Kabuki

[sugar]

Compelling, complex, and utterly enigmatic: a luxuriant, exotic blend of cherry, red musk, and star anise.

kabuki

I was enchanted by the description of this scent: so intriguing and exotic. I’ve always wanted to smell like (I imagine) a geisha would smell.

I was a little disappointed at first sniff. It smelt somewhat like maraschino cherries. Perhaps a little like almond essence (something of which I’m not particularly fond). Though I have to agree it is a very enigmatic and unusual scent. I wear it when I want to feel mysterious.

In the bottle: cherries/almond

Wet: cherry and almond

Dry: A definite change in scent. A bit more floral? I can definitely detect something lovely but I don’t know what it is. Musk? Ginger? Star Anise? I guess it lives up to the ‘enigmatic’ tag!

[Iona]

This is...bizarre

 

I love the smell of it wet, it's bright juicy and yummy with just a hint of spice behind it to keep it interesting.

 

as soon as it dries, one whiff and my throat closes up and i start choking..i've..never had a sensitivity like this to anything...wonder what's causing it.

 

and almost as soon as i had written that it went away and got sweet again, i can live with this.

 

15 minutes later

 

annd my skin has eaten it..funky

 

[surf-tormented]

It reminds me of The Red Queen and Florence, both of which contain a dominant cherry like fruit note and then blend into a wood or musk. I like The Red Queen the best out of the three.

 

Kabuki starts out strong cherry on me, almost too sweet. Then when that calms down, I can't smell much of the anise and musk. So I think I will trade me imp to someone who likes cherry and perfumes with a foodie edge. This is way too cherry cream on me.

[Deiicide]

The first sniff from the imp is sensual cherry musk. A cherry that actually works on me? Say it isn't so, the musk tempers it a bit and a bit of the licorice smell is coming forth. Without the licorice, i'd say the initial stage is kind of like Mania with the soft fruits and the musks. Almost sense a bit of wood in the background. As it dries the cherry smell I love is sucking it up and my body is amping the licorice. I don't know if I want to smell like black jellybeans. Glad to try it, but sadly it's not for me.

[heathercaley]

First off, let me start by saying that I love red musk, anise, and cherry. I was excited to try this bad girl out.

 

Freshly applied, it's freaking NyQuil! NO NO NO! Don't dooo this to meeee!! It's all anise! The red musk adds a deep darkness, almost like the booze found in NyQuil. Almost herbaly.

 

Salvation though friends! As it dries down, the anise totally calms down and allows the red musk to come through in it's all powerful sexy glory. The cherry is almost absent on me, only lending itself a brightness that compliments the red musk, and sweetens it up.

 

Once dry, it stays about the same as it was on the drydown.. sweet red musk, with a bit of anise poking around the nether regions. I love it, but I don't think that I'll need a bottle, as the imp should be enough for me.

 

Verdict? The sniffling sneezing sexy head medicine that'll get you laid by your manbeast.

[melrose]

First on, wet: straight-up maraschino cherries. I love them - I never keep them in the house, as I could eat the entire jar at once.

 

As it dries, the cherry fades a bit, and I become sad, but then - the red musk and anise blend into the cherries to take this to another level entirely - it smells, fresh, clean, sexy, and faintly sweet.

 

I'm blown away, as I was anticipating a bad ending because I can't stand anise.

 

Definitely top 10.

[fairestrocza]

In the Imp: maraschino cherries

 

Wet on Skin: cherries, a blast of musk, and just a hint of anise

 

While Drying: reminds me a bit of Smut

 

After a Little While: The anise is pretty subtle… just enough to let you know it is there, without being overpowering. Red musk is great on my skin. The cherry sinks into the other two notes, just adding a touch of fruitiness, though it can feel too sweet at times.

 

Later: This lacks the depth and staying power of Smut, and the anise disappears, so it ends up feeling like a weak wanna-be Smut.

 

Final Thoughts: Decent throw initially, but not overly aggressive. However, it doesn't last terribly long. I think I'd be more entranced if I had not yet discovered Smut. I will let this one age to see if the anise picks up some staying power.

Kabuki earns a 3.5/5 on my skin.

[but6682]

Oh my God I am in love with this one!

 

I'm glad my last swappie let me try this one. It's amazing wet and semi dry it smells like juicy black licorice jelly beans. Once it's dry though I can't tell what it smells like very well. It's just sweet smoky wonderfulness!

