Hecate

[GoldenRubee]

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 vial, Hecate is dark amber in color and smells on the sweet side. It smells almost like an after dinner drink-amaretto it is so strong. After applying it, I have to admit that I was considerering wiping some off, it was so strong. So, it is either a potent oil, or I put too much on the first time! I waited at least half an hour and the almond and sweetness did quiet down and I found Hecate to be very nice. The almond is smoother and there is even a cinnamon note there that I find really pleasant in this blend. Musk is my all time favorite so add that into the mix and I'd say this is a winner! I think I would wear this more in cooler weather though because it is a heavier perfume. It is going on my wish list!

[DifferentDances]

Imp: dark, smoky sweet.

Wet on skin: Whew, cloyingly sweet almond liquor. Em....hoping it dies down.

Dry down: Less sweet now, but still almondy. Uh oh, it's beginning to smell like generic soap!

Dry: Soap/powder with a hint of something medicinal at the edges.

 

My rating: 1/5. I'm not a big fan of almonds, and none of the stages were enjoyable.

[taramarie]

In the imp, I could smell almonds and something else. Nice but not really my thing. On my skin, Hecate started to burn a little but it definitely turned my skin red, so I had to wash it off without getting a good whiff of it. As far as I know, I'm not sensitive to the three listed notes, so I have no idea where the irritant contact dermatitis came from. In any case, I'm definitely passing Hecate on to someone else.

[Cariad]

Wow.

I don't know what prompted me to get an imp of Hecate, but I'm so glad I did! Almonds aren't usually my thing, but I can trust my skin to do good things with myrrh and dark musk, and the whole blend worked out *so* much better than I could imagine...

On first sniff, Hecate is powerfully almondy, but also curiously un-foody. The other notes are definitely lurking in the background, and they give a dusky, night-time feel to the blend. On my skin, the almonds quickly settled down and the rich, spicy myrrh and dark musk came out, making this smell *gorgeous.* This is what I hoped Bastet would smell like - slightly homely and alluring from the almonds, but with a fierce edge. I can see this one becoming a favourite, especially in winter.

 

Edited 12(ish) years later! I’ve just tried Hecate again for the first time in... wow... a decade. I remembered liking this scent but forgot how complex and sophisticated it is. It’s a shapeshifter - but all of its shapes are darkly beautiful, and self-assured.

That said, you probably won’t like it if you don’t like almonds!

Edited January 11, 2019 by Cariad

[lilirose]

This has been on my "must try" list ever since I became interested in BPAL, and I'm glad I did!

 

In the imp: It's strong and sweet and foody. Not having the description to hand, I thought I smelled coconut and possibly cherries (I really, really suck at picking out notes!).

 

Wet on skin: Almonds like whoa! Very sweet, almost like almonds in honey. I totally slathered because it smelled wonderful.

 

Drydown: The almonds hang around but become less overwhelming, and a gentle, sweet myrrh rises, giving this scent body and depth and doing away with the strong "edible almond" that dominated during the wet phase.

 

I like Hecate very much. I think it's a fitting tribute to one of my favourite goddesses.

 

Edited to add: eight (!!!) hours after applying Hecate to my wrists, I can still smell sweet almonds and myrrh. I don't just "like" this, I love it, and definitely must have a big bottle. 5/5

Edited September 25, 2007 by lilirose

[Gwydion]

Smells like cake in the bottle. Smells a little like baby powder and cake when first applied. Fades to something soft and vaguely floral. Pleasant enough, I suppose.

[arcadelane]

i always hated the smell of almond until recently, not sure what happened but i love it now. i got this imp free with my first order and im really glad. in the bottle and wet on my skin its nothing but sticky syrupy sweet almond, very strong. then dried down it goes very smoky and spicy with a bit of almond still underneath. its really warm and comforting. unfortunately it doesn't last on my skin. im burning it in my room right now and its really wonderful. i may buy a 5ml just to burn.

[hkhm]

imp: all almond.

 

wet: i can just barely smell the musk behind all of the almond, no hint of the myrrh at all.

 

dry: still very strong almond. i'm starting to think almond is another note that i amp like crazy because almost all almond scents smell too almondy to me. not bad just too almondy for me.

