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shriekingviolet

Hecate

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Magnificent three-faced Goddess of Magic, the Dark Moon and the Crossroads. She is the Mother of Witches, and the midnight baying of hounds is her paean. Her compassion is evidenced in her role as Psychopomp for Persephone, and her wrath manifests as Medea's revenge. Deep, buttery almond layered over myrrh and dark musk.


In the imp: Omfg. Spicy warm gorgeous. Almondy, though, thus I am concerned.
What is it with almonds and me this week? Is it just some tmi-style 'shifting chemistry'?
On me, wet: Toasted almond. Very smoky, hazy, sweet-spice.
On me, drydown: Musky. Smoky. Tiny slivers of warm almond.
Impression: It's like a warmer form of Bastet. Yes and no - not really a good way to describe it. It's like where Bastet is golden and brighter, sunnier, this is like the sunset. More like being out somewhere camping and sitting right by the hugest bonfire, late at night, looking at the stars, knowing you should go back to your tent and forgetting til about a half hour later.
Verdict: Mmm. Gimme. This scent is gorgeous.

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Bitter almond and sweet almond always smell the same to me. Regardless, I love them both, but they always dissipate as soon as they settle into my skin. Once that almondiness disappears, the myrrh and dark musk of Hecate blend into one thick note. It's very similar to a single note I bought from a local shop called "dark amber." Hecate is like sweet smoke, rising darkly into the sky. Not exactly incensey, but the kind of thing you might smell if someone were burning wood in a forest and threw a dash of sweet perfume oil into it. However, don't mistake me: this is not a scent that would easily be classified as 'sweet,' at least not in the traditional sense. It is deep and mysterious, the kind of thing that melds with your skin and becomes one with it.

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Sweet, sweet marzipan in the vial but all the almond vanishes the moment it hits my skin and I'm left with a smokey, incensey blend that must be musk blended with myrrh. I wish I had a better understanding of what myrrh smells like --- I read the single note reviews for myrrh seeking enlightenment but it didn't come.

 

:P

 

That may be because dark musk quickly dominates everything else in any scent I wear with it. This was fine, but I'm just not all that fond of musk.

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What a lovely scent! It's a lovely mix of a foody scent and a myrhh perfume. When first applied, the foodiness is very apparent, the almond comes out, with undertones of vanilla, and it even goes a little cinnamon on me. On the dry down, the foodiness goes away and I'm left with a light, delectable perfume smell. I'm considering buying a 5 ml, Oh my darn wish list is never ending!!! :P

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Almond. Lots of buttery almond...you know you there are foods that are so rich you cant have but a couple of bites? Thats the way this is. Its too sweet and too almondy and I dont think I could take more than a sniff of this at a time.

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In the bottle: All almond, the kind of almond that smells like maraschino cherries. I can barely barely tell there is a touch of musk in the background but I never would have picked it out if I hadn't read the description.

 

Wet on skin: Still very maraschino cherry, super sweet. A little powdery-ness from the myrhh, but not an actual myrhh note. The musk starts to warm up and come out just a little, but it is retaining it's sweetness. It's very light overall, I have to gt my nose really close to smell it. The longer is sits, it becomes much more powdery from the myrhh and takes on a toasty nutty note, almost a hazelnut.

 

Drydown: This is almost all myrhh now, very powdery. I can't smell any musk. The almond is almost gone. At this point it is just lending a general sweetness to the overall smell.

 

Overall: Myrhh is a scent that I can't wear, it takes over all the other notes, so this one is out for me. I was really surprised that I never really caught the musk note. For anyone that likes powdery scents, this would be good.

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what the - ?!

 

Bottle: Almondy McAlmond!

 

Wet: sweet almond, but not foody sweet. I guess that's the musk toning it down? There's also something florally sweet here? Maybe?

 

Drydown: Oo, something's gone to baby powder...which makes sense, as She is the protector of babies and children, just not what I was expecting. And what is that floral - rose? Orange blossom??

 

Overall: I only got my bottle a couple of hours ago, but the scent has changed between the first and second applications. It's become deeper, wetter, spicier. I'll have to review this again, but on first application I find it a little disappointing - but only because I was expecting something darker!

