Alecto

[TheStormCellar]

Olive leaf, raspberry leaf, vetiver and cedarwood.

At the beginning of the day: While this smells wonderful on me (a rich, sweet, mellow cedar), I can't help but think it would be more suited to a man. It is definitely a comforting scent, and I might buy a couple more imps of it just to have it around on those days when I need something comforting surrounding me all day.

Later in the day: It's beginning to turn very lovely and feminine on me. Probably from the vetiver, which usually amps towards flowers like crazy when it hits my skin. But for some reason, it's remaining really soft and nice. I think I'm definitely going to get a full 10mg bottle of this!

[Victory]

Alecto's hard for me to describe. I don't detect any cedar on my skin, so the main notes must be the leaves, which I am unfamiliar with. The vetiver's pretty strong too. The scent's kind of murky, much like a dark rage, which is appropros. I'm not sure how I feel about this. I don't dislike vetiver, but I'm not a fan, and the other notes don't turn my crank either. We'll see what I do with this one.

[jewelbug]

Imp: This smells gorgeous in the imp. Its green and leafy, but it has dry cedar mixed with a hint of berry sweetness. Almost foody, but not. A very good thing.

 

Wet: Sweet berry cedar. Usually berry blends are too sweet or smell like air freshner on me, but the wood in this really tempers it and makes it beautiful! I think it helps that its raspberry leaf instead of straight up raspberries. This is like walking through a forest complete with woods, leaves, and wild fruits.

 

Dry: The fruit has faded quite a bit. The cedar is a little bit pencil shavings on me. I love cedar (and pencil shavings, actually), but I'm unsure on this blend. Still a bit of berry and leafy greenness, but I liked this better wet and sweet.

 

Overall: Like a forest int eh summer when the berries are ripe, but still a distance off. This cedar is much more sweet and creamy than others. More understated than some of its brothers. I like this, but think that I would like it better in another season--with all the woods, I'm thinking fall. With spring impending, this isn't getting its fair shot. I will try to revisit it when it gets cooler. This has moderate throw, but lasts only about 3 hrs on me.

 

Him: This was a good woodsy blend, so I thought I'd try it on hubby: Wet its fruity trees, but almost too fruity for a masculine blend. Its smooth, round, sweet and delicious, though. Drying, its lighter than expected (and than it was on me). As on me, the berries fade, and this smells really nice on him. Unfortunately, his skin sucks it dry in about and hour, and he's not the re-application type….

[Meg]

In the bottle: Delicious wood and cooking herbs, it smells like a kitchen by a herb garden.

 

Wet: Ooh, raspberry leaf! Very green, it smells like a marketplace with wet leaves in wooden crates.

 

Drydown: Cedar wood and greenery, it's very pleasant, a bit spicy, very kitcheny. It reminds me of celery root, too.

 

Overall: It just reminds me of all kinds of leaves and woods that you'd find in a market or a kitchen. I wouldn't wear it (then again...), but it's a perfect atmosphere scent, very green, very evocative of food even though it's not downright foody. Yum.

[fiddledragon]

Scent in bottle: Vetiver, cedar, and some herbal notes. Let's see if I smell like a bog or pencils!

 

Scent on me:

Wet -- Mmm...a lovely ceder scent that has not turned to pencils!

Dry -- A very dark, woody, forest-floor kind of smell.

Drier -- And now I smell like pencils. Meh.

[Nekomata]

This is green and cedar, very masculine. Doesn't really work for me. ;_;

[storme]

In the imp: mm, smoky vetiver and leafiness - and something slightly sweet.

 

On me, wet: cedar, and something herby - I keep swearing that I can smell pesto, with something sweet and berryish over the top. Very green.

 

On me, dry: smoky wood, with sweet berries wafting over the top. The pesto-ish edge of herbs has faded down a bit, but it's still fairly green.

 

Verdict: hmm, this has the woody qualities I liked in Wolfsbane, with a slightly sweeter edge - it's a cool dark forest on a hot autumn day, now. I might as well keep this around for the same reasons I kept Wolfsbane.

[Eunice]

In the bottle: This is very green and with a sweetness like pineapple which I am beginning to suspect is vetiver. It's a very clean scent.

 

Wet: Still that green and vetiver but the cedar comes out more once this is on my skin.

 

Dry: The cedar becomes more pungent when this dries. And unfortunately the raspberry leaf also becomes stronger and starts to smell of body odor.

 

Overall: I have to go wash this off. Raspberry leaf does not do well on my skin. First my shampoo and now this. *sigh* And it smells soooo good in the bottle!

[The_Merf]

In the imp: I smell the vetiver and a touch of berry. I approve heartily, and will be stunned if I don't love this.

