Tanuki

[PurringPulsar]

Tanuki

A scent of hedonistic, uninhibited joy: bamboo reed, plum blossom, persimmon, magnolia, black pine, sweet osmanthus, flowering cherry, mandarin orange, wisteria, and yuzu.

 

In the imp: fruity and fun! I smell the mandarin and also a spicy pine undertone.

Wet on skin: some gentle floral blossom notes come out now, along with bamboo.

Dry on skin: now I see where people get melon from this-I definitely smell something like melon, as well as lots of floral notes (mainly plum blossom-for now this is behaving) and mandarin. The yuzu is a lot gentler here than it usually is, and I don’t smell as much pine now, just a faint hint. The wisteria isn’t turning bad on me either. The plum blossom may go soapy though but for now, this reminds me of Fire Pig but not as citrus-y.

After a while: damn you plum blossom, why must you turn to overripe fruit and dead flowers on me? I smell something fun and fruity which is succulent and delicious, a note I think may be persimmon, but the plum blossom is turning weird on me as it usually does. The same thing happened in Budding Moon, Fire Pig and Kiyohime. Then it turns into pretty much all plum blossom, which smells all wilted, cloying and a little soapy in here, it’s also a little bit flat now.

Verdict: this sounded like such a lively fruity-floral scent, and how could a scent inspired by giant golden balls go wrong? Sadly it did go wrong. Thanks to one of my doom-flowers, plum blossom. I really liked this at first when it was the fruity-floral fun that I expected from this scent, a carefree and joyous scent with a similar vibe to Fire Pig, citrus and blossoms all playing nicely together. But then comes big bully plum blossom, which totally ruins the scent by doing the ‘sickly-sweet wilted flowers with a hint of bananas’ thing. My skin does bad things to this note, even though I love the plum fruit note. So I had to pass on my decant of this.

Emoticon rating:

Is it a keeper? Sadly this ballsy little scent doesn’t agree with me.

If you like this, try: the Spell of Amorous Love, Fire Pig, Budding Moon, Habu, Peony Moon, Aizen Myoo

[donnatron]

Imp: Plummy mandarin.

 

Wet: Sweet and bright. Reminds me of Vampire Tears without the butter hint.

 

Dry: Nice, sweet citrus-plum scent. Very crisp and light. It evokes a hot summer afternoon sitting on the patio of a good restaurant sipping a dry white wine.

 

Throw: Moderate.

 

Overall: It's pretty and I'll use up my imp but I'm not in love. I'm sure it will come in handy during the summer months.

[goth_huntress]

I'm so glad I got an Imp of this one. I just wish I could have gotten a whole bottle. My chemistry seems to really like the Asian Shapeshifters - Tanuki, Tomamo... This really was a great one.

[iiinterstate]

I always *discover* scents after I can't get them anymore. Sigh.

 

Tanuki is great. Juuuuuust enough fruit, juuuuust enough floral, juuuust enough...miscellaneous. Its light and balanced and I really really like it a lot. I'll definitely use my imp.. and maybe keep my eye out for a bottle.

[SarahScent44]

In the bottle, I get the woodsy-ness of the pine at first, and then the sweet and rich florals of plum blossom and flowering cherry.

 

On my skin, the sweet sharpness of yuzu (which I recognize from Aizen-Myoo) comes out, and mixes really well with the light florals.

 

When it dries - wow, this is gorgeous - just light, floral, but sweet; based on the concept, I would have expected something earthier, and not quite as up my alley. But I'm keeping this one!

[ladyver]

bottle: the fruit is dominant, I spot the persimmon, maybe bamboo (not because i am really sure what bamboo smells like but because I spot similarity with a purfume I've tried before)

wet on skin: quite complex blend of blossoms, fruit and plant notes which are all there with nothing particularly dominating. the things i can just pick out are wisteria, persimmon, pine, magnolia and bamboo. i was worried about the persimmon because i'm not so keen on eating them - but no problem at all!!

dry: still a blend of everything

later: still a blend of everything with the plum & cherry blossoms overtaking the wisteria as the most dominant flower

 

This really captures spring in japan in a bottle. i like this!

[filigree_shadow]

I'm not sure how I missed this one when it was up -- I usually adore BPAL's Asian fruity-florals. Maybe it was the yuzu in this that made it iffy enough that I didn't get it. I'm not sure.

 

It definitely has that bright lovely plum blossom that I love so much, and the other florals are very nice with it. It's not as sweet as Fire Pig, and there's something in it that's a bit sharp and slightly powdery on me. I'm betting it's the yuzu. But the yuzu in this isn't nearly as loud and obnoxious as it usually is on me.

