Kumiho

[freyasfae]

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.

 

Mmmm, this is exactly like it sounds. It's a light tea scent with ginger (though the tea seems more green tea to me than white tea - it actually reminds me of that 90s Elizabeth Arden Green Tea scent, which I totally wore, and which apparently they still make cuz I just googled it!). It has a perfumy quality to it that surprises me - it gives it more staying power than a lot of tea scents. I suspect it has a white musk or something else to give it more oomph than a lot of the BPAL tea heavy scents.

[achildoftime]

I love this scent a lot. It's a perfect spring scent, though I'll wear it all year round because it's so cheerful. It's simply white tea and ginger, but that doesn't take away from its beauty. Kumiho is a much longer lasting tea than a lot of them, so that makes me beyond happy. The ginger isn't biting or particularly spicy, it's the sweeter side of ginger. This is absolutely one of my favorites.

[Bones613]

On me, Kumiho is a sweet ginger. I don't smell any tea, but I think ginger fell victim to my sweet-boosting tendencies. Still, I love the clean, sweet smell of this. One of my favorites - it is always soothing after a long, stressful day.

[h_yeti]

I'm not sure why but to me, Kumiho smells pretty citrus-y, like grapefruit. It's a very fresh scent, clean without being soapy and slightly astringent (from the tea I guess?). The ginger lends a warming quality, which I like. My mum who loves fresh, citrus scents really likes this one. Personally, I think Kumiho is nice but just not my cup of tea!

Edited March 21, 2018 by h_yeti

[boomtownrat]

I want to enjoy Kumiho because I love most anything ginger, but that tea note really is sharp, biting, and crisp on me, turning this initially light scent into a potential brain spike after it dries. Almost without fail, fragrances that other people describe as "clean" are bound to trigger migraines or push me right to the brink of one before I wash off the scent. My skin turbo-charges both the white tea and the ginger. Both of these notes have worked for me in other BPAL scents that contain sweet, round, or dark notes to smooth over the astringency. I may try a test layering with something sweet, something vanilla, like Snake Oil or Morocco.

[fizzbangdangcharade]

In the bottle: Syrupy sweet ginger tea

 

Wet: The thick sticky syrup is gone; the white tea is blossoming out, getting lighter and brighter as it unfurls from my skin

 

Warming: It smells like it's sparkling. The bouquet of white tea is sweet without being overly sugary or heavy. The ginger helps keep the sweet in check; it doesn't add any spice or bite (like many ginger items do) it just blends nicely.

 

Drydown: Since I put it on, I almost feel like the scent has been unfurling. Like a thick mist rolling off of my skin, slowly spreading and evening out. The scent itself has remained unchanged (not too surprising, given it's two notes) but honestly it's nice in its simplicity. At this point it's mellowed out - my warm skin has burnt off the excess scent, and now I've got just the right amount to retain a day long aura that fills my personal space.

 

I think of this as 'clean' but not in a rain/water kind of way. It's simple. It's bright, it's light, and where some scents may feel darker, more complex and 'dirty,' this is the opposite. I put this on and I see a beautiful woman in white standing in the middle of a dirt road amid a warm summer rain. She beckons you closer, and as you oblige you notice the rain never seems to touch her. Closer still, and you can see a soft mist rising from her flesh. She smiles, and it's a little too long, a little too wrong.

 

This one is going on the list of full bottle purchases.

[donkehpoo]

Wet: A very light white tea. Borderline floral-scented.

 

Dry: Unfortunately even lighter than the wet stage, though the ginger has come out! White tea with a touch of ginger.

 

A bit too light for me to wear on my skin, but I may end up turning this into a spray for a room scent.

[Ghost of a Rose]

Lab frimp aged about 6 years.

 

In the imp: Oil is clear and a very pale yellow-green color, pretty! Like glow-in-the-dark color. The scent is 100% single-note lemon, and oh my! It's the real deal. I've never smelled anything like this from a bottle before. It's a just-cut lemon half, not a trace of furniture polish or hard candy. I can "see" the lemon halves there, seeds and membranes and all. It smells so real that I have an odd feeling of disconnect - why can't I feel or really see this lemon that I can clearly smell is right there?

 

I'm not normally a fan of foody scents, or lemon in particular - that tendency to be Lemon Pledge or hard candy. But I've always thought I might like it if it smelled like an actual lemon. Well, here it is. Proof that it can be done. And it's absolutely fascinating.

 

And lemon isn't even listed in the notes. I think Beth is toying with us!

 

My sister says she gets a faint whiff of something else, maybe florals. Perhaps the white tea? That does have a rather floral character. But to my nose, there's only lemon.

 

On me, wet: The same.

 

At 10 minutes: Still 100% that amazing lemon.

 

At 20 minutes: Ah, there's the flowery white tea. But just barely. The lemon is still the star of the show. The fragrance has already gone quite light.

 

At 1 1/2 hours: For a while now, it has been about half lemon and half white tea, with a few bubbles of ginger ale. The ginger is not hot, sharp, or spicy as you might expect. It is barely there. I have to look for it in order to notice it at all. At this point, everything blends together very smoothly. It is sparkly, light, and bright, a classic feminine cologne type of scent.

