Vanilla Bean Noel

What's in a name?...A Marbled Vanilla-Chocolate-Cheesecake maybe... I always wondered why this vanilla scent had the word Noël in it, it didn't make sense to me to limit a vanilla scent to the holidays since vanilla is so popular. I haven't tried this in the past, but so far I enjoyed it. Although I think I pick up on what other reviewers are noticing in what reads like a slightly fermented note, like in a chocolate-cheesecake (maybe a tiny bit of oud?). The note from the brand lists "sweet buttercream" rather than whipped cream, and "sugar cookie" rather than sweet notes. I don't get a whipped cream, but "sweet buttercream" is closer. I also get a rich & sweet vanilla with hints of caramel, and altogether it reads to me like a marbled vanilla-chocolate cheesecake, which works around this time of year although might be too rich & fermented for summer, and meshes perfectly with the title Vanilla Bean Noël. This is great on its own, or layered with other vanilla scents, ouds, caramels, musks, chocolate and more. Loved it. Enjoy! Contrast to Eclaire Lattafa: These are different, but there are similarities in a rich, deep vanilla with caramel. Eclaire is much more creamy caramel forward, while Vanille Bean Noêl has a fermented chocolate note more forward. Love both for different reasons. Contrast to Eilish Billie Eilish: These are different, but there are similarities in a rich, deep vanilla with chocolate. Eilish has the red berries up top while Vanille Bean Noêl has a fermented note more forward. Love them both. Contrast to Choco Musk Al-Rehab: These are different, but there again similarities in a rich, deep vanilla with chocolate. This may be the closest comparison that I've smelled, but Vanille Bean Noêl has a fermented note more forward. Love them both. Contrast to Vanille Sauvage de Madagascar La Maison de la Vanille: These are different, but there are similarities in a rich, deep vanilla. Vanille Sauvage has a lavender note up top, but Vanille Bean Noêl has a fermented note more forward. Love them both.

October 2002. All the girls on Beauty Buzz were raving about this. I was 28. It was brand spanking new and I've always (almost always!) been enamored with sweet, cakey, vanillic confections. I'd been living in CSP Vanille Abricot, Trish 9, and HM Butterfly, along with several etailer creations. I drove to my local mall and got my own bottle of the lotion, it had a green Christmas wreath on it. Not pop art, just a very realistic wreath. I remember the day. I was wearing a headband, went to Home Depot afterwards, and then had chicken parm at the Macaroni Grill. See, scent can capture a memory, capture a day in the past in glass. It smelled so heavenly my toes curled. I'd never smelled a vanilla so utterly delectable nor so...unusual. It had depth but not from tonka, oud, patchouli, amber, smoke or any other "darker" notes. It had a delicious burnt sugar, caramel edge with a buttery frosting note. Intoxicating. But the damn BBW did it again. Such a dirty deed. The quality of my beloved vanilla masterpiece kept dropping each year like clockwork. They do score points, however, for improving on the spray. They finally were able to capture the deliciousness of the lotion in body spritz instead of the blatant plastic tone it originally had. I stopped buying the lotion (it was one mint green color in the early teens!) and graduated to the cream. Then etailers began duping it and the rest is history. You can even get it in a lasting perfume oil. One of my two favorite vanillas, this gem and another ridiculous cheapie: Vanilla Fantasy (since 1996!) Vanilla Lace is third. Cocoa Pink makes a great dupe!

I only recently discovered Vanilla Bean Noel. Throughout the years I would spray it in stores but couldn’t really pick up anything probably because everyone is constantly spraying things in stores and the smells all mix together. I finally decided to blind buy and try it at home where it won’t mix with surrounding scents and oh my god I’ve been missing out!! This scent is deliciously sweet and gourmand. I wish I bought a lotion to go with the spray. The caramel note is particularly beautiful and unique to my collection. I even get a slight chocolate note. I will address the one time I did pick up a nasty “spoiled milk” smell and that was when I tried layering it with another vanilla scent (Choco Musk if I’m remembering correctly). Immediately after topping VBN over the perfume I picked up that gross spoiled smell and was so confused. It doesn’t smell bad at all on its own. It’s so bizarre but I learned to be careful what I layer this scent with. I never got that nasty smell again. It was a one time thing but I get what people are saying. If you had this experience, maybe avoid layering it and just use the matching lotion and body wash to avoid mixing scents and accidentally getting a bad combo. Chemicals interact with each other sometimes and our noses can also be tricked. It may just be the case that this is a scent that shines on its own but doesn’t layer well with anything due to its composition. Overall despite the one incident, I never had a bad experience again and I absolutely love the scent.

