Kuang Shi

[brittanywut]

Bust out the dzang dzi! This scent honors the zombies of Chinese lore. Mandarin orange, white musk, mango, and white sandalwood.

In the imp: Sandalwood and mandarin orange.

Wet: Same as above, but softer.

Dry: Light sandalwood and orange. This scent is *extremely* soft.. Or my skin just eats this up in an instant. Sigh, disappointing. It smells great in the imp. D: I do recommend trying it though, everyone's experience with this seems to vary a LOT so maybe others would have better luck than me!

[Maleficium]

IMP: a soft, delicate but almost malevolent scent. I'm not really sure how to describe it. It fills me with uneasiness despite being light and fruity. I smell fragrant orange blossoms, tart fruit, and some other kind of white pale floral smell.

 

WET ON SKIN: fresh, really fresh. florally musky.

 

DRY DOWN: It's softening and rounding out to a pleasant tea spice. It still gives me the willies though, or maybe I'm just being nutty!

 

EVEN LATER: It disappears in a very short span of time. Sad, because I was just beginning to really like it.

[AnyseLawsBray]

In vial: Soapy sandalwood. Before BPAL, I despised sandalwood because it smelled like soap to me. This is the only blend I've smelled so far that reminds me of the 'Dark Ages' in my olfactory progression.

Wet: I think mandarin is the main culprit in destroying this for me. It rarely works on me. It is pulpy & citrusy sweet. The mango seems very green to me, and quite juicy.

Dry: A very green feeling musk. It reminds me of a more mellow Embalming Fluid or Shanghai, actually.

 

Verdict: Mandarin slays me. I like the idea of this scent, but it doesn't like me.

[impolight]

:::KUANG SHI:::

 

 

The Lab has rendered a brilliant tribute to the sanguivorous undead of China. Aside from some of the more unique characteristics such as raniform hopping and a verdant pelt, these vampires are a force to be reckoned with. Lightning can take out a Kuang Shi according to one article. Actually, the Lab’s Lightning would make an epic pairing with Kuang Shi. One can only try… More to come at a later date.

From the Imp: Ooooh, nice! The Mandarin Orange is the most noticeable. It’s hard to tell whether it’s the White Musk or the White Sandalwood that’s balancing so harmoniously here. At first impression, this is a whole lot like the ECHT KOLNISCH WASSER 4711 cologne that comes in the bottle with that fetching teal and gold label. This has a really nice, citrusy and clean fragrance. If there is Mango in this, it isn’t really noticeable at this phase. It is subdued, biding its time until its potential gets unleashed by biochemistry.

On the Pulse: Argle-bargle! Behold the Mango! Mango of the SNL persuasion; sweet and swishy with a perceptible attitude. Although there was no mention of them in the notes, there seem to be a heaping helping of Aldehydes that come out to play at this phase, and Mango-soap fit for a snooty girl is the result.

This one seemed to be much better from the Imp. It would make for an ideal room fragrance. On the skin, it is too confectionary for comfort. Even hours later, this would be right at home in a bulging sack of marshmallows.

3 out of 5.

[Psypomp]

This oil smells like body heat and sweet florals on me. I don't get all the notes described by other users, like orange and mango. It's not unpleasant, but it's the sort of scent I'd only wear in an office setting or something similar. Rather innocuous.

[nome]

In the bottle, this smelled so bitingly, horribly bad (like fruity kitchen cleaner spray) that I put it on right before doing chores because I wouldn't mind contaminating it and washing it off.

 

After the first thirty seconds of biting harshness on the skin, it softened into something rather pretty. The orange was still kind of sharp, but the sandalwood beefed it up into a warm, feminine, but not fruity or floral scent. After ten minutes, it was a nice blend of orange and sandalwood with maybe a hint of mango poking through. At least one of the notes is giving me a headache, I think the fruit, but it's still something I would recommend for others who don't associate the scent with discomfort.

 

Fades fast -- half hour in, I had to sniff my wrists directly to catch it. Much more musky at this point. I like white musk, but the weird fruity-headache-note is still tugging at the back of my eyes. Two hours after application, it was completely gone.

[Smaragdina]

In the frimp – fruity perfume. More mango than orange. Meh.

 

Wet – perfume. Fruit and…sandalwood? Really nothing remarkable.

 

Drydown – department store ‘perfume’ note vanishes, and the fruit becomes more prominent but never really takes off. Definitely more mango than orange, and there’s a spicy note – sandalwood? Not bad, but too generic for my tastes.

[KittyHawk]

I wore Kuang Shi last night while watching the season finale of The Walking Dead; it seemed a fitting homage.

 

Kuang Shi is in the same family of fruity white musk scents like Fae and Katharina, but with a base of sandalwood. Orange is an iffy note on me; sometimes it goes sharp and pithy, but here it's creamy and sweet, like a freshly opened can of mandarin oranges. The sandalwood plays a nice supporting role without getting too strong, and the white musk rounds everything out.

 

I wish the mango was stronger, but overall this is a great blend for anyone who likes light musk and fruity blends with a touch of spice. I'm a fan, but given its similarity to other GCs I own, I won't be getting a bottle (yet).

[lohengrin]

In the imp: Sandalwood, musk and just the tiniest hint of fruit.

 

On skin, wet: Same. Phooey.

 

On skin, dry: A little bit more fruit, but still mostly sandalwood and musk.