 

Oro

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After reading the other reviews, I can see my impression of this is in the minority...I swiped the wand on my arm and took a sniff :D

 

Carnations and wintergreen :P

 

Time has passed but I am not experiencing any other note. Not almonds, musk or that smokey scent others have mentioned. In fact it is not changing at all - it is still sharp and pungent with no sign of the almond on the horizon at all. I like almond scents, especially when Beth is at the helm, for instance I ADORE Queen of Sheba. However, even Beth's genius blending ability can not make me a fan of wintergreen. I even dislike it when I need it medicinally :D

 

Needless to say, wearing it recreationally is not even remotely possible!

 

Off to the swap-swamp with you!

 

 

 

 

-------------

edited because, try as I might, I can not spell.

Edited by fragrantgrasse

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Hecate

 

In Bottle: Extremely sweet, like a fresh doughnut covered in a fruity glaze. Also smells like a hard candy -- a lollipop or something.

 

Wet, On Skin: Intense and sweet. I can't even pick out individual notes because it's so overpowering. Bitter undertone, like the powder on latex gloves or something synthetic like that. Spikes my nose.

 

1.5 Hours on Skin: Acrid, but the sweetness has settled down a lot. Smells like a stereotypical scent that I recognize -- maybe it's an occult shop, or a tarot reader's room. This is the default scent that I detect when I sniff an incense-ish fragrance. I have a hard time discerning the difference between this and any number of other scents like it.

 

Drydown: Softer, but still vaguely-witchlike. I suppose it's totally appropriate for this fragrance, though!

 

Conclusion: The stereotypical witchiness of it doesn't appeal to me.

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Wet on me this was dirty almonds, I don't know if that dirtiness comes from the fact that this is bitter almonds rather than the sweet almonds I'm more used to or if it is down to the myrrh or the musk or something else. After about 20 minutes the almond has disappeared entirely and I'm left entirely with myrrh, which is nice, but a bit heavy for me.

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Musky, sweet almonds. This is very light though and fades quicky. For a smokey almond I much prefer Hellcat, and for a sweeter almond I prefer eclipse although that fades quickly on me as well.

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Out of the imp, almonds. :P

 

But on, it becomes so much more.

Incense, the myrrh and musk, turn into a wonderful, dark, and evocative incense.

 

Definitely a keeper.

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Wet - buttery almond

 

Dry - Asit it dries down, it gets a little powdery. Almonds and powder. Oh yeah, baby powder…and that was all she wrote. I am guessing that black musk is in here, because black musk hates me. And it sounded so yummy!

 

On the wickedgoddess scale of 1 to 5, with 5 being best, this rates a 2.

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In the imp I smell Cherry Coke. :P But then I get the almonds and spices. I bet this would go well with Lush's soap, Spice Mountain, and the look to be the same color, hehe! It's sweet, yet incensey, and has a good throw to it. It mellows out a lot after a few minutes and morphs into something completely different - what, I can't describe.

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Origin:

 

Lagniappe from the Lab.

 

Preconceived notions:

 

I already know that I won't like Hecate and I'm sure it'll make me sick if I even try to really try it out (I'm allergic to almonds) but in the interests of reviewing, I'll give it a quick sniff and review it that way. :P

 

Impressions:

 

Giving this a quick sniff I smell almond, almond and more almond (no surprise since it's normally all I can smell if there's any at all in a scent), but I can tell there's something else here, too. Something sweetish...must be the myrrh I'm smelling although I can't pin it down since I'm already getting nauseous as it is. This definitely isn't me, but it's not a bad scent, either.

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this is kind of similar to bastet. both are glowing, warm almond scents. but this lasts longer, and it’s not a cherry-almond, almond liquor scent. instead, it’s sort of buttery. it's kind of like chimera and port-au-prince too, but they are spicy, cinnamon-almond scents. this is more of a milky, creamy almond. the sweet myrrh and dark musk compliment it beautifully and become more dominant over time.

Edited by tinyvulture

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First Impression: Strong, bitter, almonds.

 

Dries down to: A nice, slightly sweet, slightly musky almond scent; then the almond rapidly "bleeds" out of it until there's none left. It's okay but doesn't really "do anything" for me. I wish the almond asserted itself more.

 

Additional Comments: This is another one I expected to like much better than I do, especially since I love almond. There's nothing wrong with it but it just doesn't "wow" me.

