The Amorous Tree

[tartsquid]

THE AMOROUS TREE
“Gently, gently,” he counseled himself. “No man with the power to summon Robin Hood — indeed, to create him — can be bound for long. A word, a wish, and this tree must be an acorn on a branch again, this rope be green in a marsh.” But he knew before he called on it that whatever had visited him for a moment was gone again, leaving only an ache where it had been. He felt like an abandoned chrysalis.

“Do as you will,” he said softly. Captain Cully roused at his voice, and sang the fourteenth stanza.


“There are fifty swords without the house, and fifty more within,
And I do fear me, captain, they are like to do us in.”
“Ha’ done, ha’ done,” says Captain Cully, “and never fear again,
For they may be a hundred swords, but we are seven men.”


“I hope you get slaughtered,” the magician told him, but Cully was asleep again. Schmendrick attempted a few simple spells for escaping, but he could not use his hands, and he had no more heart for tricks. What happened instead was that the tree fell in love with him and began to murmur fondly of the joy to be found in the eternal embrace of a red oak. “Always, always,” it sighed, “faithfulness beyond any man’s deserving. I will keep the color of your eyes when no other in the world remembers your name. There is no immortality but a tree’s love.”

“I’m engaged,” Schmendrick excused himself. “To a western larch. Since childhood. Marriage by contract, no choice in the matter. Hopeless. Our story is never to be.”

A gust of fury shook the oak, as though a storm were coming to it alone. “Galls and fireblight on her!” it whispered savagely. “Damned softwood, cursed conifer, deceitful evergreen, she’ll never have you! We will perish together, and all trees shall treasure our tragedy!”

Along his length Schmendrick could feel the tree heaving like a heart, and he feared that it might actually split in two with rage. The ropes were growing steadily tighter around him, and the night was beginning to turn red and yellow. He tried to explain to the oak that love was generous precisely because it could never be immortal, and then he tried to yell for Captain Cully, but he could only make a small, creaking sound, like a tree. She means well, he thought, and gave himself up for loved.

A tree in love: misty, rose-flecked leaves, warm bark, and shuddering branches.

When I first put this one on it smells a bit like cedar or maybe a different strong tree note - I'm not a big fan of woods so I'm terrible at identifying them! As it dries down it starts smelling like lime, which was unexpected from the description, so much so that I had to go double check to see if it were a listed note. I suppose it's possible that my brain reads wood plus rose as limes, because I don't actually smell roses when it's usually something I amp to death.

I'm really surprised by this one! From the listed description I expected heavy woods with a cover of roses, but it's actually quite light and fresh. To me it smells like a very sweet lime with a slight aquatic bent from the "misty" part of the description. The woods and the rose aren't really showing up after it's dry.

[edenssixthday]

The Amorous Tree - I agree with tartsquid -- this has lime zest in it, or something that, when blended, is very similar to lime zest. It's a bright scent, not woody like I expected, but more green, like the greenery of ferns or other light, green plants, but not heavy greenery like grass, dandelions, or thick tropical leaves. It's hard to describe - I've never smelled anything quite like it. The closest I can get to describing it is to say it's like dew-laden ferns and lime zest. When first applied, I don't smell the rose at all, but as it dries down, there's the faintest hint of rose, maybe white rose. The overall scent is bright, sweet, both soft and crisp, and very, very pretty.

[cinnamonster]

Wet: wow, this is soooo familiar, but I can't put my finger on it. It's green, leaves, with a tartness behind them. The leaves are almost privet. I would agree with eden's sixth day about the fern. Ferns with lemon.

 

5 mins in...the lemony note is amping, and my brain is now reading it as the Flash powder my mum used to clean the kitchen floor with, I used to kind of like that smell so it's not a huge criticism like it might sound. I am not sure though that I can carry this one off. Smells interesting though when I run my nose fast past the spot with The Last Unicorn on it into this spot. Maybe they could layer?

 

 

Lemon continues to amp pushing fern into the background, and I think I can smell some rose now. It may end up as a box of mixed turkish delight. I'll update tomorrow what was left in the morning...

 

 

ETA nothing was really left in the morning, just a smidge of the same smell. This doesn't morph much when dry.

