As someone who uses a lot of vanilla-scented products herself, I get the hype behind vanilla. The scent itself is profoundly popular for autumn and just smells good in general. But what’s with the sudden surge of videos about it? If you like to scroll when you’re bored, you’ve probably seen all the videos and posts hyping up vanilla-scented shower routines crowding TikTok and Instagram. Maybe these videos intrigue you … or maybe you could care less and just continue scrolling. Either way, there’s a good chance you’re wondering why everyone on the internet is suddenly interested in smelling like a “vanilla cupcake,” and I think I’ve figured it out.
In March of this year, Love Island contestant Leah Kateb, who has roughly 4 million followers on TikTok, posted a video of the products she uses in her shower routine, all vanilla-scented. Viewers of the viral video flooded her comment section asking what perfume she uses. Even months after she originally posted the viral video, people kept commenting asking her to reveal what perfume she layers onto her other vanilla-scented products.
Leah then posted a video in August showing off her perfume collection, one of them being Kayali’s Vanilla 28, which she claims “held the girls down” while filming Love Island. This sparked the generation of a great deal of videos being made where content creators would test Leah Kateb’s shower routine, where they would buy the exact products Leah uses and rate them. That being said, I think the reason for vanilla-scented products becoming more popular is because a well-liked influencer that people idolize, like Leah Kateb, posted a video about it, and now everyone wants to smell like her. Personally, I think you should buy the scented products you want, not the ones an influencer says you should.