 

Personally I like scents like Fire Pig and Budding Moon better than this one because I tend to like fruity-florals that lean heavily to the sweet side. But I know that for lots of people they're too sweet, and those people should try this one!

[Lamia]

This is a particularly mischevious scent. Wet, it's floral, then disappears almost entirely. It swoops back, and then hides again, smelling of mild woods, or soft fruits, or winking flowers. It seems to have settled into a gently exotic floral scent. Giant testicles! Tummy drums! What's not to like? Sadly, after many hours of entertainment, it turns soapy.

[tartchef]

Oh Tanuki, you naughty racoon dog... you should be an utter mess on my skin, with all your flowers & fruity bits.

 

But no!

 

Yes, you do start out a tad soapy - the wisteria, magnolia & cherry blossom muscle for attention at first. Luckily for me, yuzu & bamboo link arms & plow through, sending a shower of petals into the air... as they fall, a glorious green & yellow blend emerges, tart & green & juicy, underscored by a trace of resiny wood & tea. You are like the original Dragon Moon, but with a citrusy sparkle that makes even the hottest days bearable.

 

Just when I think you've faded, you slyly emerge again, deep & tangy like citrus wood. The persimmon slinks in, sweet, heady and echoing the creamy osmanthus. Bamboo reappears, and the end result is oddly tropical - groves of exotic fruit trees with a sliver of ocean in the distance.

 

Tanuki, you are all I'd hoped the Flotsams would be... and here you were, under my nose all along I had to get an extra bottle, even!

[Nimthiriel]

Initial impression:

Something like the juicy freshness of melons, with lots of florals. I get the magnolia quite clearly.

 

First on:

Various florals, in quite an uplifting and cheerful blend.

Dry:

After about 10 mins, I get a hint of pine, with lots and lots of florals. Another 20 mins into the drydown, it's a lovely, lively floral. One I'm oddly fond of – and I'm not a floral type person at all!

 

Finally:

A great floral, but not for me. Nice to try though!

[the_cat_goddess]

In bottle: Fruity with musky citrus and bamboo

 

On initially: I think I'm getting the mandarin, cherry, and yuzu with bamboo.

 

Changes to: Pretty stable. I like this.

 

Overall: I'm biased because the name makes me think of Super Mario 3 (dork). I think it's bright and pretty and seems to have decent throw.

[Champagne]

Living in Japan and loving all the flowers in the notes of tanuki I was eager to try this blend in spite of the fact i don`t get well with florals. The osmanthus note is real, believe me, I pass every october sniffing all the trees here and I catched it immediately inside this little one! The mandarin note adds freshness to the blend, and the bamboo note is more prominet in the imp than in my skin. Oh my, I feel all the seasons united together, I`m sure any Japanese girl would love this. For me it`s the essence of the 4 seasons concentrated, almost a miracle. Hello nice florals.

[sookster]

straight sniff from bottle is deliciously fruity and elegantly floral...

 

once applied this is marvelous!! i love beth's bamboo reed note and it works just

elegantly in this blend...yuzu, mandarin and cherry are nothing short of delightful...

 

alas, the staying power is short lived, i shall just have to slather more often...

[gingiemay]

Wet in bottle - Plum, cherry blossom, bamboo reed and a hint of black pine.

 

Wet on skin - very similar to the scent in the bottle, mostly plum-cherry but with a darker not quite so sweet undertone.

 

Dry on skin - This disappears very fast... the bamboo and black pine fade quickest, leaving the plum and cherry blossom. After one hour this is gone completely.

[Coldfire]

 

 

 

Bottle: Oh wow! This knocked me on mah tukus. Gorgeous. Hedonistic is right!

Wet on Me: Now I get the wisteria, bamboo reed and magnolia with faint whispers of the black pine

Drying Down: I’m sooo loving this. It’s drying down sooo nicely. Still wisteria in the front but followed by the bamboo, pine, and magnolia. All playing nicely together.

Dry: gets very faint but still there. It has become a lovely gentle blend, but this totally gets inside my head and I can’t stop sniffing my wrist. My nose wants to make love to my wrist, this smells so goooood! The LOVE! I love that I was able to get a bottle of this.

 

[asciident]

Wet: Sharply floral.

 

First on: Cherry and pine and something sharp kinda ruining things.

 

Dry: Unchanged.

[surlygurl]

This blend sat in my swap box for the longest time before I decided to do a retest. I'm glad I did!

