Kumiho

[impolight]

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.

Very Very nice! Mandarin, Ginger and Limes quickly take charge of this scent.
There is a suggestion of a storm blowing in from over the ocean, though without
the Ozone one could expect from oceanic scents. 0_o
Mimosa drops by with a pretty smirk...
This scent is a blustery sort of blue. A daydream in a place far from home.

Very nice! Almost immediately, this scent introduces what seems to be Mandarin, Ginger and Limes.
There is also a suggestion of a storm blowing in from over the ocean, though with none of the ozone
associated with The Lab's oceanic or stormy scents.
Mimosa makes an appearance with a pretty smirk on her gob...
This is a blustery blue scent. A daydream in a place far from home.

ADDED Jan. 18:

Very nice!!! Mandarin, Ginger, and Limes! There is this suggestion of a storm blowing in from over the ocean; though, with none of the Ozone that typically accompanies aquatic/cloudy BPAL formulas. 0_o
Mimosa makes an appearance with a smirk...
This is a blustery sort of blue.
A Daydream in a place far from home.

[Schmoozy]

 

A perfect summer scent. It's crisp, sharp, fresh and extremely juicy. This is exactly what it says ginger and white tea. Love.

[reynardine]

Note: Another used purchase, cobalt bottle, old label, so this one is aged.

 

I’m finding I really like the lab’s tea notes and this fragrance is no different. (Actually, I wanted to try it because of the fox connection—I love my foxes!). Very clean and fresh scent. The tea gives it a nice base and the ginger livens it up. Reminds me a lot of Embalming Fluid. I should test the two side by side to see what differences they are. Daytime summer scent for sure. Refreshing!

 

[skyelyric]

This is such an amazingly clean scent. It's a more mellow ginger than what I smell in something like Nanshe, which is like a fresh-split root. Kumiho is very refreshing, but refined and simple.

 

There is almost zero morph on me from imp to dry down, just a tiny bit of sweetness, though like most light scents it doesn't have the greatest staying power. I actually get a mental image of the shaded bank of a pool with waterlilies--no aquatic notes, just a cool, clearing moistness.

 

When my imp's gone this is on the big bottle list for sure. The family matriarchs even approve.

[DeltaCat]

This smells exactly like B&BW's White Tea and Ginger! Fresh tea, light citrus, and spicy ginger. Very nice.

[lilwhiterabbit]

White tea and ginger with a hint of citrus, it smells exactly the same on my skin as in the imp. It's very light, pretty and refreshing--the perfect thing to wear on a hot, sticky summer day. It's not distinctive enough to blow me away, but the imp I have will be getting a bit of use.

[hkhm]

imp: tea. pretty straightforward.

 

wet: this is bright and fresh but ultimately, it's just tea single note on my skin. not even a hint of ginger.

 

dry: this reminds me a great deal of the dormouse, i also get something close to tea single note with that scent. perhaps i amp tea notes?

 

(edited for spelling idiocy)

Edited April 27, 2010 by hkhm

[cortigiana77]

In the imp: floral, green, clean, subtly spicy.

 

Wet on skin: the spiciness of the ginger pushes to the forefront, and the tea adds a depth and sweetness. Complex but fresh, a wonderful springtime scent.

 

Doesn't have an especially strong throw or last all that long on me, but I think this would be a great scent to use in the house.

[heywilma]

Ginger and I do not always get along, but my love for tea was enough to overcome my fear of sharp ginger notes, and I'm glad that I went for it. This is just beautiful – the white tea is amazingly soft and romantic, and I detect no ginger whatsoever. There is a similarity to The Dormouse, but Kumiho is even softer, prettier. I love it. This is totally going on my bottle list.

[voorishsign]

Been back and forth about trying this - love tea but ginger doesn't always work. This could go either way - let's see.

 

In the imp: pleasant, slightly sweet ginger and a tea note.

