REVIEW: Airheads Birthday Cake

Airheads Birthday Cake

Airheads is celebrating its 30th birthday in 2016.

M&M’s is celebrating its 75th birthday in 2016.

Look, I know that M&M’s flavored like Airheads and Airheads stuffed with M&M’s Minis is probably too much to ask for, but at least give me an HD video of that cute Brown M&M sensually eating a Watermelon Airhead while singing “Happy Birthday, Mr. Candy President.”

Now before you finish typing “how to file a restraining order” into your search bar, hear me out. It took M&M’s — a chocolate candy — all the way until its 73rd birthday to jump the artificially flavored shark and try a birthday cake flavor.

Typically fruity Airheads made this bizarre leap in less than half the time, making me think someone at Airheads HQ Googled “what flavors does Buzzfeed write about please help us we’re out of ideas.”

Airheads Birthday Cake 2

So here I sit with a Birthday Cake Airhead. It looks like someone cut the tongue right out of Yoshi from Super Mario Bros.’ mouth and dunked it in a bowl of Funfetti batter. The slimy gloss on the taffy further supports my grim hypothesis.

I always knew the Pillsbury Doughboy wasn’t right in the head.

Even though feeling the gritty, sticky texture of this Airhead is like sharing Play-Doh with the dopey, drooling kid from pre-school, I bit off a hunk anyway. I chewed, I chewed, the fish in my aquarium evolved a pair of legs, and I continued chewing.

It really does take a long time to chew through this Airhead. I timed it at about 40 seconds for each sizable bite. By the time I finished, my fish were Cro-Magnon men. My journey through time covered several distinct taste eras, so allow me to break this down, National Geographic style.

0-10 seconds: The Buttercream Era

During this period of early development, indigenous Airhead eaters were stunned by just how much it tasted like cake frosting. A palatable butteriness and a lip-smacking whipped cream sweetness allowed them to survive in an otherwise challenging time plagued by a gross mouthfeel.

11-20 seconds: The Vanilla Era.

Our humble, chewing natives experienced a brief period of splendor, as a storm of intense vanilla flavor graced them with its pleasant taste. Faint notes of eggy yellow cake began to grow from the half-chewed Airhead soil, and all were pleased by this harvest.

21-30 seconds: The Powdered Sugar Era

This good fortune could not last. As the mealy mush of chewed Airhead began degrading into a sopping pile of grit within the chewers’ mouths, volcanoes of confectioner’s sugar erupted cloying, glazed lava. Tasters everywhere were sickened by its tooth-rotting sweetness.

31-40 seconds: The “I Don’t Even Know Anymore, Dude” Era

Ruin befell the Airhead eaters. All that remained after their earlier tragedy were puddles of sugar granules and saliva, as well as an off-putting waxy aftertaste that radiated from the backs of their throats. They say, “those who don’t learn from history are bound to repeat it,” and these chewers were idiots. So they took another bite.

Airheads Birthday Cake 3

That’s the Cliffs Notes version. For a while, this taffy actually did taste uncannily like a heavily frosted birthday cake. The problem is that cake flavor and taffy texture together is about as appealing as nuts and gum. It’s an odd experience that might be worth the novelty, but Airheads would have been better off choosing a safer flavor. Pineapple upside-down cake? Banana crème pie? Anyone? Bueller?

Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to study the next chapter on 7-10pm: The “Stuffs his Face with Crispy M&M’s and Cries” Period.

(Nutrition Facts – 1 bar – 60 calories, 5 calories from fat, 1 gram of fat, 0 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 10 milligrams of sodium, 142 grams of carbohydrates, 9 grams of sugar, and 0 grams of protein..)

Purchased Price: $1.89
Size: 6 bar variety pack
Purchased at: Kroger
Rating: 4 out of 10
Pros: Brief buttercream blasts. Fleeting vanilla resplendence. Chewing for long enough to kill time at the DMV. The Brown M&M.
Cons: Sarcastically exclaiming, “cake and taffy: together at last!” Slimy, saliva-soaked sugar paste. Birthday candle aftertaste. The Pillsbury Dahmer-boy.

SPOTTED ON SHELVES: Lay’s Kettle Cooked Lattice Cut Sea Salt Potato Chips

Lay's Kettle Cooked Lattice Cut Sea Salt Potato Chips

I’m surprised this wasn’t one of the original flavors when Lay’s introduced their lattice cut chips two years ago. (Spotted by Marvo at Times.)

