To provide the best experiences, we use technologies like cookies to store and/or access device information. Consenting to these technologies will allow us to process data such as browsing behavior or unique IDs on this site. Not consenting or withdrawing consent, may adversely affect certain features and functions.
The technical storage or access is strictly necessary for the legitimate purpose of enabling the use of a specific service explicitly requested by the subscriber or user, or for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission of a communication over an electronic communications network.
The technical storage or access is necessary for the legitimate purpose of storing preferences that are not requested by the subscriber or user.
The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for statistical purposes.
The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for anonymous statistical purposes. Without a subpoena, voluntary compliance on the part of your Internet Service Provider, or additional records from a third party, information stored or retrieved for this purpose alone cannot usually be used to identify you.
The technical storage or access is required to create user profiles to send advertising, or to track the user on a website or across several websites for similar marketing purposes.
hast65 – :
This is one peculiar fragrance and not exactly what I was expecting. Something that makes this fragrance so strange to me is the fact I get what I can best describe as “an after smell”. Upon first sniff I get sharp (almost spicy) citrus mixed with lychee, but then it turns into a beautiful, sweet lychee as I pull away from my arm – and that is in fact what the dry down becomes. Maybe grapefruit and lychee aren’t the best mix, or perhaps it’s the jasmine I can’t detect subtly adding something more I can’t put my finger one – either way, I am not disappointed with the fragrance’s uniqueness, even if I am not sure what to think about it for the first 15 minutes.
This is definitely one that needs patience, though, because after 15-20 minutes, this fragrance is beautiful – especially with the citrus toned down. I find myself getting wafts of it and reacting every time to make sure it is actually coming from me.
If you’re wanting something sweet and on the unique side, this is worth trying, but I can’t make any promise as to whether you’ll love it.
alnikpod – :
I am so conflicted about Kabuki. I picture a scent inspired by Kabuki theater to be more serious, traditional, and well… Japanese inspired. This is such a fun and western fragrance, by comparison. It is younger and more modern than the name would suggest. The only element this shares with Kabuki is the name. A more fitting route could probably be something like “Harajuku” or “Geisha”, as the label has one on it (curious because Kabuki is traditionally an all-male production). Even more nitpicky: Geisha are believed to have smelled more medicinal and smoky with woods and incense. I get that Elena was inspired by the fact that Kabuki was originally women’s theater (before being co-opted by men), and thus stereotypically feminine scents like florals and fruits would be a fitting tribute. But there isn’t much here rooting it as an Asian-inspired scent besides the lychee (it doesn’t smell a whole lot like lychee either).
Anyway, I don’t reach for this one often. Every time I smell the bottle I am reminded why: It is very sweet and sugary. Almost too much so. I like smelling it on its own but one whiff is enough. I don’t really like to wear it either, but the fruity notes that come out on my skin keep me from giving it away. It’s nice to layer with, and great for covering up other perfumes you don’t like as much.
However despite all this; The tenuous name, the lack of complexity in the notes, the unwearable sweetness…There is something special about this one and I can’t say I actually dislike it.
carpinteyropbp – :
This one a bit odd, good if you like lychee and poundcake.
nalsur09 – :
This is a a very sweet smell and in a linear way. It’s like sugary sweet exotic lychee and that’s it but that’s a good thing because I am a lover of layering and blind buying. I have bought many fragrances blind that I feel need tweaking one way or another. Some sweet ones need more spice or sweet florals not sweet enough. I blind bought fancy girl by Jessica Simpson which despite the note description smells like a floral with grapefruitish sweetness too me. It was a bit to floral and I felt that it needed another element and one that amped up the sweetness so I layer kabuki with it. The lychee sweetness mixes so well with the floral palette they created for fancy girl as the fruits it was paired with also are perfect to go with kabuki. Layering these two creates the most interesting sweet and unusual spring time oriental scent, it should be an actual fragrance. I totally recommend layer these two together for a unique spring scent.
xxx.max – :
Very sweet, not sure about it. Got it by mistake, I meant to get the rosewater and gin one!
