The Mahogany Tree

[suki]

The Mahogany Tree

Christmas is here;
Winds whistle shrill,
Icy and chill,
Little care we;
Little we fear
Weather without,
Shelter'd about
The Mahogany Tree.

Once on the boughs
Birds of rare plume
Sang, in its bloom;
Night birds are we;
Here we carouse,
Singing, like them,
Perch'd round the stem
Of the jolly old tree.

Here let us sport,
Boys, as we sit-
Laughter and wit
Flashing so free.
Life is but short-
When we are gone,
Let them sing on,
Round the old tree.

Evenings we knew,
Happy as this;
Faces we miss,
Pleasant to see.
Kind hearts and true,
Gentle and just,
Peace to your dust!
We sing round the tree.

Care, like a dun,
Lurks at the gate:
Let the dog wait;
Happy we 'll be!
Drink every one;
Pile up the coals,
Fill the red bowls,
Round the old tree.

Drain we the cup.-
Friend, art afraid?
Spirits are laid
In the Red Sea.
Mantle it up;
Empty it yet;
Let us forget,
Round the old tree.

Sorrows, begone!
Life and its ills,
Duns and their bills,
Bid we to flee.
Come with the dawn,
Blue-devil sprite,
Leave us to-night,
Round the old tree.
- William Makepeace Thackeray

Sorrows, begone! Sweet wine, sparkling laughter, warm companionship, and the song of night-birds under a canopy of rustling mahogany: robin-red currants, soft nightingale-brown tonka, glossy starling-black labdanum, hearth-warm amber, mahogany sap, winter woods, a splash of Muscat, and gentle Christmas snow.

In The bottle: The Mahogany note from Glowing Vulva plus some distant red wine.

Wet On Skin: Same, but with the mahogany note even stronger and the wine receding into almost an afterthought.

Dry Down: A little touch of ozone has shown up- which I'm imagining to be the snow note this time out, but mostly this reads like a Mahogany Single Note. Sadly, I'm not getting any tonk a or amber at all and the wine note seems to have vanished entirely.

In All: Low throw and a little seems to be going a long way on my skin. Since I really like the Mahogany note, I'm happy to have a bottle, though I wasn't kidding about this behaving like a single note on my skin- I'll let it age and revisit to see if anything pops out in a few months but for now, I shall treat it as a single note and use appropriately

[Anne M.69]

Very well blended, it's mainly woods and amber on my skin, but I amp amber and woods so I was expecting that, all the other notes are there in the background, with the snow showing up as a realistic chill in my nose and running down my back.

I'm glad I tried this today, I thought it might be a bit heavy for our summer weather, but it's actually cooling me and amplifying the effect of the fan.

 

ETA: I just realized the combination reminds me of going to wineries to taste their wine, because it has wood, Tonka, fruit, and wine notes.

Edited December 22, 2013 by Anne M.69

[gloame]

This reminds me of mulled wine. It's not quite mulled wine, but it has that mix of currant and wine with a lot of woodsy. Not too alcoholy to wear to work. It's light enough that it doesn't overwhelm. I think it'll be better as a late fall scent than winter for me.

 

4/5

[tziporra]

I'm such a sucker for sweet sappy woods.

 

Interestingly, I didn't put this on my decant list because CURRANTS. Dark fruit and I have a rocky relationship. But I'm lucky to have got a sniff of someone else's bottle because we seem to have reached a truce: the currant just adds a hint of juiciness to the sweet rich wood.

 

This really reminds me of A World Where there are Octobers, but more complex and wintery. It's really the ideal midwinter scent for someone who doesn't want to do food or snow. This is quite syrupy and achingly sweet on me, but without the foodie associations that might make me cringe. In other words, delicious,

 

Definite bottle.

 

Tzi

[tinyvulture]

Rich mahogany crossed with warm, grainy amber...a winner for sure. I love the lab's mahogany note and it's the star here beautifully blended with amber as well as syrupy sweet labdanum and tonka, and just a hint of slush/snow. No currants or wine for me, but I don't feel anything's missing. So gorgeous. I need all the wood blends and definitely this one.

