The Instructional Manual

[AmyO'Shields]

Cherry blossoms falling into folds of red musk, bourbon vanilla, and strawberry cream.

I'm going to sound like a broken record but the Lupers this year are so expertly and perfectly blended and the Instructional Manual is no different.

The first things I smell are strawberry and red musk. All 4 components of this perfume are equal though...I can smell all of them but no one stands out to me.

I think lovers of Hollywood Babylon, Mania and Smut will be really happy with this one...I know I am.

It verges on being a tad foody but never gets there. I feel like this is the same strawberry from Strawberry Sufganiyot.

A very beautiful blend, and the cherry blossom doesn't fight with the strawberry. If you think you might love this, you're probably right.

Eta: The cherry blossoms seem to come forward more in the dry down...this one morphs! :-)
Edited February 7, 2016 by Herb Girl

[Catcircus]

To me and granted I apparently have weird chemistry, this is syrupy sweet cherry blossoms and tart strawberries with a dollop of vanilla. I don't get any red musk. I'm hoping with aging it will bring out more of the musk. It's very pretty and girly/feminine and beautifully blended. Just a little to cloyingly sweet for me currently.

[SweetEpiphanies]

In the bottle: very syrupy and almost like kid's cherry tylenol, but not in a bad way!

 

On Wet: the syrupy-ness starts to mingle with the musk a bit. The cherry blossoms are still hidden. It's still very sweet at this stage.

 

Drying: there's the cherry blossoms! They come out and add a bit of soft floral cleanness to the scent.

 

Completely Dry: This. THIS is my favorite stage. I mentioned in the Luper thread that it smells like sitting under a cherry tree in bloom while eating strawberry sherbert. That's it precisely for me. The strawberry isn't creamy enough to be ice cream but not tart enough to be sorbet but it had just enough cream to make it distinctly sherbert.

 

Overall I love this. It's very girly and soft and springy. I would also echo that if you like Mania or even last year's Joyful Romp, you would really like this. Really glad I have my bottle.

[LizziesLuck]

Wet: This smells like those chewable Flintstones vitamins on me so far - powdery, sweet, a bit candy-like. It's very soft and light, I thought the red musk would be more in your face. I think my skin was dry and ate it, so after adding a touch more I can now smell the individual notes better, and it's less powdery. The strawberry cream is prominent, not getting a lot of the cherry blossom. The red musk is present, but it's really all about creamy strawberry at this point. It's a very different strawberry than others I have smelled from the Lab, thus far. It's fading quickly though, not sure if this is because my skin just keeps soaking it up, or it's just a light scent.

 

Dry: Pretty, soft, feminine. The red musk gives it a little bit of an edge. I'm struggling to figure out how I feel about this one. I took a gamble on it, knowing it wouldn't really be "me", but I thought the musk would make it wearable for me. I do like it, but I'm not LOVING it. I have a feeling when my decants arrive, there may be things I love more that I end up looking to swap this for. Overall, glad I tried it, but likely should have gone for a decant rather than a blind bottle.

 

 

ETA: The bottle reads "The Instruction Manual" but in checking the Lab site to be sure, it's called "The Instructional Manual" there. Wonder what the actual intended name was?

Edited February 20, 2016 by LizziesLuck

[Spaztic]

In the bottle: Smells like children's chewable vitamins, it brings a smile to my face because I used to love those things as a kid!

 

On the skin wet: Still the children's vitamin feel, not a bad smell but would want to walk around smelling like that.

 

Dry: the vitamin smell recedes to the background (but is still there) to this beautiful floral type. I'm guessing it's the Cherry Blossom

 

Total Dry-down: Sooooo nice! Not sure what I'm getting, like I've said in another review, I'm still learning the BPAL musks. So it might be Cherry Blossom with Red Musk and strawberry-ish fruit, in that order.

 

There's something about this that makes me think "comforting" and "cuddly" which is odd because it doesn't have any of the typical smells that normally give that impression (for me).

[ClockworkMoM]

I love strawberry scents- in the bottle. Typically they go candy sweet on me and my hubby wrinkles his nose and says no. The Instruction Manual is the berry that I hear been searching for!! On me, it is a creamy, soft strawberry. The red musk and vanilla soften the berry into a beautiful blend. Not too sweet or youthful, this is a beautiful, near sexy strawberry blend. My hubby kept sniffing my arm at will call and insisted it was an instant bottle buy. So in love with this beautiful blend!

[princessbeena]

This is gorgeous!!! Red musk usually dominates most blends but that is so not the case here-the cherry blossom and strawberry make this so bright, fresh, and cheery!! If you're not a red musk lover you should still give this one a whirl! My only complaint is that it doesn't seem to stick around long on me

[Laurel the Woodfairy]

On my skin, Instruction Manuel started as something like honeyed peaches before becoming recognizably strawberries and vanilla: the sweet + fruity theme remains! The cherry blossoms are a lovely base. This reminds me of The Fairy Market: fruit, flowers, and then musk on the drydown.

