The Sun Card

I've been testing out a decant from Lucky and I find myself craving this one, though it's not my usual style. Bought this on a whim as it was described as “sunshiney,” which is exactly what I need during the mostly gloomy weather afflicting NYC lately. It does not disappoint! It it sunshiney, not in a tropical sense or a beachy one, but warm beams of sun on a hot, dry summer day in the country, hitting the hay bale you’re sitting on in a field of wildflowers. That golden, sweet hay is definitely there throughout, while Heliotrope, a flower/note that is admittedly not one I know well, gives it slight (but not too sweet) marzipan/lactonic heart. I don’t pick out frangipani, but there is something narcotically floral hidden within. The sweet orange is there to pull it all together, but it’s so beautifully blended it adds more sunshine than citrus. It’s full of air and light, peaceful, lovely and transporting to someplace far, far away from dirty subways, winter coats, and cold rain. There’s something in the dry down that reminds me a little of Francesca Bianchi’s Under My Skin, that warm skin note. I smell this wafting around myself all day with just drops from a dabber, and I can still smell it on my skin the next morning. I can definitely imagine reaching for it throughout the warmer months.

Marissa Zappas’ The Sun Card is Lana’s Tulsa Jesus Freak “White hot forever” meets Fishtail “Wearin nothin but the summer bruises on my knees...” I sat down at my sewing machine on a cold, snowy day to test this one out. I was immediately whisked away to an idyllic utopia where golden sun warms the grass that crunches beneath your feet—it hasn’t rained in a while—and children are running and laughing around a swimming pool. It’s a family party and you’re older now, but you slip into that gooey nostalgic part of you that smiles as if it’s your first one. I can’t wear this and not be happy. It opens sweet and slowly sinks down into a creamy, almost fruity frangipani. It reminds me of the outside of a banana peel. The impression is skin painted a pink hue, it’ll fade to tan tomorrow. Comparable to the honey-goodness of Chanel’s Beige, although I think I like this one better! Beige is reminiscing on a memory, The Sun Card is creating new ones.

the mental snapshot i get from this harkens back to the summers i've spent visiting my bf's late grandmother in rural northern Michigan. i've been smelling wildflowers and drinking citrus beers in the sunshine all day long, and the scent of the outdoors lingers on my skin once it's time to turn in for the night. I attribute this to the hay note that gives The Sun Card that vintage leaning, slightly animalic vibe that i feel is signature to a marissa zappas frag. lasts FOREVER on my skin, literally 12 hours which is rare for me. strong in the opening but mellows out while staying noticeable. I sprayed it on my skin whenever i woke up in the morning, and while i was winding down late that evening (around 2 am) my bf told me i smelled "reeeally good." an unexpected and unique take on a summer fragrance that stands out among the plethora of either overly fresh or tropical-leaning fruity florals.

it's a perfect florida summer afternoon, and i'm toeing through the yard in my childhood home. there's only one way to tell if the white and yellow plumeria smell different than the pink and yellow plumeria, and i'll pick as many from their branches as i can before my mom catches me. my fingers are still sticky with their milky, fragrant sap when i go to brush off the dried grass from where i sat in the shade to indulge in the pleasure of freshly bloomed flowers. just...wow. olfactive memory goes crazy with the frangipani notes. hay notes in a straw-hat kinda way. i don't think that i could ever describe a floral amber with citrus as being dainty, but here we are, and i am, frankly, obsessed.

i love, love, LOVE how marissa incorporates heliotrope into her scents, especially this one where it really transports you somewhere warm and carefree and almost seaside tropical- it's almost giving coastal grandmother?? the amber and hay really ground this fragrance and give it an earthy, solid character, but the frangipani brightens up the entire scent profile to bring out the fresh, sweet and green aspects. this worked super well with my skin and dried down to be very creamy and soft, an amazing summer frag to add to the lineup imo!

Liquid Light in a bottle. This perfume makes me feel happy, not in a giddy way, but a deep grounded kind of joy. It's soft, sensual and subtle; but ever noticeable when you apply it. Just as you would notice the warm sunshine coming out from behind a cloud and onto your skin. I love the scent of frangipani flowers but it is often cloying in perfumes. The Sun Card captures the way they scent the summer air perfectly. This perfume makes me feel grateful for all the good things in life.

this is what i wear when i feel depressed and want to forcefully cheer myself up. the hay note makes me think a bit of sleepaway camp. as the day goes on it gets less citrus and more cozy and amber, which makes it feel like it perfectly aligns as the day goes on, if you put it on in the morning it’ll be it’ll smell morningy and by the afternoon it smells afternoony. this lasted about 8 hours on my skin.

a delicate, tropical floral enlivened by a ghost of a hint of plastic that brings up visceral summer nostalgia. orange, hot pink, and (most of all) creamy golden sandy yellow. it doesn't smell like sunscreen, but it makes you THINK about sunscreen, big hats, and hot sidewalks.