Sweet, warm, creamy, decadent, yummy, softly sweet musky, cozy, comforting A sweet, warm, creamy, and delicious vanilla with a soft touch of caramel. It’s a delectable and heavier vanilla that I would describe overall as a yummy frosting/icing scent. The notes that are the most prominent to me are the warm vanilla, sweet and fluffy whipped cream, cozy benzoin, some creamy caramel, and a sweet and cozy musk base in the deep dry down. Definitely a gourmand holiday and wintertime classic. I mainly use Vanilla Bean Noel in the body lotion and body wash (as I do with a lot of my B&BW) it makes a great base for layering other fragrances, especially during the colder months. It’s super nice because it’s very pretty, and pairs really well with a lot of fragrances, especially other vanillas. However, I do particularly love pairing Vanilla Bean Noel with B&BW Twisted Peppermint during the holiday season and sometimes in the winter too. It creates such a sweet, creamy, and yummy peppermint and vanilla treat. I get good longevity with Vanilla Bean Noel, it lasts 6-8 hours on me before becoming just a skin scent. The projection is nice too, it radiates out from me about an arm’s length.

The best vanilla is Vanilla Bean Noel. I love Kay Ali Vanilla 28 but this is better. Vanilla 28 is like a wearable delicious deep vanilla extract. I was not impressed with Bare Vanilla by VS. That fragrance was overkill Bare Vanilla is great to spray in a room and on towels- cutrains... the dry down is like a scented candle. Magic in the air by BBW was a light vanilla that is great for neutral feelings, pleasing and gives happiness. A clean barly there like fresh snow. Vanilla Bean Noel in comparison is a deluxe delectable edible smell without any screech. It smells natural but not like extract. It smells like desert but not over-indulgent. There is no overdoing this smell. It isn't too intense. It allows you to take it all in. The rich aroma is soft and creamy and delectable. It's warm and always pleasant on any given day when it is cool outside.

This is my absolute favorite Devine juvenile smelling guilty pleasure that b&bw has ever released 😩 While I purchase this mist most holiday seasons I must admit the last few years have been lacking, most seasonal product lines from b&bw are wildly inconsistent year to year and Noel is no exception to that rule. Nothing has fully compared to the 2014 version but the 2023 drop is probably the closest I’ll ever hope to have. If you're hoping for a mature & sophisticated gourmand you’re not going to receive that from Noel, she’s juvenile and overtly candied in the most delicious way possible. VBN smells like a fictional ice cream parlor and bakery/ donut factory with a hint of cotton candy all in one🍦🍨🍰🧁🍪 I can’t stress my eternal love for this fragrance enough, I just can’t be without at least one bottle in my collection for better or for worse

In the store, as soon as I walked in I was HIT with this smell and honestly, I was on the hunt for it. It was so good! My boyfriend really liked this one. He did say it reminded him of a really delicious smelling hand soap that his parents would buy around Christmas time. On my skin, I was VERY disappointed at first! It honestly sort of smelled like pee? But it went away! I just sprayed it again on my hand and I don't get that gross smell anymore which I'm very happy about. This genuinely smells like a powdered marshmallow, like think of a marshmallow that's covered in powdered sugar. Side note: - Looking at other reviews I did not get a heavy alcohol scent. Its probably because it was sprayed in a high concentration, it just needs to dry. - The vomit smell does go away! I do not smell it anymore.

My first ever BBW purchase was made 6 months ago and loved everything I got so when the sale came on I grabbed this one real quick due to the hype it got. I sprayed it on a tshirt that i just took off my toddler after he dirtied it from playing outside but never got to actually smell it because my toddler ran into the shower himself and I completely forgot it about until I walked past my laundry basket and got this delicious vanilla smell. I saw the top and grabbed it and could smell it more. It reminded me of Tihota by indult which is one of my favourite vanillas. Was so surprised about this much it was projecting to get a whiff of it while walking past! Really don’t understand the hate on all the reviews here but I’m glad this worked so well for me

A sweet, warm, creamy, and delicious vanilla with a soft touch of caramel. It’s a delectable and heavier vanilla that I would describe as frosting/icing. I mainly use Vanilla Bean Noel in the body lotion and body wash (as I do with a lot of my B&BW) which make it great for a softer base layering fragrance. It’s super nice because it pairs really well with a lot of fragrances including other vanillas. I especially love pairing Vanilla Bean Noel with B&BW Twisted Peppermint during the holiday season and sometimes in the winter too. I typically get great longevity with my fragrances (even body mists!), and Vanilla Bean Noel is no exception... it lasts all day on me! The projection is good too, it radiates out from me about 2 - 3 feet!