 

Verdict: This is very pretty as it is, but it would also be a great choice for a scent locket if I want it to be stronger and last longer.

 

5 out of 6 stars

Edited September 29, 2018 by Ghost of a Rose

[spookyumbrella]

This is indeed crisp! Ginger and white tea in equal measure. Clean and very fresh. A crowd pleaser scent - I cant picture this offending anyone.

[Doc Crowley]

I wasn't sold on this one at first-- upon first whiff my initial impression was a cleaning product like Lysol with an overpoweringly strong citrus topnote, and it disappointed me a little bit, especially being Korean and a lover of all things vulpine. However, I recently was able to purchase a white tea and ginger fragrance oil blend from a wholesaler at a fraction of the price that smelled completely identical to my Kumiho imp both in the vial/bottle and on my skin (I won't say whether or not one of them was imitating the other's idea, I'll give that third party the benefit of the doubt since according to previous posters Bath & Bodyworks has done the same thing). I decided to try again and slathered it on more thickly than I usually do with BPAL oils and let it soak into my inner wrist and found that the scent was better able to unfold in its full complexity when I had more to work with. At first, it starts off VERY clean, sharp, and soapy but thankfully less like bathroom cleaner and dries down to a very feminine and professional floral perfume that almost smells like an alcohol-based spray and then fading away just enough for the more sassy and animalistic ginger base note to be detectable. It reminds me of the Korean story of the fox sister, starting off with what seems like a beautiful and feminine mature woman who carries herself with grace and dignity and over time the facade crumbles revealing her true beastly side, a wild furry fox with razor-sharp white teeth that glint in the light like knives and yellow eyes with slitted pupils. Overall, it's fitting and I could see myself wearing this to something like a job interview or formal event.

[Karaline08]

Initially I get a lot of ginger from this for the first 10-20mins, it has a bite and depth to it that I just love, and then the ginger bite disappears as it dries down into an almost-floral white tea and, musk? There's sooomething sort of sweetening/deepening it that may be ginger, but I can't tell. I want more of that initial ginger bite, please come back! It does remind me a little of the drydown of Embalming Fluid. I really like this, going to try it in my hair to see if that extends the ginger kick.

[Laughing Seagull]

Bought a fresh imp from the lab.  In the vial, it smells like a citrusy white floral.

 

On my skin, it becomes a bright floral white tea.  I did NOT expect this to be as strong as it is.  Decent throw and strength, and much greater longevity than Severin (which I think is in the same "family").  The smell of freshly cut ginger comes into the picture as it dries, reminding me of fresh ginger tea.  The ginger continues to intensify as it sits on my skin, but it's not obnoxious or foody.

 

Very inoffensive.  I think it would be good for the gym/office or around people who are fussy about perfumes.

[Kebab Fiend]

In the bottle it's pleasantly citrusy, but on my skin it turns into bathroom cleaner! It lasts several hours and doesn't improve. I might be able to layer it with something but I can't wear it on its own.

 

Update: it's lovely layered with Orris Root, Carnation and Tobacco

Edited March 27, 2021 by Kebab Fiend
updated review

[Thuy]

In the imp, this has quite the zing - this is when it was most sharp to me, while still smelling clean. Wet on skin, it softens a bit and I get a very gingery citrus-like. It stays pretty clean and crisp. Drying down, it stays about the same and is stronger than what I expected. I do enjoy the ginger kick. Not gonna lie, it's similar to Bath and Body Work's White Tea & Ginger, but definitely not as sweet or floral.

[dancingchair]

A very delicate honeyed lemon ginger tea scent. The ginger adds an edge to the soft tea and sweet lemon without turning things into lemon cleaner. This will be great for spring.

[Missanneshirleyofgg]

Lemon is a complicated note on my skin and its failing me right now, This goes on with a sharp ginger and tea that I thought was summery and spa like and dove my nose in to huff. But it dried down in my skin to lemon furniture polish. The ginger was a fleeting top note on me, and what would have redeemed the scent. I can get whiffs os the white tea, but its hidden behind Mean Ole Lemon. 

[ShadowEtienne]

This is very true to description in me, and while it wasn't a scent that made me suddenly excited about it on first sniff, it is a perennial favorite that I reach for often and also often use for layering with various florals (mostly lilies).

 

The white tea note is a lightly floral and slightly minerally tart white tea, a very fresh scent. This is not the earthy ginger note found in some of my other favorites, but a young tangy sweet and spicy ginger. Very juicy but still light.

 

I don't really get a citrus note from this, though I get some of the tart tangy notes that resemble citrus in some ways. I'm definitely contemplating a full bottle of this once my imp is done.

[crystaltongue]

I keep forgetting how much I love Kumiho. It is one of the simpler of BPAL's tea scents, but it really doesn't need more going on than it already has. It is a fragrant, floral white tea with fresh young ginger. Simple, sophisticated, and elegant. I am really not convinced that there is actually a citrus note here, so much as young ginger having a tang all its own, but I can see why it reads as citrus on folks.