[phoenix1558]

Ah, Hecate. A Paean to the great goddess herself. And what a song of praise it is.

 

Like Hecate, the perfume evokes the three realms-life, death, and the doorways between the worlds.

 

In the bottle, and fresh on the skin-almost overpowering, sweet Amoretto almond. But with a subtle hint of something bitter lurking in the background here and there-almost peppery. As if imprinting one's fate into the fabric of joyous birth.

 

20 minutes in-the darker world comes into focus. An almost animalic, soapy combination of myrrh and dark musk. Sensuous, yet sombre. The death of the sweet amoretto and the awakening of the next phase.

 

Much later-the almond returns, softening the musk, merging the two worlds into one. The animal scent of the musk with the sweet spicey almonds. Perhaps the goddess has opened the doors of perception?

 

 

I was drawn to this scent from the name alone, and bought a bottle unsniffed. And I'm really glad I did. It's a magnificant, mutable perfume.

[Ravenclaw79]

In the imp: Ooh, I know this smell ... amaretto? I think that's it. Yeah, amaretto liqueur. It smells like drunk. (I like amaretto sours ).

 

Wet: Gosh, I can even smell the cherry floating in that amaretto sour, that back-of-the-throat sweetness. This would be a good going-out-to-the-bar scent, except that I pretty much never do that. But now, it's starting to calm down and soften, and the alcohol component is fading, the part that made me think of sour mix. Unfortunately, it's starting to smell a little powdery.

 

Drying: Drat. Baby powder. I thought this one was gonna be awesome, too, or at least awesomely distinctive.

[SarahScent44]

In the imp - mmm, buttery almond is right.

 

On my skin, it's all almond, and I LOVE IT.

 

When it dries, it's myrrh and musk - a keeper for now.

[megank4]

From the first sniff of almonds in the imp, I really wanted to like this one. However, once applied, it quickly dried down to dustiness. Not my thing. Quelle dommage.

[erraticprophet]

Initial Impression: almonds, myrrh, musk

 

On Wet: Very dark and rich. Musk, myrrh, almonds.

 

On Dry: Lightens considerably, perhaps too much? myrrh (which takes on an almost floral tone matched against the almond), hint of sweet almond and musk.

 

Final Impression: This is exotic, heady stuff. I only wish it didn't get so light on me at the end.

 

Rating (on a scale from 1-5): 3.5

[akiko]

I have no idea where the cherries or cherry blossom come from in this.

 

Imp: Amaretto liqueur. Yum.

 

Wet: Huh? Cherry soap. Then I decided the soap was actually a floral, and that it's cherry blossom. No cherries or flowers are listed in the notes, so I'm confused.

 

Dry: OK, now it smells kind of like the description: very light almond and myrrh. I don't get the musk, though it could be mingling with the myrrh into the vaguely incense smell.

 

Almond notes are really iffy for me, I'm learning. Pity, I like almond.

[willowtreeling]

so--in the imp--total almond goodness. Sadly, almond never works on me, but I am hopeful.

 

initially, this smells like cherries and almond and actually smells...exactly like Cherry Vanilla Dr. Pepper. Mmmmmm.

 

But after it is on a few seconds, this dries to a powdery incense-y perfume-y mess. It smells nothing like it did in the imp or on me, at first. Off to swaps we go! Another almond mix strikes out!

[waternight]

In the imp: All almond.

Wet: Almond is dominant, but the myrrh and dark musk are swiftly amping, as they do on my skin. This goes through stages of the almond being dominant, then the resins, then the almond again, and so on and so forth. There is a stage when the dark musk is crazy strong and powdery, but it doesn't last long.

Dry: Vaguely reminiscent of Velvet, without the cocoa. The almond fades and I'm left with myrrh touched with dark musk. After a few hours, it's gone.

[Magda]

In the bottle and upon application, it's all sweet cherry-almond. The cherry retreats after a while and it's a fantastic smoky, buttery almond until it turns to baby powder. Sad pants. I would love this if the smoky almond stage lasted longer than half an hour.

[iiinterstate]

AAAACK.

 

I guess almond REALLY doesn't like me at all. Nope. Not even a little. This reminds me of Queen of Sheba, which I didn't care for either. Too bad, I like the sound of a nutty blend. This is just overpowering on my skin though.