[Aviatrix]

I am getting mainly the mahogany and the resins in this one. Mmm, sweet, soft resins. I can't pick out the currants or the Muscat. Overall it's a pleasantly comforting scent that really does evoke warmth and laughter. The mahogany is quite sweet.

 

On me, it didn't actually change very much from wet to dried down. The throw is decent.

 

I am contemplating getting a bottle to wear on icy winter days when I need a shot of coziness to get through the day.

[zankoku_zen]

Wine, amber, woods, snow. This one is a warm, cozy blend with no single component being overwhelming, or taking over. This blend is like one giant happy gathering of friends - where there is warmth, good cheer, and fun.

 

Overall very pretty, but it doesn't grab me like some of the other blends.

[ReallyZeb]

In the bottle it's all currant, very juicy and bright. When its wet I get currant and cigar smoke and expensive wine - it smells like my idea of an early 20th century gentleman's club, all restrained but very luxurious masculine luxury. It dries to winter woods and sap. All in all very masculine to me.

[OctoberGwen]

This is quite lovely. I get a lot of beautiful gleaming wood, a bit of currant and Tonka, a hint of snow, and an unfamiliar sweet note that has to be the Muscat. It is a very mellow and comforting blend, not too masculine on me but unfortunately just a bit too sweet.

 

If you like sweet wine, woods, and resins you will probably swoon for this one!

[dementia_divine]

In the decant: Sweet wine, currants, and resins.

 

Wet: I am getting the sweet wine and currants still, but the resins quickly became the strongest on my skin. The sweet wine and the currants are lingering in the background. I am not getting any of the snow at all. Unfortunately, I don't seem to be getting much of the tonka, either.

 

Dry: Fruity resins.

 

Verdict: Not my cup of tea. I'm glad I was able to try it, though!

 

*edit* I ended up using my decant in an oil burner, and it was a very lovely room scent with a decent amount of throw!

Edited January 25, 2014 by dementia_divine

[Magycmyste]

In the imp: Interesting. I get a warm, fruity scent, like warm grape juice or apple juice. Definitely not what I was expecting. Must be the Muscat and currants

 

Wet on skin: Still appley-grape in the air, but a more floral scent on my skin. Dark floral. Or actually, after looking at the notes again, the amber.

 

Dried down: The amber is a lot stronger now, but stays close to my skin.

 

Throw: Sweet fruit, with maybe a bit of sugar, but fairly faint.

 

Verdict: **** This is rich and complex, and I like it a lot. I don't see myself getting so excited over it that I think I'll reach for it too often, though. I'll probably keep the decant, and maybe look for a bottle in the future, but I don't need one right now.

[Larinessa]

Bought for my boyfriend, so going off how it smells on him.

 

In the bottle- rich wood and wine. Color type, a deep burgundy brown with golden highlights.

 

Dry- warm sweet wood with a slightly berry (like cherry or currant) undertone. Or a wine with those as notes. Sexy.

 

Verdict- makes my fella smell sexy, and he loves it.

[JazzieCazzie]

Lagniapped with a partial decant of this from a much-loved BPAL friend ... we have very similar tastes and she mentioned she was surprised how much she liked it, and added in a sniffie for me ... I would not have ordered this because of three death notes, but still was willing to try it ... though I consciously "test drove" it before a scheduled shower to be safe. Smart move.

 

IN THE IMP: Sour wood.

 

Dabbed on wrist and in crook of arm.

 

WET: No. Just no. Nasty on me. Wood-based cleansing fluid? Boozy wood-based cleansing fluid. Boozy (wine death note) fruity (currant death note) wood-based (mahogany death note) cleansing fluid (no clue).

 

DRYDOWN: Yes, I let it dry. I think my friend said it was nice when it dried. But it's just horrible on me. Musty, cloying and boozy.