 

After an hour: It's gotten fruitier, much more balanced now. The sandalwood and musk are still dominant, but I can smell the fruit clearly enough that I can tell it's the mandarin, not the mango, that's actually showing up. May be worth a re-test.

[whitsunweddings]

In the imp: Swwet mandarin.

Wet: Lovely! Mandarin and sandalwood. Very soft and pretty.

Dry: Very faint sweet citrus. I liked i, but just couldn't get it to stick around on me. I tried it as a room scent but it seemed too faint for that too. Bum!

[filigree_shadow]

I like the mandarin and musk, but this is very soft on me, and the mandarin is a little more acidic-smelling than I like -- usually I like the very bright fruit scents (like plum). Tangerine and mandarin go a little sour on me sometimes.

[bellumed]

Slightly sour-bitter fruit and white musk smelling like laundry. On me it becomes very soft, lovely fruit (mango and orange are favorites of mine!) and gentle, clean musk. Keeper for sure!

[Deliciousness]

In the imp: A sweet fruity floral

Wet on skin: A clean, refreshing scent with a backdrop of citrus and sweetness (must be the mango).

Drydown: Wow, this got a lot sweeter! It's a lot less "clean" smelling and more tropical fruit scent.

 

I was surprised how sweet this scent turned out to be on my skin - but its ok, because it still smells fantastic! This scent reminds me of a tropical getaway with sweet drinks and exotic fruit. YUM!

[brilliantcat]

In the imp and wet, I get musky orange, which smells far better than it sounds. Although there are fruit notes, this isn't a primarily fruity scent and not at all foodie. It has some bitterness to it. On the drydown, I'm not fond of the way the white musk is behaving. At the same time, the mandarin is fruity sweet and reminds me of pez while the musk is trying to go old lady perfume. Overall, it's ok but I didn't love it the way I thought I would. The mango never makes an appearance, which disappoints me

[Jangzonrice]

Bought an imp from the lab to try. Wet: mango, slightly bitter mandarin. This is very bright, but not sweet so I like it so far. Dry: mandarin with sandalwood. I like this too. Not getting much musk at all. Throw is minimal. Staying power is not great, it only lasted for 2 hours so I think I need to use a fixative next time. I really like this despite the poor throw and staying power. Maybe it will last longer in the summer or spring when it is hot outside. I am debating getting a full bottle before it is discontinued.....

[Eemia]

This only lasts about two hours on me but it's worth reapplying. It's delicate and pretty at first, all mandarin and mango underscored by a clean, soft musk. The fruit smells natural, but not overly juicy or sweet. The mandarin smells very similar to King Mandarin single note, which is one of the best scents I've ever worn. The mango melds with it so that it's not entirely citrus. Shortly afterwards the fruits wear off and it's all musk and sandalwood, but the lightest, most gentle version possible. The sandalwood isn't even very woody as it usually can be on my skin. It's more of a little something that just adds depth but I can't put my finger on if I didn't already know it was sandalwood. The throw is as mild as the whole fragrance is so I have to slather it on everywhere to really notice it. Still, it's a great scent, especially since I love the mandarin note so much.

[mymymai]

ITB: This really is an absolutely gorgeous scent, even on first sniff, it's like a less creamy creamsicle with tones of mango and gentle sandalwood underneath.

 

Wet: It's still really lovely. The mandarin is a bit more distinct, but the mango paired with the musk and sandalwood is still warm, creamy, and just delicious. Yum!

 

Dry: It's a soft candied mango and light, billowy sandalwood and musk with faintly more citrus mandarin under it all. This is an absolutely lovely blend and I'm sad to get to know if after it was discontinued.

[Veronica]

This is so pretty! Bright, juicy but not foody orange over a soft white musk and sandalwood base, and sweet, ripe mango in the background adding sweetness, feminine and light and pretty. A shame this is discontinued!

[Malaena]

In the imp: Citrus.

 

Dry: It starts as mandarin with a bit of mango. I never detect any ginger or sandalwood. Over time it becomes more pure mandarin. After a half hour it starts smelling like hair dye. I literally thought to myself "Did I do my hair recently? Wait...I don't use permanant dye..."

 

Verdict: Hair dye smells icky. Thanks a lot, skin.

[Lucchesa]

White musk is almost never good with my skin chemistry. Kuang Shi is mandarin-scented soap on me. There's a Seventh Generation or Method laundry detergent that smells exactly like this does on my skin. Oh well, at least I didn't fall in love with a hard to find DC!

[dementia_divine]

In the imp: Bitter mandarin orange and white musk, backed by the white sandalwood and a bit of mango. The mandarin orange in this is so bitter that it makes me think of neroli.

 

Wet: Bitter mandarin, mango, and white musk. Then, the dry, white sandalwood emerges. This smells like a citrus-y soap infused with bitter orange peel.

 

Dry: The mandarin isn’t as bitter as it was during the wet phase, but it is still bitter. I’m getting a little more mango now. The white musk is still going strong, and the white sandalwood is stronger than it was before.

 

Verdict: This is too bitter on my skin, sadly. I am glad that I got a chance to try it, though!

[donkehpoo]

Wet: Warm sandalwood and mandarins. Lovely!

 

Dry: The sandalwood is a little stronger than the wet stage now, but I'm still getting some sweetness from the mandarin and mango. I can see how this could go soapy on some people, but it's rather flattering on me! Keeper.