Morning Brew - 🧀 Say cheese

Maliah here, with a big thank you to everyone who sent welcome messages and well wishes! Now read on for my and Rachel’s thoughts on the latest McDonald’s collab, tips for navigating the cheese case, and the portable phone charger you need for long beach days.

— Maliah West, Rachel Cantor 

Travis Scott, J Balvin, BTS, and Saweetie: This isn't the lineup for Lolla 2022. It’s the current list of musicians with their very own McDonald’s Meal. 

The impact of these limited edition collabs is massive. McDonald’s sold out of the beef, bacon, onions, and lettuce needed to make the Travis Scott Meal a week after its launch, and paper bags from the BTS Meal are going for $20 on eBay. Last week, McDonald’s announced its latest collaboration with rapper and influencer Saweetie. Together, they’ll be making the Saweetie Meal (Big Mac, four-piece Chicken McNuggets, Sprite, fries, and two special sauces).

If you’re not familiar with Saweetie, let’s catch you up. She’s a rapper best known for her singles “My Type,” “Best Friend,” and “Tap In.” With 12.3 million followers on Instagram, a wildly entertaining TikTok account, and a spot on the Forbes 30 Under 30 list, it’s a no-brainer that Saweetie is next in line for the McDonald’s Meal throne.

Even though we probably won’t be getting our own McDonald’s Meal anytime soon (call us, Mr. Kempczinski), it’s a reminder to have fun with personal branding. Name tag networking events are sooo pre-pandemic. Instead: 

• Join Upstream or Lunchclub to meet new people and share your side hustles and passion projects.
• Start convos on Instagram Live, Clubhouse, and Twitter Spaces. No need to keep it work-related. Do you absolutely hate the new Gossip Girl reboot? Go to town on that instead. The point is to get your name—and hot takes—out there. 
• Lastly, create your own merch with sites like Vistaprint, Redbubble, and Custom Ink. Redbubble even allows you to work with a designer to make your start-up’s koozies feel more official. 

We just have two questions: Who do you think is next? And if you had your own McDonald’s Meal, what menu items would you choose? Hit reply and let us know!

• If you, too, experience imposter syndrome when shopping for cheese at the grocery store, certified cheese professional (yes, it’s a thing) Erika Kubrik shared her tips for choosing crowd pleasers beyond double cream Brie. 
• This simple French vinaigrette is calling your name. The Dijon and shallots are a power couple that turn plain greens into the star of your salad. Keep leftovers in the fridge for up to a week, or toss ’em with chicken for an extra zesty din. 
• So you lent your college friend $250 months ago, and the Venmo request is still sitting incomplete. Instead tapping “send reminder” again, use this script for an honest convo that’ll help keep the friendship intact—even if you don’t get your $$$ back. 
• With a shark-shaped disco ball and nearly 12,000 fans on the ’gram, Short Stories is the place to be on a Friday night in New York. We chatted with Ashwin Deshmukh, partner in the East Village hot spot, about its third reopening and the cool new cocktail most patrons don’t know about yet (but will soon).
• Block out tomorrow’s to-dos and your SO’s snoring with the National Park Nature Walks pop-up podcast. You can accompany ecologist Jacob Job on a sunrise hike through the Blue Oaks of Sequoia, or on a canoe trip through the Boundary Waters. 

Maliah here to say that one of my favorite compliments is a kind word about my perfume (it’s usually Glossier’s You). Applying a fragrance has become a big part of my morning routine—I even spritzed You to boost my confidence before my virtual interview for this job! Whether you’re transitioning back to the office or are just looking for a way to show yourself some self-love, Byrdie’s guide to building a fragrance collection is worth a read.

In it, three master perfumers share tips to keep in mind when starting this process. Some takeaways:

• Think about the way you want to feel when selecting a perfume—just like you do when choosing an outfit. Douglas Little, founder and perfumer for Heretic Parfum, says fragrance is "an invisible and indispensable piece of wardrobe."
• Then you’ll want to think about notes. If you’ve seen Halston on Netflix, you know there are three: top (first impression), middle (character, intensity), base (balance). 
• When it comes time to shop, this is one instance where IRL is ideal. If you do prefer buying online, most brands offer samples or sampler sets to test out before committing to a full-size bottle. 

Try scents in and out of your comfort zone, and you’ll have a collection that feels like you before you know it.

Tastes delicious. Feels better.

JuneShine’s ingredient list is short. Quite short. So short that if a can of scrumptious JuneShine hard kombucha attempted to ride a rollercoaster, it would not be allowed to.

JuneShine’s short ingredient list means JuneShine is brewed with only a few real and organic ingredients—cutting out the headaches that come with reading lengthy chemical names (and maybe the ones that come with drinking other junk-filled, sugary alcoholic bevs).

Insanely delicious. Just three grams of sugar. Gluten-free. 100% organic. Full of probiotics. 

For a lighter, brighter buzz, take 20% off a JuneShine sampler pack with the code MORNINGBREW.

Three beach bag essentials every Sidekick reader should own: 

• Applying sunscreen is a pain in the a**, but not with Supergoop!’s Play Everyday Lotion SPF 50. It feels more like a moisturizer and is water- and sweat-resistant. 
• Whether it’s a splinter from the boardwalk, a cut from sea glass, or a scrape from a particularly rowdy sandcastle fight, Welly bandages will cover up all your beach day battle scars. You’ll easily be the coolest beachgoer with some unicorn-themed bandies.
• This Anker portable charger is slim enough to fit in just about any beach bag...or even in your swim trunks. You’ll get more than two charges for an iPhone 12, so you’re all juiced up for your day at the shore.