 

ifl it! definitely getting more of this one

[Tess]

In the bottle - A very musky cherry, but I'm not getting any anise from this at all.

 

Wet - This isn't at all like the cherry in Jailbait.

 

Drying - Oh, er, hi there, anise. The cherry has gone... well, I'm not sure how to explain it. It isn't fake the way that cherry candy is, but it still has gone very fake. The musk is just not around at all. It's fake smell with anise on me.

 

Dry (3 hours) - Nothing really has changed in this. Still very, very fake smelling on me.

 

Overall - I don't think I've ever found a scent with cherry in it that I've liked...

[Myrrha]

Oh dear, I had such hopes for this one.

 

Wet: a blast of red musk. It is very strong and there is a cherry smell with it. The cherry plus red musk is not a nice smell at all and reminds me of public bathroom deodorizer. Almond and anise come out as secondary notes. I love almond but it is really overwhelmed by the other notes.

 

As it dries: The red musk lightens to tolerable levels, the almond disappears and for about 20 minutes it smells like fruity red musk with a twist of anise which is interesting but not something I want to smell like.

 

Dry: Straight fruity red musk. The fruit note is no longer recognizable as cherry.

 

I am starting to think I should just avoid the strong red musk scents. It is probably much nicer on someone with a different skin chemistry.

[mimosa]

Wet- maraschino cherries, very strong

Skin- Hello cough mixture, I remember this from childhood- please don't stay like this.

Dry- cherry and aniseed, getting better, then the anise amps into liquorice and the cherry disappears.

Try this if you love liquorice.

[Coldfire]

Imp: very Cherry!

Wet on Me: STill cherry with the promise of something deeper

Drying Down: The overpowering almost almond-y scent of WOW Cherry is mellowing and the red musk is balancing it.

Dry: now I mostly only get the red musk. When wet this thing is very heady. Dry it mellows to something nice.

Edited June 15, 2010 by Coldfire

[Vega]

Sniffed: Juicy sweet cherry, with an anise edge.

 

On skin: Strong cherry at first, but upon drydown, red musk comes out to complement the cherry. Now it's predominantly warm, rich red musk, coloured with cherry zest and brightness. I can't smell anise, but I think it's adding a spicy touch while tempering the cherry. Overall, Kabuki is warm, sensual, silky-smooth, a bit velvety, yet syrupy in texture. There's a bit of a cough-syrup edge, but it's quite discreet and doesn't bother me. The cherry sweetness eventually recedes, finally leaving a berry-touched red musk that fades over time. Colour impression is a dark, silken blood red.

 

Verdict: Kabuki is a beautiful, evocative blend that is nevertheless not something I see myself wearing often. I'm glad that I got to try it, but I don't think it'll stay for long.

[Gold Dust Kitten]

This is a popular scent, and I've been wanting to try it because I like cherry and star anise, and I love red musk. I can pick out all the individual notes in this blend, but they don't play well together. I smell like a cherry cough drop. It's taking over my whole body. I can't wear this.

[lilacea]

This was recently included as a frimp for me from Coffeewithjack. I proabaly wouldn't have tried it otherwise, the mention of cherry and anise together didn't sound right with me. But, oh my, it's devine! Immediately when I sniffed the imp, I picked up red musk and cherry, quite a nice combination. I'm slowly developing a liking for red fruits, and cherry is becoming more of an interesting note on my skin. On first application, the cherry is strong, red, voluptuous, gleaming, swollen, deep red cherry, fruity and very, very sweet. It's like a glacé cherry or a cherry liqueur. It pretty much out-plays the red musk even at this point. But once it begins to dry down, the cherry settles. It still retains it's deep quality and adds just a little sweetness to the blend. The star anise isn't too strong at all, but I did pick it up before looking at the notes. I think it plays well off the sweetness and high pitched density of the red musk and cherry, lending it an earthier, more balanced tone. As it wears, it becomes sweet grounded red musk. I love it.

 

If you like Gothabilly but find it hard to come by, grab some Kabuki. It lacks the vanilla note of Gothabilly, but I imagine layering it with a creamy vanilla heavy blend may bring out an interesting scent.

[Kayah]

This was a frimp from the lab.

 

The oil in the imp is dark, kind of brownish, it looks very appealing.

I opened the imp and swiped the wand on my wrist and..