 

Fresh on, it's a clean fruit. Not knowing what was in it, I thought "white musk?", but now I think that was the osmanthus. As it starts to dry, the pine comes out, followed by the fruits & blossoms. This is extremely light & pretty.

 

I almost wish I could detect the individual notes like some of the other reviewers. Instead, I get 'pretty', 'gentle', 'girly'. It fades quickly, but the last little bit lingers. Just when I think it's gone, I move my arm and get a tease, like plum / cherry blossoms on a spring breeze.

 

 

[fairnymph]

Sniffed: Pale yellow oil. Tart-sweet, fruity, floral asiatic scent. Reminds me of other Japanese scents (Aizen-Myoo especially) a bunch, and the Chinese new year scents. Clean, slightly aquatic.

 

Wet: Less tart-juicy yuzu , persimmon like whoa with a little mandarin orange and fruity plum blossom. Lots of osmanthus, slightly heady magnolia, and clean bamboo. So far, not any wisteria. *crosses fingers*

 

Dry: Okay, a slightly wisteria-powdered edge. FUCK YOU SO HARD, FUCKING WISTERIA, FOR RUINING EVERYTHING. The yuzu, amazingly, has tarted back up, and a really nice edge of resiny-pitchy pine has emerged, providing lovely depth.

 

Later: Fading a lot overall - this would be a slatherer, though it has decent throw. The magnolia & cherry blossom are emerging a bit more, and most of the citrus has faded, while the plum, persimmon and osmanthus, and bamboo hold.

 

Summary: After a few hours, it fades to a very soft and mostly fruity blend of persimmon, plum blossom, magnolia and a bit of musky-resiny pine. Whispers of the other notes, maybe. It's similar to several scents I own, but unique enough that I want a bottle. Dismal longevity.

[n1k1ta]

In the bottle, Tanuki is sour and it worried me. I worry no more! Bright, woodsy, succulently fruity and heady floral is my first thought while Tanuki is drying on my skin. I can't pick out individual notes either. It's just one wonderful blend!

 

After an hour, Tanuki is more floral than anything else. I can't distinguish any individual note either. The floral is almost wisteria, but not quite. There's a romantic quality from, I think, the osmanthus. However, there's more to it than just those two notes.

 

Anyway, Tanuki lasted about five strong, lovely hours on me. I'm not sure I see a raccoon-dog in this perfume. I don't really care about that, though. Tanuki is simply great.

[redderz]

In the bottle: Mandarin orange, very clearly!

 

Wet: Floral and lovely. There's too much of a mixture for me to pick out anything in particular now!

 

Dry: Soft and floral. Very nice.

[milo]

Wow, plum blossom sure likes me! This is very reminiscent of Lover's In a Ricefield to me, only not as sweet, which is a good thing. I get a bit of fruity musk here as well. I'm quite surprised this is wearablee to me, as plum blossom is usually a big no-no. I'll certainly enjoy the imp, (probably more in the spring/summer), but I don't need to track a bottle down.

[reynardine]

In bottle: reedy, green scent.

 

Wet: fruity, still green (bamboo, I think?), a touch of floral

 

Drydown: florals coming out, still a bit fruity.

 

An hour later: Still there, well mixed, difficult to pick out specific notes. I keep thinking "green".

 

Very pleasant, uplifting scent. Fun! I'm glad I got ahold of a bottle!

[Venneh]

In the decant, I'm getting a mix of the fruits and florals, similar to Jingu, with a sharper edge that might be the bamboo or the black pine. It's pretty similar to Jingu, in terms of the smell, which worries me, as Jingu went to nothing on me pretty quick....

 

On my skin, I'm actually getting a scent, which is a relief; it's a darker fruity floral, really intriguing thus far. I'm really liking this on me; to the DISOs, away!

Edited November 18, 2009 by Venneh

[DifferentDances]

Bottle: Bamboo and plum, with a tint of yuzu citrus.

Wet: Plum blossom and wisteria, slight overtone of cherry. I kind of miss the bamboo-ness, but damn this is pretty and very Asian feminine.

Drydown: All the notes seem to be blending together, though the persimmon is making a late, faint entrance. Where's the pine? I love pine notes...

Dry: Persimmon, plum. Very very faint.

 

My rating: 3/5

[Marblemeadow]

Tanuki is an impressive scent. It has serious depth to it. It morphs often on my skin. In the bottle it is a sort of green scent - very mysterious and alluring. On my skin it has some fruity notes but with a darkness underneath that keeps it from being an overly "girly" or lighthearted scent. This is a mystical scent and I will HOARD my bottle.