So, it’s clean, refreshing, very lush and dewy. Addictive juicy fruity notes. Doesn’t project very much, longevity is moderate. Nice, sweet and fresh like a yummy cocktail- very summery. This will go fast too I think, will keep in my purse as a refresher on hot summer days.
ZOMBIFOREVER – :
Love at first the first whiff of this lovely fragrance. It will be one of my signatures. It is sweet, but it has a surprising element that does not make it cloying. I instantly become happy as soon as I spray it. I have ordered four more bottles…just can’t have enough of a good thing.
Weri93 – :
I was on a sweet kick when I blind bought this. When I received it, I tried so hard to like it since I already got it, but even being on that sweet kick, it was just too sweet for me.
It mostly smells sweet and foody. But the subtle bit of citrus candy and sweet florals also makes it smell like one of those air fresheners or Yankee candles. It is very warm and smooth, like cookies coming out of the oven. If sweet and warm is your thing, you’ll like it. It’s not for me because I’m someone that only tiptoes around the edge of gourmand fragrances. I like my scents (and desserts) just a tad sweet. For Kabuki, they may have put too much actual sugar in it!
AnimationLover – :
My boyfriend bought Kabuki for me accidentally – he meant to get a different TokyoMilk – but he stumbled onto my love for juicy fruits and white flowers, and as such this little bottle retains its place of honor on my counter.
Kabuki opens with a big explosion of that delicious grapefruit gummy candy that’s coated in sugar, still tart inside and juicy. There’s lychee, definitely, particularly when it settles into a softer, berry-like scent. And just a trace of white jasmine. After about five minutes, it is a very berry-vanilla scent to me, and while it fades from my skin in a few hours, its tropical sweetness lasts on my clothes the entire day long.
parydrani – :
I bought this on my honeymoon in Kauai and whenever I wear it I am instantly transported back to that beautiful, lush island. I sprayed it on my wrist as my new husband and I walked through a shop. We left and walked next door and within minutes I was so in love with the smell I had to go back and buy it. It is very sweet and gourmand, so if you don’t like food fragrances this may not be the one for you. It is very fruity and distinctly tropical, but with a warm, musky base. It morphs with my body heat and becomes totally irresistible. Does not induce headaches for me either, which a lot of perfumes do. My absolute favorite smell.
andreirav – :
This is sweet..and with a slight, almost citrus rind scent to it..I like how TM has unique bottle designs and their scents* are always interesting. I found this scent pairs really well with a host of other fragrances. Whatever else is spritzed on in combination with this one, really seems to make this scent become quite nice! On it’s own, it’s very sweet smelling, and almost strange. Not unpleasant, but just sweet and strange. I feel that paired with another fragrance, it becomes amazing.
*I have another fragrance of TM’s that is not listed on this site. It is a solid perfume and it is one note: Roses. It’s called Scarlett 58. It’s a beautiful soft scent, that has the most beautiful rose fragrance. It’s soft enough that it is meant to be paired with other scents. What interests me with TM, and especially in regards to this solid scent I own, is the packaging. It comes in the most beautiful little decorated box. Fine detail lines the inside. There are these tiny cards inside of the box that have curious little pictures on them. They have the sweetest, most romantic images on them. Just all the details that went into creating something for just a fragrance is so refreshing to see. Much more unique than the celebrity fragrances that are pumped out with no real appeal on the outside other than a “cute” bottle. This is atleast interesting and unique.
wertep73 – :
I just bought Kabuki. Although at the store, I sprayed Kabuki and probably the Kiss or Cake fragrances. That combination was outstanding. Kabuki by itself is okay. When sprayed with the other Tokyo Milk fragrances, you have a wonderful combination of undescribable flavors and scents. I love this fragrance. I smell the grapefruit, I guess its lychee (I’m not certain), vanilla, and sugar. Unique to other fragrances I own. It’s tropical and sensual. I love this fragrance. I carry it in my bag and spritz whenever. This one is fun, not trying to seduce. Just fun on its own.
muachungwjq – :
This is possibly one of the sweetest and for me personally, one of the least pleasant perfume encounters I can remember. To me is smells like a concoction of a 5 year old who was allowed to run wild in a candy factory, switched on all the machines but got bored and left forgetting switching them off.
