Tambae

This perfume is an absolute dream. I am the biggest fan of paper like skin scents.. And this is exactly that. The paper note in this is woody and a bit sharp. That woody pencil shavings type of sharp. I am sure a bit of that woodiness is coming from the oud, but it is definitely not a stinky oud. It slowly turns more creamy and smooth from the tobacco and amber. The tobacco has a honeyed quality that is to die for. I think Tambae made me realize I am a huge fan of honey notes. Honey is very distinct in its taste and smell, but this isn’t over the top in the slightest. This makes me feel like I am in an old library with huge wooden tables, studying late at night in university. I am with my friends and we are all tired, but tired to the point where everyone is happy and delirious. There aren’t many other people in the library. The rows of books and tables are lit by old small lamps that are giving off a warm yellow light. You can smell the wooden tables and furniture and the old sweet pages of the books. It is an ultimate comfort fragrance to me.

Tambae smells like pulling an all-nigther at the art school at the end of the semester. It's late night, you sip on ginseng tea (because if you drink one more cup of coffee you heart will sure stop), your jacket is smoked-in from all the cigarette breaks you took and half-finished sketch is staring at you from the easel. But the night is long and you secretly enjoy working under pressure 🤭 I absolutely adore the smoked ginseng tea opening and warm and soft blanket of oud and tobacco in the dry-down.

this is simultaneously sooooooo sexy and cozy! it smells like pencil shavings, paper, smoke, and the skin of someone you love. i'd immediately be attracted to anyone wearing this, it's like a sexy art student. the best longevity and performance of the line as well! overall rating: 🩷🩷🩷🩷💔 4.5/5

This scent is so incredibly cozy and comforting. The smoke and tea notes complement each other so nicely, it’s not overpowering but perfectly present. This has become a go-to bedtime scent for me (as well as daytime, nighttime, all the time). Definitely need a full bottle!

Unexpected win from the discovery set! There's something sexy about this scent! Smoky but with sweetness from Ginseng. Oud is grounding but not prominent. Absolutely love it!

This is incredibly familiar, like ink and the fresh air outside a bar with someone smoking nearby. This is unlike anything of officially smelled before, but it still rings in my nose as something I recognize not at all unpleasant. Either, it is resinous and mysterious. Like you’re going to walk somewhere you probably shouldn’t, but you will anyway. This is a smell I was not aware could be bottled. This is not anything I would ever wear myself, but I really admire it.

This is such a unique and gorgeous fragrance. Sadly, it doesn't work with my skin chemistry, but on others and on paper I am absolutely in love with it. I really get the ginseng tea, paper, and tobacco most prominently and love the inspiration behind the fragrance. All of KST's fragrances last a really nice amount of time on my skin and have intimate to moderate projection. They are all so unique and magical!

so cool and unique and weirdly familiar.... it makes me think of le labo dna a little bit for some odd reason (i can’t remember/tell which scent of theirs this reminds me of). i get the ginseng and paper but in a way i haven’t really smelled before (or smelled described as such). this feels very clean to me, cozy and somewhat skin like. a lot of skin scents pull pretty iso e super heavy on my skin, there are tiny traces of that in here but it’s definitely different and cool! to me, i think what i get most is a blend of vetiver, cashmere & lavender. a dash of iso e super. i feel like i don’t get those notes “individually” as i would in other fragrances, this rather really does feel/smell like a perfect blend of them, which results in a papery, skin like light veil. it’s also been a while since i’ve smelled ginseng, so can’t really speak on its realism there too confidently. i was really intrigued and excited for the smoke note on this but didn't really get much of that tbh. if anything, it reads/smells like the smoke you get after putting out a candle... however this is barely noticeable to me. it is somewhat there though, like it’s sitting in the background and aiding blend the other notes. i also am almost getting that certain kind of powdery smell that a rubber band smells like lol..... if anyone happens to know this smell. okay so after writing that, i went to KST website and am glad i did! they describe this as being the smell of a korean art school at night, with notes of wooden worn desks, earthy ginseng tea, delicate smoke, *honeyed* tobacco. and they describe this as sitting close to skin and that it adds complexity when layered with florals or lighter notes. i love to layer so i will definitely try this out soon and report back if i am impressed or disappointed! i feel like i should lastly note that i did receive this in the mail today and it was a bit warm from shipping. i’m gonna keep this in a dark cool closet for a couple of days and will update if anything changes! i think that this will be super fun to layer with and as an art school dropout (while not in korea), i think maybe that is where the familiarity is coming from? the paper is definitely there, just not in how i am used to smelling in perfume. i think my introduction to paper perfumes (diptyque papier) may have altered or hindered my judgement/perception on paper scents though....

I bought the kst disco set and boy I couldn’t be happier! The entire line is unlike anything on the market imo, but Tambae is easily one of my favorites. There’s something inherently sexual about these- and it isn’t just because of the promo imagery! This smells delicate, soft, very human, yet sweet. To be entirely honest it smells like your beloved’s skin in the morning, wrapped up in soft white linens. I find this in many ways, much like Marissa Zappas’ fragrance line, hard to describe in a certain way. The fragrances from kst are familiar yet incomprehensible- sexual yet innocent. Slightly dirty, but clean. Such a great inaugural line and companion to d.grayi!

A phenomenal paper scent! The tobacco and smoke in this are subtle and the ginseng in this really gives it such a gorgeous balance and brightness. The dry down is smooth and absolute perfection! This is definitely my second favorite fragrance that KST has. I need a full bottle of all of them, but this one especially!!

Weird but so alluring! Aromatic ginseng with creamy papery notes (similar to orris) and smoothly smoky oud with creamy tobacco and subtly sweet amber. It’s smoky, creamy, fresh, and warm and feels like dark academia but make it a bit more aromatic. Fun and weird and likable