 

Lasted: About an hour.

 

Rating: 2 out of 5

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Bottle: What I thought was a "cherry scent" turned out to be an almond scent, which is nice. I found it rather 'earthy' with the almond scent. Lovely.

 

Skin: Quickly falls apart on my skin as it becomes "plastic peepee". EWWW! Made me think of clove, which is not a good thing for me.

 

Would probably make a decent room scent though, but no way would I ever wear it. It actually burnt on me. I had to wash it off. Yikes.

 

Works VERY well as a room scent though. Nice, almondy goodness. 6/10

Edited by Dark Seraphim

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In the vial and while wet this is strong sweet almond. It's like sticking my nose into a glass of Amaretto. Within a few minutes all the almond disappears and I'm left with a spicey musk that's nice but not really my style. Many thanks to the lab for letting me give this a shot, but I'm going to try to find it a happier home.

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In the bottle: pure almond extract. I like the scent, so that's not a problem for me.

Just on: The almond is still prominent, but it is letting the myrrh take a turn now, too. I don't really get smoke, as others have mentioned, which is good, because that often bothers me a bit..

Two hours plus: It's still around, but has mellowed somewhat. There is a spicy sweetness that somehow avoids being overly foody. It's a dark scent, but cozy-dark, not scary-dark; like huddling under a blanket. Warm and sweet---I like it.

Ancientgirl

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In the bottle this is like almond extract. Mmmm.

 

Wet on skin, the myrrh emerges all resinony and sweet, and the almond fades a bit.

 

On the drydown, the musk rears her head... very rich.

 

DH loved this one and said he wanted to try it himself.

 

Dry, she is light and subtle, but powerful...sweet but dark and deep. The three are one, like the goddess herself.

 

Again, I thought I didn't like musk, or myrrh, but this blend is all its own! I will not be swapping her out (besides, I have used up nearly 1/2 the imp already this morning!).

 

I must have more...I have been dreaming of Hecate...

Edited by lookingglass

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Bottle: Very sweet almond oil.

Wet: Very strong almond, with something biting in the back. Its actually kinda like Christmas cookies.

 

Drying: The almond tones down, now there is a warmth in the background, I think its myrrh. And yes, as per the lab description, it is buttery. Almond (neither bitter nor sweet) and warm myrrh. Christmas incense and sugar cookies. I think it, but there is something about it that hits me the wrong way. Its nice and warm, but not quite me. It also doesn't last very long on my skin(1-2 hrs).

 

Overall: Pretty christmas-invoking blend with myrrh and almond cookies. But its not for me.

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On first application: Sweet almonds, with a boozy backup. After a few minutes the booze evaporates leaving a lovely, not-to-sweet almond aroma. I think the musk/myrrh deepens the almond, grounds it and keeps it from being too sweet

 

Throw is pretty light, duration only about 3 hours. This is nice enough to keep re-applying though. I like it!

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I got this as a frimp in an order from Carly, which is great as I don't think I'd have picked this one out on my own (I forget how much I love the smell of almonds :P)

 

In the bottle and wet, this smelled entirely like Amaretto, which isn't bad because that stuff smells goood. Dry, the myrrh and a bit of the musk come out and give it a very definite incense-kind of smell. A really, really high-quality incense kind of smell. The almond kind of hangs around underneath and sweetens everything.

 

Just a side note - I put this on both my wrist and neck, as I usually do. It was fine on my wrists, but on my neck it started burning after a minute or two - it went away a few minutes later, but it looks like I may have little pinkish patches on my neck where I put it on.

 

That aside, though I love this - it would be nice if the almond were a little stronger, but it smells wonderful just the way it is, too.

 

Edit: Three and a half hours in, and that almond has come wandering back out again. So much love <3

Edited by Momijizukamori

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Bottle

Strong almond extract.

 

Wet

Initially still pushing the almond extract scent. The myrrh is creaping up with the musk tailing behind. It is smokey, sultry, and seductive. It smells like what I love my husband to smell like. So I ran downstairs and put it on his wrist. Mmmm.

 

Dry

Almond just hanging on refining the musk and myrrh. What a sexy blend. It is a bit weak on my husband but I think I only barely swiped him. I hope that is it, because this scent is great, but too masculine on me.

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