Annabel's Birthday Cake

Sometimes the babydoll energy of Annabel's Birthday Cake is merely comforting, because it does smell like frilly, girly, childhood memories. Annabel Gat said she wanted this to smell like scented vintage dolls, like Strawberry Shortcake, and Marissa Zappas does a fantastic job of communicating that. The flowers and candy of this perfume are decidedly, endearingly childlike, yet somehow elegant, like a Gunne Sax dress. But other times, it makes me feel ravenous . It makes perfect sense that two Aries femmes made this. I didn’t think this did much for me when I first tried it on, as someone who isn’t much of a gourmand girl. But now when I wear it, it genuinely makes me wanna be the girl with the most cake. That babydoll energy can escalate into this Veruca Salt territory, where I remember this competitive aspect of growing up as a girly girl, wanting the best princess party, and the sparkliest decorations, and the best-looking Barbie doll cake. You smell that perfect party in this, where the desserts are gorgeous, but also taste good, and the gifts all look enticingly shiny, and even the balloons smell nice! It smells like planning a My Super Sweet 16 level party for a little girl, or an adult femme wanting to step back into that energy. I totally understand the frenzied reaction to this. After such a long period of fresh, clean, woodsy unisex perfumes, the girlies have clearly been clamoring for some unabashed, loud femininity, and Marissa and Annabel heard them loud and clear. Marissa has rightly pointed out a degree of misogyny to modern fragrance's approach to gender, and the femininity of scents like Annabel's Birthday Cake is so reassuring with that in mind. Annabel also talked about this being a scent that was born out of COVID frustration, and wanting to actually celebrate, which is such a huge part of why people have gotten so obsessed with perfume in the past couple of years. We’re longing for sensual pleasure, and pure expression, and something to get excited about. Annabel’s Birthday Cake perfectly captures the feeling I think a lot of people have right now, of longing for simpler times, and the wild dreams of childhood, where the future was full of promise. I have no doubt that we're right on the edge of an explosion of really fun, femme fragrances, and Marissa Zappas is bound to be at the head of that wave. Annabel's Birthday Cake reminds me of my mom asking me at age 4 to think really hard about what I wanted to be when I grew up. I remember the question hurt my brain, and I didn't want to think about it. As far as I can tell, my generation (millennials) were the first who were pressured to think about that stuff early. I somehow knew it was way too much to contemplate at such a young age, but I felt guilty about not knowing, like it meant something was wrong with me. And a lot of adults asked, like it was a reasonable question, and I'd need to know soon, and I couldn't choose again. So after a really long, hard think, I came back to my mom in maybe the middle of the night, so sure of myself, saying, “I want to be a fairy princess.” I looked at her with perfect confidence, thinking, I totally win! I figured out the secret answer, right? But my mom just looked back at me dumbfounded, half-asleep, and said, “...you can’t do that, honey.” And I was genuinely crushed , because I had no Plan B. It was fairy princess or bust for me. But at the same time, no one ever told me that the kind of life I wanted when I got slightly older was unattainable too. As an older kid, I dreamed of being a pop star, or an actress, then when I was a teenager, I developed the only slightly more realistic dreams of fashion magazine editor, Hollywood screenwriter, or bestselling fiction author. These other ambitions all still had some glamour to them, though their bombast decreased over time, the more I became a bit numb to reality's demands. Then the stock market crashed right before I graduated high school, and just going to college was harder, and a degree had less prestige to it by the time I left school. I got the right internships and was in the right city but there was no ease to it. I saw what felt like the very last breaths of the media industry having a lot of money to blow, before the magazines folded, and every salaried writer I knew got laid off, or struggled to find sustainable pay. The competition for these increasingly scarce, big titles became so cutthroat that I just ducked out. I made peace with the sense that there was no Sex and the City -style future where I was going to be able to afford a glamorous lifestyle on the strength of a (lol, RIP, oh no) Village Voice column, of all things. But Annabel's Birthday Cake feels like sweet, loving reassurance that these hopes and dreams for nice things don't have to be dead. They might be damaged, and a little worse for wear, but I can still feel that desire underneath the pain and fatigue. This perfume reminds me of the aggressively girly child I used to be, and how unafraid I was before life shook the sparkle out of me. I used to casually waltz out of my house in a sparkly gold dress and jelly shoes, in January , with no concern for the cold, just because I wanted my neighbors to see how cute I looked. Over the past year or so, I’ve felt sadness for this past me, and worry I didn’t quite live up to who she wanted to be. But one of the reasons Annabel’s Birthday Cake is so special is because it feels like it’s saying it isn’t too late. It’s not just the pretty femme tea party scent everyone says it is— to get a little woo, it smells like inner child work. It smells like the memory of those big, sparkly dreams. It smells like envy for the kind of Instagram femmes who casually have picnics where everyone is wearing ambitious rococo looks (if you know, you know). They made what I stopped doing into a practice, and they used it to find community. The feeling that animates the impulse behind all of that is so clear in this scent. It makes me wish I were more loudly femme, the way I used to be. It makes me feel empathy for my younger self. It’s just as special and transportive as everyone says. If you're thinking about trying it, honor the Aries spirit and just go for it. To wrap this very long (!!) review up with actual descriptions of ABC's scent-- if you like fancy niche gourmands like État Libre d'Orange's 500 Years, you will love this. It has the same powdery femininity and oddly approachable rich dessert vibe, but a little lighter and easier to wear. Plus, it's more unabashed with its femininity, more complex, and more affordable! A decidedly white cake with just a taste of chocolate, like a slice with the cursive “happy birthday” frosting on it.