 

oh my god this smells like the fake cherry in cough syrups.. get this off me, but wait, maybe it will calm down into something else.. I will endure... it takes only a few minutes for it to morph into what I perceive to be cherry and black licorice.. I hate licorice - it is one of the few things in the entire world I will admit to actually hating the smell and taste of.. and now I smell like licorice.. I don't think I even let the red musk develop much although usually that's the first note that comes out on my skin.

 

I lasted about 10 minutes before I mixed something more earthy and powerful on top of it because I couldn't wash my hands at the time.. Umbra killed the licorice smell and overpowered the cherry and I am so happy.

 

I am sad, but this imp will find a new home for someone who likes to smell like what to me is awful cough medicine and gross candy.

[Caerphilly]

Ooh, I like this one. Slightly sweet and dark. Initially, in the imp, cherry and peppermint. Wet on my skin I get cherry and eucalyptus. it dries to a nice licorice. I didn't know what was in this, I read the notes after I tried the imp, and the notes are basically what this smells like! I could smell some red musk, but I think this more because the oil is a dark color, that my mind just went to red musk. usually red musk overpowers all the other notes, but not in this. Black licorice and cherry, yum!

[Geminirubyshoes]

My bottle of Kabuki is almost 3 years old (it has the old blue and white label). When I first got it, I liked it ok but not enough to actually wear it often. I hoped with some aging it would turn into a wonderous scent as most blends with red musk tend to do. Indeed it has become incredible!

In the bottle: cherry tootsie pops! Seriously, that's all I smell

On skin: the oil is a dark purpleish red and it's a mixture of licorice and sweet cherry. I love to eat licorice and smell like licorice!

Drydown: smooth, musky, spicy cherry. Serious throw! Makes me feel enigmatic and powerful.

I tend to slather but I don't need to with Kabuki, it's pretty intense. One of my favorite GC blends!

[SophieCedar]

Wet: cherry and peppery anise. A hint of red musk. This comes across as clotted sour cherries to me.

 

Drydown: a little nicer as the red musk gets creamier and the star anise stops slapping me in the face. The cherry gets sweeter too. I can see why people are fond of it. It's not 100% me, however I can see using this in late spring/early summer.

[ModderRhu]

in the imp: just cherry

 

wet on skin: VERY CHERRY + a little cool anise/minty feeling at the back of my throat when i smell it.

 

dry on skin: cherry has calmed down. anise is much more noticeable. not getting red musk, at least not yet.

 

ETA: a little later, i am getting the red musk. it smells just like the infernal lover at this stage, but with a little anise. i thought i had the "non-red musk" version of IL, because it didn't smell how i expected red musk to smell. finally i know what it is supposed to smell like it's creamy, and a little salty, kind of like cake batter? with some cherry...weird.

 

late drydown: just red musk!

Edited January 20, 2011 by ModderRhu

[RhinestoneHousewife]

I love cherry and licorice and anise but typically I'm not a huge fan of red musk. Well, it all works beautifully here. Super cherry candy smelling in the bottle, then the cherry fades back a bit and I get light cherry with anise and a dash of red musk. Lots of throw and it lasts a long time on me. My first wearing of this, I spilled the bottle and inadvertently slathered myself. Whew, it was so strong that I had to put it away for a while and try it again later. Now I love it again!

[JLH]

I received this as a frimp with my first order, and I have to say that this is just not for me. Both in the imp and on my skin, the cherry and anise combine to produce what smells (to me) like a strong, cherry cough syrup. I'm not sure if my nose is very sensitive to the cherry or if my skin amps it, but I found this so strong on my skin that I couldn't wait to wash it off.

 

So, this is for cherry lovers, but not for me!

[Ella LaRose]

I got this in an imp lot, and fruit is just not my thing, and I hate black licorice, so there was nothing about this that I liked, BUT, if you like black licorice and fruit, try this scent, cause it is strong in both those areas!

[Voleuse]

Hmmm. On first application, this is all cherry, but it's quickly overtaken by the star anise. It's very much like a bag full of black and red licorice...which I dislike. Alas! If you're a fan of licorice, I suspect it would be delish--it's not stale and sticky, but sweet and fresh licorice.

[Pynki]

This started out with lots of cherry and a touch of spice and florals in the bottle.

 

As soon as it was on my skin it started to amp the star anise.

 

Dry? All star anise. Unfortunately I don't like that licorice smell. It's the first bpal that I've gotten that I REALLY don't enjoy, but I guess I know to stay away from the star anise note now.