Marissa Zappas Annabel’s Birthday Cake Review (Marissa Zappas) 2021 + balloons and frosting giveaway

Marissa Zappas Annabel's Birthday Cake review

Marissa Zappas Annabel’s Birthday Cake by Olya Bar

I want to have my cake and eat it too, what’s wrong with that?

For some, birthdays are over the top. I want all the glitter, balloons, flowers and cake I can get. That accurately describes what I expect every birthday to be like, occasionally spilling over into a week’s worth of celebrations and delicious outings with friends. I haven’t met a more accurate olfactory equivalent of everything I just described until I got my hands on Marissa Zappas Annabel’s Birthday Cake.

Cake via Unsplash

Imagine a perfectly layered vanilla cake with a touch of rose jam, layered with some whipped cream and covered with a mouthwatering tuberose frosting, lightly dusted with confectioners’ sugar on top. And sprinkles, lots and lots of sprinkles. There is a certain waxiness you can distinguish, the one you would get when the candles just got blown out and a few drops ended up melting onto the cake. A bit of latex from all the balloons you had to blow up and that vivid smell of latex still left on your fingers. A sweet mix of perfume after the party still lingering in the air and a late-night cake devouring session worth every bite.

That’s what a good party sounds like, filled with joy, perhaps a passionate embrace followed by a kiss or more.

Marissa Zappas of Marissa Zappas Perfume

Marissa Zappas courtesy of the perfumer

I truly admire the work of Marissa Zappas. She was an apprentice to Master Perfumer Olivier Gillotin at Givaudan with a strong independent point of view. She creates with a recipe of a professional but with the imagination of a true indie.  She is a perfumer  and a poet residing in New York City, her olfactory point of view is avant-garde with an unrestrained ability to create perfectly calibrated playful works with an air of humor, taking her the inspiration of the early twentieth century and appreciation for art.

Marissa Zappas perfume Annabel birthday cake

Balloons via Unsplash

Zappas is not out to please or play on trends but rather create based on inspirational encounters, friendships, and vivid memories. I am still in pure ecstasy from smelling one of her recent works, (named none other than WH*RE, and I will be following up shortly with a review of that promiscuous masterpiece).

Annabel Gat astrologist

Annabel Gat via Twitter

Structuring some of her work around collaborations with writers and fellow artists, Marissa Zappas created her cult favorite Birthday Cake perfume with Astrologer Annabel Gat, who writes the daily and monthly column at VICE since 2015 and is the author of The Astrology of Love & Sex and The Moon Sign Guide. Certified by the International Society for Astrological Research, Annabel loves teaching others about astrology, she’s presented talks on tarot, astrology and the occult for over a decade and is very well known for her humorous approach.  Born one day apart; this Aries duo set out to create an elevated and ethereal cake perfume that celebrates their love for birthdays. As a fellow Aries, I felt a strong pull toward this work.

 

“My favorite thing about perfume is how transportive it is. We can shift our state of mind or our mood by enjoying scent, I think it’s so magical.  With Annabel’s Birthday Cake, my goal with Marissa Zappas was for people to enjoy a perfume that would transport them someplace fun and carefree. I think we achieved that!”  -Annabel Gat

Perfumery is just like any form of art and expresses an idea. An olfactory canvas of emotions, thoughts, and attitudes. I love the spice Marissa Zappas brings to every composition. In the pool of indie fragrances that I often find too eccentric and borderline unwearable, Marissa Zappas Annabel’s Birthday Cake stands out as both frivolous, flirtatious, and playful as it does proper and even pure and virtuous.

Marissa Zappas Annabel's Birthday Cake

Marissa Zappas Annabel’s Birthday Cake by Olya Bar

A sweet floral blend develops somewhat creamy with nuanced powdery tones. It was interesting to see a structure without the expected top citrus notes, a refreshing dive straight into the essence. The fragrance feels round rather than a typical top, middle, and base structure. Harmonious and comforting hug of heliotrope. Delicate lemon sugar, a sprinkling of candied rose petals, and a layer of languorous, sweet, and rich tuberose frosting balance candy-like qualities with supple florals.

Annabel’s Birthday Cake has an innocent tutu-like texture yet with a voluptuous and sensual character. Trust me, you’ll want to take a bite out of this cake.

Notes: Heliotrope, Lemon Sugar, Balloons, Candied Rose Petals, Tuberose Frosting, Cake-Fresh-Out-The-Oven, Honeycomb, Roasted Tonka, Cocoa Absolute

Annabel’s Birthday Cake was kindly gifted to me but opinions are always my own.

