Last Birthday Cake

This perfume, as well as all the perfumes of this great perfumer that I have touched, tell me the story. The association that comes to mind is with the word FAITH. It takes me straight to an Orthodox church and I feel good. Milk, wheat in the church, candles, it smells very strongly of a temple...that special sweet smell in our ortodox churches. I love going into temples, and what could be better than the aroma that takes me there, without even having to physically find myself in that space. Almond-milk cake and church. I can almost taste this fluffy milky consistency by smelling the aroma: fluffy chocolate sponge cake with nuts and almonds, dried fruits piled high with sugar, vanilla pods drowned in milk. My mother always puts alcohol in the cake. Isn't that an Eastern European/ Balkan trick? I give my mother a liqueur, and she hides it in the cupboard and says with a wink: "It's for cakes, we won't drink it!". It is amazing to me how I look at the pyramid and I can feel every single note that is presented there. Incense; melted wax; flowers; oils and myrrh... Burning incense means redemption and creates a feeling of divine delight. Doesn't eating a delicious cake also bring this holy delight? Here I also find a playfulness between the candles that we blow out on each of the cakes, even over the years until the last candles that will light our loved ones in our memory. It is not sad, it is beautiful. I see this perfume as a manifesto of the life we are going through and I want to accept it as a means of expression and art. Since I was a child, I have loved going to church. I remember how many times in my life I have been asked: "Where do you want to go today?" And how many times I have answered: "To the church." The scents of incense and candles are some of my favorite notes in perfumes, they take me back to the last moments of faith, peace and love. This perfume makes me feel like I'm back in those last carefree days when everything was simple and beautiful. I wish today for one person to imagine and believe in this story about at least the creation of the perfume Last Birthday Cake, instead of the replicated story of the sought-after sensations on TikTok about a person committing suicide on their Birthday.

At first, I didn’t like it. I had to sit with it for several hours before I became it grew on me and that’s rare for me. Usually, if I dislike a fragrance, I’m completely over it by hour three, but for this one something about it grew on me and I started to really love this. I'm pretty much in the same boat as @monipod about falling in love with this slowly. To me this has this existential type of feeling to it, happy but bittersweet. Like being in your elder years, blowing out candles on your 99th birthday cake, surrounded by loved ones and your dog at your side. But you have a speech impediment now and you struggle to speak clearly, and can't quite do the things you once loved the way you used to before. There's pride in having made it this far, you are no longer afraid of death anymore, but deep down you know it's right around the corner one day, so you've had people help you arrange foster care for your dog who will outlive you. The smell itself? It's a little bit complicated as shifts dramatically depending on how you apply it, which is a flaw with this fragrance but I'm willing to look past that here. But yeah, wearing this perfume is a balancing act. the less you apply, the better it behaves. Apply too much, and it smells unpleasant, apply it lightly, and it smells amazing, but fades quickly. So you'll need to carry a travel spray and reapply it carefully. When applied lightly: Not quite fresh cake, but more like licking store-bought buttercream frosting off a cold metal spoon, with a chemical tang lingering at the back of your throat because you ate too much sugar. It also smells vaguely of the inside of a gas station, a burnt match, tree bark, and dust. It is very charming, sugary but with just enough edge to avoid being juvenile. Overapplied: It smells a little pissy, dry, and like cat litter or brushing your hand over something coated in dust. Not nearly as pleasant. I will say, if I were ever given the chance to buy as many Toskovat’ perfumes as I wanted, this one would absolutely go into my basket. It’s not perfect, and it’s not my all-time favorite from the house, but it is still great and I enjoy it a lot. I hope we never lose Toskovat’. This is becoming my favorite perfume house.