It is awfully sweet, and smelled predominantly of burnt sugar. This burnt sugar is covered by a thick layer of powdered sugar and some floral residue vaguely resembling jasmine.
I love sweet, but this is too much, and offers nothing except for this sugary punch. Apply with caution, unless you want to provoke teeth hurting to everyone who passes by.
SEROS539 – :
Powdery Lemon cake! I love it but sadly every single time I spray it on myself I sneeze for the first few minutes.
Funt30 – :
I don’t smell any citrus or sugar, just a nondescript food smell that is not especially pleasant. The only way I can describe this on my skin is that it smells like the very last dregs of a cup of coffee that had a lot of creamer in it. I don’t like this at all.
hocok44 – :
at first i liked this scent when i sprayed in on some tissue and it was different, but the i sprayed it on myself and it was really sugary smelling. it was like i was taking a bath in a mixture of burnt sugar and sugar and i found the smell overwhelming. Minutes passed and the smell just grew worse. It smelled like i was in a candle store and paper was on fire. It’s not a very pleasant scent to me or on me.
_stalker_ – :
I liked it, along with Rosewater and Gin, just wish Kabuki would last a little longer.
ddd3 – :
Kabuki was definitely not what I was hoping for. I had this idea that it would be very Japanese, elegant with light woods like bamboo, soft florals, and a touch of lychee. Instead it was some kind of confused vanilla having an identity crisis. It was slightly creamy, slightly candy, slightly synthetic. There just wasn’t enough conviction in any particular direction. And vanilla is not even a note, so I’m pretty lost as to why it smells predominantly like vanilla. I love lychee, and while it might lend to the sweetness, it’s not distinctly lychee, leaving me to wonder if it’s only sugared grapefruit giving a candy-like effect in the top notes. Sorry if this review is confusing and not particularly well-written, but I guess it reflects the tone of this hodgepodge perfume.
viktorija4 – :
Kabuki…can you say plastic? 1st a lil sweetness then dries to a plastic smell and even after that a slight vanilla nothingness.
No fear of fragrance fails. I will be trying either: French Kiss, Honey and the Moon or Let Them eat Cake.
ustas451 – :
The top notes take me back to my youthful party days, smelling like a Kamakazee shooter. Then it quickly (2 minutes) turns sweet and I think I might quite like it, until a moment later it turns to the tropical version of a strawberry shortcake doll’s head.
Maybe this does engender a geisha, or kabuki theatre in the way that the characters are not reality but fantasy. As an art form this works; as a perfume not so much though as the previous reviewer said, it’s not unpleasant.
Moncler Jacket – :
I really wanted to like this one. Unfortunately, once on my skin it ended up smelling exactly like those wax candy lips…sort of like a bubblegum scented candle. Plasticity, sweet, fake fruit. It wasn’t unpleasant exactly, just not something I want to smell like. I think it would be better suited to young girls.
vauner – :
Kabuki reminds me of Juicy Fruit gum. Ironically, I love it! I have to admit, when I first received it, I was a bit disappointed. Grapefruit? Where??? I don’t get any citrus in this at all. It is very candy-like, not a sweet-tart, but just soft and sweet, like litchi candy. On second try, I realized it’s a keeper. And it really lasts!
opJBJHGfvcxSQAW – :
This is really nice. What I like about Tokyo Milk perfumes is that they are derived from natural ingredients, and never a smell of alcohol.
