Philosophy Vanilla Birthday Cake Shampoo, Shower Gel & Bubble Bath Review and Pictures

I've been hearing great things about Philosophy body washes for a long time, but the price has always put me off ($16 for 16 oz).  Zum Glück, the birthday freebie from Sephora is a 6 oz bottle of Vanilla Birthday Cake shampoo, shower gel, and bubble bath.  I've had the chance to use it in each of its intended functions, and can now report to y'all what I think.

Vanilla Birthday Cake

I've used it primarily as a body wash, and while I like it, I don't think it's all that fantastic.  It does give a nice froth, though it's not the bubbliest shower gel I've used.  The smell is very pleasant, and smells like cake batter, but isn't overly sweet.  I especially like that it doesn't linger after my shower, so there's no competition with my perfume.

consistency

I tried using it as a shampoo one day, and it was fine in that regard, too; it made my hair tangled, but every shampoo does that, and it rinsed out easily.

I did a mini-bubble bath with it in my sink, just to see how it was, and while it did bubble some, it wasn't quite up to bubble bath standards for me (I like my bubble baths to be frothy and foamy and so thick I can have a bubble beard and hat).

Overall, I think Vanilla Birthday Cake is a nice shower gel, and I love how it smells, but it's nothing particularly phenomenal for me.  Perhaps the other Philosophy shower gels are foamier/better as bubble baths, but based on this one, I don't think I'd be willing to shell out $16 on a full size one––no matter how much it smells like cake!

$16 for 16 oz, available from Sephora, Philosophy, and Amazon

Have you tried any Philosophy shower gels?  What did you think?  What's your favorite shower gel brand/scent?