italian furlane and Spanish espadrille hybrids, and Flabelus was born. Within five years, the brand expanded from an online-only model to selling in over 700 stores across 54 countries, as well as establishing a growing network of flagship boutiques.

For the third year in a row, the Who What Wear beauty editors have tested nearly 1000 products and tools and whittled them down to a list of their top 100 items to shop. The team tested for efficacy, innovation, and lovability across seven categories: makeup, tools, fragrance, hair, skincare, nails, and body. Beauty Director Erin Jahns is back on the pod to share her team’s findings, including four new special-recognition categories: Timeless Classic, Social Media Sensation, Worth the Investment, and High Impact, Low Price.

Read the full 2026 Who What Wear 100 Beauty Awards story here!

Watch this episode on our new YouTube channel, and be sure to subscribe!

Leigh Batnick Plessner is the chief creative officer of Catbird. Before landing at Catbird, Plessner graduated from Georgetown University with a degree in English literature and anthropology, and she worked at various DC coffee shops and as a cocktail waitress before landing a job in the children's room at renowned DC bookstore Politics and Prose. At the bookstore, she was eventually promoted to sidelines buyer, selecting everything for the store other than books. While in this position, she had the opportunity to go to various stationery shows, which prompted her to start a stationery brand of her own called Jezebel. In 2005, she met the founder of jewelry brand Catbird, Rony Vardi, at a stationery trade show. Soon after, she started working at the brand's storefront in New York. Eventually she transitioned out of running her stationery brand and into working full-time for Catbird. She grew with the company and now holds the role of chief creative officer, where she's responsible for the visual identity of the brand, including Catbird's partnerships with talent like Clairo and Phoebe Bridgers.

Wayman + Micah are one of the most sought-after styling duos in the business, and their clients include Colman Domingo, Chase Infiniti, and Regina King, to name a few. In today's very special episode, the iconic duo sits down with Hillary to play a series of games related to their partnership and creative vision, from breaking down the behind the scenes from your favorite red carpet looks to dissecting sketches of their best Met Gala outfits. To get the full experience, watching the full-length video on our YouTube channel is recommended!