A beautiful and warm floral fragrance; imagine enjoying a champagne picnic in a field during the golden hour—effervescent, with the aroma of wildflowers carried by the gentle breeze, enveloped by dappled sunlight. The imagery this perfume gives is truly splendid.

One of my favorite recent scents. I think the most common thing this scent smells like is baby powder, which is funny because I'm not a fan of baby powder! Mixed with the hay other notes, it manages to smells so warm and summery. A truly "happy" scent. :)

oh I adoreeee this. clean and sunny. a big summer garden filled with citrus and the brightest flowers you can imagine. smells like an award-winning european travel show on pbs, if that makes any sense.

Sun-dried and smiling...making daisy chains sat on the grass. Smells like a silver lining. The whole Garden Collection is soft and warm, but this is my favourite of the three.

I can’t stop smelling myself! Smells super nostalgic, warm, truly sunny. I get a bit of sunscreen, floral notes, and warm hay. A very warm and happy scent.

it smells very similar to beach walk by maison margiela but i'd say it's even better, i'm surprised there's no jasmine in this. love!

Sundress no panties type of vibe!!!

An earnest, angelic, sunshine-yellow floral. Both pollen-y and nectary. One of the happiest scents I've ever smelled – but an artificial happiness, like your Wellbutrin is really kicking in. The heart of The Sun Card is breathy, powdery, and so aggressively innocent you could never get angry at it. The star of the show – the plumeria/frangipani – smells true to life and adds a tropical-toned, creamy sweetness. If you are a member of the ylang-ylang gang, I expect this’ll be a hit. Zappas does a mean hay, but I can’t detect it here. Plays like the G-rated version of Universal Flowering’s Heliotrope Milkbath. Mental Snapshot: A memory box, sun-faded and tender with memories. A handknit baby blanket, dried blooms from a holiday abroad, scented stationery from grade school crushes. You lay in your childhood bed, basking in the afternoon sunshine, drifting back in time. tl;dr: precious petals 🌼😇

I admire how bright and regal this scent is. This and Mimosa Myrrh (in the same Garden collection) feature a darling heliotrope top note, which I'm quickly falling head over heels for (so sweet, powdery and lovely!) The frangipani, orange, and spices mingle well together; cheerful and zesty without being a dead ringer for your average fruity-floral. What prevents this from being a love– sometimes I sniff it a little too closely and the sweet hay starts to remind me of beer, which I enjoy on its own, but usually I don't plan on smelling like it. Other times it's fine, and reminds me of dry California summers. It's surely just a personal problem on my end (maybe its just so summery that it makes me want to crack open a cold one?)

Entirely floral. Pleasant. Almost reminds me of toned-down magnolia? Fades within a few hours. In the context of the tarot, The Sun means an aftermath of simplicity, joy, and beauty following a difficult transformation. It is about seeing everything as holy. "I ceaselessly herald the end of night," to quote Jodorowsky speaking for The Sun. It is in this light that I must agree with others: this fragrance is simple. But perhaps we mean something different by that. I have put on a bit from my tester when I need this simple joy, as the days shorten and chill. It is moderately effective.

Soft, creamy, and light. I get an almost honeyed floral scent with soft dried greens in the back (likely the hay note). The nectar of the Frangipani is the main thing I smell, though it isn't cloying or nauseating as it sometimes can be for me. Florals to the front, it reminds me heavily of my mother. Not only because it is reminiscent of the perfumes she enjoys, simple and sweet, but her bright and calming demeanor. I certainly won't be buying a full bottle, however I'll be keeping my sample for when I need a comforting and soft scent to brighten my day.

I’m thoroughly in my floral era, and the more I sample the more I realize that I adore a tropical bloom. This is all lush frangipani and hay with heliotrope at the open and a touch of powdery amber in the drydown. Unabashedly summery but without those typical notes I used to asociate with summer perfumes like citrus and coconut. Though delightful, it doesn’t have the best lasting power and stays pretty close to the skin. The brief time with it I do get is lovely though if not simple.

my first encounter with frangipani! and it's so pretty and contented, with a faint plasticky (?) note that gives it a playful and summery air. the orange doesn't sweeten too much, but rather creates a gelled core, like a soft fruit gummy. it feels like hazy rays of sunlight casted right into the laughing open face of the flower. i wish i could apply this in my sleep so i could smell it as soon as i wake up ^~^

I mostly smell some clean mimosa, herb and orange. It almost smells like some sort of natural orange juice to me. It's nice, but not nice enough to buy I guess, unless I feel for a very light orange fragrance. It does stand by its name though, the sun card. It really does smell sunny.

