How many obsessions can I have? A lot, apparently. I wait all year for this scent to come out. I could never pick out wtf was in it besides vanilla. But I knew it was more than that because even though I love bakery scents, im not one to just go for a plain vanilla body spray. It smells too...vanilla-ey. I like a fragrance with depth, a fragrance with volume.
Vanilla Bean Noel is really unlike any other vanilla scent with the name "Vanilla" in it I have tried. For example, the cotton candy and cupcake body sprays don't count. Most of the time, scent's like that do have a note or two more then your average vanilla.
Vanilla Bean Noel smells like vanilla, yes. But it also has something in there that reminds me of an ice cream fragrance or something. It is much sweeter than just vanilla and smells like a creamy bowl of.....cotton candy ice cream? When I read the bottom of my Vanilla Bean Noel candle, here's what it said:
yep! It's that caramel mixed with cream in there that makes my brain go right to a bowl of creamy ice cream topped with sweet caramel. It's weird to me that sometimes you can smell the creaminess or tartness of the scent. How do they do that? Yah no? It really boggles my mind thinking about how in the world they get something like cake batter extract....Who knows. In all fairness, this is a light hearted beauty/lifestyle blog, and not a very scientific one! Thank-God!
Here's a quick breakdown:
The Lotion: My personal favorite! It smells just like the candle description, which is just what the candle smells like (see previous paragraph). I sometimes wear this alone, without either of the body spray or shower gel and it holds it's own. In fact, this is the sole product that glues the 3 of them together if I were to layer the spray & wash with it. Plus, the lotion is the lingerer of the bunch. I apply and re-apply once every few hours and I get a whiff every know and again.
The Body Wash: Runner up to the lotion. It smells just like the lotion and the candle does (see pre-previous paragraph). Worn with the other two on top of it (the lotion and body spray) really brings out all of the notes of the fragrance, not missing a beat. Worn alone I would say it is so-so. Smells great at first but isn't much of a lingerer without the other two, or the lotion at the least.
The Body Spray: If I were to judge the whole entire Vanilla Bean Noel line on this product only, I wouldn't be too impressed. My bff Alex swears it smells exactly like the lotion but amped up by 10. To me, I smell nothing but that bland, boring, one note, run-of-the-mill, average joe, vanilla scent I was talking about earlier. Without any of that yummy dessert-in-a-bowl finesse to it. However, layering it with the other 2? Your golden!
The Candle: Smells just like that description I gave (or the one on the candle. Your choice!) And because it's only a medium candle, the scent throw doesn't go farther than my bedroom. That is only because of it;s size as far as im concerned. I love this little baby. I wanna big one.
If I had the money....
I would buy 1 of each bakery fragrance Philosophy has to offer. Why have I passed them up for the past few years? I was in Ulta today and we spent a few minutes smelling each one. My cousin always get's Philosophy 3 in 1's and she always helps me write down all of the recipes. I remember we spent an hour one 4th of July doing just that. Maybe if Philosophy ever goes on sale.
I bought all of this stuff plus two 3 wick candles at Bath & Body Works on Black Friday for a total of around $20 for everything. I love those types of sales. Here's the rest of the stuff I bought in this video. To find out more about the 3 wick candles I bought click me
What's your favorite Christmas fragrance?
Do you make videos too?
talk to me!
xx
Erica