 

OVERALL: A total washoff which is fine (see above scheduled shower). Test drove this with Memory of Primal Secrets, also a washoff. But hey, I'm glad I tried it. I'm trying to be more adventurous in my foodie adventures this year and I should occasionally try a new scent I think I'll hate, just to remind myself that after 10 years of BPAL I know what I like and what I don't like.

 

On a scale of 1-5, a 1.

[brilliantcat]

The currants are the strongest note both in vial and wet on me. The wine speaks up pretty quickly and it's a nice rich, almost syrupy wine. Surprisingly I don't get any wood at all at this stage. I actually never get any wood, for some reason this blend is reading as very perfumey to my nose. This is a nope for me

[thekittenkat]

In the decant: The mahogany wood softened by sweet and resinous goodies.

 

Wet: A touch more woody, a tad bit less sweet.

 

The dry-down: A lovely woody scent that's tempered by most all the other notes: the currants and tonka are floating in the Muscat and it's being poured all over the wood, to soak in and just make the mahogany even more resinous.

[Lethran]

In Bottle: Brightly currant dominant with wine support on a canvass of mahogany. The mahogany is understated, but lovely. Wet: I really love the current. It’s so bright and cheerful. The wine is still in support and goes really well with it, but is more distinct on the skin. I’m not generally good with wine notes, but I might just be able to carry this because they go so well together. The mahogany is gentle but absolutely lovely with the currant. For my taste, I’d rather more mahogany and no wine, but I really like this and it’s a good design. Dry: Red Currant, mostly.

[Ethaisa]

So, it looks like I amp currants Berry notes aren't always my friend, but this.. whoa. Which is very disappointing, because otherwise this is gorgeous.

[milo]

Very nice, strong rich wood and a touch of red fruits on me, which must be the wine. This is fresh, green and woody, kind of reminding me of The Twisted Oak Tree, but I like that one better. This is quite nice, though, and I finally know what mahogany smells like!

[porcelina]

here was my reaction when i first applied and sniffed The Mahogany Tree: "holy $%@&!!!"

after sniffing lots of mostly-good bpals this afternoon but wondering if i was going to find any that i really loved, here comes mahogany tree. first, this is a gorgeous rich wood scent. and it's definitely a wintery scent with the soft minty feel of "christmas snow," the woods, the red currants and wine, but the delicious tonka and amber and gorgeous labdanum are so warm and resinous and keep it in personal scent territory (as opposed to a room scent).

swoon-worthy, and i will wear this a lot during the winter.

[Missy_killer]

In the imp: Oh wow. what IS that? It's like.. currants without being currants, wintery without being spicy or cold. If that makes any sense at all? It's manly for 2 seconds before swiftly changing. It reminds me of Variety of Pleasing Amusements, but as far as I can see they don't share notes with eachother.

 

On: Berries, honey, manly and clean. Whirling together, it's such an odd combo but it works! I bet this will smell Godly on a man! It still reminds me of VoPA and it's absolutely wonderful! I really need a man in my life to test this on! I like it very much and if I can't snag myself someone to wear it for me, I'll just have to do it myself.

[Zorra]

There is this resiny sweet note that I think is the mahogany. But no currants, no wine. When I first tried this in 2013 I smelled a snow note, but not any more. I don't miss the snow, but I would have liked to smell some wine or berries (preferably the wine). I wonder if it will work to layer it with The Zadok Allen Vineyard, that one has a very strong wine.

 

edit: typo

Edited January 29, 2016 by Zorra

[Blood onmy hands]

My decant is old now, but I don't get any fruit from this. Just warm, powdery, dry woods and a soft, sweet incense... very light and doesn't have much throw or staying power on me.

[Lucchesa]

My decant of The Mahogany Tree is also old now, but I do get a hint of redcurrant and wine along with the mahogany and amber. The amber-dominated drydown smells really classically BPAL to me, lovely and warm. I'm not getting the snow note, which is fine with me. This wears close to the skin on me, but so do most things.

[puddingirl]

Frimp. I can smell sticky sweet syrupy wine and currants. I don't think this has aged well. It still smells the same when dried, something has turned, or it's just not agreeing with my skin. Off to swaps.