I def smell all the wonderful notes, Sugared Grapefruit, Lychee & Sweet Jasmine. Lychee sticks with me the most. I think this can be worn by anyone, at any age, at any time of the year. 🙂 Enjoy!
coldunn – :
I bought this back in June, but didn’t use it much at first. I wasn’t sure if I really like it, because I hardly ever wear any real perfume. The other day I used it and one of my students told me that I smelled good, like caramel. Guess I’ll wear it more often from now on!
maximusnik – :
full disclosure: i’m a gourmand. kabuki smells like a baby~ a delicious baby! soft, vanill-ish, maybe powdery, with a *very* slight floral- and i dislike florals in general. i would agree with the posts that there is very little, if any grapefruit. not sure what lychee smells like, but the sweetness likely comes from it. so i went into a boutique & tried the ENTIRE tokyo milk line- including the darks. (i sprayed my way through 4 bottles of honey & the moon in a few short months, so i knew i’d be a fan of at least some of the others!) when i read ‘grapefruit,’ calyx came to mind (from the 90’s) so i originally put it down, then something said, hey, you drove all the way to this boutique- may as well at least sample it. well, it’s just ETHEREAL, like something an angel might wear! i would classify as gourmand, but not overly, like aquolina’s pink sugar. if i had to compare it to another scent, it would be coquette tropique. i wish a had enough to fill a tub full of it every day to soak in~ i’m smitten!
serega2014 – :
love it! so sweet and delicious! sparkles on my skin! truly amazing!
Kamaz – :
Definitely a citrus – sweet fragrance. I also get a hint of vanilla, almost no jasmine, at least not the true essential jasmine I’m used to, there is a hint of a floral somewhere. I’m not too familiar with lichii other than dried. The sour note is the pomegranate and citrus. Who would have thought to put citrus and sweet together like this. I bought the skin lotion along with it to make it last longer and the only place I have ever seen it is in one of the airport shops. Good thing I travel alot because I like this one. I have ordered Let Them Eat Cake for me and am curious if it will be something like Demeter’s many cakes and sweets fragrances.
gunua-vova – :
I was actually pretty bemused when I read what is in this, becuase to me it smells like a batch of sugar cookies with hints of almond and cherry. I finally bought a bottle after weeks of spraying the tester on and I am so happy with it. Its very comforting and lasts for hours. :]
ammi2009 – :
smells AMAZING in the bottle, but for some reason once it’s on my skin it loses all of it’s citrusy warmth and just becomes stinky, overpowering, and nauseatingly-sweet. maybe it doesn’t react well with my body chemistry.
KaxeR – :
I found this perfume overwhelming when I first smelt it out of the bottle. Once applied it was much more pleasant. The lychee is the main note, however, once applied to the skin, the citrus becomes much more evident. The scent is sweet and is great for day time hours. I personally like to mix it with Poe’s Tobacco, the two scents meld wonderfully as one is a little sultry, while this one is light.
GRANT05 – :
burnt sugar – caramel but not quite….
neptunkazan – :
I don’t get any of the citrus when I wear this at all. Even smelling from the bottle or paper I don’t smell it. To me the sweetness is very very warm like straight from the oven sweet breads or a rich creme brulee. Its quite intoxicating. It doesn’t suit me alone so I layer it with TM Gin & Rosewater for a bit more crispness and edge.
shustik – :
I want to give another review on this perfume. I gave this another chance and I have to say this is really pretty delicious. Where French Kiss has almost a masculine smell, and I want Cake has an edible vanilla sugar smell, this perfume is just very sweet, very feminine and the litchi stands out here. I have to say that I think this is one of my favorites from Tokyo Milk so I needed to update my review
зомби111 – :
I think this smells a lot like the other scent by tokyo milk, I want cake, and I actually prefer I want cake better. Both scents have a little bit of a similarity to Bath and Body Vanilla Sugar. I think this fragrance might be a little sweeter and candylike in comparison to I want cake, but since I prefer the smell of warm vanilla sugar over candy I like I want cake more. I can almost say Kabuki is a cross between French Kiss and I want Cake. Allthough not a bad fragrance by any means, since I already have French Kiss and I want Cake I really don’t need Kabuki
tkachenkoivan – :
Yes I like the French Kiss from the Tokyo Milk line and let me tell you its great. I sprayed it on a jacket of mine a week ago and put the jacket on this morning and the fragrance is still there. Its wonderful! Need to find it and buy it! Love it!
