Kumiho

[lilirose]

Nine-tailed fox demon of Korean lore who transforms into the visage of an irresistible beauty in order to seduce men and lead them to their doom. A sharp, biting blend of crisp white tea and ginger.

Yep, that's tea all right, only a strangely perfumey tea...and I don't mean that in the sense of jasmine tea or lavender tea, but rather...maybe tea with a little touch of soap?

This is a very crisp and clean scent. I can't find any ginger at all, but I'd swear I smell a bit of rose.

Quite pleasant, but entirely too refined and proper for my personal taste. Edited April 4, 2008 by lilirose

[akiko]

Very nice!

 

Imp: sharp, vaguely citron, pleasant - clean & summery

 

Wet: more citron - reminiscent of Phobos, but with an added depth

 

Dry: I'm getting more of the tea now, and it's still vaguely lemony. This is definitely something nice for spring or summer.

[fairnymph]

In the bottle: Smooth, slightly sweet piney-herbal white tea and fresh sharp ginger. Refreshing and light; not what I would call biting.

 

Wet: White tea, whoa! I've never smelled it so clearly in a blend before. It is very, very smooth, and almost citrusy in its herbalness. Delightful! It's like a sweeter, citrusy version of the lab's green tea note. The ginger remains light and fresh in that juicy-bright way, not the overly sharp dry way. Yes, there's a kick, but it's light.

 

Dry: I think there's citrus beyond the tea note; my guess would be yuzu zest, and/or possibly grapefruit, because it's quite tart-sour but also a bit juicy. Along with the herbal tea and freshly spicy ginger, this is a lovely blend. Simple, but wonderfully coherent and balanced.

 

Later: That zesty citrus has faded, and overall, this has weakened. The white tea stays true though, as does the zing from the fresh ginger. While less crisp, it's still very lively and bright. There's a mild soapy note that keeps this clean. This has a pale, white, misty feel.

 

Summary: This softens and fades rather rapidly, but is a wonderfully seamless blend of fresh, invigorating ginger and herbal, smooth white tea, with faint hints of citrus zest and a clean aquatic note. Very unisex, cool, and refreshing, but without being at all sharp or astringent. Low throw, poor lasting power; needs to be slathered.

 

Very enjoyable but a bit one-dimensional and unisex for my tastes, as well as so short-lived and light in throw. It could have potential for layering with sweet scents which need some brightening with fresher notes.

[gchris]

In Vial: this stinks!

 

wet: Has an edge of vinegar and some sweetness.

 

dry: this has turned out very nice and mellow. I like it.

[charshark]

In the imp: Pretty! Nice, crisp scent of white tea.

 

Wet: Slight tinge of ginger and white tea blend beautifully on my skin.

 

Dry: The ginger's more prominent now and it balances with the white tea into a pleasing smell.

 

Overall: I like it. I'm sure I'll be wearing it quite often.

[Epiphany]

The lighter side of ginger.

 

In the imp--very clean and fresh.

 

Wet: White tea and a very nice bright ginger. This is a very happy, light scent. The tea has just the right amount of crispness to balance out the ginger. Lovely.

 

Dry: Very true to the wet, still light tea and ginger, but the ginger is a bit more gingery.

 

This is a very playful fragrance and it's something that I might wear on a sunny day, even though ginger scents aren't really my thing.

[goblinshark]

I think this is my new favorite scent. On me it smells exactly as it does in the bottle - lots of clean ginger & a light, crisp floral background. It reminds me A LOT of Clinique 'Happy' which I have always loved. I've already ordered a 5ml!

[Lamia]

Very lemony without any eyewatering cleanser. A mild fresh lemon.

[ErinZ]

This fades completely away within hours on me, but while it's there it smells exactly like Bath & Body Works' White Tea and Ginger.

[brsis]

Initial thoughts: Whoah momma. Love tea, love ginger, love the various fox demons in all their nine-tailed varities. I want, and I want bad, and I really hope it loves me as much as I want to love it.

 

In the imp: The ginger is so sharp it's almost citrus, but there is an unmistakable pale tea underneath. This is definately the kind of light, pungent scent you'd get if you leant over a steaming cup of one of those exotic herbal teas.

 

On the wrist, wet: Ginger. Sharp, biting, acrid ginger. This is a fox with sharp little teeth! I'm a big fan of ginger, but this might be a tad too potent even for my tastes unless it mellows in the dry-down.

 

Twenty minutes later: This still smells just like the steam coming off a particularly potent blend of ginger tea. It's very yummy, but a bit sharp and potent for my tastes. This could potentially be a really good layering blend, however.

 

Verdict: Keeping the imp, but undecided on a bottle.

 

Tl;Dr: Hot, steaming and delicious, but sharp, ginger tea.

[thelaurenator]

This scent is one of the most straightforward scents from Black Phoenix, and I've tried a bunch. It's pure white tea and ginger-- crisp, fresh, summery, and lovely. This is definitely a big-bottle scent for me.

 

My one complaint is that it doesn't last very long on me and the throw isn't that great. You have to get really close to the skin to smell it since it's such a subtle scent.