If you’re out shopping and see an interesting new product on the shelf, snap a picture of it, and send us an email ([email protected]) with where you found it and “Spotted” in the subject line. Or reply to us (@theimpulsivebuy) on Twitter with the photo, where you spotted it, and the hashtag #spotted. If you’ve tried the product, share your thoughts about it in the comments.

SPOTTED ON SHELVES: 7-Eleven Cherry and Blue Raspberry Slurpee Cotton Candy

7-Eleven Cherry and Blue Raspberry Slurpee Cotton Candy

You won’t get brain freeze with these, but you’ll definitely get sticky fingers. (Spotted by Chris B at 7-Eleven.)

If you’re out shopping and see an interesting new product on the shelf, snap a picture of it, and send us an email ([email protected]) with where you found it and “Spotted” in the subject line. Or reply to us (@theimpulsivebuy) on Twitter with the photo, where you spotted it, and the hashtag #spotted. If you’ve tried the product, share your thoughts about it in the comments.

SPOTTED ON SHELVES – 3/11/2016

Here are some interesting new and limited edition products found on store shelves by us and your fellow readers. If you’ve tried any of the products, share your thoughts about them in the comments.

Kit Kat Big Kat

Kit Kat Big Kat

No sharing! All of the Big Kat is going in my big mouth! (Spotted by Chibi at Walmart.)

Sara Lee Strawberry Cheesecake and Classic Cheesecake Individual Slices

Sara Lee Strawberry Cheesecake and Classic Cheesecake Individual Slices

Again, no sharing! A slice of cheesecake by Sara Lee is all going inside of me! (Spotted by Jen H at Publix.)

Woolworths Breakfast is Served Ice Cream

Woolworths Breakfast is Served Ice Cream

I wonder if any Australians ate this for breakfast. I would. (Spotted by Jason at Woolworths in Australia.)

Lorissa's Kitchen Ginger Teriyaki Chicken Cuts and Korean Barbeque Steak Strips

Lorissa’s Kitchen Ginger Teriyaki Chicken Cuts and Korean Barbeque Steak Strips

Lorissa's Kitchen Szechuan Peppercorn Steak Strips and Sweet Chili Pork Cuts

Lorissa’s Kitchen Szechuan Peppercorn Steak Strips and Sweet Chili Pork Cuts

Lorissa’s refrigerator in her kitchen must be full of meat. (Spotted by Lindsay A at Walgreens and Robbie at Walmart.)

Marie Callender's Family Recipes Zesty Tomato

Marie Callender’s Family Recipes Zesty Tomato

Marie Callender's Family Recipes Smoky Cheddar Burger

Marie Callender’s Family Recipes Smoky Cheddar Burger

Marie Callender's Family Recipes Creamy Alfredo

Marie Callender’s Family Recipes Creamy Alfredo

Marie Callender's Family Recipes Homestyle Stroganoff

Marie Callender’s Family Recipes Homestyle Stroganoff

Marie Callender Helper? (Spotted by Amanda at Walmart.)

Fave Strawberry Banana Kiwi and Pomegranate Blueberry Goji Fruit & Vegetable Juice

Fave Strawberry Banana Kiwi and Pomegranate Blueberry Goji Fruit & Vegetable Juice

I bet these aren’t a fave of V8. (Spotted by Josh at Kroger.)

Thank you to all the photo contributors! If you’re out shopping and see an interesting new product on the shelf, snap a picture of it, and send us an email ([email protected]) with where you found it and “Spotted” in the subject line. Or reply to us (@theimpulsivebuy) on Twitter with the photo, where you spotted it, and the hashtag #spotted. If you do so, you might see your picture in our next Spotted on Shelves post.

SPOTTED ON SHELVES: Blue Bunny Cookies ‘n Cream and Vanilla Chocolate Chip Funwich

Blue Bunny Cookies 'n Cream Funwich and Vanilla Chocolate Chip Funwich

The cookies ‘n cream one is a chocolate cookie layered with cookies ‘n cream reduced fat ice cream and dipped in white confectionary coating. The other one features a chocolate chip cookie layered with creamy vanilla flavored reduced fat ice cream and dipped in milk chocolate flavored coating. They both look fun. But the stick in them also looks fun. I could spend hours playing doctor with one of those. (Spotted by Dorothy M at Giant Eagle.)

If you’re out shopping and see an interesting new product on the shelf, snap a picture of it, and send us an email ([email protected]) with where you found it and “Spotted” in the subject line. Or reply to us (@theimpulsivebuy) on Twitter with the photo, where you spotted it, and the hashtag #spotted. If you’ve tried the product, share your thoughts about it in the comments.

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