Following Instructions

[CiCi]

South Indian sandalwood, amber-encrusted wood, white grains, massoia bark, and hops.

This smells so delicious, almost familiar, foody even. It is the grains and hops that is making it seem foody but not bread like. The sandalwood and amber-encrusted wood blend effortlessly together with the deep massoia bark and turn this into deep, rich, almost sweet scent. It almost smells familiar, but I just can't place it, like honey crackers, or caramel corn. The drydown is not heavy at all, but light sweet sandalwood. This lasts a long time and people who like foody scents will really enjoy it.

[Invidiana]

I expected this to be primarily incensey, but it has an unexpectedly delicious bite. The warm , even sensual, woods here recieve a moderately sweet (but cloying) coating of amber and get a comforting bready feel from the grains and hops. There is something of a slight lemony undertone, from what exactly I'm not sure, but I think it will mellow with aging. Overall this is like the smell of fresh-baked bread taken to new heights, like grown-up French toast. Bottle for me, definitely.

[Mellifluous]

Yet again I agree with Invidiana, and would add that it leans a bit towards a gingerbread scent. It is warm and yet has a cool fresh tinge to it as well, probably from my association with hops being in cool crisp beer. Overall it is a really interesting blend that is not cloying or offensive at all. A warm, yet cool gourmand.

[tativa]

Mmm... pancakes with syrup.

Delicious, and not a thing like I'd imagined... but a great foodie morning scent ^^

[Incendiare]

Is there a heavier, cream-like note in here? It reminds me of the heavy cream note I get from blends such as Großvater Tanz or the Chicken-Legged Hut. This also has an unexpected nutty background. On me, something spicy starts to come out and blends into the cream. My nose must be on crack because to me, this smells like a nauseatingly overly creamy nutty pudding or porridge or something. Oddly no sandalwood. That stuff always jumps out at me. I'm going to slowly back away now.

[SadariEvenstar]

This is surprisingly beautiful on me. It starts out very foodie and sweet, but after 20 minutes or so it really mellows into a lightly sweetened grainy perfume. The amber encrusted wood really shines in the dry down and I think is what mellows the foodieness.

[surlygurl]

This is nice! I am a big fan of nutty scents and the "white grains" must be some type of nut. I get very little sandalwood with a bit of something warm & comforting (amber and hops?). It does remind me of Grossvater Tanz, but it reminds me even more of Copulating Mice minus the lemony parts. Since I already have the latter, I'll keep this decant for when I want to add a nuttiness to other blends.

[absinthetics]

The white grains in this make it have that weird oatmeal note that gives me a total headache. I can't remember what other BPAL has it, but Arcana's Poisoned Candy does, as does a lot of scents that have "oatmeal". It is very interesting but it's like kryptonite for me.

[ljaylh]

Weird - with the grains and hops, I thought this would smell more - err.. hoppy. Instead, I am getting a very woodsy/spicy vibe from it - not at all what I was expecting. I also thought it would be a lot more dry/dusky with the amber and sandalwood.. but again, nope - not what I was expecting.

 

I could swear there's honey in here somewhere - or is it nutty, like hazelnuts? Perhaps it's in the hops, I dunno. This becomes quite syrupy and foody on my skin, but not in a good way. Pass.

[pinkstardust420]

Upon initial application, I got the blast of amber and sandalwood....those soon took a backseat within a few minutes, and the wood note poked through, along with the hops & grains, turning this in a milky, creamy foody scent, with a hint of amber left behind.

[milo]

Urgh, this really smells like caramel, or burnt brown sugar at first. After a bit, I'm getting a freshness, like a bit of citrussy ozone. It's better now, but that darned caramel note is still there in the background. I do enjoy the sandalwood note here, though, and the fresh note. The caramel pretty much ruins this blend for me though.

[ami226]

My first thought smelling this was.... gingerbread? Well, gingerbread that is heavy on the bread and light on the ginger. After a bit, I smell burnt sugar and almond?

 

Huh. I'm afraid this is one of those slightly foody scents that really does not agree with me.

[zankoku_zen]

This smells like gingerbread - heavier on the bread, light on the spices and a touch of wood.

 

Yup, very foody.

[Blood onmy hands]

I like strange foodie scents, so I was intrigued by this blend.

At first, Following Instructions reminds me of a busy kitchen, preparing for a breakfast rush. It smells like wooden cutting boards covered in powdery flour, bread/pancakes, maple syrup, sweet ginger, and little whiffs of savory spices (kinda reminds me of bacon).

As it dries down, bpal's amber turns to straightup baby powder and it doesn't remind me of flour or bread anymore. It's like baby powder, maple syrup and a hint of bacon on my skin. I really wish that bpal's amber notes didn't always turn to baby powder, because I might have liked this one...

As it is, this just turns into a powdery, sickly sweet mess on me like mixing up a bowl of baby powder and pancake syrup.

[ModderRhu]

This is beautiful sandalwood that was slathered in butter, sprinkled with sugar, and toasted in the oven

[hibari05]

Somehow all I get when smelling this one is that hoppy beer note!

 

In the bottle: Beer!

 

First application: Beer, grains, and hay.

 

Drydown: More beer and hay.

 

Other people smelling this on me say it smells very foody like a baked good, but all I can smell somehow is that yeasty beer note. So strange!

[aquazoo]

Peanut brittle? I’m getting homemade candy. Not at all like any of the notes listed.