[gecko]

This starts out as a lovely fresh citrus-ginger blend, very cheery. Then at drydown my chemistry strikes. It turns into floral talc on me, and smells just like that Maja perfume my grandmother used to wear. While it's pretty enough, it's too old for me.

[mhickle]

In the imp, Kumiho smells kind of cookieish, but then gets lemony as soon as it hits my skin. After it dries, it smells exactly like the description! White tea and ginger all the way. It's a great summer scent, but is suuuuuuper light and doesn't have much throw.

 

It doesn't last very long, too, so as much as I like the smell, I probably won't get a bottle or anything.

[krysaia]

In the vial: Mostly ginger - I can't really detect the tea.

 

Wet: All ginger, all the time. I like ginger, but this may be a bit much for me, and I'm not sure I really want to smell like it.

 

Dry: This fades relatively quickly, but before it goes away, it smells very much like lemon cleaner. Of course, the cleaner stage is when I get the strongest throw. Figures!

 

Verdict: I think I would've liked this a lot better if the tea note had been stronger - maybe it would've mellowed the ginger out a bit. As it is, this doesn't work on me at all. I'm pretty iffy on the initial ginger stage, and I'm definitely not a fan of smelling like Pledge.

[Greensleeves]

This scent was a real disappointment to me. I was testing it at a friend's place so I couldn't get a lot of notes from it, but my overwhelming experience was that of a pleasant enough, but largely-commercial smelling lemony floral perfume.

 

I kept getting notes of amber even though I don't think there's any in the blend, and amber *hates* my body chemistry, it always just smells like commercial perfume instead of the multi-faceted and subtle blends that I think of when I think of Bpal.

[cam]

In the bottle, this has the sharp, refreshing scent of ginger and fresh lime peel. On my skin wet, it smells pretty consistently like that too. Sadly, Kumiho completely disappears on me as soon as it dries. Bummer! Will have to look for another use on the forums.

[Caerphilly]

In the imp: Clean, delicate, sharp, strong. White tea and ginger, and I detect a bit of (white?) musk in the background. I love it and can't wait to try it.

 

After 5 minutes: Actually, not even that long, and I can't smell a thing on me. I ask my boyfriend. He can't smell it either.

 

Overall I love it! It's beautiful....in th imp. Clean, refreshing, summer scent. In the imp it smells as if it would last. But it goes away quickly and smells like nothing.

[azndragoncrimson]

Oh my...oh my, this is love! I may have just found the perfect scent for me! Perfect for sunny days anyhow ^_____^ It's very crisp and lemony with overtones of ginger...and stays that way! Very little morphing. Kumiho also lasted for hours on my skin. The throw is not strong, but I still could smell it six hours later. Mmmm....wuv! ^___^

[Reaver]

Bright, citrusy tea. VERY bright. I expected 'white tea' to be milkier but this is almost a jasmine tea. It's easy to see where the asian influence of the subject of this blend comes in. The ginger is light and sweet, making the tea pop rather than become almost dark like it does usually on my skin. This said, most of my experience of tea is black tea, and often accompanied by tobaccos, resins or woods so this is a very pleasant change. Unisex and playful. I love it.

 

8/10. Keeping the imp to see if I use it enough to warrant a bottle, considering that I only have a handful of bright scents that I can wear.

[Iceblink]

Kumiho is a lovely and light citrusy/gingery tea. I'm reminded of both The Dormouse and Sudha Segara. This is something that would be perfect on a warm summer's day. Seems to have a bit more throw than a lot of tea-based blends. Very pretty!

[waternight]

Kumiho starts out a lovely white tea with a biting kick of ginger. The gingery bite softens but never fades entirely, and this becomes a gloriously fresh and simply gingered tea blend. Easy to see why it's so popular.

[Andrea912]

Wet: smells exactly like the two notes promised: white tea and ginger; very zesty

 

Dry: didn't change a bit; too biting; I would layer it with Kuang Shi bc I think the flat mango orange notes of Kumiho would be brightened by the too zesty white tea and ginger in Kumiho

Edited December 19, 2008 by Andrea912

[Suu4LC]

Just what it sounds like sniffing it from the imp-white tea and ginger! Very nice! I would like to see how this is on my skin, but it smells great in the imp!

 

Yep, this could not be more dead on to the description! Crisp tea and ginger! Yum!

 

I feel like there is another CG tea/ginger blend that this reminds me of...I cannot for the life of me remember which one, but this is better. It is perfect! Exactly what I wanted in this blend! Gorgeous crisp white tea and ginger! Lovely! Added to the GC bottle wishlist!

[Luxari]

a very feral and sexy scent with a hint of seductive elegance.

 

only a sniffie, but made me interested in getting a decant- smells wonderful

[tajana]

Well, it's what the scent description says it is. White tea and ginger. It is true to life: a chilled cup of good white tea and freshly sliced, lemony ginger. There's not much more to say. Nice and bright, refreshing, crisp, and light... but also simple as far as perfumes go. It just doesn't have enough character for me... why settle for simple and nice when I can settle for complex, intriguing, and wonderful? This is probably a good choice for people who really enjoy tea notes or clean scents, and whose chemistry fares better when there are fewer notes involved.