This was a free gift from Sephora.
The consistency was very nice, which makes me think I will purchase more Philosophy gels in future, but it won't be this scent (if you can call it a scent). There is very little scent here.
In the bottle, you get a vaguely plastic chemical scent. Once you're using it, there is what seems to be a cheap, plasticky vanilla type scent, but its not pleasant.
This works nicely to shave with, and the lather is very nice and creamy. Don't waste your money on this particular scent though. Glad it was a free gift.

I wouldn't buy this exact product because I got it for free and vanilla scents are too generic for me to waste money on. That being said, I got this as a birthday present from Sephora, and I love it!! I love Philosophy's 3 in 1s, but they are so expensive so I don't actually own any! I think the Cinnamon Bun scent has to be my favorite, it's making my mouth water just thinking about it now. This is a very creamy body wash and bubble bath and smells just like Vanilla cake mix, I would not use this on my hair though, I'm sure it would dry it out. Overall very lovely!

I like this because it softens my skin and i don't always need to use a moisturizer after wards if I am lazy ,BUT there isn't much of a bday cake smell.

I received this from Sephora as a birthday gift in January and have been using it ever since. I first used it as a body wash, it did an okay job, but I now use it as a shampoo. One of the many uses for this product. It doesn't leave a scent in my hair, but leaves it really soft and smooth. The packaging of this is alright. The bottles given out as free birthday presents are not the same as the original bottles, but they work just the same. Black cap and pops open, but the plastic bottles isn't as thick. Anyway, I might repurchase this again when I decide if I like this more than Godiva by LUSH.

EDIT: Though I love the smell of it, I have stopped using it everyday because it has dried my hair a little. I will just be using this from time to time.

Got one from Sephora as a birthday gift too, but it does stink, and nothing reminiscent of vanilla or cake. Just synthetic-y, cheap stuff. Gross

How disappointing. :( This product lathers well and works nice as a shower gel, but it does not smell like vanilla birthday cake to me. I catch a little whiff of butterscotch, but it barely has any scent to it at all. You practically have to press your nose against the top of the bottle to smell it. At least it doesn't irritate my sensitive skin or dry it out. So texture-wise it's good; it's just the scent that's a let down. Next time I will try Cinnamon Buns, which smells much more delicious and noticeable than this.

Well, Sephora finally changed their free birthday gifts from the eye makeup set to this. I recently received a 6oz bottle of Vanilla birthday cake from Sephora and, being a lover of the original Cinnamon Buns and other delicious Philosophy bath scents, was estatic to try this out. Unfortunately, the scent is anything but vanilla cake. It's more of a plastic, synthetic smell than anything. Texture-wise, it's the same as any of Philosophy's other products, foams and lather well (for drugstore references, it's similar to Dove and Olay body washes)

Bottom line is that i will most definitely not be purchasing this once my gift bottle runs out. It's really a nothing-there body wash.. no wonder Sephora gives it out free.

I got this for free from Sephora as a birthday gift. I actually used it as shampoo first because I just felt like using something new that day. It is definitely more a body wash than a shampoo since you need to use A LOT of it to cover hair and get it to lather. I had to use a hanful on my long hair, and it still didn't seem to penetrate my hair or clean it very well. (I followed with another shampoo afterwards.) And then I also used it as a body wash. It has a nice thick consistency, it's yellow, and smells really sweet, like cake. I like it as a body wash.
Not sure how much it costs regularly but I will just go ahead and safely assume that it's more expensive than it should be. I am sure there are many other products that are the same, perform the same, and smell just as good or better but for a lot cheaper. Nothing impressive. I am not dying to purchase it, especially since I don't really believe in "2 in 1" or "3 in one" products or whatever. This can be okay if you are traveling and want to bring as little as possible with you... though you would need a separate conditioner because this product does not condition at all.
It's okay.

The smell is great but it does make me hungry and if I use it in the morning I find myself craving a something sweet for a morning snack. I only use it as body wash and the scent is great although it doesn't seem to last beyond the bathroom. Either way, it's a good body wash that smells nice while you're in the shower.

This smells more like wedding cake than birthday cake, since there is a coconut note in it. It smells nice, sweet and cake like. The scent, however, is really weak and I can only smell it when I put my nose up to the bottle or the lather on my puff. It performs well though as a shower gel. It's okay as a shampoo too although it's a bad bubble bath. I actually like the smell a lot even if it is weak and would possible repurchase.