 

Wet: This scent has a grounded greenery about it. It doesn't smell like spring greens or fresh cut greens, but it is definitely woody and leafy. The cedar is giving things a smoky kick.

 

Drydown and wear: This becomes smoky berries. Absolutely fantastic--I would like to imagine that there are parts of the fictional Lothlorien that smell like this: ancient, and imbued with the feminine wisdom and power of Galadriel.

 

This is the first oil that I've purchased a bottle of before I even reviewed it!

[gwyllgi]

Olive leaf? Good. Raspberry leaf? Spiffy. Vetiver? Absolutely fantastic.

 

Cedarwood? Er...

 

For the first two seconds, this smells marvelous, all mellow raspberry.

 

Then the cedarwood billyclubs me and drags me into an alley somewhere to riffle my pockets.

 

I like the smell of cedar well enough, but the smell of cedar doesn't like me - or my chemistry. Sadly, it starts smelling vaguely like apple cider vinegar on me after the first lovely waft and devours the other notes until all I'm left with is something vaguely sour that kicks into my sinuses and starts waving knives around.

 

If I let it sit for a while, it eventually mellows back into a hint of berry, but the cedar is still prodding at my migraine triggers and I'm not brave enough to keep pushing my luck and see if it mellows any further.

 

If I can find a way to wear this without hitting that vinegar/sour/ugh point, it'll be a wonderful, natural scent. Perhaps in a locket - I like that initial waft well enough to give it a shot before writing it off entirely.

[HennaFairy]

bottle:

herbal and green

 

wet:

same - with a touch of a wood.

 

dry:

yum! Not fluffy herbal (cooking herbs) but green, like leaves and stems. A hint of cedarwood… yum! A very light neutral (almost masculine) scent, drydown a little like kathmandu's!

 

overall:

one of the top of my list! A lighter greener version of the drydown for kathmandu. Love it!

 

rating: 9/10

[Elrianra]

In the bottle, this is cedarwood and vetiver... I'm not picking up the leaves at all. On me wet however, it's all green leaves; there's a sweet raspberry and oooh, the olive is just a bit paler and not quite as warm. Drying, the raspberry and vetiver take the top notch spot - creating a bitter and sweet berry grass smell - while the olive leaf hovers coolly beneath; the cedarwood is a spicy red undertone for this. Drying, the sweet fades just a tad as the olive leaf and vetiver shift around - this is a very green scent on me, green leaves that bruised against my skin and left a fresh outdoors smell on me; the cedarwood adds a nice spice to the mix but is definitely the base note and a background to this and the vetiver... well, I can smell it but it's milder than normal and very much not the forefront scent. Once this has warmed up, it's moved around quite a bit - the cedarwood and raspberry leaf are now the base notes, a very sweet hard wood smell with the olive toning this a bit bitterly along with the vetiver. Vetiver is described as being in the same family as lemongrass and palmarosa and the scent is described as "deep, earthy and woody with an almost lemony overtone and is very tenacious" (taken from wikipedia). I find that I must agree - the vetiver and oliver are bitter while the cedarwood is simply a heavy throaty dried wood - kindling being split is what I am reminded of - and the raspberry leaf is light and very playful. This hasn't got the throw I wish it did, but it is absolutely wonderful and I cannot imagine a more stunning and perfect embodyment of Alecto during the wet stages. Unfortunately, on me, once it has dried the effect is lost...

[moon_lemming]

We did not have a very good start, Alecto and I. I dabbed some on my hand, sniffed, and recoiled. And its imp form had no better luck, as I found it to smell like straight-up rubbing alcohol.

 

Unfortunately, I think I'm going to have to jot cedarwood down in my HELLS NO category, as ALL I'm getting from this one is a sharp, astringent cedary smell that, seriously, is repulsive on me. I even forced myself to sniff it more to see if I could pick out anything else, but no. As it dries, it settles down a little bit and I don't have to FORCE myself to sniff it anymore, but it's still nothing but cedar.

 

This is one of those oils where I was sitting reading others' reviews wondering if maybe my imp was mislabeled or something, but I'm pretty sure my skin just amps cedarwood entirely too much.

 

On a positive note, this is only, like, the fifth BPAL oil (out of 150 or so) that I've tried and just hated, period. I don't think that's a bad average at all.

[elfmaiden]

Straight from the imp this was one that was hard for me to take as well, but I dabbed a bit on the back of my hand and let it sit.

 

There is such a strong memory linked to this one that I just can't get beyond the olive leaf I think. My skin can't make this one round at all and it's the first one I can say I officially do not like.

 

Not bad out of 20 or so tried so far!!