[voodoocatwoman]

In the imp: sweet cherry and almond- reminds me of the original Jergen's Lotion scent (and when I say original, I am talking about the stuff I loved in the 60s, not the 'let's bring back the nostalgic scent that we got rid of in the 70s- it is NOT the same)

 

Wet: Instant powder. Huh? Where'd my sweet go?

 

Dry: I get the almond again but not very strong. I would love this scent if it had staying power. Alas, it fades too quickly.

[donnatron]

Imp: Myrrh and almond. Musk rarely has much of a smell to my nose until it's touching skin.

 

Wet: The sweetest, foodinest, most delicious marzipan-y almond I have encountered in the BPAL oeuvre. The musk starts to unfurl and lends a gorgeous depth to this. The myrrh acquires a familiar, comforting resinous quality.

 

Dry: This is beyond gorgeous. It's sweet, subtly foody and retains a very classical perfume scent to it. It's playful without being frivolous. I was apprehensive about this scent, but I adore it.

 

Throw: Pretty intense.

 

Overall: I had a pretty long Greek mythology phase in that my Greek mythology phase never really ended. Hecate's always been one of my favourite deities to read up on, and I am a big fan of her triplicate artistic representations. I'm very glad that this scent wound up working out on me, and that it somehow manages to draw to mind a powerful, commanding goddess figure.

[Pincushions]

Wow! It's like a foody, and somehow a little fruity (?) smell... It's really strong wet. The almond is like Kick it the face strong! The fruity smell fades fast. (I have no idea what's causing that.) It's quite yummy! The myrrh I think is giving it a bit of an earthy smell. This scent isn't sweet, just wow, strong. The musk and myrrh drown out the almond, and at one point it turned kind of laundry-soapy/candle-y. After it settles, it mellows out. The almond comes back but not as strongly as at first. This scent is one where a little goes a long way. It's a nice smell, but the super tasty initial stage only lasts a minute or two...

 

Overall: it lasts a long time and has powerful throw, very almondy at first, which I love, but then when the musk and myrrh come through, it's too candle-y, which is ok and I think I'd like it more in a different mood. I might get a bottle at some point, since I'm a fan of almond!

[Coldfire]

Got this as a frimp on my last order:

 

Imp: Powerful strong. Heavy sweet almond/cherry flavor with a

tiny hint of myrrh

Wet on me: Sweet almong and incense.

Drying Down: Myrrh and musk over take the almond

Dry: musk, myrrh and powder...and then a hint of Old Spice?

This morphed into powder very quickly on me. Which I prefer over

the almond. Funny that I smell powder and Old Spice now.

One of my fave goddess' and as a perfume she's not doing anything

for me. Will stay an imp.

[inurbanus]

Hecate is one of those blends that I don't think about very often, but when I wear it, I love it. It's a smoky almond scent with a hint of resin. It reminds me a lot of Lucretia, from The Salon -- both are warm, complex scents with vintage vibes. The almond note in Hecate is very similar to the one in Eclipse, instead of the cloyingly sweet one in Dana O'Shee. This is almond, all grown up.

 

4/5

[Ciircee]

I LOVE the scent of almonds and it's awesome in this blend. It's almost cherry-almond (awesome but almost too strong) but it doesn't last long. The whole thing is kept from being a cloying scent by the musk and it's got an almost earthy base note to it. This means that I can huff myself and not go floating off into the ether on the sweet-stuff.

 

This scent lays fairly close to my skin once the top layer of almond has worn off and--alas, alas--doesn't last long on me. Well, it does, but it's just the close-laying myrrh that hangs around longest. Still, an absolutely lovely scent. I'm considering a bottle.

[Indigo78]

If blindfolded, I could have easily confused Hecate with Amaretto. Almondus maximus. I love to eat almonds, but I've never especially gotten off on their oil scent.

 

Same thing wet on the skin: Almond-fest, and all I am getting in terms of imagery is cherry-almond shampoo. There is a brief moment between wet and dry down which seems promising. Are we going dark? Mysterious? Smoky?

 

"Nuh uh, Never mind", she says. We're going green Palmolive dish soap, and no further.

 

Swap-a-rrific.

Edited May 22, 2008 by Indig0