кнопик – :
Don’t waste your time reading the notes attributed to this scent. Perhaps that’s actually what went into the bottle but it has nothing to do with how the perfume smells. It’s delightfully sweet with a bit of alcohol bite but none of the usual tartness that comes with citrus, none of the “juice” that litchi usually brings. It’s also extremely smooth without any layering–once it warms on your skin it will remain constant until it finally fades (lasts well BTW). The closest I can come to describing it would be a martini with pomegranate or blood orange in it. If you like perfumes with a liqueur note (Lacroix Absynthe, Ungaro Apparition, etc) you will almost certainly like this.
koljan1122 – :
I was pretty geared up to have this one be my favorite out of the whole line. All of the notes listed are among my favorites, and I could imagine a way they’d be interesting together. Unfortunately, this is actually the first in the line that I actively dislike.
Grapefruit, even sugared grapefruit, to my mind should smell crisp and tart and fresh. This doesn’t. I’d heard that it smelled more like orange or lemon than grapefruit and I’d have been fine with that, but to me it doesn’t smell like citrus of any kind. I can’t really make out lychee at all, and, well, I know and love lychee pretty well. I’d also heard it was a candy scent, which is fine with me. And it sort of is, but to me this comes out smelling like bubblegum rather than a fruit candy. Maybe that’s just the way it works with my chemistry, but I couldn’t get past that impression.
All that being said I can see how lots of people would like it. It’s very feminine and sweet and playful. It’s not really bad, just not to my taste and really, really not what I was expecting. On the other hand I’ve found that I quite like Tokyo Milk’s Lapsang Su Chong, which I’ve never seen anyone review and I’ve never seen any store stock. Seeing as I impulse-ordered that one without ever smelling it and decided to wait until Kabuki came in to a local store so I could test it first, I’m glad that it wasn’t the other way around.
Creerpeclus – :
I love love love this scent. It is a delicious fruity floral. The sunny citrus notes make it very good for summer. I did not like it at first spray, it was initially very sweet-tart but after about 15 minutes I could not stop smelling myself and went back for it. The grapefruit wears off some after a few minutes, letting the jasmine come through. I will admit that something about this reminds me of a fruity hard candy – thank goodness the floral notes balance it out. It mellows well. Lasts pretty well, too, a few hours on me. Very uplifting, always puts me in a happy mood.
uao390intitytek – :
I love candy type scents. This is candy without any burnt sugar or plastic or musk! I am in HEAVEN! I LOVE this. I bought a 2nd bottle immediately upon receiving my first. This scent opens just as the note description appears. “Sugared grapefruit, lychee and sweet jasmine crushed and distilled to perfection.” It is the way I imagined that FRESH Sugar Lyche Perfume would be (but isn’t). To me, this Kabuki scent is very close to the FRESH Sugar Lyche lotion (which is much better then the FRESH perfume that is supposed to match) ! PLEASE make this forever! Lasts about 3-4 hours on the skin.
ryzhnik – :
Definitely a sweet citrus. There is a little bit of a tart grapefruit, but tons of sugar to sweeten it up. The litchi does not come through much to me, maybe a touch in the background. As with many citrus fragrances, the lasting power is a bit weak, somewhere between 1-2 hrs. A very good daytime, warm weather fragrance.
rusiw211440 – :
Oh my, this is a lovely scent. Sweet, yes, but sweetly exotic. The initial notes are citrus, but they are not very clear. Is it lemon, is it orange? The ingredient list says grapefruit, but that’s not what I get. There is no sharpness to the citrus. After about ten minutes, it turns mellow and the initial sweetness becomes warm honey. I like it.
Where would I wear it? It’s a perfect day scent for spring or summer. Not too loud for the office or anywhere you’ll be in close contact with people. It stays close to the skin, but not so close that you don’t know it’s there.