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Beauty Buzz: Protect Your Skin and Win

By |June 26th, 2014|Beauty Buzz|

beach sun hatA couple of months ago before meeting a girlfriend for ramen at Momofuku, I made the trek uptown to the rarely visited (for me, at least) Upper East Side.  I had generously been invited to visit the beautiful office of Dr. Barney Kenet to preview his new skincare line now available online and at Hyatt hotels worldwide.

After a refreshing cocktail, some light bites, and meeting my role model, Lynn Jacobson, an interior designer who just happened to be dropping off some orchids to the office, Dr. Kenet walked me through his very simple, very focused, skincare line.  Packaged in a chic and travel friendly white zippered bag, the products are labeled with instructions as well as the days of the week in which they are to be used.  Talk about foolproof skincare.  I could have stayed all day (and nearly did) asking skincare questions.  Dr. Kenet, his wife, Patricia, and Stephanie (medical/surgical assistant) were wealths of knowledge, not to mention fun and engaging.  Not only did I walk out of the office chocked full of new dermatological knowledge, I was also gifted the entire line to try myself (which I have been using religiously since).  And as if that wasn’t kind enough Dr. Kenet has  given me his top skincare tips for summer to share with WhyDid readers, which are below:

Nothing, nothing beats staying out of the sun altogether. No amount of sunscreen will protect you like avoidance. (Compare this to sexual abstinence versus using a condom).  :}

Think about your friends and relatives who live in Florida, California and swear they wear sunscreen and stay out of the sun.  Their skin will usually look more aged than the northeasterners, New Englanders and Canadians, for example.

And, New Yorkers, on sunny days, just direct your feet to the shady side of the street.

If you go out into the sun be careful when using the following:

  • Certain antibiotics- (Doxycycline, Tetracycline, Ciprofloxacin),  this can increase the risk of a sunburn.
  • Bergamont perfume- (Shalimar, Gucci Gold, for example.)
  • Birth control pills can cause brown coloration (called melasma), along the upper lip etc.

In April, the FDA changed the rules about sunscreen:

What the FDA Guidelines Mean:

  • Products that pass a test to show they protect against both UVA and UVB rays will be labeled ‘broad spectrum’ followed by an SPF number TIP: Use only BROAD SPECTRUM
  • Any product with an SPF of 14 or lower and products without broad spectrum status are required to carry a warning that reads, in part, ‘This product has been shown only to help prevent sunburn not skin cancer or early skin aging.’ TIP: USE 15 or higher SPF, 30SPF on children
  • The terms ‘sun block,’ ‘water proof’ and ‘sweat proof’ can no longer be used. Products that pass an FDA test can be labeled ‘water resistant’ up to 40 or 80 minutes.
  • A product can no longer claim to offer all-day protection. All sunscreens must warn users to reapply every two hours.

Number One Rule:  Wear Sunscreen, moisturize after the shower on damp skin, reduce the number of products you use.  Simplify your life, and your routines.

Worst mistake people make: Using too many products. And smoking.

Kenet MD Skin Care

After having spoken with Dr. Kenet, I became much more diligent in the daily application of SPF (something I should have already been doing as skin cancer runs in my family).  I run outside during the warmer months and hadn’t thought about the damage I was doing to my skin.  Don’t forget that a day at the beach isn’t the only time that warrants a heavy dosage of sunscreen and you can’t only rely on your foundation or BB cream.  Dr. Kenet’s En Garde Sunscreen feels great (non-greasy) and smells absolutely delicious, so I don’t mind applying it every day.

Dr. Kenet was not only kind enough to answer a few of my nineteen thousand questions, but he is graciously giving a lucky reader one of his skincare sets!  To enter, simply follow @KenetMDS and @WhyDid_Dotcom on Twitter and retweet this message.  Be sure and check out his Facebook page as well for skincare news and specials.  Good luck and don’t forget to guard your dermis daily.

xx,

WhyDid

Why Did or Why Don’t: Return to Sender (a Poll & PSA)

By |June 4th, 2014|Why Did or Why Don't?|

bone freeIn the digital age, dating has taken a turn for the worse.  Things that seem as though they should make meeting a mate more manageable have just become downright scary.  Social media has made everyone so much more accessible and while it can be used for good like tracking down that “missed connection” from the L train, it seems as if men are overly stimulated by the bathing beauties and their bikini pics only inflating their egos to the point wherein they think they stand a chance with the 23 year old model from Johannesburg who spends her days squatting, not eating the food in her pictures, and taking selfies, therefore blowing off the perfectly lovely local ladies actually available to them.  Along with turning Facebook and Instagram into quasi dating sites, there has since been the inception of Tinder, which will require a dedicated tiger clad post in and of itself at a later date.  All of these brilliant advances in technology just so happen to be within finger’s reach for us thanks to our so called smartphones.  No need to flip open that archaic laptop, ew.  You are just a swipe away from millions of other people in the midst of ignoring their “real life” company to bask in the glow of their screens.

