Hecate

[Eros]

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.

Hello ALMOND! Almond extract to be exact & quite strong in the imp. As soon as it hits my skin it turns to a dark buttery(which fades to the background) loveliness accompanied by a wonderful, lightly sweet myrrh & a spicy, smoky seductive musk. Has a beautiful, incense-like touch to it. There's a lazy, almost opium den-like/come hither feel going on.

GORGEOUS! I need a bottle 'cause the imp ain't gonna suffice, let alone last very long.

[Firewaver]

I'm not an almond fan, so my opinion of this oil is certainly swayed.

 

It definitely smells exactly like a bottle of almond extract. It smells sweeter on my skin, but still retains it's almondy essence.

 

Meh.. i don't like almond oils, sorry hecate!

[theshapeshifter]

In the imp: That cherryish-marzipan topnote I always seem to get from almond blends.

 

Initial application: Yep, it's that marzipan hit I get from Eclipse, although I can detect a smokiness in the background.

 

Drydown: Smoky resin, with the almond as the background note. There's the occasional powdery waft from the myrrh, but not too powdery so far. And it's very DRY, despite its richness. It's a perfect fall scent... I'm loving it on this cool, grey October day, but I think if I'd received it in May or something, I might not have liked it nearly so much.

 

This is one of those scents that - although it's not a 'skin' type scent, really - seems less like a perfume and more like simply the natural scent emanating from the wearer.

[Lady Ravenglass]

Noir left. It's been nearly a year, but still you think you see her in passing. Catch her scent on the wind, and turn, on a dark street corner to see the cut of her coat, the curve of her ankle, and when she stops, turns, adjusts her shoe, it isn't her.

 

You make your advances anyway. Those ash-blonde curls, those smokey eyes; in the dim light of the bar you could almost mistake Hecate for the real thing. You still have that packet of clove cigarettes, the ones She smoked. Noir tucked them into your pocket for safekeeping, the night she left, walked away in scarlet shoes and mink, blew you a farewell kiss on spicy smoke.

 

You lean into her, offer her one, in their little chic black jackets and gold cravats and she recoils with a smile. "Oh no. No thank you," and sips her almond liquour, fluttering girlish lashes.

 

 

And anyway in the morning, she's gone when you wake. Just a brassy hair on the pillowcase, and the fading scent of almonds, sweet like marzipan, in the air.

[Monster]

Whew! Very strong, sweet almond at first.

 

As this dries the almond fades quickly and lets the myrrh and musk take over the show.

 

All almond scents seem to do this to me, they magically change from almond to whatever other note is in the blend. While I really love the almond, I think it may be a bit too swet for me to wear and I'm not too fond of the dry down. This is one of the better almond blends I have tried though

[LunaDances]

Mmmmmm. I also got maraschino cherries, but darker, when opening the bottle. I would never in a million years have pegged that as almond, but somehow it makes sense. On me, the cherry/almond tones down, but not too much, and the darker, smokier side joins in. It makes a nicely balanced scent that has had me practically drooling whenever I smell it on myself all day. Hecate definitely makes the list of future bottle purchases.

[theseagrows]

when i first put this on it smelled like almond extract. and i thought "mmmm almonds". once it dried it smelled like old powdery almonds though. i had high hopes for this one. oh well.

[KieLocke]

I bought this imp with the hope of a nice almond/cherry fragrance. However, this was too sweet. Both in the vial and on my wrist it was definitely cherry but more like the cloying jarred cherries. It was also a fairly strong scent. Normally this is a good quality but with the sweetness it was just too much.

 

Then after about 10 minutes the whole thing seemed to pickle! Suddenly I was surrounded by the smell of olives and it was making me nauseous. This lasted only a few minutes and then it became powdery.

 

I won't be getting this but I passed it on to a friend. We can't both have such horrible body chemistry.

[alicia_stardust]

Slightly sweet, very smoky, very incense-like without being overpowering. I like the light amount of almond that's in it. It seems that all the scents in it mingle together in a very complimentary way.

 

Hecate is probaby in my top 10 list. I *heart* it.

