La Vie est Belle Vanille Nude Lancôme 2025

So many mixed reactions surrounding this perfume, like: "grandma perfume" "not a vanilla" "super strong jasmine".
Well... most of them are wrong, especially "grandma". Are we forgetting that grandma's were baddies in their youths? that stupid description is NOT stopping me from trying anything.

I really came in the shop with no needs of trying it, but since I was there, why not?

The vanilla slapped me.
Straight up soft - creamy vanilla harassing my nostrils with some ice cream type of goodies. I told you, I got slapped so hard my credit card slipped and I (sadly) had to buy it.

Now, the perfume is a very good mix of vanilla and jasmine. At first, the vanilla is very much prominent and I could smell the delicate scent on my wrist. When it fades, the jasmine is way more present and it tends to be powdery as well. I agree that after multiple hours, it's way more into a generic type of jasmine, I'll say it can disturb many, but I'm fine with it. The dry down also reminded me of "Le Temps des Secrets - Amande & Fleur de Murier | Jeanne en Provence" like a powdery bitter almond without removing that incredible and warm vanilla.

I really love Lancôme DNA and never once thought it was "too old" or "grandma".
I 100% recommend vanilla lovers to take a sniff !

A warm, soft, fluffy cloud of vanilla icing, speckled with jasmine flowers. Very delicate, light, and airy. Very feminine. Definitely more ethereal than the original, with only the barest hints of that DNA. While there is a good hit of vanilla in the initial spray, it turns muskier as it settles. Not necessarily a bad thing, as I found the vanilla a touch synthetic for my tastes, at least to begin with. I don’t pick up on any sandalwood, nor the coconut some other reviewers mention. Longevity is good for such a soft scent, still detectable on my skin almost 8 hours later. Projection is intimate. This is a pretty scent that I’m glad to have tried. It grew on me over the course of the day more than I initially expected it to.

The opening slips past my senses—pale impressions of sunlit freshness without clear definition. In time, soft florals emerge, lending a touch of sweetness, yet it is the base that truly captivates: a sensual, creamy vanilla that appears almost unexpectedly and lingers for hours.

The composition differs markedly from the original—calmer, smoother, and wrapped in sweet, creamy vanilla—yet both share a similar brightness of spirit, carrying a quiet sense of joy.

A beautiful vanilla with a non-indolic jasmine opening that makes it truly pleasant and almost refreshing.
But, to me, there is still a problem: while it may be an absolutely wearable and tasteful fragrance, it retains the DNA of the classic La Vie Est Belle.
There's no point ignoring the elephant in the room: that DNA is there, it bothers me incredibly and ruins what could have been a perfume I would have appreciated and perhaps purchased.
If, on the other hand, you're a fan of the raucous progenitor of this family, you'll probably find it adorable.
It's still a cute vanilla with a slightly powdery touch to adds delicacy to the whole composition.
Excellent persistence and significant sillage.
I think it will sell well.

This latest LVEB flanker opens as a bright fresh floral vanilla with a hint of powder and musk and stays pretty linear throughout its life on my skin.

It’s nothing like LVEB OG, in fact, the minute I whiffed it, my immediate thoughts were “This is Lancôme doing a gentler Libre”, and that’s it!

Where YSL Libre is a nuclear bomb of lavender, bourbon vanilla, orange blossom, jasmine and musk. LVEB is a toned down version of these exacts notes except they went easy on the lavender.. but, to my nose, there’s defo lavender there despite it not being listed. And there’s a little hint of neroli dancing with the orange blossom too.

And you know what, it’s absolutely beautiful and delightful. Where I struggled with the overpowering Libre that causes me headaches if worn indoors, Vanilla Nude is extremely easy to wear and a joy to wear. It’s bright, clean and feminine, beautiful and extremely comforting everytime a whiff catches my nose with its slight envelope of powdery musk that makes it very much a gorgeous perfume. It’s beautifully blended, as to be expected of a Lancôme but this was also created by one of my fav perfumer collabs, Anne Flipo and Dominique Ropion. I find whenever they work together that Flipo tempers some of Ropions loudness to create beautiful, wearable popular fragrances.

So would I get a full bottle? Well, there wasn’t anything that really jumped out at me and made my brain go ‘I need this IMMEDIATELY’. It’s a perfect office, day wear scent and if I was gifted a bottle I would happily use it up. I would certainly reach for it more readily than my LVEB OG with its strong, sensual praline dry down (I think I’ve worn that once this year). So looking forward to wearing this sample a few times, I could see me falling for this as a new office scent.