[Glambie]

Absolutely breathtaking. Fruity, creamy, and joyful! It screams PINK and feminine, which is not usually what I go for. However, it is so flawless and beautifully blended...you must grab a bottle immediately! If not sooner... ❤️

[yakiguri]

*sigh*

 

Unfortunately The Instructional Manual reminded me of why I have very few fruit-laden scents. It starts off as a sweet strawberry with red musk, but quickly devolves into a dusty fake-fruit scent akin to Flintstone's vitamins, Strawberry Shortcake dolls, or cheap candles.

 

I typically try to keep a blend for a year to see if aging changes my mind on it, but there's too many other Lupers I want this year to justify keeping it around. Off to swaps and sales.

[Blood onmy hands]

I was hoping for more cherry blossom from this scent, but I don't smell any floral at all from this blend. On me, The Instructional Manual is all fake, candy-sweet strawberry and red musk. It smells kind of like a cheap strawberry scented incense stick on my skin, which isn't entirely bad. I was just hoping for more of a fresh, true strawberry and cherry blossom fragrance.

[Shadowdawn]

Hmmm, this is an interesting one I suppose. Usually strawberry becomes an instant death note on me, so I was very nervous when I opened the bottle and immediately smelled a bowl of overpowering, crushed strawberries. Uh-oh, I thought. I thought the strawberry was going to be more in the backdrop of things....

 

First applied: A rush of strawberries, like strawberry wind, but it doesn't go to plastic, probably due to the red musk, though I can't pick that out itself.

 

After a few minutes: The cherry blossom shoves it's way to the front! Yay! So now it doesn't actually smell like strawberries anymore.. but.. there's something weird going on with the cherry blossom. Hmm... not playing well with the musk maybe? As it dries down this is getting worse...

 

After an hour: Hmmm, so, fresh cherry blossom? With a hint of fruitiness, though it's not overtly strawberry. It's okay I guess, but I don't know that I'm head over heels for it.

[macabre_fae]

When I first smelled this I got the strong feeling of rememberance for some scent this reminded me of. I finally figured it out! I don't know if anyone is familiar with these perfumes you could get in drugstores called Juicebar. This one in particular smells exactly like Juicebar Cotton Candy perfume. If you haven't smelled it, I realize this doesn't help you so I'll give some more notes on it, I just thought I'd mention that!

 

This smells like really sweet candy with a hint of something sour. I can't really add anything else. I love sweet scents but this one is not my favorite. Off to swaps. :/

[cherrycherry]

So many notes of win. Oh my word, I can't even.

 

The strawberry is very candyish - like strawberry Millions or Chewits. Sugar-strawberry-perfection. YAS.

 

Then I'm getting the cherry blossom, the cream note and the vanilla. Sweetness beyond compare.

 

The red musk is in there, but she's not going to serve her usual heart-stopping sensuality just yet, I don't think. She needs some time to settle in and marry with her sisters. When this blend has aged, I expect that the red musk will be deep and dark - toning down the brighter, pinker notes.

 

All in all, a very delicious and toothsome scent.

[LiberAmoris]

The Instructional Manual is a pink and red blend, perfect for this warm spring day in NYC. Wet, there are a lot of strong notes vying for attention. But dry, it really blooms into a charming red musk, vanilla, and strawberry scent. The cherry blossom and cream notes are more subtle on me, although the longer I wear it, the more cherry blossom I get. It runs pretty sweet, but it's very fun and lighthearted and I think this will be great to hang on to for layering with Enveloped In Silk hair gloss.

[ellocentipede]

I should not have tried this one, because red musk always makes me queasy and gives me a headache, but I was lured in by the good reviews that downplayed the red musk. The red musk is indeed not prominent, but it's still there and I had to wash this off immediately.

 

It's a shame, because the cherry blossom is fresh and beautiful, and the strawberry cream is a delight.

[Aviatrix]

This is a bright, cheerful strawberry + cherry blossom on me. I was happy to discover that the red musk is not prominent, as it usually amps on my skin. But not this time, apparently.

It is fun and would be great for a summer's day at the beach or something. I'm still undecided if I need more of it, though.

[VetchVesper]

This is really yummy strawberry syrup and cherry blossom in the bottle and when I first put it on, but my chemistry aparently doesn't like it. The strawberry cream goes acrid on me and then waxy, sort of like the way lipstick smells. After a while it settles down and becomes pleasant, but not enough to warrant a bottle. With someone else's chemistry though, I could see this being a really fun, flirty fragrance.

[marilyn eyre]

I almost didn't put a bottle of this in my cart because Hollywood Babylon is my strawberry scent.

 

Good thing I have little self-control, because they are so different and so perfect.

 

Because to me, Hollywood Babylon is like drinking a dry cocktail while being driven around on a hot night in LA.