[mockturtle]

WHOA!!! When I open the bottle and when I first apply this, I smell zingy, tart, mouth-watering cherry! Sooooo yummy, I wish there was a perfume that would smell just like this scent. Oh, wait a sec, I know what this scent is like -- Amaretto. Without the icky part of the maraschino scent. Just all tart cherry almond almond.

 

Drying, this changes so much, and so quickly. To a calm, roasty almond with a touch of smokey sweetness. Nice, mellow, and a great scent.

 

About half an hour later, the scent decreased to a whisper of fragrance. Granted, I do test with a tiny bit, so the next time I try it (and there will be several "next times"), I will use more and see if that makes a difference in staying power.

[hangingfire]

In the imp: ALMONDS. ALMONDS. ALMONDS. Specifically, the cherry-like almond I noticed in Bastet, only without Bastet's spiciness.

 

On, wet: Almondy still. Something slightly floral as well; reminds me of jasmine.

 

Drydown: Myrrh, a little musk, and the flowery note.

 

Nothing wrong with this fragrance; there are others I like more, though.

[Fishwomon]

I love the initial, wet, sharp almond-cherry note of Hecate. But it fades to almost nothing on my skin...then blooms with grown-up-lady myrrh and musk: a dusky, purple smell. This oil could be for you if you like a sophisticated, mature scent, more like perfume than essential oil.

Edited December 21, 2005 by Fishwomon

[Inanna9]

This one's easy:

 

In the vial: Hello, almond.

 

Wet on Skin, 2 seconds flat: Hellooooo...baby powder. What a fascinating chemical reaction.

 

It's that darn dark musk--I can't wear it, as it goes straight to powder. Skin chemistry is an amazing thing. I was hoping Hecate and I were going to get on well. *sigh*

Edited December 23, 2005 by Inanna9

[sarahmarie]

Tons of almond, tons and tons. Almond + musk = not really my thing. It's dark and strong and piercing, which some might like - but it just disagrees with me, so there's not a lot I can say about it!

[empi girl]

Strong almond! As it dries, the musk comes out to play a little, but the almond dominates. I like almond, but this is too much for me.

[crescentwench]

in the bottle this smell almost exactly like eden to me, that almondy-fruity smell. so yummy! after it drys the almond totally goes away and i'm left with a faint musky warm smell taht reminds me of insence. It's really wonderful. i love warm smells, and this is no execption. I don't think i'll be ordering a bottle, but i'm definately keeping the imp around for a long long time.

[herdivineshadow]

Argh! Cherry marizpan almonds! And nothing else, over and over and over

 

I smell like christmas cake, but not in a good way.

[kakiphony]

In the imp: Sweet almond extract with a hint of something herbal and bitter behind it which I can only assume is the myrrh.

 

Wet: Whoa! I don't think I've ever had a bpal change so much from the imp to its wet application on my skin. As soon as this hit my wrist (left wrist pulse point for those keeping score) the herbal note shoved its way to the fore. It's pungent, and the sweetness of the almonds in the background is like the sweetness of a child's liquid medicine meant to mask the active ingredients.

 

Early dry down: After approximately fifteen minutes, this is still a very herbal scent, but the backing note is now the musk. The almonds have completely fled, leaving me quite bereft since I do love the lab's almonds. (Queen of Sheba stole my heart. I've actually got a 10ml, my first, of it on order.) It's hard for me to describe the smell exactly, but it reminds me of a sharp, musky men's deodorant scent. I find it strange that a Goddess blend would smell masculine on me, but it does.

 

Late dry down: After one hour, this has faded almost to the point of disappearing. There's no throw at all, and I can only detect the oil by putting my wrist to my nose. When I do so, I am finally able to detect all three of the listed notes. It's a strange reaction, but rather than blending the notes my skin seems to have separated them out. The almond has returned to be the background not, and it's a subtle, sweet, warm almond. I don't detect butter, but it is a rich almond rather than the syrupy almond of Queen of Sheba. Overlaying the almond is the bright, herbal scent of myrrh and a salty, almost sweaty musk. It's still somewhat masculine on me, but not as much as it was in its early stages.

 

Conclusion: I like this scent, but I don't love it. The almonds in Queen of Sheba wow me more, and the myrrh still smells a twinge medicinal to me. It's a no-go for me, but due to ambivalence, not dislike.

