Alecto

[LiberAmoris]

Olive leaf, raspberry leaf, vetiver and cedarwood.

Alecto is almost all cedar on me, with a tiny hint of raspberry around the edges. It does go through a brief stage on my skin (2 minutes, maybe) where it smells just like sweat. And then it goes straight into the cedar stage. I think the olive leaf and vetiver combo explain the problems with my skin chemistry.

I think on the right person this would be incredible, but on my skin, the cedar just smothers all the other notes.

[Lycanthrope]

In the Bottle or Imp:

A resiny cedarwood scent with a slightly herbal kick.

Wet, on Skin:

Sharp herbs, must be the vetiver's contribution, with a strong, strong cedar overtone. I don't get much else.

Drying Down:

Suddenly turns into a creamy, lightly berry fruit aroma. Odd!

Dry on Skin:

The cedar returns, and the fruit has gone dark and somewhat musky. There are sharp, biting leaves in this as well.

Over Time/Longterm:

An astringent green blend with a hint of fleshy fruit, and a spicy base. Dries down a bit like Nemesis.

Final Verdict?

Very interesting. I'm probably going to hold onto the imp, but this isn't a big 'un.

[Aredhel]

Rating (on skin): 2/5

Summarised in a word or two: Green.

 

In the imp/bottle: Raspberry leaf and strong cedarwood.

 

On skin, wet: Strong, sharp leaves and dark, heavy cedarwood.

 

On skin, dry: Very tart, and very green. There's also something here that strikes me as medicinal for some reason! A faint mint, or a sharp grass -- I can't tell.

 

Conclusion: Not bad, but not something I'd wear as a perfume. I might love to use this in an oil-burner, though.

Edited December 17, 2005 by Aredhel

[joseybird]

A minty-freen-fresh scent tinged with woods. A nice and very unusual woodsy scent, but the mintiness throws me off a bit

[zombie_striptease]

I'm not sure I'll wear this much, but I have a strange urge to keep it anyway. Maybe as a room fragrance? I don't know, but there's something very intriguing about it that makes me not want to let it go.

 

In the imp: Green and somewhat bitter. I smell a bit of something like olive oil, and an astringent sweetness. It doesn't seem offensive in any way, but I can't tell if I really like it, either.

 

On wet: Oh, there's the cedar. It turns very strong and sharp for a moment, and I'm suddenly worried that it's either going to stay that way or get worse. It starts to settle down a bit, though, and while I still smell a lot of cedar, I can also make out the dry leafy greens again.

 

Dry down: This is.. interesting. For a minute or two, I was getting the Eau de BO that others experienced, but it soon vanished into the woodsy scent again. I can't really make out the olive leaf anymore, but then the whole fragrance has sort of homogenized into its own entity, without particular notes. Mostly I smell of vaguely medicinal herbs, though not in an unpleasant way. The smell is mostly comforting and subtle, but true to the name, there's an odd undercurrent of something fiery below the surface. Although it's not in the components list, I can swear I smell a bit of cinnamon now and then. It lends an odd darkness to the scent. I'm about the least anger-prone person you could meet, but somehow I'm drawn to this.

 

Conclusion: Not a big bottle or an everyday scent, but I think I'll hold onto this for a bit before I decide whether to swap. Maybe it'll grow on me...

[cupide430]

Alecto

 

Light, fresh green scent. Almost like fresh, uncooked greenbeans. As it dries a light musky fruit scent comes out and I get a hint of an underlying cedar note. This is surprisingly fresh and lovely. There's a sort of herbal foodiness to this. Not sure if I'm going to order more of this, but I do like it more than I thought I would.

[Dark Seraphim]

Bottle : Smelt "stony". Must have been the cedarwood and leaves. Was very lovely as I tend to be a sucker for things that smell "stony"

 

Worn: Doesn't change much, but it smells a little "sweeter". Nice, but short-lived as it fades away quickly on me.

 

Certainly a very nice scent, but just not strong enough to be a 'keeper' to me. 5/10

[Em-]

I received this as a frimp from the lab and first tried it based on being drawn to the scent without reading the description.

 

THis is a very green, organic blend. Without knowing the notes, the first time I wore it, I guessed olive oil or fig leaf, the latter because the top note reminded me of the green note from Eden, but more mellow.

 

This is not an everyday blend for me, but definintely something I enjoy.