So. I'm going to begin by addressing the elephant in the room, which is that... this is not nearly as subversive as the edgy marketing copy and notes would lead you to believe. In fact, it's incredibly wearable. I do think part of this is due to the social media discourse around Toskovats being these ~super crazy~ frags when a lot of them are not that outlandish. Now that I've gotten the negativity out of the way? This is a real treat of a fragrance, and might be a FB purchase once I get through my 1ml. The gunpowder note manifests as a sting of something metallic at the opening, but it's not strong and quickly fades. The best way I can describe the drydown is eating cake- the sticky, less sweet retro kind, not the fondant-and-icing birthday cake kind (ironically)- in a church. With your bare hands. And no matter how much you wash your hands, they feel sticky and syrupy, and you're going to get yelled at for eating what you shouldn't have. I tend to have issues picking out individual notes in Toskovats, but there's an ambery incense over the whole thing that adds depth and nuance here. It simultaneously tempers the (six!!) sweet gourmand notes while imparting this melancholic, moody vibe. This is really a masterclass in blending because everything works so well. It's a funky and unique take on what is, on paper, a scent profile that's been done by every house under the sun. Like every other Toskovat I've tried, the longevity and sillage are absurd. I kept my sample tightly shut in my purse for a full weekend and now the entire inside smells like rum cake. I also would file this under True Unisex- I don't think I could see a super ultra masc manly man or a hyper femme fairy princess wearing this, but it should be accessible to 98% of people tbh Takeaway: If you go into this expecting a Love Don't Be Shy style sweet gourmand bomb or photorealistic cake, you will be disappointed. If you go into this expecting some super edgy "OMG this frag is so HAUNTING" experience, you will be disappointed. But... if you want a nuanced and melancholic yet sweet gourmand, this is a must-try :)

Wow... okay, there is a lot to unwrap here; Firstly, this smells like a depressive gourmand fragrance, which is so unique, Toskovat' captures the motif of a last birthday so perfectly, it's sweet, it's in a way creamy, boozy but melancholic. From the first smell I was immediately reminded of something but I cannot wrap my head around what it is... once I figure it out I will edit this post but right now all I get is some memory with my grandparents (maybe?). So this gives it a plus point from my end. As I mentioned the smell is captivating, beautiful, dark, depressive in a way but is still absolutely wearable, very nostalgic to me. The first ONE spray, which I did in my car, had my throat and nose begging for fresh air, so the strength is undeniable here; Longevity, I put one spray on the top of my hand at about 11am, it is now 9pm exactly and I can still very well smell it, but it has dried down to an amazing coca-ish, milky buttery vanilla cake scent with noticeable incense, 9.5/10 (I want to see how much longer this lasts and I will edit it accordingly) Sillage, on my skin it was a BEAST in the first two hours, over two arms length easily, then it gradually gets closer to the skin but never becomes skin hugging, even now as I am typing this my nose is picking up trails of the scent. 10/10 It's perfectly unisex, but I do NOT recommend blind buying especially with some retailing prices now.

I've finally recived LBC. I wore it today and yesterday and I think that I have formed my opinion on it (mostly). Yesterday, I wore it on my hand. I got: - Heavy incense & reisins, gunpowder and booze in the opening - A milky, gourmand and beautiful vanilla cake in the drydown. Today, I wore this scent properly. Two fully pressurized sprays on each side of my neck. The experience was something else, no other fragrance acted the way this did. Once applied, I was HIT and when i say HIT, I mean it. The gunpowder & incense were so so so strong, It felt like I was hit by a bullet and I can smell the smoke all around me (it also reminded me of firecrackers (it's that kind of smokeyness)). At one point, I began coughing and the fragrance stung my throath, it was painfull. Once that was done, the gunpowder was less prominent and the incense took over along with the congac. After that, I went fully noseblind to it LBC. It was so strong that I went noseblind so so fast. I could tell that it was strong because it filled up my entire house with ease. The longevity was superb, it lasted me from the morning to the night. LBC left me satisfied as it is kinda pushing the bounderies of what I would normally wear (usually I don't wear incense & gunpowder scents). A wild ride of a fragrance, in my top 5 of all time because of the impact that it had on me when I wore it.