[Neely]

Frimp from the Meet N' Sniff! Thanks!

 

In the bottle: ALMONDS!!!!! Yummy!

 

Wet: whaaaahh!!! This is almonds (which I love) and something else which smells like... Seasoned Salt???? WTH?! Maybe like Shangri_La, I am getting olives? with powder underneath it all. Ewwww.

 

Dry down: still almonds with funk and powder. Despite the fact that this reminded me of Seansoned Salt, this is not foody in a good way.

 

30 minutes: baby powder

 

Conclusion: I am so disappointed in my chemistry! I love Hecate herself, and I so wanted the oil to work with my chemistry. I thought it would, almonds, myrrh, musk. Apparently, I have a lot to learn about the differences in musk. I thought musk and I always got along. Now I know, it is certain kinds of musk, not every kind. Such a lovely scent for someone else.

 

Rating on my skin, this is a 1.

Edited January 18, 2006 by atropos

[cupide430]

Hecate

 

Almonds, almonds, almonds. Sweet cherry-ish almonds. This is probably one of the most almondy blends I've tried so far. As it dries, it does calm down on the almond bit and something powdery starts to come out, which I think is the musk. Overall ok, but not quite my cup of tea.

[Ciircee]

Got this as a freebie from the lab in my first-ever order. The Labbies, they are wise and good. Thank you, whichever of you put this in with my order.

 

In the imp: Ooo! Sweet, creamy almonds and warm, deep myrrh with a hint of musk.

 

Wet: Smells sweet, but not overpoweringly so thanks to the darkness of the musk and the incense/smoke of the myrrh.

 

Dry 10 minutes: My almonds are all gone The myrrh and the musk are lovely and they ARE tempered with the almond (so they're not GONE, just hiding).

 

Dry 30 minutes: It's got an okay throw. It's very herbal/incense/musk which is nice but I'm missing the rich almond sweetness. It's THERE...taming the musk...but I want more.

 

Dry 1 hour: Pretty much the same as before. I can't detect the almonds at all. If I hadn't been there for the first five minutes or so, I wouldn't have pegged this as having almonds in it.

 

Fades: It's gone in about six hours. At hour five or so I have to have my nose right to the place I applied it.

 

Overall: It's lovely and I enjoy it, but I like it better as a room scent (which, wow, is lovely with a great throw). Mr. Circe called this 'Masabakes' younger, much more innocent sister'.

[jazlyn]

Hecate is the second noticeably nutty scent I’ve tried; I don’t think I fare so well with these. It smells exactly like the three notes it’s comprised of: almond, myrrh and dark musk. At first it’s really almondy, but later on the musk takes over a bit.

[bifemmefatale]

In the bottle: Hellooo almond! Much stronger almond scent than Salome. On: Still almonds, but the spicy myrrh and a hint of the musk are blending with it....OMG, this is fabulous. I think I may have found one of my signature BPAL scents. I'm in love.

 

15 min. later-Ack!! Musk went baby powder on me again and the almonds are all gone! Ptooey! Wah! Back to the imp box....

[The_Merf]

In the imp: My immediate thought is "cherries!" My second thought is "Kabuki" and my third is, "I guess that's the almond."

 

Wet: This doesn't quite go cherry cough syrup on me, but the almonds absolutely dominate the blend.

 

Drydown and wear: This blend does not change a lot from imp to skin, which surprises me, as myrrh plays up on my skin. Sadly, the cherries smell just does not do it for me, so this one's off to swaps.

[lady_pandora]

In the bottle, and wet on my wrist: AMARETTO! Smells just like amaretto liqueur, or like the smell of amaretto coffee being brewed. (But not the taste of amaretto coffee, which never, ever, lives up to the smell.)

 

After ~5 minutes: The amaretto recedes into the background, leaving a warm, spicy musk scent. The myrrh is subtle--I think it's what's giving the spicy note to the musk; the lingering almond lends a slight nutty scent to the whole.

 

My description is not really conveying just HOW GOOD this smells on my skin. I love this. It's definitely a "womanly" scent as opposed to a "girlish" one, and very warm and nuanced. Yum.