[sophia_helix]

Interesting. At first the strong cedar and vetiver make this too bitter and woody, but the raspberry leaf adds a tangy, sweet note. It's an interesting, balanced scent, with definite layers to it, but on the whole I think it's a bit too severe for my tastes. It's not a green, welcoming grove, but something more harsh and imperious. Fits the inspiration perfectly, though!

[malabar]

On me, this started off smelling of citrus, which I liked, but it dried down to a harsh, chemical tang. I imagine it's the olive leaf; I have found that olive doesn't like me one little bit. A shame, because it started off so promising.

[Little Bird]

I actually really like Alecto. It's unlike any fragrance that I've ever tried before. It starts off smelling strongly cedary, but with a spicy olive smell. I love olives... so maybe that's part of the charm for me, lol.

 

After about 5 minutes, the dirty vetiver comes out strongly, but it calms down after 15 minutes and I'm left with a strange (but good) spicy scent. I want to describe this as a 'spicy herbal leaf' scent. It's edible, but not in a sweet way. Kind of reminds me of cooking spices.

 

I honestly can't ever see myself wearing this... but I like it so much that I'm going to keep my imp around anyhow. Maybe I can use it as a room scent... or I wonder if this would be better suited on a guy

[girlmadasbirds]

almost all cedar and vetiver. very potent and woodsy. sometimes i think i can catch a whiff of the raspberry, but it quickly disappears. definitely not for me.

[Fefferbella]

Alecto is a very masculine scent on me. The vetiver and cedar blend perfectly together with a hint of sweetness from the olive leaf.

 

This smells amazing on my boyfriend. Strong, woodsy and downright sexy.

 

On me it just smells like cedar shavings.

[Miss Lynx]

This is an odd scent -- kind of a dry herbal, with a slight edge of sharpness to it. Initially I couldn't identify any of the specific notes from sniffing it, although there were elements to it that seemed familiar. Having checked the description, I think I was picking up on the vetiver, since that's in a fair number of scents I like. Anyway: not unpleasant, just... different.

 

As it dries down, though, the cedar is coming out more and more, to the point where it's starting to seem a bit hamster-cage-ish. Still not unpleasant, but not really me either.

 

And now, after about an hour, it's almost gone, but the last bit of scent that remains is pretty nice. Not too much like cedar shavings after all, just a gentle woody/herbiness

 

Grade: C+

[QueenFae]

There is only thing that Alecto smells like to me: New cars. Yep, I definitely don't get any fruitiness whatsoever from this one. It smells like the inside of a fresh new car right out of the dealer's lot. While new car smell is not entirely unpleasant, it's definitely not something I want to wear on my neck.

[tinyvulture]

Sweet raspberry, mostly, with green herbal undertones and just a touch of cedar. It's fresh and light, I can't believe it has vetiver in it. Fruity yet clean; I’d use a shampoo that smells like this. It will probably also make a nice room scent.

[Lizzie]

In The Bottle Smells STRONGLY of a cedar tree. Nothing else, just a tree.

 

Wet I can start to smell the other notes as soon as it touches my skin, I can't smell the Olive leaf, but the Raspberry leaf is beautiful.

 

Dry It reminds me of walking through the woods, hunting for wild raspberries. It's a slightly sweet cedar smell, and it reminds me of the very last few weeks of August, just before the summer is officially over, when the days are still long, and the sunlight rich and golden.

 

I will cherish the imp, and wear it at the end of the summer, but I don't think I'll buy a bottle as it's not the sort of scent I would wear on an everyday basis. I do love it though, and I think it smells a bit like Intrigue, which I also love.

[Abbie]

In the bottle: What is it with all of these greek-themed scents that makes them tend to smell alike to me? To me they all smell of olive trees, but that isn't listed in the descriptions for Athens and Delphi. This is MUCH nicer than Athens or Delphi, though... no nauseatingly sweet wine smell. Its quite herbal and kitcheny smelling.

 

First on: It smells like cooking some sort of stew... maybe pasta e fagiole? Lots of spices, but not sweet at all. And a LOT of cedar coming out.

 

Dry: Mostly just cedar now. Not really my thing... although cedar does LOVE my skin and likes to announce its presence to anyone in a ten foot radius.

 

Overall: One for the swap pile.