Edited April 23, 2011 by cinnamonmel

[saralaughs]

Weird. Limey/lemon rose. Yet somehow it works and I'm not screaming for it to go away. Woody rose that is soft and a bit citrusy. I think oak really works on me. Nice to know.

[zankoku_zen]

On wet, tis definitely lemony/limey rose with a hint of dandelion greens. As it dries, it becomes a soft rose, still with a citrus brush and a very woody background. Very light and refreshing.

 

Interesting, but not for me.

[ami226]

On the skin: Rose and wood with a bit of leaves. Wow, exactly like the description! Huh, this is strangely good! After a bit I do slightly get a hint of citrus/lime and the leaves fade. It's very interesting, but not for me.

[Little Bird]

Sweet limes and rose sounded really good to me. I was hoping for a nice, summery, fruity rose. But The Amorous Tree is pretty awful on me.

 

I pretty much get a bitter, sour, sharp, dirty grapefruit smell from this, with a hint of bland, dry oak, and a drydown that is awful. The drydown is like cheap, harsh, white bar soap plus a hint of bitter BO and citrus.

 

I wish I got the lime and rose that others have mentioned, but this is a soapy disaster on my skin.

[Invidiana]

This is a bit odd on me at first, like rose and lime rind which don't really seem to mesh. However, the limey note fades and leaves a gentle rose with soft, airy greens and a warm bark note that I'm tempted to say ha oak bark in there somewhere. The rose isn't a really sharp or dry rose but more of a feminine pink tea rose to my nose. There is indeed something misty about this that comes off as fresh and clean, and a really romantic quality as well. I expected this one to be a disaster at first but I'm pleasantly surprised.

[Dgrrrl]

Very interesting! In the bottle, this smelled quite astringent... astringent to the point it hit my nose and I couldn't identify anything else about it. As soon as I put it on, however, the smell turned very, very green and tart... lime like the others have been saying, but it reminded me of lime rind more than lime flesh. A lovely smell.

 

If it stayed green and limey, I'd be happy, but it starts fading and the lime and green are overtaken by a soft rose. The rose is warm and gentle and not bad... but not me. I like aggressive, bitchy roses like Whip. This smells young and innocent. I am neither.

 

Still... a lovely smell. I might keep it around to use for that once in a blue moon.

[ajansuz]

In the imp: Oak and green leaves with a soft floral undertone. Very nice and pretty subtle.

 

Wet: I really amped the wood note in this at first with the greenery coming in a close second. It was a very sappy sort of greenery, not like mowed grass so much as like mowing over a dandelion patch or maybe even wood sorrel.

 

It wasn't until the dry down that the rose showed up. Sadly, it's the kind of rose that goes old lady soap on me. Within a couple of hours, I smelled like I had been washing myself with my grandmother's decorative soaps. All of the lovely wood and greenery were gone.

[somacat]

I agree with posters above. This starts out as a nice pine sap, lemon, and patchouli and thien the rose overtakes it. Just a little bit more patchouli and oakmoss would have been lovely. My stepgrandmother is apparently haunting another rose perfume.

Edited March 7, 2015 by somacat

[milo]

Woody and mentholated at first. I'm getting the fresh, green smell of leaves as well. After a bit, kind of soapy, slightly manly, still astringent and mentholated. I'm not really digging this, but I bed it would smell great on the right guy.

[DiesMali]

In the imp: Faint greenery and a touch of rose.

 

Wet on my skin: ...This is really, really pretty. It isn't very strong, but the woody rose is sooo pretty.

 

Dry: This is a woodsy, slightly tangy green scent with a hint of rose. It's absolutely gorgeous, very herbal-outdoorsy yet still somehow soft and feminine. This is a rose for people who are afraid of rose notes blowing up on their skin. I agree with above posters that this might have lime rind in it, but that would explain why it's SO nice on me. The only trouble with it is how faint it is after only an hour, but if it strengthens with age, I can definitely see this being a bottle purchase.

[LizziesLuck]

I did not get anything citrus out of this, as some have.

 

Wet, it smells very woody, cedar I believe. As it dries, I get something a bit like juniper, I think.

 

Dried, it's still mostly woods, which isn't my thing. I had hoped for more rose and leaves. I never do get any rose, but I do get a bit of the soapiness that rose sometimes turns to.

 

Overall, I'm not sure why I thought I might like this, I am just not a "woods" scent kinda girl.