this is the perfect nostalgic scent for me. it reminds me of the scent of those freebie lipglosses you'd get with early 2000s preteen girly magazines, you know the ones with boyband posters and hair bow tutorials and advice columns about how to talk to your crush. it smells like me when i was about eight years old, freshly diagnosed with autism and trying insanely hard to overcompensate on femininity so i didn't feel like an alien - walking around in a wonderfully camp miasma of glitter eyeshadow and rose buttercream body lotion and vanilla cupcake body spray and sugar cookie hand cream and... well, you get the idea - my perfect "human girl" disguise, my jean-baptiste grenouille moment. annabel's birthday cake captures that frenzied feeling i had of going to the mall as a kid and being filled with an insatiable hunger for claire's accessories lip balm and endless rows of pastel bath bombs and the huge, untouched, impossible world of being a girl, and all the ways that i could hide the fact that underneath it all i was actually some wild, uncivilised animal slathering lipgloss over my fangs. this perfume is such a wonderful thing - it's positively edible, frothy with frosting, cherry-on-top red 40 food dye fantasy. the latex note reminds me of a bouncy castle, with the huge box fan whirring in the background to keep it inflated. it's not overly fantastical either, it stays grounded in realism - i think it's the latex and citrus notes that keep it from becoming lost amongst a thousand other super-girly vanilla sugar cookie cake perfumes. that realism is what makes annabel's birthday cake such a sophisticated, intriguing scent - rather than just presenting a plate of pretty cupcakes, it paints a picture of the whole room and the scene around them, with the glitter streamers glued to the ceiling fan and the portable CD player blaring tinny, low-quality Spice Girls greatest hits in a village hall. pure sugar rush, sweet-toothed stickiness. this cake is almond sponge soaked in rosewater and lemon syrup, iced with noxiously oversweetened pink frosting and four feet high. candle wax dripping onto the top layer of icing and setting hard into little pink jewels. an absolutely mythical portrait of rose-coloured nostalgia that hits every mark for me.