[tart]

Alecto, another scent that I never expected to like! I think I like it so much because it reminds me of the very first BPAL scents I tried. Alecto needs to be smelled while curled up in a man's arms. The cedar isn't so sharp that it makes my head hurt (which cedar tends to do); instead, it is rounded and grounded. We'll see how the boyfriend likes it.

[smelly]

I'm on the edge of liking this. It's too sweet, but I like the smokiness. It's sweet, dark, strange and a tad smokey. I think I like the vetiver.

 

I wore it in my hair to work. I have to be careful when I wear perfume in my hair, because I think I get way more waft. A woman was walking by my office and said "It smells like the Sixties around here today," and then she started singing a song from Hair. It was funny but embarrassing. Must have been the vetiver.

 

Edited to say one more thing: the dark sweetness makes me think of prunes.

Edited February 18, 2006 by smelly

[Lucretia]

I almost liked this cause I love cedar, but the fruity sweetness of it just doesnt do it for me.I like it when I first put it on, but it makes me sort of queasy after a while. For some reason I just can't shake the fact that it smells like cottage cheese with fruit in it. Bizarre I know! But that's what my nose says.

[Wench457]

Alecto: Strong Vetiver, which is usually a no-go on me.

 

On: Cedary, but with a hint of vetiver which keeps it from being pleasant on me.

 

Dry: cedar with a hint of sweetness - perhaps the raspberry leaf? Thankfully, the vetiver has faded away, and now I only smell like a linen chest. Which at least is a pleasant smell, but not what I want to make people think of when they hug me.

[PurringPulsar]

Alecto

 

In the imp: dry cedar with some leafy notes.

Wet on skin: ooh, I quite like the cedar in here. For some reason, there’s a slight leathery scent to this? I also get some herbal leaf notes.

Dry: not bad! This is predominantly cedar-dry, solid and firm, a good strong wood scent, but darkened nicely by scents of crushed leaves and dry leaves, with hints of vetiver. I get a very slight fruitiness, which I’m assuming is raspberry leaf-it’s more of a green scent than a raspberry scent, in fact, it reminds me of blackberry leaves-it’s green and darkly fruity, and there’s something almost ivy like about it.

After a while: after a while, I get hints of olive-which must be the olive leaf. it’s not too olivey though-I don’t smell like salad yet. The cedar and raspberry leaf still linger. This scent is very unusual indeed…and the olive note grows over time.

Then the scent becomes something rather odd-cedar and olives. Like a plank of cedar wood polished with olive oil and a hint of ivy. It’s a very odd scent for a perfume. It’s dark, dry, gritty, unsettling.

I like the final drydown of this a lot more-a nice mix of woody, dry cedar with vetiver, slightly reminiscent of Umbra but with a milder vetiver.

Verdict: this is one of BPAL’s most unusual, unconventional scents. It starts off promisingly with cedar and ivy-like raspberry leaf, but then the olive comes in and it smells like olive oil. Which is nice as food, but not really something I’d expect in a perfume. The overall scent is both dry and oily at the same time, gritty, dark, green and shadowy. The drydown is nicer-a dry cedar and dark green vetiver scent. A unique scent which I think would be a lot nicer on a man, so this one’s going for the swap.

Edited February 22, 2006 by yeahbutnobut

[medvssa]

I am mediterranean and my father was an "olivarero" when he was young, not to mention I use exclusively olive oil to cook (and for other things too). So I had to try this if only for the olive leaf, I like the other notes too, well I don't really know how raspberry leaf smells...

The imp smells like wood. Hm, it is wood and green and somewhat acid and dry. But I can't tell what it is. I get a hint of wax. I don't remember the leaves of the olive tree smelling like anything... so I don't have a clue how their essence smells. It doesn't remind me of olive oil. I don't smell the vetiver, but the wood I smell must be the cedar. It is a bit sinuses-opening. It doesn't change that much, it just keeps fading into cedarwood until this is the only thing I perceive, a few hours later. It is not awesome, but I like it.

[themerrybaker]

This one-smart-alecto. Has wood undertone, not too sweet, the vetiver plays nice, and the cedar does not noticeably exude piney karma. This is not a fresh, leafy green – more of a sunny leathery leaf type of scent. After reading the Lab description, started to hallucinate martini-olive. Martini-olive with wood toothpick?

 

 

 

Another imp I'm glad I sniffed in my desire to review my way out of the "Stinker" category. It's much nicer than you'd think.

Edited March 30, 2006 by themerrybaker