[savage_rose]

Whoa, this description is right on the nose! The rose scent is nostalgic, and not a crisp, fresh rose but a muted, foggy tea rose perfume. Behind is a warm, woodsiness that pairs beautifully with it. It's woods without being too strong (no pine cleaner here, no pencils, no cedar shavings. Just...wood). So lovely!

[myrrhmyrrh]

In the vial: pine and vetiver, overwhelmingly so

 

On me, wet: a forest walk in the pinewood mountains with that kind of fresh air, and the earth turned over after the night’s rain

 

On me, just dried: more of the earth now but with fresh pine needles crunched underfoot and their scent everywhere in the air

 

After 15 minutes: and now some piney incense resin has come into play – more like remembering that walk in the pine mountain wood than actually being there

 

After 30 minutes: home now from the walk in the wood, you light a fire of pine logs and cuddle down in front of it

 

After 1 hour: the fire’s out - your lover’s hair smells of pine smoke and mountain air

 

After 3 hours: so faint now – almost imperceptible

 

Verdict: a very fine frimp, not my thing (sadly they often are not) but really a lovely memory of a pine mountain walk I took in Grenoble one New Year’s weekend, long ago. Recommended.

[splendidissima]

In honor of the news, I pulled out my old bottle of this one!

 

At first it's all green leaves and soft woods - like walking through a fern-drenched forested section of a botanic garden on an overcast day. That's really pretty - not my usual (I like foody/sweet/berry/mint scents usually), but it's nice.

 

As it dries down, I never exactly get rose, but I get a soapiness coming to the forefront - it's not bad as such, but it's taking over and conquering the pretty woods. Now I just smell like I've scrubbed myself really well with some sort of expensive luxury soap, or gone to a very upscale spa, or something like that!

 

Awesome Husband: "You smell like fancy soap!"

[freyasfae]

There's a touch of the spicy loam from graveyard dirt in there. In fact, this smells like a very gentle version of Zombi (Dried roses, rose leaf, Spanish moss, oakmoss and deep brown earth) to me. It's stunningly unique and subtle. I may need to hunt down a bottle.

[roseus]

2023 Reboot 

 

My nose could not make sense of this in the imp. Super high pitched and shrieking. It smells like someone took all the menthol-like elements out of pine and concentrated them with maybe a bit of incense. Super cold and sharp. On my skin it is woodier and earthier, but this sharp cold note lingers over top. It starts getting weirdly sweet, and a little rose pokes out. I think there's a dirt note and it is not playing well on my skin. Eventually it dries down to a very pleasant dewy white rose scent with a hint of wood. But my skin makes a mess of the wet stage unfortunately. 

Edited July 15, 2023 by roseus

[Failmingo]

Why on earth did it take me so long to fall in love with The Amorous Tree?

 

I love rose and frankincense together, but the bombast can seem a little brash in moments when I'm feeling more... well, amorous. 

 

In the bottle this is woody and incense-y, and I understand where folks are getting the pine: there's a freshness here, like a freshly split stick, and maybe a drop of something truly evergreen. I can't tell if it's actually pine, or just the misty element. Only a faint blessing of anything floral. The concentrated scent itself seems to be swooning, like a deep heavy breath of cool air that you hold as long as possible, warming it inside you.

 

On the skin I immediately get a warm, vaporous rose and a more polished wood. A lushly detailed engraving of a tree. The rose and frankincense combo is doing that thing I love, but there's a gauzy filter diffusing it into a magical glow. There's a faint blush of sweetness that I'm tempted to diagnose as strawberry, or some other red fruit. Whatever might have seemed piney here before is now just a cool arboreal breath in the starlight, somewhere in that middle distance between the farmhouse and the woods, the perfect semi-secluded spot for a rendezvous.

 

I wear The Woman At The Edge Of The Woods quite often, which is similar in that way -- bridging the gap between domestic, pastoral, and wilderness. Where that one is more solemn and more rough-hewn, this one seems brighter and more welcoming. But they could seem like they could describe the exact same setting, at different times? Featuring different characters?

 

As this dries, it's settling into a lovely pink rose surrounded by lush greenery. Airy, sweet, vividly (and temporarily) alive. Just enough leaves-and-branches underneath to broadcast the possibility of rot -- thereby enhancing the immediacy of the bloom.