Woow, I think Toskovat and David-Lev Jipa-Slivinschi are rediscovering the path Bertrand Duchaufour has introduced in 2013 with his line Explosions d'Emotions for L'Artisan Parfumeur. I especially find the similarities between Age Of Innocence and Deliria, and Last Birthday Cake and Amour Nocturne. The point of Explosions d'Emotions line was to hit the emotions and tell a story, not so much to smell nice and be wearable. And so are the Toskovat perfumes. Since the Explosions are mostly discontinued now, I am so happy I've found a brand with the same feeling. And not just that! The perfumes are actually different, evolved and unique, which makes me even happier. Last Birthday Cake reminds me a lot of Amour Nocturne. The scents are different, Amour Nocturne has notes of gunpowder, milk, caramel and orchid. But they hold almost the same story and are similarly poetic. Amour Nocturne is my very favourite perfume, so you can imagine how thankful I am to a nice guy in my local niche shop, who have introduced me to Last Birthday Cake. I have described Amour Nocturne as a narrow street in Sicily, where you have a baby equipment shop on one side of the street and a funeral service on the other. Like when the young the old mix up, there's something morbid in it, but also so innocent it breaks my heart.

oh how i absolutely love this one. the only warm gourmand from toskovat that im aware of, which is surprising to see and also surprisingly well done!!! for those who might not like true dense, full bodied gourmands or even the other many dense smoky incense heavy scents from toskovat, i encourage you to at least obtain a sample of this one because of how unique and wearable it is. unlike the others, this one is a perfect balance between “normal” and deviant, whereas some of the others are more of a concept art rather than a wearable fragrance. you can definitely smell all the notes it says it has, or at least what you’d expect the combination to be. it’s not overly sweet whatsoever, slightly reminiscent of tiramisu without the coffee or at the very least something adjacent. i love when desserts are properly incorporated into non gourmand scents and given enough spotlight without being overshadowed, and in this everything compliments each other so wonderfully. after smelling some of the others, i didn’t expect to like this one very much but was pleasantly surprised. it smells like the perfectly not so sweet dessert and has many of my favorite notes in here. highly recommend

this is my personal 21th birthday cake, i've just blown out the candles and the soft, thin layer of smoke lingers on the lavendar and pale yellowed colored buttercream that's been sitting out just long enough to crust. I cut into the cake not with a knife but with my bare hands, breaking that fragile crust and tasting the smoky sugary vanillic flavor that dances on my tongue to my sad lullaby. when the dance is done it leaves behind an aftertaste of bittersweet brandy that twists my mind and taints my blood, granting me a sweet escape I had been craving so desperately. to me personally this is a love letter to the 20 somethings girls and fems that cry on their birthday

Okay. My first reaction was literally, "heavy Arab perfume" But when the weather got colder, it completely changed on my skin, and suddenly I couldn’t stop smelling my wrist. Very beautiful dark gourmand. It gives retro postcard feeling. There is cherry, but none of that thick, syrupy cherry that attacks. It is soft, velvety, and blends really nicely with the smoke, ambergris kind of gunpowder, tonka and other similiar notes. If I smelled this on someone outside, I’d probably think: "That’s a really tasty winter scent. Probably someone who smokes hookah." To me it leans feminine, but guys who like sweet scents could definitely wear it. Ended up loving it 9/10

probably my favorite toskovat' scent. this is the only fragrance from this house where i can physically feel the melancholic and heavy, unsettling mood. a very melancholic gormand you could say.. its like the time flew by too fast: youre 99 years old, sitting on your wooden kitchen chair with all of your lovely family around celebrating your birthday. you lack any teeth to bite into the chocolate cake that your daughter baked for you and (you think) youre the happiest you've ever been- but there is something ominous coming for you, and you finally start to realize these are your last days on this world. truly a work of art

Last Birthday Cake wasn't so much "cakey" as it was smoky and mysterious. Which is strange, as typically smoky scents disappear on my skin in an instant, but it was nice to enjoy it. It was boozy and smoky with a milky tone lying underneath it! There is a cakeyness to it, but it's red velvet and minute. Very, very good! It becomes powerful after a bit, which is concerning as I dont like my perfume to be annoying, but it died down so it veers more masculine than unisex, but not too far, still extremely unique. The gunpowder also makes its way front and center. 8/10!

