A vanilla for all seasons...

A lot of you know that I am a total fragrance junkie but, according to the poll at the bottom of this page, not many of you come here to read fragrance reviews. So I try to keep my fragrance reviews to a minimum on Nouveau Cheap, but sometimes a fragrance in my collection is so lovely, so wonderful, so close to my heart that I've just gotta scream it from the rooftops and this song automatically starts playing in my head:



In fact, if you wait until the 0:40 mark in this video, that's actually what I look like when I put on this perfume! Ha ha ha! My eyes almost roll back in my head and I am SO excited to be wearing this:

Bath and Body Works Vanilla Noir Eau de Toilette

(retail: $26.50, but also available in body mist for $12)

Now some of you may be saying, "Recessionista, why talk about a warm vanilla fragrance in the springtime, when most of us want to smell like flowers and citrus and clean, fresh scents?" And I would say to you, "Sweethearts, this is a vanilla for all seasons!" I actually received this fragrance several months ago for review (I think it was in November of last year) and it sort of got lost in the holiday shuffle. But when I rediscovered it this January, and really took the time to appreciate it, it quickly became one of those fragrances that makes you say, "Where have you been all my life?"

Take a look at the notes in Vanilla Noir:

Fragrance Top Notes: Living Black Plum, Exotic Dark Berries, Bergamot

Fragrance Mid Notes: Silky Gardenia, Purple Carnation, Vanilla Orchid, Tuberose Mist

Fragrance Base Notes: Living Vanilla Bean, Vanilla Extract, Whipped Toffee, Cinnamon Stick, Cashmeran, Sandalwood, Sensual Musks

To my nose, the fruit notes in this fragrance, along with the gardenia, orchid, carnation and tuberose, give this vanilla the tiny bit of floral and sweet elements that it needs to make it something you can truly wear any time of year. Yes, there is lots of vanilla here (which makes it oh so delicious) and the whipped toffee and cinnamon stick notes may have you saying, "This is for cold weather only" but I truly believe that the other notes that mingle in this fragrance make it a soft, sweet, musky vanilla that literally seems to melt and become one with my skin. And I don't think it will make anyone in your office say, "I smell Christmas cookies" when you walk by (yes, that's happened to me more times than I can count, but never while wearing this fragrance).

If you are a fan of Halle by Halle Berry (my favorite drugstore fragrance of all time) then I think you will also love Vanilla Noir. The sandalwood background in both of these fragrances is very similar, so to me, they are definitely fragrance sisters.

If you are already a lover of all things vanilla, I am almost positive you probably already own this, or have at least tried it. But if for some reason this scent has managed to escape you, by all means, give it a whiff the next time you're at your local BBW store. And if it doesn't reach out and grab you, spritz a little on your wrist, leave the store and wait an hour. Then smell your wrist and see if it hasn't dried down into a soft, gorgeous veil of satin on your skin. This is what happens every time I wear it, and I hope you have a similar experience with it as well.

Oh Vanilla Noir, I'm so excited...and I just can't hide it!

You can find Vanilla Noir online and at your local Bath & Body Works location, and of course you can wait for a good sale and get the body mist, shower gel, body cream, etc. and immerse yourself in it from head to toe (hey, sounds like a great idea to me!).

A sample of this product was given to Nouveau Cheap for editorial purposes, either directly from the manufacturer or from the agency that works on behalf of the manufacturer. All reviews on NouveauCheap.blogspot.com are the honest opinion of its author and editorial samples do not, in any way, affect the outcome of product reviews.