 

On wet: Fresh, pale green - this isn't ginger like gingerbread cookies, this is ginger like pickled ginger you eat with sushi, which I love The tea keeps it from being too sharp.

 

Drydown: the tea takes precedence and the ginger only remains to add some spice and freshness. This is a refreshing, light, gorgeous scent, perfect for spring and summer. Keeping

 

[CitizenBree]

Clean and fresh. Very much a fresh cup of tea with lemon. A lot of lemon.

[Vega]

Sniffed: Light, watery, green tea, very much like Holiday Moon, Ehecatl and Shanghai.

 

On skin: A definitive green tea blend: light, clear, refreshing, watery-green, with a slight bite from the ginger. Kumiho falls somewhere between Ehecatl and Holiday Moon -- less tart than Ehecatl, but brighter and sharper than Holiday Moon (the smoothest and lushest of all the green tea blends I've tried). Kumiho is a simple, pretty watery-green blend that walks the line perfectly and doesn't go high-pitched or citrus-sour. Colour impression is the pale, clear yellow-green of a cup of matcha.

 

Verdict: Holiday Moon is still my green tea first love, but Kumiho is very beautiful in its simplicity, an exemplary specimen of a green tea blend.

[imaginepageant]

Review from 2005.

 

In the Vial: Very lemon, but I suppose that might just be the ginger. I also think I smell something slightly berry, and it strangely reminds me of Kool Aid. The tea is definitely there, crisp and fresh and dry. This is very similar to Shanghai and The Dormouse.

 

Wet: It doesn't change much, except for the brightness of the lemon/ginger to mellow out a bit.

 

Dry: It softens and sweetens just a smidgen, and takes on a bit of a powdery feel, though not the typical powdery smell. The ginger is smelling a lot more like ginger now. It's still a fresh, sunny, crisp scent.

 

An Hour Later: It's faded off so much already that I can hardly smell it! There's the faintest hint of lemon tea, but that's about it.

 

Overall: If this had lasted on me, I still don't think I would've kept it, since it's so similar to all the other lemon scents I've tried; Shanghai and Empyreal Mist are still my favorites.

[frecklestars]

In the bottle: well, that's definitely white tea and ginger! it smells exactly like the Bath & Body Works white tea and ginger scents, although this is of course better (b/c it's not from some huge corporation - but I could go on......). it's not as sharp as I was dreading; the two balance each other very well.

 

On my skin: turns a little more white tea and almost floral on my skin. the bite of the ginger lingers in the background, despite the first impression being very tea-like. it's not a complex one, but it's definitely pleasant.

 

Last thoughts: it's femme but with an edge, and isn't your traditional femme-y floral, so maybe it'll make a nice alternative for people who want femme but not floral. nice blend, to be sure, but not what I'd wear on a regular basis. just a bit too predictable (although props to BPAL for _making_ it exactly what I imagined it'd smell like, based on the description!).

[Balame]

In the Imp: I can barely smell the thing, practically had to stuff it up my nose! I can make out lemon and that's about it.

 

Wet: Wow, this is so clean, and still rather hard to pick up. You'd really have to slather this if you wanted any kind of throw whatsoever. The white tea is so fresh and pleasant. A pure, invigorating scent. Not getting a lot of warmth or spice from the ginger.

 

Dry: Now the ginger has made its appearance. Sadly, I liked it a LOT more in the wet stages when it was just a refreshing cup of white tea. I feel like ginger's bite clashes too much with the pleasant simplicity of tea, but then, I guess "conflict" is supposed to be a part of this scent.

 

Overall: This made me want to find a nice tea scent, but having been mixed with something spicy I'm just not feeling it. It's actually a bit aquatic, which is fun, but it feels both too homy and like it's "trying too hard" to be seductive.

[KittyHawk]

Imp: Medicinal lemon and sharp sharp ginger (or maybe it's the tea? I'm not sure), yuck. This does not bode well.

 

Wet: Hey, nice and sweet lemon! Where did you come from? I think the tea is balancing out the bitterness of the lemon that I smelled in the vial.