This scent is absolutely beautiful, it’s the perfect lactonic, vanilla-gourmand scent and is perfect for anybody who loves true vanilla scents with no floral/fruity/musk or cinnamon notes etc. To me this smells identical to the eos vanilla cashmere body lotion! I absolutely love layering this body spray with either its matching lotion or the eos lotion and then alternate depending on how I’m feeling with either Mod vanilla by Ariana Grande or 71 by SDJ and both combinations leave me swelling like an absolute dream! Such a shame this is part of the Christmas collection and not available year round but I will definitely be stocking up on these!

I love to throw a wrench into 'sophistication' all the time. It's true fashion, true individuality and I like having lighter scents on me sometimes, skin scents sometimes. This one is a bit more powerful, it packs a whollop of fluffy sweet whipped cream into the cozy fall situation - often layered with pumpkin pecan waffles - this fine fragrance mist is one of the best ways to live. Try wearing crocs with your slim black pencil skirt and blouse. Try putting a Popsmart keychain fluffy on your 5K leather Chloe bag. It's life, it's fun. Do how you feel. And sometimes, smell like a chocolatey sweet caramel iced BUNN MUFFIN.

Wow. This is literally a vomit/mildew/rancid overall repulsive sour scent when wet. Then only when it is COMPLETELY dry is this a beautifully sweet/creamy/soft marshmallow scent. The (unlit) candle I smelled in store is literally the worst components of this scent in one big jar, it feels so wrong. I’m sad bc I heard this used to be better. I love the dry down. Update: I ended up giving it a try and as it macerates it turns into a very sweet simple vanilla scent, like the marshmallow I originally got on the dry down but now all throughout. No sour rancid smell anymore. I actually get a lot of compliments on it!

I've been a fan of VBN since the 2010's when it was first released, and decided to give it a shot again with the 2023 release last year. I was VERY into this one and wore it a ton - so much so that my bottle is 3/4 gone. (I have two backups.) I get warm vanilla caramel cookies with none of the sour notes that seem to be so prevalent in the 2024 version. I like this layered with Snowflakes & Cashmere to bring out the vanilla and caramel notes in both scents, or on its own with EOS Vanilla Cashmere lotion to boost the original scent profile.

Such a nice, sweet deeper vanilla. It doesn't have any spice (which I like) but it also smells like a toasted marshmallow. A Christmas staple, and amazing in the cold weather. It does smell like vanilla cashmere EOS but they are a little different, I feel like this one isn't as cakey. I could wear this all year round if it was colder, Id forever repurchase this. I feel like she gets a bad rep for nothing. I like pairing her with Fresh cream warm cashmere, Bianco latte, milk orchid, or even honey milk by mix bar!

Imagine having a smooth creamy white chocolate mousse topped with a huge topping of vanilla flavored whipped cream, some cookie crumbs and drizzled with thin strings of caramel. This is a laconic gourmand dream. It can be better if only it had a stronger performance or an edt formula and maybe amp up the benzoin note. Layer it with Bianco Latte or Eclair in the colder seasons 😍 so comfy and cuddly. Side note to BBW: why is the juice green and the bottle transparent? I’d rather have it the other way around.

I'm so glad Fragrantica added this to the database! VBN is a truely gourmand vanilla buttercream frosted sugar cookie! It's warm and delicious and is great by itself or layered with other fragrances. I personally prefer the body lotion to the spray as the spray can be a little plasticky. Even though it's so yummy, VBN manages to stay warm and grounded and not sickly sweet. If you are a gourmand vanilla lover, try this affordable seasonal treat! Oh, it also reminds me of toasted marshmallows.

Back in 2003/2004 (the last time I remember smelling it before rediscovering it), this smelled EXACTLY like what the EOS Vanilla Cashmere lotion smells like. I’m not joking, like literally the EXACT same. So, I can see why they’re both loved. I’ll admit, something about the reformulation makes it a bit stinky, lol (especially the body lotion). For me, this is only when I’m sniffing it way too close. When smelling it from a normal distance, I think it’s still quite lovely.