Marissa Zappas Annabel’s Birthday Cake by Olya Bar

-Olya Bar, Editor

Thanks to Marissa Zappas, we are offering a 2ml sample of Annabel’s Birthday Cake for one registered CaFleureBon reader in the USA ONLY (if you are not sure if you are registered, click here.). You must register or your comment will not count. To be eligible, please tell us what appealed to you about Olya’s review and if you have a favorite from the brand. Draw closes 08/29/22

PLEASE NOTE OUR INSTAGRAM ACCOUNT HAS CHANGED @cafleurebonofficial

Follow us on Instagram @cafleurebonofficial @olyabar @marissazappas @annabelgat

Available at Marissa Zappas.com and Luckyscent

Please read Marissa Zappas Profile in American Perfumery here

Former Sr. Contributor Marianne Butler’s review of Paradise Edition here

Lauryn’s reviews of Smoked Jasmine Black Tea here, Violette Hay here, Queen Nzinga here (one of Michelyn Best of 2019 ) and Ching Shi here

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13 comments

  • I LOVE Marissa Zappas’ work, and I love this review. Describing this perfume as a party, and as playfulness contrasting with purity, is spot on. I have sampled ABC before, but unfortunately more than half of my sample leaked out, so I’d love to spend more time with it. As far as favorites from Marissa Zappas…probably Petrichor, Violette Hay, and Smoked Jasmine Black Tea, but they’re all good!
    Thanks! WV, USA

  • I like how the fragrances created are delicate but complex all at the same time. Everything I’ve sampled has been superb.

  • Because I always love birthday cake, and I know a beautiful girl named Annabelle, well this draws me in. A little rogue for my taste, but it is always good to expand your horizons. In maryland.

  • You had me at vanilla cake and rose jam! This sounds beautiful! Never tried anything from this brand but now on my radar

  • Have not tried the line. Comforting and innocent—would be wonderful to wear birthday memories year-round.

    CA, USA

  • Not a big fan of gourmand perfumes, but Annabel’s Birthday Cake intrigues me because of the perfumer’s background (Givaudan) and also the fact of collaboration with an astrologer for making Annabel’s Birthday Cake. From Olya’s review, it appears that Annabel’s Birthday Cake is a wonderful perfume. I haven’t tried anything by this brand, yet, so no favorites, yet. I am curious to try this perfume. Thanks for the review and draw. From USA.

  • I’ve never tried anything from this perfume house. But this has got to be one of the most adorable and feminine fragrances I’ve ever heard about. I would be absolutely thrilled to win a sample of it!
    I live in the USA – PA

  • Fun! Maybe it’s not so cool nowadays but I still love a cake gourmand. They remind me of my 2000’s childhood. I considered sampling this when it was released but initially the balloon note scared me off. However since trying the pool float note in Vacation I think I’m sold. USA.

  • I only recently became aware of Marissa ‘s work, and it was through a photo of this scent. The birthday cake on the bottle was intriguing. I love the description of a cake with rose jam. I am very curious to try this after reading the description!

  • I’ll admit, this fragrance sounds difficult to wear, but the concept is really creative and I love how Olya broke down the smell of a birthday party cake-cutting in her review. It’s sweet, smoky, and includes the smell of synthetic decorations. I haven’t tried any Marissa Zappas fragrances, but I get the impression they’re daring and evocative. Thanks for the review!

  • I love the vivid description of a happy birthday you can envision in your mind. You can practically smell the scents lists in the description. I enjoy trying new perfumes . The great part is supporting Indie makers.

  • Regis Monkton says:

    I would like to try this fragrance after having read about it; Olya’s review caused me to think that this fragrance is candy-like sweet and interesting. It seems like a kind of fragrance which I probably wouldn’t prioritize getting before a lot of other ones, but I think that this one could be a pleasant surprise to me. I’m interested in seeing what the notes in this are like and I’m interested in trying a fragrance made by perfumer Marissa Zappas. I live in the U.S.A.

  • wallygator88 says:

    Thanks for the review Olya.

    I’ve enjoyed learning about Maria Zappas through CFB and watching her journey through, especially with Queen Nzinga and Smoked Jasmine Black Tea.

    This is such a different concept and I would certainly like to get my nose on it at some point.

    Cheers from WI, USA