Texting has overtaken the phone call and do not even ask me when the last time I received a hand written anything other than birthday cards from my best friends and family was.  Seriously, don’t ask me because I do remember.  (Pro-tip: bonus points earned for voice on voice contact, but if you take the time to put pen to paper and mail it, I’m yours).  That said, a lot is left to be desired in modern day romance as much of what we are trying to express over text is totally lost in translation.  There is no expression, no context, and no way of being sure that your message was received- both literally and figuratively.  There is, however, one type of text message that needs no analyzation.  Its context and subtext is quite clear.

penis street artAs we lay in one of my best friend’s cozy bed watching “That Awkward Moment” (insert irony here) last Saturday night, I asked her if she had heard from a particular suitor and I guess his ears– but more likely loins– were burning because as if on cue, her phone lit up and there he was.  Instead of your run of the mill midnight “u out?” bro text message, this was something far more frightening.  It was the dreaded “dick pic.”

I should have video recorded the reaction.  Not only did she not want to open the photo from the preview, she handed it to us to do the dirty work.  There was a lot of nervous laughter, a little bit of uncomfortable squealing, followed by a game of hot potato with her iPhone.  And should I ever have the pleasure of meeting this guy, I’ll have a hard time keeping it together seeing as I’ve already met his penis.  The odd part in all of this (as if there is anything more odd than receiving a photo of a basic stranger’s genitals) is that she has not been on a date with him, has not even kissed him, and hadn’t even responded to any of his messages for the past two weeks.  Post deleting his message and blocking his phone number, we managed to sleep through the night sans phallic nightmares.

When I awoke Sunday to a frantic phone call from the same friend, I postponed my run along the Westside Highway to hear her out.  As it turns out, after having headed home and slipping into a sweet slumber, another Prince Charming snapped a shot of his cyclops and sent it her way.  Again, someone who she had not been responding to all evening.  Two dick pics in less than twelve hours?  That’s got to be some kind of record, no?

tinder picture

And maybe my friends and I are alone in this and you all can chock us up as prudes (though that would be fairly inaccurate), but I’m really wondering if AND WHO?! are the ladies out there requesting pictures of male packages leading modern day men to believe that all of us are interested in a salami slider sent straight to our cell phones.  I imagine that somewhere along the line, these guys were given the green light by some broad because they seem to think this is the ticket to ride.  It’s as if they had the thought process of, “Oh, she’s not responding to my messages?  I’ll just send her cock shot.  That’ll get the rooster crowing!”

Here’s the thing: Women just aren’t aroused by pictures of your penises.  It’s science and I can speak from personal experience.  I had an ex who loved to send me penis portraits that I had never commissioned.  And some would say that so long as you’re actually sleeping with the sender, a photograph of his nether regions doesn’t seem all that offensive.  However, he enjoyed sending photos of his ship without wind in its sails.  Not sexy.  Plus, I’ve already been acquainted with your personal kayak, so don’t fill up your camera roll with your scrotum selfies.  Save space for pictures of your niece or your lunch.  Basically, you’re more likely to get my panties in a bunch by sending a picture of a puppy or perhaps your face.  Although, I did recently receive an unsolicited  and shirtless “right before bedtime selfie” that was very Jersey Shore.  We are no longer dating.

So, to the fellas out there, please stop sending us pictures of the land down below because we don’t want our passports stamped and to the ladies… are you down with the D or is this the modern day equivalent of flashing?

 

xx,

WhyDid

 

 

The List Volume: Instagram

By |February 21st, 2014|The List|

kirsten smith instagramI get scolded quite a bit for being on my phone during dinners and nights out with friends.  I quickly remind them that I’m “working.”  Which shouldn’t actually be in quotes because I really am.  Social Media is bascially a 24/7 job, especially when you work for yourself.  However, I’ve taken it down a notch and for those of you who aren’t actually running a business, it’s time to put down your phones.  I know that selfie and shot of your salmon seem super important, but your friends are about to disown you if you don’t rejoin them in a little place called reality.  So, here are some hard and fast rules for Instagram posting:

  1. Instagram is basically not real life.  Don’t let it consume yours.
  2. I think a lot of people need to learn the art of self editing.  We get that you are somewhere really beautiful or you’re having a REALLY good hair day, or there is a lot going on, but try and pic a COUPLE of the best pictures and spread them out throughout the day.  No one likes their feed being spammed by your event.  Either that or learn to make a collage.
  3. We do not need your doctors’ visits, weekly sonogram, bloody wounds, or hunting kills to be forever etched into our brains.  A post delivery baby hospital pic gets a pass though.
  4. I’m really not kidding when I say I don’t want to see your food pictures.  Unless what you are about to eat is a slain dragon, I’m just not interested.
  5. If you’re going to create a meme (good for you), please, dear God, check your spelling/grammar.  No matter how hilarious the punchline may be, I can’t get over the fact that you don’t know the difference between “your” and “you’re.”
  6. If you need to use a filter on top of a filter before posting that self indulgent selfie, you probably shouldn’t be posting it.  This is Instagram, not Vogue.  There’s no need to Photoshop.
  7. #Hashtagsareactuallyusefulifyouknowwhatyouredoing.  Not everything needs to be hashtagged, but don’t hate on others who actually know how to use them.
  8. Give credit where credit is due.  If you love something someone posted, spread the love, but credit the source.
  9. Please don’t post pictures only to delete them two minutes later.  This is Instagram not Snapchat (although there’s now that creepy direct message thing).  Don’t post unless you are sure you want to post.  Posting something and then removing it two minutes later doesn’t make you look mysterious, it makes you look insecure, and a little bit schizo.
  10. Clean your damn mirror, selfie queen.

And this one goes out to you… and you… and you…

Now, follow me on Instagram so you can see what I’m wearing.

xx,

WhyDid

The List Volume LXXXVIII

By |July 19th, 2013|The List|

So, this one time I left my wallet in the back of a taxi. I had a near meltdown. But my friends reassured me that they’d heard lovely stories about people returning lost wallets or being able to track down their lost items after filing a report. Well, neither of those happy endings are a part of my story. My wallet was never to be seen again. Credit cards were canceled, sentimental items mourned, and fingers crossed someone in Guam hadn’t stolen my identity. After having toted my passport around for the past year without a single stamp earned (turns out leaving the borough doesn’t count), I decided it was probably a good time to replace my driver’s license. Should have been fairly straightforward, but that’s not really how my life goes… so yeah, that’s how I spent last week.

  1. People who complain about things, but don’t bother doing anything about them. Like, that 1am pizza? Not doing anything good for your thighs. Trust.
  2. Asking the male bathroom attendant for a tampon and then having to pay two dollars for it.
  3. Bed Bath and Beyond. If you didn’t have ADD before you got here, welcome. How else do you explain the potato masher and popsicle molds you definitely didn’t need?
  4. I finally figured out what PHD stands for: Pinnacle of Hell, Dude.
  5. Seeing an ex-boyfriend’s wedding photos on Facebook after another. bad. date.
  6. Herald Square.
  7. Herald Square in the rain. Crowds are bad. Crowds with umbrellas are what nightmares and video games are made of.
  8. Explaining something tedious very explicitly to someone knowing full well by his/her blank expression that you’re wasting your words.
  9. Walking outside only to feel as if your skin just melted off.
  10. When the outcome has become too predictable.

Hope your week was less obnoxious (and cooler) than mine.

xx,
WhyDid

Weekend Playlist: Guest DJ, Jenn Seracuse

By |July 13th, 2013|Weekend Playlist|

Jenn Seracuse PilatesPhoto credit: Jay Sullivan 

Not to toot my own horn (but, beep beep), I get asked quite a bit about what my workout routine is.  No, kids, I can’t lie and just say I sit around eating whatever I want.  Past the age of 25, I actually had to become conscience of my body and only wish I’d started sooner.  I run three to four times a week, but my real secret weapon for long, lean, toned arms and legs and a flat stomach is Pilates.  Specifically, Flex Studios.  Very specifically, Jenn Seracuse.

I’d tried out a few different Pilates studios in New York after getting hooked when I lived in LA.  One class with Jenn at Flex and I needn’t look any further.  Jenn’s class is fun and upbeat without being annoyingly cheerleader peppy (I was a cheerleader, chill).  Beginner’s or first timers don’t fret.  Jenn must have eyes in the back of her head because she’s able to keep tabs on everyone in class providing gentle corrections to ensure you’re getting the most out of the session without breaking anything except a sweat.  One of the best parts of Jenn’s classes are her playlists.  As I’m sure anyone who works out can attest, music can make or break whether you struggle or stride through those last ten minutes.  So, this week, Jenn was kind enough to put together a playlist especially for WhyDid.com.  I, for one, can not wait to slip on my sneakers and feel the burn while listening.

To be honest, I was little nervous to share my secret because I may find myself on the waiting list for class more than I’d like, but come sweat with Jenn and me and be sure to follow her on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.

xx,

WhyDid