First smelled this as a lotion in high school and was obsessed. Finally bought it a few years later, and every time I put it on I feel like I'm wrapped in a warm, white vanilla blanket. The perfect winter or Christmas scent. I was thrifting a few months back, found a slightly used bottle of this in spray form, and bought it immediately. I wish she lasted on the skin longer, but that's par for the course when it comes to Bath & Body Works. I still love her. 5/5

I'm proud to say that I changed my mind on this fragrance. At first smell, i only smelled yogurt/sour milk. But, after walking around the store with the lotion on my hands, I couldn't help but notice that the scent changed and dried down into a delicious vanilla caramel scent. I decided to get a bottle of the body mist, and I don't regret it! Definitely recommend this over warm vanilla sugar or even bare vanilla.

so delicious it's my favorite... however i will say the 2024 release has such a strong alcohol scent to it that you have to let it dry down a bit for it to smell just right, but once it does it's amazing!! if you get the lotion it completely skips that problem. i haven't been able to find a vanilla quite like this it's such a delicate and cute scent like vanilla frosting.

i absolutely love the scent. i pair it with eos vanilla cashmere because it smells exactly like it but the eos has a bit more vanilla bean scent. the problem i have with this is even if i spray 10 times the scent evaporates not even 30mins after!! great scent but not long lasting but i doooont mind spraying everywhere all the time all over coz the scent is so good

This is absolutely amazing. It’s delicious with those subtle burnt caramel and chocolate notes. However, idk why anyone mentioned this but the initial spray smells like an actual a$$ lmao (5 friends of mine agreed with me on this so it’s not just me 😅). Thankfully that horrifying smell disappears within 3 to 4 minutes and it becomes a super delicious scent!

SOOO yummy I feel like a walking cupcake when I wear this. It's feminine but in a cozy sweet way rather than floral. Always reminds me of Christmas but it works during any season and Is so great for layering because it's a simple and powerful scent. It can be young or mature and is just so versatile. This is without a doubt my favorite vanilla scent

Absolutely my favorite splash on Christmas season! it just never gets tiring for me, the only thing I can say about it it's that the smell kind of changes each year,the first year I bought it,it really smelled like cookies and vanilla,but then I think they reduced the sweetness just a little. But still I recommend it

I have the body cream and I ABSOLUTELY love it!!! I transfer it into a jar and add Organic Avocado oil and organic sweet almond oil. My skin is extra dry. This layered with any of my fragrances makes my fragrance smell 10x better. I will definitely stock up on this gem this coming holiday season.

OG and it’s 1000x better than eos vanilla cashmere (copycat ho! ) they just won’t tell you. 😇🤫 also the lotion (not cream) smells better than the mist tbh, and if yours is old it starts to smell worse or like plastic on the opening I noticed. The room spray makes your room smell like ice cream 🍨

My favourite scent in the world. It's just so cozy and sweet. It makes me nostalgic. I want my whole life to smell like Vanilla Bean Noel. Some people smell it to be fake and strange. I smell it as holy shit let's go caroling. And I love it. I love smelling like Christmas.

I def get the acidic vomit note but its gone once u spray it (i have the 2021 batch) and why has no one mentioned that this smells almost identical to choco musk! I get sweet chocolate chip cookies with marshmallows , longevity isnt the best but it does the job

Smells delicious. I smell like freshly baked sugar cookies during the holidays! I get: vanilla cookies, rock sugar and burnt caramel. It’s VERY sweet so if you’re not into confectionary stuff this won’t be your cup of tea.

Such an amazing gourmand vanilla scent! I also have the lotion and body wash of this fragrance, although I will say while I spray it, it smells like sour yogurt, but the dry down is very nice. Maybe I got a bad batch?

Why am I always spraying this on myself and loving this and feeling so comfortable smelling like this? I wore this after a shower and someone said wow you smell good what is that. I'm on my second bottle now.

LOVE vanilla bean noel!! I have the body wash and its perfect, to me it smells like opening a bottle of vanilla extract!! But less heavy, more fresh and light, its the perfect scent for Christmas.

The notes page is missing one of the most important and distinguishable notes in this fragrance: tobacco. I kid you not, this perfume smells like a vanilla cigarette in the best possible way.

The vanilla scent is a bit lighter than I expected. Still, overall it has a clear vanilla cream fragrance; it's just that since it's a body mist, the longevity isn't very good.

i absolutely love this scent. the body cream is way better and cookie like. the spray does have an alcohol smell but the vanilla takes it over. so i definitely still love it

I changed my mind about the smell. The first initial spray smells like spoiled dairy, but after a few uses, the spray is pretty nice. I think it's something to get used to.

smells like sweet vanilla ice cream !! i love wearing this during holiday season however, it lacks longevity :( the scent sits close to skin after few hours.

i have the body lotion, i adore it. one of the most full body true gourmands ive ever smelled, delicious and luxurious. the scent lasts forever on my skin.