 

Dry: I smell a little ginger now, but thankfully it takes a backseat to the lemon and the tea. It's got a good throw, too. I can't put my wrist right up to my nose, but it's enveloped me in this lemony aura of wonderful.

 

I am shocked that I didn't completely hate this, as I don't have a particular affinity toward any of the notes. It just goes to show what a good blend and branching out of your fragrance comfort zone can teach you. This is a great scent for the awful humid summers here in the south. Beth is just brilliant.

[Honey]

Kumiho - where did you go?

 

 

Imp: Yep, that's crisp white tea and ginger. Extremely light! Barely noticeable. And with a hint of citrus.

 

Wet: Smells the same but stays weak in character.

 

Dry: Poof! Gone. Not even the ginger lasts on my skin. I could empty the imp over my head, I guess I'd still break my nose sniffing for the scent to linger and bloom.

[Corvidchaser]

This arrived with a batch of Imps purchased from Balame today

Since I saw TEA was in the notes, I had to have it! Very clean crisp, refreshing and given a kick by the ginger. There's a fruit in there I cant quite place my finger on yet..citrus has been mentioned but it seems more like the rind not the juice.

It lasted well but not as well I'd like for such a refreshing scent that acts as a "pick me up" whenever it crosses under my nose.

[Incendiare]

I like how my imp has aged over the past year. At first, it was a bit too sharp for my liking. But now, the sharpness has calmed down a bit. In the vial, it's like a sparkling citrus tea with a slice of ginger. On me, the tea is even stronger and the ginger takes a backseat. This is so clean and perfect for warmer days.

[Eliyetres]

Very light and a bot ozony, like a cold autumn night. Clear, crisp but still sharp, though it doesn't have a lot of throw. Very fresh, the ginger stings my nose a but, but not in a bad way! Not really anything I would wear since I prefer foody or vanilla notes.

[rhubarb3point14]

This is lovely, although I don't get much ginger from it. On me, it smells almost identical to the way I remember Elizabeth Arden Green Tea (which I used to wear many years ago) smelling.

 

I imagined it would be spicier. I would like it to be spicier! But still, it's a keeper. Very nice to wear out to dinner with family -- it doesn't intrude or clash with food.

[Psypomp]

It's funny that so many people have noted that Kumiho doesn't last long, because this is one of the few scents I have that stays on all day! I immediately get strong florals and a hint of ginger, with white tea on the dry down. My imp is only 2 months old, so the notes might change. This is one of my favorites!

[bibzerneth]

I received this as a frimp in my last order. In the bottle and wet it smells sweet, clean and a little fruity, I don't detect the ginger or white tea which is good because although I like to eat/drink those things I don't want to smell like them.

Dry it smells very fresh and clean and exactly like my memory of a Love's perfume that some little girls wore in the 80's, not the pink one, Love's Baby Soft, but the blue one, I think it had the word fresh or rain in the name. Fresh Rain?

It's a very nice light scent, but not my thing as it reminds me too much My Little Ponies and Barbies.

[Kayah]

imp: I smell tea!

 

wet: oh, the tea and ginger play nicely together - each is balanced, not TOO sharp, but certainly biting, in a good way.

 

drydown: same gorgeous ginger and white tea

 

 

I love love love this scent.

[Innocuousmold]

I was stoked to try this one because of my Korean heritage!

 

Kumiho started off with an aggressive lemon and lily smell to me until drydown when it chilled out. I didn't really get any of the ginger so far as I could tell, but the tea came out really nicely. The flowers in it are great- really sweet and fresh, not cloying but very steady and beautiful. On me, it's a well-rounded scent that is so pleasing to smell; I totally wasn't expecting that. I'm sad that the ginger didn't come out well for me, but I am so happy with the lemons, lily and tea that I get. Bonus, it lasts a long time too!

 

This is such a great scent and I think that it would please most people.