The florals where such a surprise to me! Fluffy white florals envelope the sunscreen and solar notes. Sun shine shimmers across the lake as friends help each other put on a second layer of sunscreen, hot skin, happiness, light laughter dances across the group.

My grandma and her house smelled just like this. She was a big powdery farmer’s wife, and their house always smelled like clean hay and sunshine. The Sun Card evokes the yellow center of a frangipani blossom with its face turned toward the sun.

Smells like natural honey with a bouquet of fresh white flowers next to it. It also has a bit of dry sort of flower pollen undertones with a bit of green facets. It’s nice, but a bit too heavy (on flowers) for my liking.

This is lovely! It's creamy and sweet. Heliotrope and hay quickly melt into fluffy plumeria. Relaxed like a day on the beach. This lasted about 3 hours on me and turned into vanilla-amber at the end.

A creamy yellow floral with a gorgeous dry down. It’s a mature scent and it doesn’t evoke citrus in the way a normal “sun shine” fragrance does so be warned there but it’s a lovely summer wear

This definitely isn't unisex in my opinion. All my nose picks up is a bit of amber and light florals. I wish my wife liked this, but she hates anything floral lol.

Heliotrope, breezy hay, and touches of fresh orange. This is lovely. Reminds me a lot of L'ete en douce and En passant. Very Olivia Giacobetti-ish.

Heliotrope and frangipani. Light and powdery. Doesn't stay on me for long

A big fat no from me💔 I was expecting something more bright and solar and this is overcast skies. Without looking at the notes I got light airy florals and something aldehydic and fresh in there which is the heliotrope i guess. I got a whiff of Honey? I think it’s the frangipani there’s nothing else I can attribute that to. Something creamy in there like a nose scratchy green lactonic vibe but I can’t tell if it’s the perfume or my skin. And I thought I got a sun warmed wood vibe or vetiver like It’s not sweet there’s something subtle and dry in there and it was the hay. ZERO citrus. There’s nothing really bright and atmospheric about this like people kept saying ughhhh 2.5/5... A week later trying it again and being liberal with application and something smells urea ish. Mind you I just showered and moisturized. Im so happy it has shit projection because I get that when I put my nose close to it.

An exceedingly light frangipani scent. And that's all.

This was a miss for me. I’m beginning to recognize that I have a particular aversion to hay notes. There is something in the dry, rustic profile that conjures a sense of dustiness and desolation. Hay, on me, smells emotionally unwelcoming, I really don’t know how else to explain it. Often I find that hay as a notes seems to cast a shadow over a fragrance in a way that I find to be unbearably depressing. The Sun is undoubtedly one of the most miraculous symbols of the Tarot. To draw it is to receive the glow of a blessing. It’s a harbinger of joy, freedom, creativity, vitality, and all those luminous 5th house pleasures. I’m not sure this fragrance evokes any of those feelings for me. The blend as a whole just strikes me as fundamentally discordant. The notes seem to work at odds with one another. Most notably, the juxtaposition of hay/spice notes with plumeria feels especially off puttting. Plumeria is the radiant jewel of the tropics and it’s olfactory quality is easily tainted. The sharpness of the hay dulls the liveliness that plumeria brings. Sorry, I just really hate hay. The florals themselves are fleeting, fading within an hour I’dsay, and leaving behind a faint spice that for me is just hollow and unappealing. I think I would have enjoyed this more had there been additional complementary companions to uplift the Plumeria and soften the harsher edges of the hay and spice.

I'm thinking the florals aren't for me. Reminds me of funeral parlor lilies. Very dry and green too. It might be lovely on someone else.

There's a fragrance by D'orsay that this gives me vibes of but this is much more wearable than that one. The D'orsay fragrance features hay as well but it also features a strong linden blossom and this does not. Perhaps the combo of hay and linden blossom was just too much pasture and not enough perfume for me, but this one does the note of hay right. Hay is a note that I typically steer clear of but I was gifted this sample and I'm not mad about it. It's reminiscent of citrus white florals, fresh air, springtime. It's very much like fresh spring air mixed with freshly bloomed florals being carried in the air, there's some greenery here, and balanced perfectly but ultimately being led and featuring florals. It's very transparent, airy, happy, fresh- like I can feel the cool, crisp, spring air being warmed by white sunshine on my skin.

a lens flare on a treasured photo with worn edges milky powder on warm skin the prayer of the heliotrope something crystal, shimmering the ring of a small clear bell The practicals: I've just run out of my first bottle, and will be ordering my second ASAP. This means something- I'm constantly rotating perfumes/sampling so to go through a full bottle is rare. The more I wear it the more I love it, the more I find in it. This is my go-to bedtime fragrance, something comforting and luminous to ward off nightmares. It is also my "safe scent" for occasions I don't want to risk offense. You'll need to get close to smell this one, which is charming in this case.