The more I wear this the more I fall in love. I have the new birdcage bottle which is absolutely adorable and stunning, the art on the label is gorgeous and incredibly fitting - I love that the bottle is adorned with an adorable black bow. The box is beautiful and sturdy also. I feel like a life size inflatable clown (think of it like the inflatable version of the bed Bart won’t sleep in as a toddler on the Simpsons) covered in pastel pink tuberose icing ( from all the curious little kids with birthday cake hands haha ) and candied rose petals at a little girls birthday party, it’s 2004 and freshly baked honey sponge cake sits in front of me, her mum gives her a hug before taking a photo on a disposable camera, faint non descript floral perfume wafts as she frantically tends to the party, or maybe it’s coming from that auntie that kisses everyone sloppily on the cheek with slimy satin lipstick. The artistry in this is amazing - it envokes such a vivid image of a nostalgic little girl’s birthday party in the 2000’s - it’s common where I’m from for most kids around 4 - 6 to have their birthday parties at these huge indoor playgrounds, the types with ball pits, big slides, jumping castle and jungle gyms — if there was an added scent of bane maree nuggets and hot chips (maybe with the tomato sauce) it would be uncanny. But already this scent takes me back to all those birthdays I went to in kindergarten. The latex note is not prominent at all but does envoke balloons, sometimes when smelling close to the skin and I get the latex note I get that feeling in my gums like when you put on sterile gloves or rub a balloon the wrong way which is so cool honestly. Btw this lasts like no other - 4 sprays in the morning I smell it all day with a soft scent bubble - it leaves a slight trail of honey cake and powdery candied roses. Even after a shower and scrubbing with soap I can still smell it on my skin. Like others below have stated I will echo that it isn’t a safe blind buy despite the gourmand notes, I agree with the reviewer who stated that no matter how you think this will smell, it will surprise you.

This reminds me of Eloise at The Plaza and her unmistakable ENFP spirit, particularly the first episode of ‘Me, Eloise!’ where she invites everyone at the hotel to her birthday party. Very ENFP, very relatable. When I first read the story behind this fragrance on Marissa Zappas’ website, I knew I simply had to have it. And I am super thrilled to say it is perfect for me! It really does make my imagination run wild. Vanilla petit fours, delicate pastel roses, glittery pink balloons, party dresses, Parisian photo booths, 60s blush compacts, and a vintage doll just for you, because it’s your birthday! So thankful I waited on this because the new pleated glass bottle design is absolutely to die for! When I first sprayed it, I must admit I kind of panicked because the opening is a bit intimidating. It felt kinda mature for my tastes, and I was worried it might not suit me, but to my delight within seconds it transformed into a subtle, sweet, and elegant flourmand. The notes are balanced and blended incredibly well, and I’m super happy with the latex aspect that adds an air of playfulness to the fragrance. Annabel’s Birthday Cake is sassy in a Vivienne Westwood Boudoir-esque way. The gourmands and powder play well together, preventing the scent from ever becoming too childish or cloying. The gentle presence of rosewater come through, soft and romantic, and offers a subtle maturity to the perfume that I really like. I think this would wear wonderfully during any season, but seems perfect for the cooler seasons, which I’m excited about as a December baby. ♐️ Depending on your personality, this perfume could come across as old ladyish or really playful and cute. For me, it’s absolutely the latter. In a world of repetitive, cloying, and predictable gourmands, this definitely stands out. Annabel’s Birthday cake is eclectic, charming, cheeky, totally my vibe, and signature scent worthy for sure!

against all the forces which seek to contain her—godard the director, her museship, her triangle of affair, the income of dance, the theater of decay, interiors from every space, the light, language and the film itself—anna karina’s angéla has always felt a free light burning within godard’s 1961 film une femme est une femme. and she’s the first actor brought to mind in reflecting on marissa zappas’s decadent, intoxicating, playful annabel’s birthday cake, which she designed with astrologer annabel gat. this scent makes me think of joy extracted from rubble. it pulls me feet first out of the decay of our times. it starts off sweet and hypnotic, a luscious display. like I’m elbow deep in childhood past, gorging on my great aunt margaret’s divinity by the mississippi river. the strange effect of vanilla and what seems like an actual candle burning overwhelm. much like anna burning bright and lovely above all the smell of street and tin and brick. the fragrance makes you levitate. your feet can’t touch the ground. after a while it dries down to the most delicate of powdery notes. like skin and melting butter, flaky vanilla and a passing bouquet, the last notes of a party. how could you leave the ebullient, persevering images of anna, the titular woman is woman, and not be deeply present in the sweet mystic of life. like angéla led through her desires, marissa takes lead to show us the intricacies of what sweetness is and can be. it’s a vibrant fragrance that lasts til you dream. anna karina bathed in light and fur collars and primary color and spaces not her own. all you can do is float, high on a decadence that you’ve dreamt of and conjured. a platter of desire 🍰❤️🔥🕯🤩💫