American Girl - Hopes and Dreams

I had both the original perfume and lotion back in 2008 (aka at 7 yo). I may have lost the perfume somewhere, but I still have the lotion - only to squeeze the bottle and smell the air time to time. The original notes on the bottle are creamy vanilla, caramel and white lily. The stand out scents are the vanilla and caramel. The white lily is almost like a blending scent ig. I see people mentioning the fruity scent which I disagree. For the perfume, it was pretty faint but it faded pretty quickly. For the lotion, the fruity scent is practically nonexistent. Both have a faint plastic (similar to a new American doll funny enough) scent once it dries. If you experience the rest of the fragrances of the Truly Me line, this was somewhat common (not so much for the lotions though). I wish there was scent like this nowadays. It’s a vanilla caramel perfume that isn’t musky or smoky but not as obnoxious as some gourmands that are panhandled on TikTok. Reminds me of ice rinks and clicking sounds of a blinking American Girl doll.

nondescriptly sweet fragrance. it's a perfect gift for little girls who want to wear fancy perfume just like the grownups do. i know this because i remember getting gifted this stuff as a kid. very nostalgic !

My first bottle of perfume ever. A gift from my aunt that I cherished and sparked my love of perfume. So very syrupy and sweet, it reminds me of

The second fine fragrance from American Girl promised Hopes and Dreams. Instead, all I got was vanilla and those weird fruit flavored jelly filled marshmallows that taste like synthetic sugar. Compared with the first American Girl fine fragrance Truly Me, which was a bright blend of non-descript white florals with a kiss of spun sugar, Hopes and Dreams comes in as a punch of vanilla (my remaining bottle has turned dark due to the vanilla content) with synthetic fruit-like sweetness. The drydown is pure vanilla. I get no floral notes from this blend at all. Perhaps that's a good thing... I'll admit I wore this when this first came out when I was 20. I liked smelling like a vanilla cookie with those fake fruit bits you get when you buy a flavored muffin mix. Not so much now. Hopes and Dreams is perfect for a little girl who likes sweet stuff, or for someone who won't splurge on a bottle of Britney Spears Fantasy. Go ahead and splurge on the Fantasy. You can thank me later.

It smells like a doll. Seriously. Plastic with a faint hint of plasticky vanilla. Interesting, really.... but not very nice, to be honest. Unless you like the 'doll smell'.