This whole collection is really making me happy. I’ve tried Sun Card, Honey Rose, and Smoked Jasmine Black Tea. I really want to try the lilac one because it’s a beautiful note and I just know they did a splendid job. Marissa Zappas can just take my wallet at this point. Here ya go... Sun Card is the most beautiful frangipani fragrance I’ve ever smelled easily. I don’t usually like frangipani although I have tried many times. This one is just so creamy and luxurious. The sweet orange really enhances it, and the hay is surprisingly a nice touch. Sunny and happy and carefree. I’m in my happy place. Don’t bother me.

Oh my god, this smells delicious. I've never smelled plumeria before (I live on the east coast of the US) but it smells like a tropical, summery floral with a bit of sweet orange. My skin turns everything pretty sweet but it's not cloying so. There is also something pollen-y (maybe the hay) that makes it perfect for the spring. I didn't absolutely love the spicy opening but it dissipated within the first five minutes. I'm not getting anything powdery or lactonic as some of the review suggest. Will have to wear this more but I think it will become a warm weather staple.

Yep, yellow creamy floral, just like frangipani. This smells as if you crushed the milky petals between your fingers and the sweet smell it produces from the bush in summer bursts around you. At first before I knew the notes I thought this was like a yellow floral (something like osmanthus or dandelion or mimosa) with Jasmine and a milk/cream/butter acord. Very happy, bright, pure, sunny fragrance. Up close it is very herbal like a chammomile tea that you realised you just poured milk into. Not for me persinally but I am happy to have tried it!

Perfect plumeria- if you have lived in a tropical paradise with these flowers, you will understand this perfume. The other notes are perfectly supportive and the amber dry down is divine. The reviews about this perfume being powdery are very odd to me- there is a dryness from the hay note but I don’t get powder in any way. Go stick your face in live plumeria and then try again with this perfume- it’s perfection. Marissa Zappas is a wizard ✨

It’s sunny and warm, sun baked hay and creamy tropical flowers. The hay accord makes it unlike any your typical tropical floral or sunscreen type of scents. This is the Victorian revival Gunne Sax dress on the beach. Like all of Marissa’s fragrances it is refined and opulent, but in the way I’m imagining the girls of Picnic at Hanging Rock, it is also the liberating feeling of running around in the golden light and laying in the grass.

Bright and tropical. you're on vacation, the sun is shining, there's no punchline. there's tangerine in your ice water. bundles of flowers sold on the side of the road while you drink an orange crush. the windows are open and you're wearing line dried clothes and your childhood stuffed animal lies limp and threadbare and clean in your sheets. this fragrance is slightly fleeting, I only wish it lasted longer

This smells exactly like the ylang ylang deodorant I wore as a hippie in college. It’s not bad, just not as complex or beautiful as I had hoped for. To me, it gives “natural” sunscreen from the co-op and laying in a field of very dry grass. I think I’ll have to try it again in summer, I may have more affection for it in hot weather.

I love this so much. My fav MZ. Really elegant and beautiful, perfect for summer. It smells like a summer daydream. It’s dreamy, it’s romantic, and the hay is really pretty and delicate. Heliotrope adds a softness to it that’s just really pretty. Also the bottle is extremely beautiful. Probably the prettiest design I have ever seen.

reminiscent of road tripping in the summer and you just stopped at a vintage clothing shop. the sun is shining and you can see the dust in the air. florals with a touch of orange but in a way that doesn't feel sharp and green, but rather warm and lived in. I don't have the words to describe it but I was quite enchanted by the smell

It truly is the fragrance of the sun card- in all the best possible ways. Emotionally, it is a smile in a bottle. Scent-wise, it is like an elevated, modern version of a floral blend you might find in a crystal/incense shop in the 90's. It smells like optimism and nostalgia. Its a work of art

If I ever want to smell like I've been running through grass by a field of flowers and hay everywhere I'll wear this. It does smell a lot like grass on a summer day. Interesting scent, don't think I've smelled this smell before. Not for me personally though, I think.

a really intoxicating, thoughtful scent. i love frangipani in any concoction, but here it's especially warm and enchanting :) smells like a sunny day at the pool, and dries down into the trip back home where you're greeted with a warm towel — fresh out of the dryer

A sweet bright floral fragrance that is definitely cheerful and sunny. Drying to a more middle of the road frangipani/honeysuckle simplicity that is still pretty but I’m liking less. Very sweet in the end. Not my thing but pretty.

My nose is picking up something a funky, musky or even a hint of civet on first spray, certainly undertones of traditional french perfumery. It then develops into a sweet summery floral, with any hints of the initial funk fading.