Mahogany (2004)
by Etro

Anyone has idea why Etro Mahogany is not listed officially among Etro perfumes?
I had a chance to try it recently and according to my tast it's not an Etro type of fragrance. It's not strong, it's not recognizable, it's not unique. I would define it as a nice, very tender and very elegant fragrance. Still having difficulties to figure is it suitable for women use.

21st January, 2012.

In the course of the  first ten minutes of the short development this fragrance turns out like the smell of your hands as well as you have rolled a cigarette of tobacco and red marijuana  after having piled mandarines and oranges. The citrusy harshness is made of orange, lime, bergamot, black pepper, vetiver, dry amber and spices. The aromatic and edible note of marjoram and dry spices (that imprint the typical touch of exoticism from Etro) enhance the dust but i would talk rather about general tartness than about dust or earthy harshness. Some herbs are mixed in the blend i suppose, together with tart cedar. The smell doesn't evolve so much with time, becoming just woodier with a sheer note of sandalwood expressing its balancing role and going to become smoother because of a chord of faint vanilla and soft musk. In the time the temperament holds on being woodsy and basically tart and  grassy although with a less impressive strength. Mahogany is basically a fragrance grounded on a base of vetiver and citrus in my opinion, it's a very citrusy vetiver as well as Vetiver Etro is a very herbal and grassy vetiver. A touch of smoke and olibanum colour the woods of the base. It's in the same vein but less distinguisced, rooty and masculine of Terre d'Hermes. Not bad.

16th November, 2011.

Notes: bergamot, marjoram, cypress, clove, cumin, pepper, sandalwood, vetiver, vanilla, musk, amber
This is an excellent and very enjoyable woody scent. At times, the wood strikes me as being similar to cedar. Other times I detect a resinous or coniferous bite to it. The scent is enriched by dry spices which have both a warm and cool character. The scent is lean in style and invigorating in tone. Vetiver gives a bright, grassy aspect at times. Sandalwood emerges in the later dry-down for another variation on the wood theme.
Votivo Ltd. has a Mahogany soap (No. 65) which is very pleasant. I wish I could say that it offers a point of comparison but it does not.

12nd January, 2011.

It resembles the odor of mahogany quite well. In my memory mahogany tends to smell a bit sharp at a fresh raw edge. A bit more than other woods, specific. Etros composition dries down to, well, a very dry, trustworthy wood, dark, solid and restrained. Not much of a development.

It should be used with care. If it leaves a trace in the air or even envelopes the wearer perceptible for others, that would be a misuse, in my opinion. I'm convinced its real merits lie in being a whiff, that reminds of something having structural strength, giving a relaxing confidence.

Sufficient longevity.

13rd January, 2010.

I tried Mahogany because I'm a woodaholic and was looking for something different. I agree with the others that it's a rather synthetic smell - in my mind, it's akin to a hardwood floor with a pleasant but strong varnish. Someone else (the_good_life, I think) likened it elsewhere to being smacked in the forehead with a two-by-four, and I would concur, and add that the wood has been highly treated, sanded, turpentined, and varnished with something really, really synthetic. I will admit to liking it, as does my wife, but if you don't love wood in almost every form, I suggest care in choosing this scent. It's light, and projection and sillage are low, which are, to some extent, saving graces for something which errs on the side of being synthetic. Drydown gets better, not worse, so you have something to look forward to. But longevity is not great here, so those who are really put off by the need for reapplication should stay away. Glad I bought it, but not as much as I had hoped.

23rd August, 2008.

It isn't often that I disagree with both Robyogi and Marlen. This one rubs me the wrong way from the beginning. For the first minute or two after application there is an off-putting ascorbic something in amongst the woodiness of the opening. I find that note disagreeable and I can’t think of a reason for it to exist. I use the word “synthetic” quite often and with mahogany I have to use it again. The main wood accord has an element of plastic to it. When the opening has moved into the heart and base notes, the fragrance shifts to a strong, linear wood accord that would not reach “average” in my judgment because it strikes me as being unnatural. There is nothing strongly likable about the fragrance to my nose. Mahogany just doesn’t appeal to me, and this is unusual because wood is my favorite category of fragrance.

23rd October, 2007.