Extremely smokey within the first few seconds and then it turned into a beautiful, delicious sweet gourmand. The smokiness takes a backseat to the sweetness and it became very interesting for me, while I loved the vanilla, I felt like I could still smell the smoke and gunpowder lingering. It wasn’t bad at all once the cognac smell started to come through it all blended together beautifully with the sweet vanilla cake at the forefront. Definitely something I’d wear on special occasions.

Maybe I just got a bad sample, but for me the scent comes across as overwhelmingly smoky - not sweet at all. I think it might dry down better, maybe? If not, I'm willing to trade for something gourmand! Okay, after a full day of wearing... I do hate it, but I'm going to buy another sample. The dry down evolved into a cakey scent after a few hours, which was perplexing, as this is supposed to be the top note. I have a headache from smelling this all day - but I can't get enough...

My signature scent. This perfume is like a wistful slice of cake that’s been left to cool in a quiet room, sweet, smoky, nostalgic, and a bit sad. Think of milk, bitter almond, and a rich cake note giving that gourmand, dessert like feeling. It’s not just sugary and sweet, it has a touch of incense, booze, and even a gunpowder-y feeling in the background, that brings drama and a hint of darkness. Delicious, edible and mind blowing scent. My favorite gourmand of all time, 10/10.

I acquired this fragrance a few months back and WOW, i was taken aback by the beautiful note of vanilla, custard and brown sugar really capturing my senses and completely reminding me of my mothers cooking. When it dried down I captured a love for the gunpowder being radiated off my skin however not too overpowering. This is now my everyday scent and I usually spray around 8-10 because i really cannot get enough due to the weak performance. WOULD DEFO RECCOMEND

Dark, gloomy, and sweet, this is a cake scent with perfect nuance that stays true to its name, Last Birthday Cake, and the story behind it. It’s a vanilla fragrance with enough artistic expression to stand apart from the thousands of generic vanilla/tonka dry downs you see so often today. It’s definitely not for everyone, but the gunpowder and incense notes tie it all together, leaving you with somber feeling after experiencing this art in a bottle.

Really intriguing and artistic scent, I wish it wasn’t so difficult to get your hands on. The incense and almond notes are very present from start to finish. You can clearly smell the vanilla and sweetness of cake, with heavy smokiness and the gunpowder fading in as the fragrance settles. I really love the experience and feelings it evokes, it’s very eerie and also nostalgic.. I hope I can get my hands on a full size sometime

I ordered a sample and like someone else had mentioned, I too did not get the sweet gourmand first notes. It is more incense like, smoky, with a bit of fading sweetness left. Either way it smells amazing, after a few hours of wear it starts to remind me of an old church, a sweet smoke that hugs you tight and is so warmly... comforting? I have never gotten this many compliments wearing a perfume.

After owning it for a year and getting a second bottle of it, I can say that I know LBC quite well. Fall is around the corner and I can't wait to wear this one again. The initial opening was sometimes hard to swallow but the drydown is great. It is really complex and every time I have worn it, I smelled more and more notes. If you dig hard enough, you will smell all of the listed notes.

I’m not sure if it’s psychological but it genuinely smells sad. I can clearly detect a strong brandy note and there’s also a gunpowder like scent. When I spray it, the fragrance surrounds me as I walk and in enclosed spaces people can pick it up very easily. It’s a perfume that makes me feel deeply melancholic, yet I love it. It’s my favorite from Toskovat and among all my fragrances.