 

The Instructional Manual is drinking an all-natural strawberry smoothie in freshly washed clothes in a park with the cherry blossoms blooming in the middle of the day in Washington, DC.

 

I'll need a backup of this.

[zankoku_zen]

Strawberry smoothie, red musk, and a hint of cherry blossoms. This is a very red-pink blend. Both the strawberry and cherry blossom bring out a candy-like sweetness to it, and the red musk anchors it. It's feminine, pink, and musky.

 

Honestly, the impression I got is the sort of thrill you get as a teenage girl when you discover you suddenly have cleavage. You feel grown up, but there's this girly excitement and buzz and innocence about it.

[Eemia]

I've moved away from red musk heavy scents in the last few years since I think my chemistry has changed quite a bit. But damn... I love this. It was an unexpected new fixation and it smells amazing on me. Creamy and vanilla dominant with dashes of red musk that remind me of cherry dragon's blood resin for whatever reason. The strawberry is sweet and artificial in a good way, like hard candy. Cream notes can go weirdly buttery and sour on my skin sometimes but this is perfection. It's more of a bourbon vanilla cream than a strawberry cream, and it's very rich and sexy.

 

The cherry blossoms seal the deal for me though. I'm crazy for bpal cherry blossom scents, they're the embodiment of fresh femininity for me, and in this they just sing. Light and floral and perfumey, they mingle with the more heady notes for something that just seems unlike anything else in my collection. It's slightly sharp when first applied, and I can really notice the cherry blossoms more so than anything else but then it settles down and becomes this gorgeous floral-musk-cream hybrid.

 

I keep the bottle in my purse, something I haven't done often with any of my bpal bottles since I'm always worried about losing them or spilling. But this is one to grab and apply all the time. So much love for this.

[alyelle]

In the imp: strawberry medicine, cherry sweets, and vanilla sponge cake.

 

Wet: well thank god, it's not straight up food; I was worried. No medicinal smell, hurrah, just soft, sweet cherries over a smooth base of vanilla and (perfect, non-powdery) musk.

 

Dry: a wonderful earthy grain scent, which I have to assume is some weird, hitherto unexperienced morph of the bourbon vanilla; touches of musk, and... not much else. I didn't get to experience a full day's wear as I put it on after an evening shower before going out (and fell asleep long before it wore off), but I already adore it and am greatly looking forward to wearing it again.

 

Life was still going strong at 6-ish hours, with a gentle but persistent throw.

 

Stars: ★★★★

[bexabaxa]

This is my first review, so bear with me. The Instructional Manual is by far one of the best foodie/fruity scents I've ever purchased from the lab. It is a very round scent. I mostly get the strawberries and vanilla, but the red musk and cherry blossoms are definitely there in the background. It kind of reminds me of a creamier, slightly sexier version of L’Essence de L’Engouement. It stays close to my skin but I've still received plenty of compliments on it. My only complaint is that it doesn't last very long on me. My skin eats strawberry scents (probably because they smell so delicious)

 

I give it a solid 5 out of 5 stars.

[Jenjin]

Skydiving without a parachute. Blind bottle purchase from the lab on a quest for a fun, red fruit scent. Plus, I just love the cover art on this one. So awkward!

IN THE BOTTLE:

oh my! Please pass me a sugary slice of that shivering, white cake absolutely drenched in plump, almost ripe strawberries. At first whiff this is a sweet, sparking strawberry that raises my eyebrows and ignites the senses. I'm not sure about this!

WET:

Is it red? It smells red. Anyway, after application, the strawberry explodes all over the place. Not shortly after, it changes again! Cherry Blossoms are falling, falling all around me AHHHHHHHHHHhhhhhh. This is fruity goodness. I don't have anything like this-am I too old to wear this?

DRY:

The strawberry disappears, white, spinning cherry blossoms and red musk with a touch of the lightest, whipped cream swirl around. The red musk burns its way to the surface, transforming what was once a sweet, girly strawberry, into a scent with so much depth and personality-It smells expensive!!!!

NOTES:

I don't have anything else like this because I fear strawberry perfume. I don't want to smell like burying your nose in a redheaded, calico wearing strawberry shortcake bush. The Instructional Manual has blown my mind-morphing and transforming itself from little girl to high class, silk swaddled courtesan. I am fortunate to have a bottle of this and sense it will age into something even more beautiful and hypnotic with time.

RATING:

9.0

Edited May 6, 2016 by Jenjin

[unxolve]

At first I was worried. Strawberry Sufganiyot is my FAVORITE strawberry, but by itself? Maybe too much. I'm not much of a musk fan either, really? But here?

Mute, sweet, creamy, pink. The most sophisticated treatment a strawberry could get. Subtle and pretty. Seconding that it feels expensive. And everything that's good about the strawberry peeks through a lacy veil. Really feminine and beautifully balanced!