DRKSHDW
Helpful Review
3
FROM MAPLE DREAMS TO CURRY NIGHTMARES
Apparently, people fall into two camps with Followed: one smells coffee and maple syrup, the other smells… curry. Specifically fenugreek powder. Guess which group I’m in? Yep — fenugreek all the way. I opened that vial and BAM — instant recognition.
See, I’ve got history with fenugreek. Once upon a time, young, vain me fell for the urban legend that fenugreek capsules could enhance certain feminine features. I committed. Daily doses. It worked — but the glow-up came with a cost: a body odor so strong it could clear a yoga class. I smelled like a roasted maple curry snack 24/7. So when I smelled Followed, the trauma came flooding back. The sample went straight into quarantine: first in its own compartment, then a plastic bag inside another box. My stinky little orphan.
But… YOLO. While reorganizing my samples, I found it and decided to risk it. Fresh off a week-long migraine marathon, I was desperate for something strong. I dabbed generously — droplets on skin. Shockingly, it opened with rich coffee, chocolate undertones, creamy caramel, and a little milk. Thick, voluptuous, delicious.
Five minutes later? Burnt coffee. Woody, bitter, dark. Then the sillage hit — not coffee, not chocolate, but full-on fenugreek curry bomb. Up close? Lovely. In the air? Like I was cooking spicy breakfast for fifty. There’s an aromachemical (sotolon) used for maple syrup that, in overdose, turns into fenugreek’s evil twin — and boy, did they OD. Baccarat Rouge smells like a shy introvert next to this.
Two hours in, sweetness shyly returned, but the curry cloud lingered. It migrated too — one arm became two, then my dress, then my hair. Like the perfume version of glitter. Finally, a friend walked in, wrinkled their nose:
“Smells like food in here. Were you cooking with fenugreek?”
“Nope, testing perfume.”
They blinked. “Who would want to smell that strong — and like fenugreek?”
The fenugreek/curry/maple syrup punch in Kerosene’s Followed likely comes from sotolon — a potent aromachemical that smells sweet and nutty in small doses but turns distinctly curry-like when overdosed. Common in fenugreek seeds, maple syrup, and aged rum, sotolon was probably used here to mimic rich maple coffee warmth, but in high concentration it creates that unmistakable fenugreek sillage that clings to fabrics and travels far. Paired with caramel furanone (ethyl maltol), another ultra-diffusive sweetener found in gourmand powerhouses like Angel and Baccarat Rouge 540, the combo acts like gourmand steroids — projecting hard, lasting forever, and dividing people into maple lovers and “why do I smell like brunch?” skeptics.
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