It’s a classic BBW which has been duped over the years. Most namely EOS Vanilla Cashmere. Can’t hate what started started this scent. Love her.

Really great vanilla mist! I love wearing this during the colder months. It lasts on my skin pretty long and isn't too strong.

A yummy sweet scent done Right :) Cookies, butter vanilla icing, caramel, milky notes I just can't get enough of it LOVE

I'd like to add that this smells exactly like eos vanilla cashmere lotion.

one of my favorite scents of all time.

In my opinion, this is one of Bath And Body Works’ best body mists ever. It is sweet, but still so strong, musky and dark. It is the perfect perfume for nighttime and will truly linger on you for a while. The only problem is that just like every other Bath And Body Works perfume or mist, they start smelling a bit sickening and different somehow. Which is why I don’t use this everyday at all, and only for special occasions as a base to layer my other perfume. I only spray one singular time though, since It is VERY strong and It can overpower your other perfume quick. So, be aware of this! Also, If you’re a vanilla lover, this is the one for you! It is VERY noticeable and potent. You kinda can’t escape It lowkey. Overall, I would give this perfume a 7.3 out of 10. Absolutely delicious, would definitely recommend and everything, but can be overwhelming quick. To the point where It gets a bit sickly and disgusting.

I have mixed feelings about this one. It smells exactly how I imagine the sugar cookies from Barbie and the Swan Lake to smell like. Think vanilla sugar cookies, minty cocoa with wipped cream, burnt sugar caramel and jelly beans. Very sweet (sometimes nausea inducing). Cool, wintery vanilla. Goes really well with the smell of lather, whether thats perfume or just spraying it on a leather jacket (that's my one cool discovery and a way to make it smell more "edgy") ... Until something goes wrong and as it sits it's starting to turn progressively more sour. I hate the spoiled milk note in this and I can't wear it on it's own now except on leather. Works beautifully on bringing out the vanilla in Burberry Goddess, then both the sour milk and heavy lavender turn more vanillic (like they're supposed to...). So sad it does the sour milk thing...

Cute, classic and understated. This is simply a basic vanilla fragance, very sweet and reminiscent of cookies, but I actually don't find this to be a "warm" vanilla at all. I also don't really notice any of the other notes listed besides the whipped cream and chocolate/caramel really, and it also has a strong rubbing alcohol scent in general. But knowing B&BW I'm sure the body lotion has much better longevity and projection. This is a very sweet, non-offensive comfort fragance and doesn't really last longer than 3-4h. Fits perfectly whenever you're craving something gourmand and it's a great base for layering. And of course, it's brilliant for cold weather and the holidays :) I love using it as a bedtime scent.

At first it smells like slightly off milk, after 10-15 minutes of it developing on my skin is where the magic begins to happen. VBN smells like a frosted sugar cookie and eggnog. It transport me to sitting under the Christmas tree and wrapping gifts. When I initially got this fragrance I wasn’t a fan of it because of the slightly off milk smell which others in the comments have mentioned but after leaving this fragrance to develop over time I’ve noticed that soft milk like smell only lingers for a few mins.

just bought the 2025 version because I was obsessed with it in the store. took it home and unfortunately its not the same. its got a weird tinge of if you just ate a dozen cookies and threw them all up. it lessens during the dry down but once you smell it you cant smell anything else. its good enough that I'll still use it during the season because its a good wintery layering scent but I wouldn't use it enough to repurchase. try on your skin before buying to see if you have that weird vomitty smell

This is my first year buying this and I don't smell the spoiled milk that others were talking about. Though I don't know if the formula changed throughout the years, but I can smell how it once was a classic now turned into an unpleasant scent for others. Not the best vanilla scent, especially comparing it to the most recent vanilla collection I.e vanilla romance, ease, etc. I do like the smell on my skin, but only on cold winter nights/ mornings and going to sleep. I'll give it a 6.7589/10.

My bottle is from 2022, and it smells rly nice, but why is it so woody and smoky tho? Not gourmet sweet at all. Where is my caramel cookie dough? Where are the Christmas gourmet vibes?? 😭😭 This spray is more like a sister to Vanilla Romance (just without the cardamom, and I did compare both side by side). The initial spray actually smells like the candy coating on M&M🤔, and it just get much woody & smoky/incense-ish as time goes by. It's a nice mist, but not in the way I thought it would be😂