 

I also got some oil on the label...so now it smells extra strong. lol.

 

Jenn

[provocateur]

In bottle: Raspberry leaf (one of my favourite under-appreciated notes), some olive leaf and a hint of the cedarwood.

 

On skin, wet: Vetiver! and Cedarwood.

 

On skin, dry: Vetiver, raspberry leaf and cedarwood. It further goes on to olive leaf with hints of vetiver and cedarwood.

 

Conclusion: I love this, it's off to the boy. I may have finally found a non-rose blend (since he can wear them, and I can't) for him. 4/5

[edenssixthday]

Alecto - In the vial, it smells woody and slightly earthy and sweet, like a damp forest after the rain. But the moment it touches my skin, it smells like I shoved my head inside a Christmas tree. It’s very woody and deep, dark green, and reminds me of the musty smell of the cabins I stayed in when I was a kid and went to camp in the summertime. On my skin, it is not even remotely a pleasant scent, and I will be sending this off to the swap pile instantly.

[sofiaviolet]

In the imp: I can smell the olive leaf! It's very interesting. My mother says it smells familiar.

 

On me, wet: Not too bad. My skin is amping the vetiver, though. Fortunately, it's also amping the cedar.

 

On me, dry: Holy cow! The vetiver isn't really present any more! God, I hate that note. But yay for Alecto. The cedar is very strong.

 

Verdict: This would make a good winter scent, and it might layer well.

[fairy]

Definitely trees. And almonds. And then there's pine. This one is OK. It transforms quickly. Just when you get used to one scent, the other shows up. I liked it up to pine.

[Miseraya]

In the imp: Definitely getting the raspberry leaf and the cedar in this. This smells very natural to my nose. Not really picking up the vetiver, and not sure what olive leaf would smell like, so I may be smelling it and not know. I like this, it's fresh smelling.

 

On the wrist, wet: A definite plant smell. Not herbal, not floral, just a green leafy smell. Raspberry leaf! This makes me think of a kitchen garden. Something in here is appealing to my nose as an almost creamy scent.

 

On the wrist, dry: Uh oh, the raspberry leaf is starting to get sharp. I thought that the leaf wouldn't do that, I thought only berries do that on me. The other notes are preventing it from getting too sharp thankfully.

 

Final analysis: This is a very unusual and unique scent. It definitely puts me in mind of a mediterranean kitchen garden with the breeze wafting the scent of it through the kitchen window and into the house. I will at least use up the imp, Anubis may want a 5mL.

 

ETA: Fixed a typo.

Edited August 6, 2006 by Miseraya

[Finny]

Fabulous.

 

A sweet cedar scent, the raspberry leaf adds an herbal fruit note to it. The vetiver is light in this blend on me. A good thing as sometimes it takes over.

 

Reminds me of early fall. Picking blackberries in the cool of the morning. A keeper.

[audesapere]

In Imp: Green, not fruity green, leafy green.

 

Wet- Dark, like a stone kitchen. hung wih herbs.

 

Dry- bitter, olive-y, very green.

 

Later-Bitter, lush green.

[TrailerTrashPrincess]

cedar and raspberry leaf!

it seems like i smell fig leaves, but i'm not familiar with the scent of olive leaves, so maybe i'm simply mistaking the olive for the fig

 

i don't get any vetiver (yay)

 

i feel rather like a pencil that's been stirring pesto. strange as that sounds, i like it!

[ND¢]

In the bottle: Pasta spices.

 

On me: Pasta spices for a little while, with added sharpness of a sweetish cedar sort, then an oil smell comes up underneath. Maybe it's the olive leaf? Wince.The cedar isn't as overt as in, say, Lear. The 'oil smell' morphs a bit, becomes a little bitter and greener after a minute, so maybe it is the olive leaf. Then I sort of feel like I smell gum eraser. Something quite rubbery. Argh.

[steffanina]

Alecto-

 

In Bottle: Wood-and-chocolate (I still don't know if that's vetiver or not) and a light sweetness.

 

Wet: Mmm, very rich and loamy. And a berry-like sweetness.

 

Dry: Grass and berries. An interesting combination. It might be my body chemistry at this time of the month or something, but this is growing a little cloying, even though it's not creamy or foodie at all. I think I like it but I'll have to give it another try another day.

 

Overall: Must try again; I think I like.

[sookster]

wow....this is beautiful!!

 

straight sniff from imp is a very sweet cedarwood.....gorgeous!!!

 

once applied the cedarwood gets stronger and then the gorgeous vetiver

comes shining through...a real winner!! almost a foody or gourmandy type

of a scent...cocoa perhaps ... and fig or olive leaf....positively scrumptious

and i do need a big bottle of this one....