Needles, martinis, and rain in LA.

My Erewhon-free trip to the West Coast.

Good morning everyone. Here is my snowy apartment.

This letter was a labor-intensive one. If you’re on the fence about becoming a paid reader, it might be a fun day to make the jump. I know all my finance readers just got their year-end bonuses or have at least had that weird meeting where they tell you the number. All the readersy have paid subs, so you’re excused.

Here’s what you’ll read about in today’s letter:

• A juice shop that opened in 1975 and wants Los Angeles to have less paid partnerships and more housing

• My Botox and filler journey

• New York’s new wave of dating which is happening off of apps

• What my readers think of Zyn

Some news:

• Biden’s social media team is corny as hell and needs to chill with the Dark Brandon memes. “I’d get in trouble if I told you,” Mr. Biden joked in his campaign’s inaugural post on TikTok. The video then cut to an image of the “Dark Brandon” meme — another attempt from the campaign to flip a right-wing conspiracy theory on its head. The White House’s Director of Platforms, Angela Krasnick, spent time at BuzzFeed and Instagram before joining Biden’s team. Their Director of Partnerships, Landon Morgado, had long stints at Instagram and Facebook. Why Biden is on TikTok is clear: He’s seeking to win over younger voters. “That means seeking them out where they are and speaking in their argot,” Andrew Sorkin said in his newsletter this morning. Unfortunately, it makes me think his team his bad taste, are overly defensive, and I can’t take their marketing decisions seriously, especially during an election year like this one.

• Big day for internet beauty darlings! Dieux Skin and Soft Services are both available at Sephora, as of today.

• What’s the worst thing that could happen if you hire your crush?

• A reader tipped me off to a cool new fragrance product. Fragrance brand Future Society just launched Optimal Habitat, a fragrance primer made to extend and amplify your fragrance. This isn’t the first product of it’s kind — DS & Durga has an enhancer called I Don’t Know What that I use daily. It’s polarizing, but I’m addicted to it.

• I asked my Instagram followers what they think of guys who do Zyn. Some of the responses include:

  • “Tell me your dad hates women without telling me”

  • “First-year analyst coded”

  • “I have been a Zyn user since 2020 — before it was cool. Their rewards program is fascinating, and I’m probably the only person in it. It’s such a gross habit, but my dentist says my gums are fine which is my only concern. It is better than vaping for the hands free but you don’t get that same inital high. It makes me feel like a college student/ a man, and it was my big dark secret until everyone started a few months ago.”